[widetyres]

Originally Posted by M Fifty

Notice how the diagram shows a somewhat different shape to that pipe compared to the picture...

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

I had an N55 M2 come to me once with this same issue (the brace had begun to dig a notch into the line from the contact). I used washers in between the bottom of the brace and the body to give it more standoff to clear the brake line.

Yeah there is quite a difference now you've pointed it out. It's the same pipe part across all of the models, so I guess my car just ended up with a slightly less bent one.

[63NP]

Originally Posted by dtmurf

Installed the rivnuts last night and put the alloy brace on tonight or almost installed it anyway. I had to bend one of the brake lines a little so that it didn't touch the brace (I think pretty much everyone has to do this right?) and I installed all the bolts, everything lined up perfectly however, the brace is sitting about 6 mm off the mounting point/holes for the two bolts at the bulkhead/firewall under the center of the windshield.

The brace is resting flat on the hard plastic piece that covers the foam over back of the engine. In the pics below, the bolts are just finger tight, I've not torqued any of the bolts down yet and I'm sure they'll pull it down but I'm just wondering if everyone starts out with this 5~6 mm gap? Torqueing it down is going to put a lot of pressure on the plastic part underneath...

Borrowed the last pic from chip_dip19's post (#280); this is the plastic pics I'm talking about (circled in red); it's hard but I still think it's plastic.

Yes that piece needs changing, on the M2/3/4 it’s lower by about 10/15mm.

Part No- 51758061866

[widetyres]

Originally Posted by 63NP

Yes that piece needs changing, on the M2/3/4 it’s lower by about 10/15mm.

Part No- 51758061866

On mine, I put a 1cm spacer on the brake line side to give clearance between the brace and the brake pipe, and it also sorted out the alignment of the bolts near the windscreen.

[M Fifty]

Originally Posted by widetyres

On mine, I put a 1cm spacer on the brake line side to give clearance between the brace and the brake pipe, and it also sorted out the alignment of the bolts near the windscreen.

Quick check? you had to space the brace up on one side to get the centre bolts under the windscreen to line up?

If so, I think there might be a fitment problem...

[widetyres]

Originally Posted by M Fifty

Quick check? you had to space the brace up on one side to get the centre bolts under the windscreen to line up?

If so, I think there might be a fitment problem...

That's not why I did it, but the windscreen bolts were noticeably easier to insert with the spacer than without. Could have just been alignment the first time round though, but they were a real pain before.

[M Fifty]

Got any pictures of this? I may be missing something, but as described it sounds like something is wrong.

[AWC-F87]

Hey guys I recently scooped up the carbon and aluminum brace that was in the classifieds.

I can also confirm that on my 2018 LCI the aluminum brace contacts the hard plastic below the windshield as stated by only 1 other guy in this whole thread.

I'm thinking I'm just going to make a small thin spacer plate to go between the aluminum brace and the fire wall. I just placed my order for all the plastic covers from the M2C and don't want to place another order lol.

I think it'll work fine. Im probably going to use some steel plate to make a small spacer.

I ordered the riv nuts too. So hopefully I can get those in and tight. Im not a huge huge fan of those stupid things.

I asked my buddy to Tig weld in some weld nuts but he was being a baby about it lol.

[AWC-F87]

Originally Posted by dtmurf

Installed the rivnuts last night and put the alloy brace on tonight or almost installed it anyway. I had to bend one of the brake lines a little so that it didn't touch the brace (I think pretty much everyone has to do this right?) and I installed all the bolts, everything lined up perfectly however, the brace is sitting about 6 mm off the mounting point/holes for the two bolts at the bulkhead/firewall under the center of the windshield.

The brace is resting flat on the hard plastic piece that covers the foam over back of the engine. In the pics below, the bolts are just finger tight, I've not torqued any of the bolts down yet and I'm sure they'll pull it down but I'm just wondering if everyone starts out with this 5~6 mm gap? Torqueing it down is going to put a lot of pressure on the plastic part underneath...

Borrowed the last pic from chip_dip19's post (#280); this is the plastic pics I'm talking about (circled in red); it's hard but I still think it's plastic.

I read 90% of every word in this thread and I too have a gap. Up there on the bulk head. I'm just going to make a thin spacer

[M Fifty]

Originally Posted by 63NP

Yes that piece needs changing, on the M2/3/4 it’s lower by about 10/15mm.

Part No- 51758061866

Hmm... missed that. It was 'snug' but not a show-stopper...

[AWC-F87]

Originally Posted by M Fifty

Hmm... missed that. It was 'snug' but not a show-stopper...

It creates a good gap. I'll report back with what I do.

[AWC-F87]

Got it done. I'm still waiting on my rivnut tool and rivnuts. My 2018 has the notch in the fender like others mentioned. So I'm hopeful I can install the rivnuts with my tool rather than a spanner tool.

I also put a 1/4" steel spacer between the firewall mount and the aluminum brace.
I also notched the factory stamped steel braces. I feel the bay looks naked without them.

I also have all new M2C plastics coming. For now I just hacked the stock ones.

Driving this weekend! We'll see how she feels. With the cage in my car and all my suspension work I'll be surprised if I can feel a difference. But if I can, I expect it to feel even more balanced. The cage made the back of the car very stiff and I'm assuming that the front bracing will now make the front stiffer.

[AWC-F87]

Yes I can definitely get the turner filter out.

One thing I'll add to this post. I ordered a rivnut tool on Amazon. If you have an LCI car the fenders are already notched for the aluminum brace. So with these notches it's easy to use a rivnut tool.

One other thing is that the holes in my frame rails were about 9/16". An m12 rivnut from the Amazon kit fit perfectly snug in the hole. The m10 was loose. I didn't want that rivnut to slip so I used the m12 and ordered some new bolts from McMaster Carr.

[M Fifty]

I have an LCI car and they don't - just saying...

[AWC-F87]

Originally Posted by M Fifty

I have an LCI car and they don't - just saying...

Interesting. I wonder if it's a difference in production months.

[M Fifty]

I now have the M2C vacuum hoses and partition, so I'll report soon.

Update:

1. Okay, the upper vacuum hose does give a bit more clearance over the edges of the brace, but not enough to be worth doing - and the connection to the lower hose is reversed.

2. 51758061866 Partition, equipment area, top. This does make a significant amount of extra space for the brace, which anyone having problems getting the centre two bolts in should find useful.

[AWC-F87]

I also found that the factory BMW nutserts are a lot thicker. The Amazon m12s I installed seem to be totally fine and I'm running an ARP bolt into them, but I have the factory nutserts for the future should the Amazon ones start to slip.

[Koriyuu]

Originally Posted by nothingman

I was always on the fence about this mod until this thread convinced me the upgraded brace is the missing link making the OG handle like the Comp.
I'm just starting to acquire parts, and want to give a special thanks to Nezil for putting together such a comprehensive parts list. I took the liberty of importing it into Google Docs and adding average prices in $USD so we can all easily print it out or modify / update it if parts change:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...7e8/edit#gid=0

Sorry for reviving the thread. I am very interested in doing this retro fit, but at the moment, only thing I was able to find was the strut brace. Do I have to do the Carbon Brace along with the aluminum brace? Or could I do “incremental” upgrades?

[widetyres]

Originally Posted by Koriyuu

Sorry for reviving the thread. I am very interested in doing this retro fit, but at the moment, only thing I was able to find was the strut brace. Do I have to do the Carbon Brace along with the aluminum brace? Or could I do “incremental” upgrades?

I did just the alu brace. The difference in front end sharpness just with that part is very significant.

I think someone on the thread estimated that the alu brace made up about 80% of the benefit, so we'll worth doing, even in isolation.

[StealthnShadow]

Completed - @bmwmtwo

Been a long 6 months gathering information and parts but I appreciate everyone in this thread as if it was not for you I wouldn't have been able to do this retrofit, so thank you all very much. I definitely notice the difference….

[Bee Pee]

Originally Posted by widetyres

I did just the alu brace. The difference in front end sharpness just with that part is very significant.

I think someone on the thread estimated that the alu brace made up about 80% of the benefit, so we'll worth doing, even in isolation.

WT - my findings too - I ran just Al brace for about 6 months. I then fitted 2nd hand CF U brace but comparatively it's mainly window dressing….

[M Fifty]

Fair point. Although - as BMW originally fitted it to Motorsport models - it must do something worthwhile under track conditions.

[NISFAN]

Just to add a counter view point. I felt the aluminium brace did nothing, it's only when I added the carbon brace did I feel a stiffness increase.

I went in to this modification thinking that it did nothing, so was a surprise to feel a difference.