fitting strut braces or strut bars

[ultraman90]

I live in the UK England, and have just purchased a 2001 E46 320i saloon ,thinking about fitting strut braces or strut bars to the front and rear.
Can anyone tell me how to fit the one in the rear without damage to the carpet,and where abouts is the location of the struts? used

[the///man]

your going to have to cut through the carpet material on the side walls of the trunk area...theres no way to avoid that

[MrM3]

the strut brace goes on top of the strut towers in the engine bay above the wheels, the BMW M strut brace is a good one to go with since its unhinged. and you are going to have to cut the carpet in the rear to get to the rear shock towers, and you probably wont notice any difference with the rear shock brace, so all it will probably do is hurt resale value a little.

[ultraman90]

thanks guys for the info.
( The BMW M strut brace ).I s this the one bmw is fitting to the new M3's?any ideas what price bmw charge?can i fit it myself easily? used

[MrM3]

yes its the one that used on the e36 M3 ltw's(designed for e36's), the new e46 M3 and csl (for e46's). it'll probably run you around $300. its very easy to install you can deffinately do it yourself, here's a diagram of whats involved with it...

[AZ325Ci]

the M strut brace will fit. it is also very easy to put on. just make sure your car is on the ground when unscrewing the current nuts off. you don't want your struts to fall out.

i have the same brace on my 325Ci. here is a pic.

[ultraman90]

I went to the bmw dealers ( BLUEBELL )yesterday ,got the price for the brace ( £195.00 ). :lol:
Then they tell me they can't sell me one.i needed to provide a chassis number for an M3.
NO M3 NO BRACE?