Goes to show sometimes the POs are not always completely stupid.
Search for E46-chassis BMW front strut reinforcement plates online, and you’ll find all sorts of images of deformed sheet metal–upper strut mounts displaying damage ranging from simple mushrooming to full-on shredding. Yikes!
Scene: Picture an often-worrying GRM editor talking to James Clay, owner of BimmerWorld and our personal guide for this 2004 BMW M3 project series.
GRM: Hey, James, do we need these front strut reinforcement plates that we see in your catalog? They sound like some real protection at a fair price.
James: If you had solid camber plates so nothing is cushioning the blow of bumps, you would.
Even though our car has coil-overs, our Bilstein B16 setup features rather soft springs that fit in the stock upper perches. So while we could install a pair of these plates, the need wasn't dire.
A little more about these strut reinforcement plates from the BimmerWorld catalog:
“A must-have for any performance-driven E46 3-Series - reduce the chances for strut housing and mount ‘mushrooming’ and increase the car's strength when using performance oriented spring and/or struts. We highly recommend these plates with use of aftermarket performance suspension kits.”
The plate, a factory BMW part that’s part of a poor road package, simply fits between the upper strut mount and the unibody. It’s designed to spreads the suspension load upon the upper strut mount. No welding required as it just fits in place. Simple.
Follow-up: Did we order a pair? Turns out that, upon some actual inspection, we noticed that our car already has these plates installed—we just missed them while installing the coil-overs. Thank you, previous owner. (We’ll call him Kevin.)
Like what you're reading? We rely on your financial support. For as little as $3, you can support Grassroots Motorsports by becoming a Patron today.
Goes to show sometimes the POs are not always completely stupid.
zordak said:Goes to show sometimes the POs are not always completely stupid.
Ours gets all of the gold stars--and, in full disclosure, we go back years. When I first inquired about the car, he sent over a spreadsheet detailing all of the work. And maybe someone missed reading something on that spreadsheet....
Score! Cheap insurance.
In reply to Tyler H (Forum Supporter) :
Totally score. And such a late-night e-mail exchange actually did happen.
Also, pulling back the curtain here, even if we don't need to do something with the car, yes, we can still discuss it. The goal is simply to share info about the E46 M3. 
In reply to David S. Wallens :
Given I'm hoping to bring my E46 convertible to the Challenge this year, I definitely appreciate all the E46 tips (even if my 330Ci doesn't come close to stacking up to the M3...).
After reading these threads on the e46 M3, and given all the rain we have been getting in south Florida, I decided to start driving mine this week. What a understated car it is, I doubt I'll ever sell mine.
I just finished washing it:
In reply to Ashyukun (Robert) :
Look for some future updates that should help you.
David S. Wallens said:In reply to Ashyukun (Robert) :
Look for some future updates that should help you.
I'll definitely look forward to them!
In reply to Slippery (Forum Supporter) :
Looks great!
Displaying 1-10 of 16 commentsView all comments on the GRM forums
You'll need to log in to post.
