M3 rollbar install fail

I spent today trying to install the Kirk 4 point rollbar into my M3 for the upcoming track season (which starts in May locally). After 6+ hours I quit with the rollbar not bolted in.

Started by pulling the seats and also the rear carpet section since I didn't want to cut it in case it goes back to stock someday.

The main hoop went into the car easily with my daughter's help, then came the hard part, installing the rear legs. Getting the second leg into the coupling was a beotch but the real FML moment was when I got them both on and placed them against the rear wheel well and saw that they wouldn't sit flush. Lots of pushing pulling maneuvering pulling the legs and reinstalling them several times, no joy. This is what I'm left with, 1" gaps at the lower edge of the plate:

Passenger side:

Driver's side:

Yeah, crappy cell pics. The real pisser is that if I turn the legs 180* the plates fit flush but the holes in the collar to bolt it to the main hoop don't line up. We will see what Kirk says tomorrow.

could you drill new holes after rotating the legs? Are the legs on the right side or do you have them swaped?

pimpm3 wrote: could you drill new holes after rotating the legs? Are the legs on the right side or do you have them swaped?

Legs are on the correct side, assuming that "left" means driver's side (what a dumb way to mark the legs BTW). I tried swapping them too, no joy. Redrilling would only be possible if I pull the whole bar out and reassemble it then drill but then I'd wind up with oblong slots in the rear legs. It seems to me that when Kirk assembled then drilled the bar that the rear legs were flipped upside down and nobody noticed but that's just my guess.

Well, I talked to Kirk and they said that they've been having this issue with a lot of their E46 bars from the way the welds are contracting as they cool, and I should just drill the holes and snug it down with the backing plate and hardware and it will pull the rear leg into place. I guess I'll give it a go and see what happens.

In reply to pigeon:

Try using one long bolt to pull the plate enough to start the other three - then replace the long one and snug all four in increments.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: In reply to pigeon: Try using one long bolt to pull the plate enough to start the other three - then replace the long one and snug all four in increments.

Thanks - that's pretty much exactly what Kirk Racing told me to do. I was just afraid that I'd distort/wreck the sheet metal for the wheel well. I managed to pick up a bitchin' cold this weekend but if I'm up to it I'll give it a try tonight.

Could the main hoop need to be rotated 180°?

Make sure and oil those bolts if you're using them to pull down that plate.

Update - rear legs are now snugged tightly against the wheel wells. I called Bimmerworld from whom I had ordered the bar - GRM advertiser! - and their customer service was great. I talked to a guy who had put one into his own car and suggested that I apply a bit more force to the legs to try to get them set into place better (kick the crap outta it) and that helped some, I got one side seated nicely that way but the other side I had to pull it down using longer bolts but it worked like a charm. I just need to bolt in the main hoop feet then I'm going to apply a liberal coating of rubberized undercoating to the backing plates and bolts on the outside of the car. Unfortunately all the beating has taken a toll on the paint finish on the bar, so I'm going to get some Rust-oleum hammered finish paint in either black or dark bronze and give it a new paint job at some point.

Good on ya mate. Want to help me with a power steering pump?

Jeff wrote: Good on ya mate. Want to help me with a power steering pump?

If you want to drive it down the 3 hours here I'll be happy to pitch in

Ugh, that sucks that you had such a bitch of a time. I have heard that the Kirk roll bars are pretty damn good. My experience has only been with Autopower and I had the legs on the wrong side at first. Fortunately, the drill the holes on the rear legs where the blot can only go through if the legs are on the right side. Pretty clever.

In reply to Anti-stance:

Yeah, I went with the Kirk over the Autopower because I had heard that they had superior fitment and had actually seen several Kirks at DE events but no Autopowers. If I had to do it again I probably would have had a custom bar done by a guy in central PA who happened to be an instructor of mine last year. It would have cost a bit more but would have fit perfect and all I would have had to do is drive it there and write the check.

Glad to hear it finally went in right, I have only done roll bars in two of my cars one bolt in that went surprisingly well since I was 16 at the time, and the cage in the Civic which is a full weld in affair. I am still up in the air on whether to go with another weld in or a bolt in for my Rabbit. I've seen Anti Stance's autopower and it looks pretty clean.