Rear strut brace

[Choc]

I was wondering if these were a good idea. I have been looking around and strong strut do them in the US. Is there anyone in the UK that can supply them at a reasonable price?

Or are they a waste of time/money?

[Mike Fishwick]

The Butt Strut is not a strut brace, but a means of reinforcing the long studs which carry the rear suspension crossmember.

Yes - it makes a very noticable difference to the car, reducing understeer and improving steering response, at the loss of about 20 mm of ground clearance, so the 'Slammed tothe floor' brigade should avoid them!

Their Body Brace bolts on to the Butt Strut, improving matters still more, and also protects the floor fom the ravages of speed bumps etc.

[Choc]

Is it only sold in the US? Seems a lot of cash for a steel bar? I was thinking of trying to make my own.
Do u recon it will fit with 30mm lowering springs?

[siwilson]

I have the full Strong strut Setup and yes it performs exactly as Mike says. You can fit it with any lowered suspension setup, but be prepared. I'm not slammed (hate that look), but down about 25mm (KWv3) and the body brace hits almost every speed hump. The butt strut also grounds on narrow country lanes with a heavy camber or grass in the middle. its a good addition, you just have to remember its there every trip you take. it also make MOT time interesting as a few places I have tried could not get me on the ramp.

I would also not bother and try to make your own. Give SS a call and strike a deal. They are really nice guys to deal with and even sponsored this forum in the past.

Any more questions then let me know.

[barbancourt]

I bought and installed the Strong Strut front brace, and while I can't comment on the butt strut, I can attest that their products' quality and their customer service is top notch. I was amazed at how light and strong my brace was.

[Mike Fishwick]

The Butt Strut is an aluminium bar these days, and I found it far cheaper to order directly fom Strong-Strut than their UK dealer, who is a robber!

I use standard rear springs, as I like to carry a passenger and use the boot for luggage. I would not reccommend this kit and a lowered rear, which is mainly a cosmetic thing - it depends on if you want fashion or function. I tried -30 mm Eibach rears, and found that on a cambered minor road the butt strut was touching on any bump - a waste of time. With standard rear springs it only touches lightly on real bumps.

I use -30 mm Eibach frnts for more negative camber, and the front of the Body Brace does touch on the silly speed bumps which are all the rage in the UK, but do not get any problems elsewhere.

See my bit in the Z3 Knowledgebase on stiffening a Z3 etc.

[Deano1712]

I would have a but strut, or make an equivalent, if I thought it was adding function. I really cant see how those big M14 studs could be flexing. There is a bracket securing the bottom of the studs back to the sills. Cant see how a bit of bend ally bar could help anyway.

Problem with this area is the flexible bushes for which the strut won't help.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[Mike Fishwick]

I started on the rear suspension by fitting PVC inserts intothe cross member bushes, giving a small improement, then fitted a Butt Strut, and found a large improvement - it really does work, but not tothe extent of stiffening the whole car etc etc. Then I fitted a Body Brace, and found another worthwhile improvement.

Those studs really do move around, and the thin triangular plates connecting their ends to the body cannot work miracles.

Again - the Body Brace does not make the doors close like a Rolls-Royce etc - such fantasies belong to those who think a shiney strut brace stops tramlining!

When you think about what these bits of metal really do, you can see that they have a function, and it is one which can easily be discerned. I would not be without mine.

[barbancourt]

Again - the Body Brace does not make the doors close like a Rolls-Royce etc - such fantasies belong to those who think a shiney strut brace stops tramlining!

Yeah, Mike I agree with you on that. I "feel" a difference with the front strut brace, but the thing that really cured it for me was new front tires.

[Choc]

Thanks for the responses.

Does anyone have any experience of the solid mount diff bush replacements?
They claim to act like a large brace.
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem ... cmd=VIDESC

[Deano1712]

I think you would find solid metallic bushes would be very noisy. These would be better for road use:
http://www.iemotorsport.com/bmw/Z3-susp ... mount.html
They are popular in the US and I found they made a massive improvement in stability.

[Choc]

They look great. I might have to get one. And possible replace the rest of the bushes at the same time with standard OEM Z3M ones.