strut bar really help?
 

I have been looking in to purchasing a Dinan strut bar...but does anyone who has this mod...know : is it really worth it?...is the handling that much better? that you can tell w/o a doubt?

600 dollars for Dinan strut is alot and im just looking for some feedback

thanks

The handling difference of it is not worth $600, imo. Investing in camber plates will make a much larger difference for a lot less.

not to sound like an a$$hole....but do you have a strutbar on ur X or have driven in a X with a strut bar?.....and i have air suspension..so i thought camber plates aren't applicable ? (could be wrong)

more feedback thanks

Wow, the Dinan Strut bar is $600!!! Inflation.....I was one of the earlier X5 owners who got the Strut bar early and I don't think I even paid half that price....Guess, the cost of aluminum has gone up.....

Anyhow, to answer the question, I have always been a big believer in strut bar.....Reason I got it was that I gone from 18 to 19" wheels and my experience with my last BMW E30 that potholes and struts do not get along....My strut tower in the E30 did bend a little bit....

Now, the X5 is built really well and it is a solid car.....Will it make it more solid....well, think of it this way, if you happen to hit a pothole, it would less likely that one of the strut tower will bend/move....If you doing some really hard cornering, the strut towers will be less likely to bend or turn and the handling will be more predictable.

Now, comes to the question of price/benefit ratio....only you can answer that.

Also, I also installed the Rogue Engineering camber plates which essentially does the same thing as the Dinan's one but much more cost effective. That also improved the handling as well by adding another -0.5 degree of camber for the front tires.

It all adds up, but I surely can do more tougher cornering more predictably since I added all these things and I personally thought it was worth it.

Interestingly enough, all the newer BMWs (E90 3-series, E60 5-series, Z4, X3) all have some extra strut support nowadays and also, my E46 M3 has a standard strut bar as well. So, even BMW thinks it helps.

again though..i have a 4.8(air suspension) and im pretty sure you cannot get camber plates with the ari supension....correct me if im wrong

I have the Dinan strut bar (without the camber plates), and I'm running on 19's.

I do notice that the front end does seem appreciably tighter. The ride seems somewhat stiffer and more planted -- especially when cornering, on the twisties, and on entrance and exit ramps. :D I definitely notice a difference. Not a huge difference, but an appreciable difference.

I picked mine up (new) on eBay last year for approx. $375 (including s&h), and it was definitely worth it to me. At $600? Hard to say. :dunno: Personally, I held off until I could get a better price.

You are correct unless Dinan has something in the works. However, you have to make sure you get the strut bar that fits air suspension X5. I don't have air suspension on my X5.

However, I have driven the 4.8iS with air suspension and your does ride and handle better than most stock 3.0i, 4.4i (non air-suspension)....

The mounting hardware on top of the strut tower is different for air suspension vs. non-air suspensioned X5s....I believe the brace is the same.....

So if you order from Ebay, be aware about that.

Maybe if there's enough interest, we can get a local company here, Racing Dynamics, to make a strut tower brace for the E53 and undercut the Dinan cost?

I live 5 miles from their headquarters, so maybe if I get enough people to chime in with interest and price $$ they'd be willing to pay, who knows?

JV

Interested!!!
 

I'm also very interested in getting this, as it is, I've called 2 different Dinan BMW dealers here in New York over the past week in order to get the strut bar and the CAI but neither one has returned my calls. Now if you think they can make something for the 4.8's I'll be interested!!!

Fulanito...i have done the same thing....I went to the Dinan Dealer though and im in the process of ordering the strut bar and CAI....the exhaust is up there...not sure if i want that over the other two mods...whut do you think?

in my opinion.. ya the strut bar did make a diff

I was planning on doing all of the Dinan changes available for the 4.8 but after reading a few of the threads here I decided to just do the CAI and Strut Bar. If you do decide to do the Exhaust your X5 will look like a 4.4 and not a 4.8 as the tips cannot be fitted to the Dinan exhaust, that to me is a big no-no!!! Which dealer did you go to?? I called Habberstad in LI and Life Quality Motors in Brooklyn but got answering machines and no call back after leaving messages!!!!:mad:

Imola did you install the Strut bar yourself or did you get it done by the dealer??? Also, what modification was made to the washer fluid container? Can you post some pics? By the way your X is looking extraordinare!!!! One more thing, was there a reason in particular why you went with the AFE CAI as opposed to the Dinan CAI???

yes, i am a bit tenative about getting the exhaust because of losing the 4.8 tips....but i heard a sound clip of the Dinan exhaust on a 4.6.....excuse me but HOLY SHIT...it was by far the best sounding exhaust on almost any car i have heard (excluding my dad's 360 modena)....but yes...as Fulanito said...picutes of the strut bar please

Have you thought about doing the X-pipe mod to your exhaust??? Imola4.8isWA also has this maybe he can throw in a sound clip for us and you can compare it to what you heard??

if you look on the main page of X5 world....you scroll down to "brakes, exhaust, suspension" and you click on "4.6 dinan versus 3.0 remus"

that is where i heard the clip...and the dinan sounds amazing...

I installed the Dinan strut bar by myself. The strut bar does come with instructions, which if followed, make the install a piece of cake.

Also the windshield washer fluid has to be modified. But the modification is so easy that a 10year old can do it. All you have to do is shave off the side of the fluid tank, and the thing u have to shave off sticks out so u cant "accidentaly" cut the tank and have the fluid spill out:rofl:

And the I got the AFE intake BEFORE the Dinan intake came out. And also whats the point of spending the extra 300$ for the Dinan intake..just cuz it comes with a Dinan top to cover the top of the intake.
Itd be cool if Dinan made an intake that went down to the bumper then maybe id spend the xtra 300 but the design is technically the same with Dinan and AFE.

I've heard that one too, and you're right but I haven't been able to find a clip for the 4.8 with the X-pipe. I know Imola posted one http://www.xoutpost.com/97805-post5.html and another member, rgnbull1227 also posted one but can't find it !!!!
Found it: http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...html#post18818

Thanks for the input I just wanted to know if it was possible for me to do the strut bar install myself!!!! Do you know if u still have to get the piece for the air tube you were having a problem with if you get the Dinan CAI???

I think thats the only advantage of the Dinan intake. Ive heard that the Dinan intake actually connects that tube to the heat shield/box. I just pushed it out of the way with my AFE intake, I checked the tube out and it just connects to the bottom part of the bumper. I honestly dont think im losing much power due to that tube not going to the intake

I suppose I probably have an opposing view here, but years ago when I had a Z3 I got the strut tower brace for it. And after using it for a couple of months, I took it off and sold it.

I do agree that it made the car feel more solid and handle slightly better. But sometimes "more solid" is not a good thing. There is a reason your car has a suspension. One of those reasons is to absorb bumps and imperfections in the road. By tying the left and right sides together, you eliminate some of the advantages of having an independent front suspension. Overall, I felt that the handling improved slightly, and the quality of ride over rough roads got much much worse.

Anyway, I have never purchased a strut tower brace for any car since then, and I probably never will.

This is the same argument that some have for selecting the standard suspension vs. the sports package suspension. Handling always comes at the expense of ride comfort. It's the owner's preference as to whether or not the tradeoff is worthwhile.

iam not sure the 4.8 really needs it to be honest.

The look factor is a "10" on a strut bar, bang for the buck for the average X5 driver is very low (if any) I would bet.

was there ever any progress made on this?:dunno:

i know i posted this before...

for those that care, here's some light technical reading: http://www.e46m3performance.com/tech/strutbar/index.htm

but the purpose of the front strut bar is to minimize the movement of the two strut towers. mainly from moving outwards. but they do get pushed in together as well as move up and down separately.

the design flaw with the dinan and other hinged type of strut bars is that they allow independent movement up and down. they do 2 out of the 3 things correctly.

but imo, if you are going to do something, do it right. strongstrut is the better design here and i believe ricky was trying to get folks to sign up for a group buy so they will build a proper strut bar for the x5.

but to answer the question is there a difference? yes, there is a difference. the x5 strut towers are floating design and do move quite a bit. how much difference? very little but it does add to a more precise feeling in the steering wheel.

I'd need to see a LOT more interest and then go talk to the people at RD. I am not even sure they'd get into making a brace bar, but they do make some for other BMW models, so maybe they would do it if they knew they had some people waiting in the wings to buy.

I'll ask some preliminary questions and then start a new thread about this if I like what I hear.

JV

quick question....i know its kind of the drivers preference of what you want....but if you have a limited fund of money(like me) would you get a Dinan CAI or strut bar?????

what is your goal with the mods? bling? bragging rights? real performance?

the cai will change the sound as it will be more throaty intake noise.. questionable power gains. it is something that you, your passengers, and those outside your car can hear right away and be able to differentiate it from stock.

afe vs dinan vs stock... the aftermarket claims increase in hp. no one has produced any intake temp and flow rate readings (other then me with the stock intake) nor produced any a/f ratio charts showing the difference. i doubt anyone here with power mods (cai, chip, exhaust) have before and after dyno readings to see a change either (at least i haven't seen any yet)...

the strut bar will have bling appeal only when you pop the hood to show it off. you may or may not feel the difference. your passengers won't feel the difference or know about it at all...

thanks for you input hayaku

Good post, hayaku.

From someone who has both the strut bar and the (AFE) CAI, :iagree:

JV, I've made similar inquiries to Racing Dynamics earlier this year. This is quoted from their customer service (sales): "Thanks for the inquiry. There are currently no plans to make a strut brace for the X5." But please do try anyway...may be they will change their minds if there's enough committed interests. Thanks.

thanks for all your input...more input if you want?

Good to know, thanks for filling me in.:thumbup: I know someone who is real tight with RD (they sponsor a couple of M3's he races) so I'll ask the feeler questions and who knows?

JV