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      09-19-2010, 12:39 AM   #11
XMetal
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2008 Z4M Coupe  [10.00]
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Quote:
Originally Posted by reyebe View Post
We do not recommendand changes to the installation beyond the contents of the provided instructions. The tower ring is not intended to make 360 degree contact with the tower dome because the OEM humps on the domes are not consistant from vehicle to vehicle. The Strong-Strut rings are machined as is for a specific reason born out of our experience with the Z4 and e46 (same front chassis) vehicles since 2003. BMW sometimes makes minor changes or substitutions and most of the time it makes no difference until someone tries to install an accessory. We have hundreds of Z4 and e46 Strong-Struts on customer cars throughout the world and this is the first time anyone has put forth the suggestion to place a washer under the ring. We will be sure to send extra washers to be used under the provided acorn nuts to the owners in the group buy, this is another area that is inconsistant from car to car. Most of the Z4's have the shorter threaded studs and one washer is all that is needed. With regard to the small capscrew. it comes out in 1 turn or less and it has no function once the McPherson struts are installed. The purpose of the capscrew is an index point for the robot that installs the struts. There is a reason the counterbore in the Strong-Strut tower rings are not large enough for the OEM shoulder nuts to fit in them. Again, BMW with their clever tricks have provided two sizes of shoulder nuts, large and small shoulder. The large ones won't work at all with the Strong-Strut and the small ones work on 1/2 of the cars, so you can see why we provide the acorn nuts, they fit every car. It is not possible to increase the diameter of the tower rings which would allow for a larger counterbore that would accommodate OEM shoulder nuts. The reason it is not possible is because there is a critical clearance issue between the bottom of the hood and the exact location where it closes down on the shock towers. We found through experience that the uniformity of the shock tower stud placement is not consistant from vehicle to vehicle and that is why the tower rings have slightly elongated holes for the studs rather than perfectly round. This, along with the slight "wiggle room" provided by the acorn nuts (as opposed to OEM shoulder nuts) allows the Strong-Strut to be properly installed on any Z4 or e46 chassis anywhere in the world. We greatly appreciate the author's installation write up and photographs but we emphasize the fact that very often there are reasons for certain manufacturing features that the customer may not understand. We also encourage our customers to contact us if they are having any issues with their Strong-Strut product. In most cases, we can explain why things are the way they are and guide the customer through any problems. Best regards, Paul & the Strong-Strut Team.
Paul,
Thanks for the excellent detailed explanation I don't expect the tower rings to make 360 degree contact with the tower dome. However, I do expect them to make contact at each strut stud for proper securing of the rings, thus, the bar and the strut itself. Otherwise, unnecessary stress will be placed on the tower rings as well as the strut studs.

Have you consider shipping with regular nuts rather than the acorn nuts (at least provide a choice to the customer)? That would alleviate a lot of these "bottoming" out issues or requiring multiple washers, etc... I know the acorn nuts are slightly more appealing, but if it gets in the way of functionality, then I wouldn't mind the lesser appealing alternative

Oh...by the way, is there any instructions for modifying the tower caps to fit the Z4? Thanks

Last edited by XMetal; 09-19-2010 at 01:10 AM..
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