Worth it?

[Beej]

The IE bar ( <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bmw2002.com">www.bmw2002.com</a><!-- w --> ) is the same design, but it looks like they made provisions for the fusebox and maybe even the dizzy. Must find guinea pig. It's $130.[/madbimmerjacking]

hmm.... didn't know Ireland had one. That's tempting. One that doesn't require me to remove my distributor is always a plus. :lol: I'll tell you how it fits. :wink:

IE top, Sparco bottom. You make the call.

IE also sells two sizes.
[disclaimer]I guarantee nothing.[/disclaimer]

[Dave]

b00sted! hock:
get the turbo, THEN worry bout the swaybars!

[BLINGMW]

We may have hijacked this thread..... :wink:

but anywho, after looking at IE's site, the description for their bar says: "These bars do not fit the 318 4 cyl models(either early or late)".

Where'd you hear otherwise? Guess it's worth calling them. A guy on the yahoo 318i list said the BavAuto bar fits, but it's adjustable, and ~$225, and I don't like BavAuto anyway. Might not have many choices!

And NO, Dave. NO BOOST! Bad Dave. BAD!


..........haha..... did that guy paint his coolant reservoir too? :lol: I just noticed that. The only reason things in my engine bay match is because they're all the same grey/black dingy color scheme.

[Beej]

Just a little.

IE must've updated their site then - it didn't used to say that. Shit.

Yeah, I don't like the BavAuto bar. I'm not trying to remove a strut bar to adjust camber plates (ya know, when I get them and all).

I've half-assedly been looking at getting a set made or something from a fabricator.

26x rwhp.

[.RJ]

[BLINGMW]

hey, what do you get when you measure between the strut towers on your 318? Some on an E30 list are talking about it now, questioning Ireland's claim that some cars measure 39.5 and some 38.5. I measured mine (from center of struts like their site says) and got 39 even! Guess I'm sportin a sag? :| I'll lift it up and see if it changes today. What's yours?

-----Sean, chime in here too! Does the 6 kind of get in the way when measuring?

[BLINGMW]

......... chirp chirp.....

seriously! Do you guys not own a measuring tape or what?

BTW, lifted or on the ground, the measurement between mine doesn't change. I still wonder what it's supposed to be. :?

[Mike]

seriously! Do you guys not own a measuring tape or what?

Go away, this is my thread and it's not about 318s.

[BLINGMW]

bah! This has been officially hijacked. Deal with it! :lol:

[Evan]

Hijacked by butt pirates!

aarrrrr matey!

[Seantn1k]

E30 is def all over thread. 8)

I've been thinking about the Sparco, but how can you identify the Sparco from another red bar?

Also, does the e30 really have that much body flex up front?

Sean

[hey bill, are you getting bad rust by the battery? I had to replace the inner fender because the acid ate through it on my 318i]

[BLINGMW]

no, it doesn't have much flex. On the order of a milimeter or so with R-compound tires. It's driving me nuts, I can't find the article that tested this. But for a frequently tracked car, it can help prevent cracking of the strut towers. This is a decent little estimation of the load those towers have to handle:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://e30m3performance.com/myths/Strutbar_Theory/strut_bar_theory.htm">http://e30m3performance.com/myths/Strut ... theory.htm</a><!-- m -->

It concludes that a .2 inch deflection would lead to .5deg loss of camber, but from what I've heard and read, they do not deflect nearly that far. I would just like to keep mine from cracking. haha... though I'm reminded why James (@ Bimmerworld) never ran them, not only because they didn't really help, but because he figured if the side of the car ended up in a wall, he'd end up with 2 bent strut towers instead of one! :lol:

[Mike]

though I'm reminded why James (@ Bimmerworld) never ran them, not only because they didn't really help, but because he figured if the side of the car ended up in a wall, he'd end up with 2 bent strut towers instead of one! :lol:

Absolute genius.

[Seantn1k]

Oh didn't notice it before but, the M20 B25 doesn't get in the way too much with measuring. The intake manifold pushes up a bit but not much.

Sean

Did you send me something in the mail channing? I got this random package and I have no clue as to what it is, some kind of cardboard from Georgia.

[Seantn1k]

[quote="Bill 84 318i"]

is it me or is the IE swaybar not as thick as the sparco bar?

Sean

[Evan]

Did you send me something in the mail channing? I got this random package and I have no clue as to what it is, some kind of cardboard from Georgia.

*boom*

[BLINGMW]

bwahahaha :twisted: another E30 for me 8)

[Beej]

I dunno if one is thicker than the other - I've only seen the Sparco bar in person. I've installed two of them on two different cars and they went on the same in both cases (little coaxing over the upper strut bearing studs).

My battery tray is showing a little rust, but it hasn't spread beyond that (yet).

Another guy (some of you may know the name Ove Kvam) put some fancy measuring device on his strut towers and went around for a drive slamming potholes and stuff like that. The device read that basically no deflection had taken place. Gustave's article (that Channing posted) is a good summary too.

I just want one cause my car is 20 years old.

I'll measure mine whenever I can get my hands on a tape measure.

[.RJ]

Another guy (some of you may know the name Ove Kvam) put some fancy measuring device on his strut towers and went around for a drive slamming potholes and stuff like that.

Strain gauge?