E12 Rear Shock Tower Brace
Got the shock tower brace from Mason Engineering; This is the first attempt, let's see how well it fits and works.
Close-up looks: This particular part is aluminium.
Also available in carbon steel with BLACK powder coat.
Workmanship (machining and welding) seems pretty good.
If YOU are interested in one of these, then give John Mason a call.
His phone number is (805) 527-6624
http://www.masonengineering.net
If you have questions, CALL John Mason directly for two reasons;
1) John is OLD-School where Low-Tech RULES (electronically speaking, and he doesn't like to type).
2) John is a real nice guy, easy to talk to. He'll give you a straight answer.
INSTALLATION
Rough check for orientation
Just lie it over the top of the strut tower.
Remove the backing to remove the wheel well liners.
Remove nuts and washers.
Get The Brace
A work of Art in itself
Brace holes are too close together
Most likely because of weld shrinkage
I Cheated a little by lifting the side with the jack.
Hope the jack will induce some inward deflection and make the bar fit.
Holes are still a good 2MM (.080 inch) too short
Some TOOLING adjustment is required by Mason Engineering's Manufacturing department.
Some adjustment is required by the Author
This is precisely why God made Rat-Tail files.
A couple fit-ups and file-downs, and this bar is ready to install.
Still a very close fit -- this is actually STUCK and will not go down by hand.
BUT, I can get the washers and nuts on. (I used Wurth's anti-seize on the threads)
Torque them down also seats the plate to the top of the shock tower.
The installed bar now obstructs the Wheel well liner
Further modification is required.
Household scissors do the job nicely
So does a rough eye-ball approximating the notch.
Installed wheel well liner clears the bar ends.
Final installation is clean and unobtrusive.
Wouldn't know it was there unless someone pointed it out - as it should be.
The Test Drive
Prior to installation, I drove over TWO areas.1. An agressive 90 degree Left turn that I did at 45 MPH. I drove this turn twice before installation, paying close attention to the ROLL of the vehicle.
2. I ran down and back the Santa Susana Pass road. I drove this once before installation. I concentrated on how stiff the car was over the course.
Test Results
1. The 90 degree turn at 45 MPH had noticably less roll with the new stress bar in place. How much more? Well I noticed it in one pass, but it may be somewhat difficult to quantify how much.2. The Pass Road run was a little more spirited, so again I can say there is improvement, but hard to quantity the added stiffness. Be aware that I am riding on tall (205-70-14) tires that deflect a lot in the turns, so noticing ANYTHING is somewhat impressive.
Conclusion
I'm attempting to be entirely factual about this stress bar. The setup in this car with taller than stock tires will not do the product proper justice. If I had 15, or better yet 16-inch wheels, the stiffer body would no doubt be enhanced. In this one case, the bar does little for me. If I changed to stiffer tire arraingement, then I'm sure I'd have enoyed it more.So this writer's suggestions is upgrade your tires/wheels first. The strut bar would clearly be on your "Gotta Have" list, otherwise if you're running stock 14 X 6 inch tires, then the utility gained will be waisted on sidewall deflection.
As far as the fit-up problem, THIS PART IS A PROTOTYPE and welding shrinkage was anticipated, John Mason just wasn't sure how much; he needs to adjust the production tooling to move the plates outward 1 millimeter both directions (about .04 per side, .08 total). With the aluminium being pushed up against the threads will experience some compressive yeild, which will displace some of the material around the threaded studs. Over a month or two, these bars will become VERY difficult to remove - keep in mind this 'problem' applies only to the aluminium bars. A remedy is to use steel tube inserts for the clearance holes - but this is very unforgiving in other ways. The production version should be cleaner, so I wouldn't worry about future parts.
John Savage
Simi Valley, Ca.