Re: Rear sway bar link bracket upgrade - E30/318ti/Z3

["Alan Alfano" <Alan.Alfano@xxxxxxxx>]

Ron,
At the extreme, the E30 325iX has a tendency to plow straight thru a
corner. Many have fixed this tendency by changing the rear bar from 14.5 mm
to 19 mm (Suspension Techniques ) and upgrading the front bar rubber
bushings. This rear swaybar is the same as a std E30 325.
The Suspension Tech rear swaybar comes with what I believe, a similar
bracket as you have described. Some owners using this swaybar that are
autocrossed or track driven, are finding that the rear control arm tab
bracket(s) are being ripped off.

I believe that you have transferred your excessive cornering forces to the
rear suspension arms.
You may want to consider re-enforcing the rear suspension arms.
The iXRegistry highly recommends to enforce/weld the rear swaybar mounting
points on the rear suspension arms.

Regards,
Alan Alfano
alan.alfano@domain.elided

BMW CCA #30492
iX Registry # 214

1988 BMW 325iX
1956 Austin-Healey 100M (2)

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>Date: Sat, 31 Oct 1998 15:01:44 -0500
>From: Ron Katona <ron3b@domain.elided>
>Subject: Rear sway bar link bracket upgrade - E30/318ti/Z3
>
>I found someone who makes a beefier rear sway bar link bracket for
>theses cars. The bracket is almost exactly the same size and shape of
>the original, except it's slightly wider due to the thicker material.
>The bolt holes are in the proper location and it's made of the same
>material as the original. The 8 mm bolt tack welded to the original
>bracket is replaced with a 10 mm bolt. This requires drilling out the
>bolt hole on the trailing arm. The bracket is made of 3.5 mm thick metal
>compared to the 2 mm thick stock piece - a 75% increase. It looks much
>beefier and I seriously doubt it's the weak link anymore.
>
>The part is made by a German auto manufacturer; BMW. It's the front
>bracket for non-M E36s. P/N 31-35-1-127-263 "Bracket." $4.63 before BMW
>CCA discount. I installed mine today without a hitch. Other than
>drilling out the bolt hole, the small raised tab that keeps the piece
>from rotating has to be bent down a bit because of the added thickness
>of this piece. I did it with a vice grip. A simple cheap fix available
>at your local BMW dealer.
>- --
>Ron Katona

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