[DPelletier]

Originally Posted by mvalet

New owner, new member. Original braces are 1 lbs for both and the BMS are 3 lbs total.

seeing as how this thread is back again, I figured I'd correct the above figure; the BMS braces are 1.15522 lbs more than stock for the pair. I suggest this is a negligible difference.

Dave

[mss400]

I found black bolts + black fibre washers at Menards. Fit perfectly. They’re Socket caps not torx.

[COKen]

I just gave up on looking for black replacement bolts, pulled my bolts and painted them. I did a primer and then a couple of coats of spray acrylic. I then waited 48 hours for them to dry. Next I wrapped the top of the bolts with painter's tape before installing them. When I removed the tape it was obvious that the tape didn't do its job very well and some of the paint was missing. I ended up using a black permanent magic marker to fill in the small shiny spots. No idea how long the magic marker will hold up, but, for now the bolts look great. In hindsight, using painter's tape was a mistake and another type of tape, something, a bit tougher, like electrical tape, may have worked better.

[BugZ4]

Where you able to reach the nut on the strut end of the brace by turning the front wheels?

[stlcdr]

Originally Posted by BugZ4

Where you able to reach the nut on the strut end of the brace by turning the front wheels?

Not sure what you are asking, here. There are no nuts on the braces, just bolts.

[BugZ4]

Originally Posted by stlcdr

Not sure what you are asking, here. There are no nuts on the braces, just bolts.

OK! thanks for your response….the reason I ask. Since the Supra has a lot in common with the Z4 G29 I posed this question. The Supra has a nut on the uppermost long bolt. You have to go through the wheel well to gain access to the nut.

[Bimmerfun82]

Every time I wash my Z I pop the hood and wipe down everything to remove the dust and I see these lame metal bars, but I'm not motivated to buy new ones unless they are CFRP at a reasonable price. The F80 carbon fiber brace was really unique. Even the G8x is ordinary looking.

[ebirotedu]

They are pretty ugly.

I happened to see that they make an appearance in the new i5 M60 as well, though in that car they're at least hidden under the plastic 'engine' cover.

Link to vid posted on Bimmerpost home page - view under the hood starts at 0:13 seconds in: https://g60.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2036016

Originally Posted by Bimmerfun82

Every time I wash my Z I pop the hood and wipe down everything to remove the dust and I see these lame metal bars, but I'm not motivated to buy new ones unless they are CFRP at a reasonable price. The F80 carbon fiber brace was really unique. Even the G8x is ordinary looking.

[StanDiego]

Originally Posted by COKen

I just gave up on looking for black replacement bolts, pulled my bolts and painted them. I did a primer and then a couple of coats of spray acrylic. I then waited 48 hours for them to dry. Next I wrapped the top of the bolts with painter's tape before installing them. When I removed the tape it was obvious that the tape didn't do its job very well and some of the paint was missing. I ended up using a black permanent magic marker to fill in the small shiny spots. No idea how long the magic marker will hold up, but, for now the bolts look great. In hindsight, using painter's tape was a mistake and another type of tape, something, a bit tougher, like electrical tape, may have worked better.

I would be searching for some plastic black caps that would snugly fit over the bolt heads.

[Balr14]

From my younger days of racing dirt tracks, hollow tubing told you a lot about stress loads, because it was easy to see deformation at stress points. Solid material doesn't show you much. The braces on the Z4 are ugly, but I wonder if they don't serve the same purpose?

[ebirotedu]

Heh. I imagine if your tubular strut braces show any sort of deformation, there's a good chance your Z4 is totaled.

The aftermarket ones are overkill structurally, but they have the advantage of looking a lot nicer than the OEM unfinished, meets-min, stamped tubular supports.

Originally Posted by Balr14

From my younger days of racing dirt tracks, hollow tubing told you a lot about stress loads, because it was easy to see deformation at stress points. Solid material doesn't show you much. The braces on the Z4 are ugly, but I wonder if they don't serve the same purpose?

[Balr14]

Originally Posted by ebirotedu

Heh. I imagine if your tubular strut braces show any sort of deformation, there's a good chance your Z4 is totaled.

The aftermarket ones are overkill structurally, but they have the advantage of looking a lot nicer than the OEM unfinished, meets-min, stamped tubular supports.

You would be surprised at what tubing will show over time. It doesn't have to bend to show something is going on you might want to investigate. It will look like a flaw in the material that wasn't there before; maybe it's cloudy, or shows ripples in the reflection. Now, admittedly dirt track racing is a lot more stressful to the entire car that the struts on a BMW, so that kind of stuff might take 20 years on the Z4. But, the struts just reminded me of those old days. It's a byproduct of being 80, you just never know what will remind me of something to ramble on about.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Originally Posted by Balr14

From my younger days of racing dirt tracks, hollow tubing told you a lot about stress loads, because it was easy to see deformation at stress points. Solid material doesn't show you much. The braces on the Z4 are ugly, but I wonder if they don't serve the same purpose?

Think the are structural to stiffen the front end. The Toyota twin of another mother did not have them for the first two years.

The were added later on.

[MisanoblueZ4]

These aftermarket braces look very nice, but for nearly $300 it’s a hard pass for me. If they offered structural improvements then great but the ugly factory braces do the job. This is rainy weekend winter project, remove stock ones and paint black.

[Horseman]

Originally Posted by Entitled Prick

Dinan has them for the G29. https://www.dinancars.com/products/s...arts/D180-0016

Them be nice, but I think I will want some red ones.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by SakhirM4

2 pounds!?!

I can gain 2 pounds eating my Thanksgiving dinner!

[stlcdr]

Originally Posted by Horseman

Them be nice, but I think I will want some red ones.

I got the red ones from bergher tuning (I think?) and black powdercoated the heads on some hex bolts.

While I don't think it adds anything, I know its there and the red makes me happy knowing that the EMT tube is gone.

[IM2C]

Originally Posted by IM2C

Did it today. For those of you obsessed with weight, I'm including weight pics (both imperial and metric so nobody has to use unit converter )

Also, painted the bolts.

BTW they are for sale.

[VRUUMM]

The Supra braces definitely fit.

[Timdon]

Originally Posted by VRUUMM

The Supra braces definitely fit.

Hi where did you purchase the strut braces from?

[VRUUMM]

MAPerformance for the blue Cusco that I purchased. Blitz makes a red version sold by Evasive Motorsports.

[Wynnsiensheng]

Originally Posted by Balr14

You would be surprised at what tubing will show over time. It doesn't have to bend to show something is going on you might want to investigate. It will look like a flaw in the material that wasn't there before; maybe it's cloudy, or shows ripples in the reflection. Now, admittedly dirt track racing is a lot more stressful to the entire car that the struts on a BMW, so that kind of stuff might take 20 years on the Z4. But, the struts just reminded me of those old days. It's a byproduct of being 80, you just never know what will remind me of something to ramble on about.

Take your point. The question in my mind is, will the average driver or even BMW mechanic look for barely visible cloud or ripples in a reflection?