Project: 2003 BMW M3

[D_Eclipse9916]

Curious, DJ did you happen to look at your plates after the wreck? How did it fair after the stress of a trailing arm pocket ripping out over 100mph?

Another question though, can you even tell if it fails after it's covered with a plate and welds?

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My moms car had the plates for only a year, but my SE46 had the plates welded in for 4+ years as a race car before I bought it, and is still going strong today.

My GTS4 car, the plates were just fine on the subframe.  I have managed to have stress failures on these bmws more than anyone I know, to date I am still the only person I know that has ripped out the front frame rail out of an E36.  I am extremely hard on suspensions (had to switch to sphericals since the control arm ball joints were wearing out every 2-3 events).

 I am not saying you can't go above and beyond, but I would weld in the plates and never look back.  If it was a street car I would probably epoxy to reduce chances of rust and then just check them every 2-3 years.    You can tell if it fails, but only if you remove the undercoating. My mom's subframe was cracked in what I thought was a minor spot in one location. Once I pulled off the undercoating it was cracked in 3 of the 4 subframe mounts and extended its way to the trunk.  Welded it all up and just took a look last week when I gutted the car and they are good to go.