September 15, 1997
By: Robert Leidy

The sales pitch peaked my interest. "Reduce that jittery feeling when traveling around a bumpy corner. The HMS Front Upper Strut Brace ties together the two front upper strut towers, significantly reducing flex in the forward part of the chassis. This results in a much more stable feel during cornering and over road imperfections."

Honestly, this was an impulse buy. I had prepared myself to be let down but I have to say I can actually tell a slight difference with it installed. The Z3 seems to exhibit more control and stiffness when you are just entering into a turn. Maybe more important than any increase in handling, I believe the strut brace might have decreased and/or eliminated some of the squeaks and rattles in the dash.

After installing I really pushed the Z3 around turns with a little extra speed just because it was so much fun. I had convinced myself that the difference was enough that it might be visually seen by a camera. This led me to spend a Saturday driving around the same turn with a friend snapping pictures of me with the strut brace on and off. After developing the two rolls of film you couldn't tell a bit of difference in the pictures.

Oh well, I guess you will have to trust me you can feel it in the drivers seat. Comparing this upgrade to the sway bar kit, the strut brace has much less of an impact. the two together are a very noticeable improvement, but the strut brace takes a back seat to the sway bar kit.

Reduce that jittery feeling when traveling around a bumpy corner. The HMS Front Upper Strut Brace ties together the two front upper strut towers, significantly reducing flex in the forward part of the chassis. This results in a much more stable feel during cornering and over road imperfections.

Sold By:
HMS Motorsport
www.hms-motorsport.com
(888) HMS-3BMW

Installation