steering and suspension Rear strut brace

[bimmercraze]

HI, Im doing the coilover conversion and I need to find a rear strut brace that can support the shock towers. I looked into the TEP brace but people have said that they dont brace? I have the one from rogers tii but the wheel well side isnt reachable without cutting out the metal that the spring was originally on. Any recommendations? 

[jmr_1602]

Is a strut brace sufficient for rear coilovers? Most shops seem to recommend a cage.

AFAIK, the 02 does not benefit from any rear strut bar. No matter the maker.

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[bimmercraze]

I havent gone to a shop but CAtuned, where I got the coils from recommend a strut bar.

[Ian]

Are they true coilovers, with the springs mounted around the rear shocks, or are they an adjustable spring perch for springs in the stock position?  If true coilovers, I'm not sure the rear strut brace would help much, since I believe you are worried about the top mount for the coilovers tearing through the stock shock tower.  Possibly a rear strut brace that bolted on top of the shock tower, like a brace for the front struts, might work.  It also depends on the diameter of the strut tops; I have the IE ProShock coilovers, and the tops of the struts are so wide that they just barely fit inside the stock shock tower.  In the case of the ProShocks I think they would bind with suspension travel, so I cut out the shock towers and enlarged them, since I'm tying in to a cage anyway.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Ian

[Preyupy]

I'm not sure why so many people want to do this.  The mounting point for the SHOCK ABSORBERS (not struts) in the chassis was never intended to support the weight of the vehicle.  It is also not a structural point that sets any part of the alignment of the wheels.  The Shock mount on the trailing arm is in single shear and again was NEVER INTENDED TO SUPPORT THE WEIGHT OF THE CAR!  If you want adjustable ride height there are adjustable spring perches available for the stock mounting locations.  If what you really want is to be able to tell everyone that you have "coil overs" then go for it.  If you are looking for a "performance advantage"  there isn't one.  You are actually increasing the unsprung weight (even if only slightly).  There are also tire clearance issues when you increase the diameter of the Shock Absorber in the rear.   

 

It's your car and you can do what you want, but the cost/performance ratio isn't even close to worth it. 

[bimmercraze]

Yes they're true coilovers, they're from CAtuned. The top of the coil has a fairly large rubber bushings on them. But I'd still like to have a brave between the shock towers. I've seen some people say that if your towers are in good shape then there shouldn't be a problem

Yes they're true coilovers, they're from CAtuned. The top of the coil has a fairly large rubber bushings on them. But I'd still like to have a brave between the shock towers. I've seen some people say that if your towers are in good shape then there shouldn't be a problem