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Originally Posted by tlow98
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Originally Posted by W37V
That good ha? It might be worth checking out then. From what I have found I only seen 3 people (including you) who had done this, so there was little to no feedback. I wonder why is this not as wide accepted / recommend mod. Heck, why are there no aftermarket options?
In any case, did you end up removing the outer edge of the panel as noted in your post on top of page 12?
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Nice! I sort of regret shaving that lip off. I did it only because it looked like it would interfere and I really wanted to keep that bottom shield for aero reasons. Super happy you were able to keep it.
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Originally Posted by Biginboca
No, I left that outer edge on. I was hesitant to remove that unless absolutely necessary because that radius adds some strength, similar to how bead rolling a flat panel adds rigidity. tlow98 said he needed to remove that edge on the brace to install the original plastic panels over it, but my panels fit over the brace with that outer lip in place.
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From an engineering standpoint, the entire front is a pinned connection based box. Look of the definition of a "zero force member" and you'll get an idea of how poorly constructed a non-triangulated connection transmits force. There are some slight angles on the subframe, but not a lot, and of course, it's a welded unit and that makes it better than a pinned connection. Otherwise, it's all damn near right angles - terrible for twisting forces. Think of a cardboard box with two opposite ends missing. The top of the chassis is somewhat triangulated and reinforced with the top strut tower brace, but the bottom is awful for twisting forces which are encountered during cornering.
Closing that bottom - effectively taping up one end of your cardboard box makes an incredible difference. And, as ever, if the factory took the time, energy, and resources to do it, then it's probably a very measurable benefit to the consumer.
As far as why people don't do to - most 3 series owners are coming from other, less performance-oriented platforms where this sort of thing never existed and they also aren't coming from the M series, where this stuff is standard. Plus, why do this when you can spend $600 on a burble tune, yo? 
But seriously, it's a more nuanced thing that takes some digging.
There are actually some aftermarket options for lower braces that freedomfries found that look interesting. Some company from Russia makes what looks to be worthwhile bracing. |
Very interesting topic!
Do you have the name of the Russian company that make these braces please?