Ultra Racing Rear Strut Brace test on a ///M

[UntzUntzUntz]

Hello everyone,

Some of you may know Ultra Racing braces are only made for the non-m Z4's. I contacted most of their dealers and all said they were unsure it will fit the ///M. Well, I decided to unravel this uncertainty and be the guinea pig to order one. With some fast shipping from an awesome eBayer, I was able to receive it last night and install it today. I am pleased to report it does fit but it does not properly sit with the plastic trim that goes around it. I'ma re-install it tonight when I get home and verify.

Install was 15 minutes, pretty straightforward. Here are some pics of the install:



Here's the issue I think all Z4's will have, not necessarily only ///M's. I had to find other bolts around the garage to get it installed. Reason being is the glue beneath the bar was very thick. It pushed the bar too high that it left no room for the oem bolts to go in. Therefore I had to find smaller ones except for one bolt that just barely fit. Take a look for yourself.



I don't think the plastic trim would give any issues because it looks just fine on UR's website:

[Beedub]

so does this mean the plastic trim needs to be modded ?? looks like very minor cutting needed. On the glue issue id wager all cars will have that and some will need to be carefully removed for where the bar sits!

[XMetal]

Can someone explain why this brace is needed? Doesn't the rear bumper (much beefier) perform the same function by "boxing" up the rear frame? Is this one of those mod just for the sake of modding?

[Westersund]

Our chassis are really rigid from the factory, I wouldn't get a brace unless it was a dedicated track machine. I certainly wouldn't cut/drill in the chassi. But I have a coupe, roadsters might need to be stiffened up a bit.

The list: Torsional Rigidity

Stupid fucking censor function on this forum, replace the stars in the url with "german-car-forum" without the "-".

[UntzUntzUntz]

Originally Posted by Beedub

so does this mean the plastic trim needs to be modded ?? looks like very minor cutting needed. On the glue issue id wager all cars will have that and some will need to be carefully removed for where the bar sits!

It looks like that so far. I tried taking it off and re-installing it but just one of the bolts are nearly impossible to take out. It's IN SO TIGHT! But don't worry I'll have access to better tools tomorrow and report back.

Regarding the glue, I'd rather stay away from that. Just get smaller washers and you'll be fine.

Originally Posted by XMetal

Can someone explain why this brace is needed? Doesn't the rear bumper (much beefier) perform the same function by "boxing" up the rear frame? Is this one of those mod just for the sake of modding?

Not really needed but it's a roadster, anything helps. I'd say this may be one of the last things you'd mod on a Z4, which also means this is a mod "for the sake of modding." But hey, we all complain theirs not enough aftermarket parts for the Z4's well here you have it, add it to the list!

Originally Posted by Westersund

Our chassis are really rigid from the factory, I wouldn't get a brace unless it was a dedicated track machine. I certainly wouldn't cut/drill in the chassi. But I have a coupe, roadsters might need to be stiffened up a bit.

The list: Torsional Rigidity

Thank you for posting this. Very informative... makes me wish I had a coupe so yea! thanks a lot! lol

Looks like the roadsters could use all the help they can get to keep up with the coupe's. Since I haven't taken her out on canyon roads yet I can't say I noticed any difference. Don't really expect any either.

This company does sell a lower brace however. Not necessarily an anti-roll bar but just something to add more support to the rear end. Now this would make a noticeable difference. After I'm done dealing with this brace, the lower brace is next on the list to test if it will fit the ///M's.

[2skiddy]

I am all for extra tubing, I have a full cage in mine, but as someone has pointed out, with the rear bumper beam doing the same job, if not better. It looks like a cosmetic add on to an already stiff bodyshell. I think you are just adding weight, but to each their own.

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by UntzUntzUntz

It looks like that so far. I tried taking it off and re-installing it but just one of the bolts are nearly impossible to take out. It's IN SO TIGHT! But don't worry I'll have access to better tools tomorrow and report back.

Regarding the glue, I'd rather stay away from that. Just get smaller washers and you'll be fine.



Not really needed but it's a roadster, anything helps. I'd say this may be one of the last things you'd mod on a Z4, which also means this is a mod "for the sake of modding." But hey, we all complain theirs not enough aftermarket parts for the Z4's well here you have it, add it to the list!




Thank you for posting this. Very informative... makes me wish I had a coupe so yea! thanks a lot! lol

Looks like the roadsters could use all the help they can get to keep up with the coupe's. Since I haven't taken her out on canyon roads yet I can't say I noticed any difference. Don't really expect any either.



This company does sell a lower brace however. Not necessarily an anti-roll bar but just something to add more support to the rear end. Now this would make a noticeable difference. After I'm done dealing with this brace, the lower brace is next on the list to test if it will fit the ///M's.

don't be disheartened your roadster is stiffer than the e46 m 3 Coupe, lotus exige s2 and s3... have you ever heard anything about stiffness issues related to those cars ;-) for a roadster this car is a very stiff proposition, i agree that lower triangulated brace has GOT to make to difference compared to the stock separate bars,

[XMetal]

Agreed that the lower triangulated brace may have some effect. It'll be interesting to see if that lower brace with fit the M

[UntzUntzUntz]

Issue #1: Plastic trim needs to be lightly modified to make room for the bolts to go in. I didn't find that worth it. Always better to have mods you can reverse.

Issue #2: The carpet makes the bar sit even higher, thus making the top bolts impossible to secure. So you can't even have the carpet beneath the bar, it's gotta wrap around it. So at the end of the day, this is the end product:



Next in line, LOWER BRACE

[Beedub]

unto how do you feel about the quality of the bar?? is it proper heady duty material wise??? can you talk about the construction of the piece in general plz.

[Beedub]

the lower piece i would say will make a difference.... unless the material is low quality it should really add to the roadster at least.

[Twixboy]

Originally Posted by Westersund

Our chassis are really rigid from the factory, I wouldn't get a brace unless it was a dedicated track machine. I certainly wouldn't cut/drill in the chassi. But I have a coupe, roadsters might need to be stiffened up a bit.

The list: Torsional Rigidity

Stupid fucking censor function on this forum, replace the stars in the url with "german-car-forum" without the "-".

And that wasn't censored?

[UntzUntzUntz]

Originally Posted by Beedub

unto how do you feel about the quality of the bar?? is it proper heady duty material wise??? can you talk about the construction of the piece in general plz.

It's made of steel but it's hollow. I knew that when I bought it so I was expecting it to be some cheap Chinese made product but it's actually a decent piece. Of course aluminum would be better but I'm not disappointed by it. Since this piece is hollow it's actually not heavy at all. I swear I was going to weigh it on re-installation I completely forgot sorry guys, I won't forget to weigh the lower bar.
Overall construction seems solid. Welds are just right, gloss white coating is clean, and it's all one piece (as you can see) which is way better than any hinged design. The shipping package was over sealed (I spent more time taking out the layers of tape and bubble wraps than actually installing it) so no scratches or dings were present. Couldn't find any imperfections. Overall I'm satisfied with the quality and construction of the bar.

[tiltmode43]

Interested in the under-brace, this is something I had considered. Please update when it's installed, pics would be cool too!

[UntzUntzUntz]

Originally Posted by tiltmode43

Interested in the under-brace, this is something I had considered. Please update when it's installed, pics would be cool too!

Yes sir!
Waiting for a reply from my eBayer if he's got it in stock.

[UntzUntzUntz]

Finally made time to install the under brace! and man does it dress up under the car

So here's the situation with this one. The OEM rear braces need to come off. Removing those will leave the pan by the diff flapping on top of the bar, which will annoy the shit out of you while driving. As a solution I found some metal wires lying around and wrapped it around the bar. If you look closely you will see 4 metal wires towards the center of the bar. That's it!

As promised, I weighed the piece before installing. The whole thing weighed around 10-11lb. My scale may be broken because that's quite impressive.

Install took about 30 min. No modifications needed. Perfect fit.




While I had it on a lift I took that opportunity to install the M-Stache lip that's been sitting there for months!!



One of these days I'll take photos worthy to post in the "Photos" category.

[Beedub]

thats got to add some stiffness in comparison to the stock bar!! well done!!

for the sake of neatness it would be nice to weld some tabs so the rear diffuser is cable tied like that..... but its a very minor issue.

[inTgr8r]

Thanks for trying this and posting the results.

This bar looks more functional than the one in the trunk.

[UntzUntzUntz]

Originally Posted by Beedub

thats got to add some stiffness in comparison to the stock bar!! well done!!

for the sake of neatness it would be nice to weld some tabs so the rear diffuser is cable tied like that..... but its a very minor issue.

Thanks and good idea!
I kind of mickey moused it cause I was 2 hours in my lunch at that point lol. Since my smog finally came in, I'll be installing euro headers and getting a shop to re-do my Magnaflows. I'll use that opportunity to weld the tabs

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

Thanks for trying this and posting the results.

This bar looks more functional than the one in the trunk.

In comparison to the trunk bar it's light years ahead.


With KW v3 coilovers on close to the stiffest setting, I wasn't expecting much of a difference; I was wrong. It completely balanced the car the way it should by factory. Before I would have very very slight understeer and even worse on the oem suspension. With the rear stiffer, it adds that perfect balance between under/oversteer. Those of you on stock suspension will notice it a lot more.

If anyone is interested I got it from eBay user coolstore8191. Good luck unwrapping this guys packaging.

[DanFromTucson]

Any loss of ground clearance? It's hard to tell how low it hangs.

[UntzUntzUntz]

Originally Posted by DanFromTucson

Any loss of ground clearance? It's hard to tell how low it hangs.

This is how low my car sits and still doesn't have any clearance issues. Only thing I'm scraping on is my damn lip!

[Beedub]

that car looks freaking ACE with the gold wheels!! yes yes yes!!