STRONG-STRUT STEEL FRONT STRUT eye bolt design
Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona
PLEASE READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS
COMPLETELY BEFORE INSTALLATION
Live installation assistance is available by telephone. Email Paul to make an appointment. He will walk you through the process as you install your STRONG-STRUT.
FORWARD (SS=STRONG-STRUT)
These instructions are written for the novice. Installation is
simple. Remove nuts atop each of the two shock towers, place the
SS tower plates in position, replace and tighten the nuts. The
cross strut attaches with a fastener through the exclusive "i"
bolt at the strut ends, and can be shifted side to side, if required,
by adjusting them left or right. The six cylinder SS should not
be installed backwards but the four cylinder will fit properly
either way. We place a red dot on the end of the six cylinder
version to designate the drivers side. In the event you are ever
uncertain, the side with the longer leg beyond the bend goes to
the drivers side. The shock tower plate with the cutout * installs
on the passenger side around the negative grounding post. When
you remove the shock tower nuts, the studs will remain in position,
held there by the weight of the car. DO NOT MOVE OR JACK UP THE
CAR WITH THESE NUTS REMOVED.
We have included a lot of material covering the "what ifs" and so forth. Most of you will never need most of the following instructions. We include it in response to customer feedback, however rare the issue might be. 75% of this text is "chatter," not instruction, so relax. Your grandmother could properly install the SS in about 20 minutes !!!!!
As of December 2000, a new BMW issue has
developed over which we have no control. There has been a sudden
but infrequent appearance of stud nuts with a larger diameter
than the norm. The SS was designed to accept the 5/8 inch diameter
nuts (shoulder measurement) - the only ones known to exist at
the time - and the counter bore cannot be increased in size to
accommodate the larger, atypical nuts. A few owners have reported
this to us, although we have never personally seen one of the
larger nuts and they appear randomly. At the outset of installation,
we suggest you remove one of the stud nuts and be sure the shoulder
on it will fit in the SS plate counter bore. If not, the solution
is simple, as the BMW dealer carries both sizes. The thread pitch
is the same on both; only the outside diameter is different. Purchase
six of the proper (smaller). Or, better yet, order our
STRONG-STRUT
accessory installation kit.
We ship the SS assembled to prevent damage. Please remove the
cap screws and rings but leave the "i" bolts screwed
in place on the strut ends. Please do not use sharp objects to
remove the packing material from the strut.
You will need the following tools to install your SS
* GROUNDING STUD
The cutout in the tower plate has been enlarged to accommodate
the random placement of the grounding stud by BMW. In very rare
cases, your stud placement may prevent installation of the passenger
side tower plate. The offset is usually quite small and we suggest
you use appropriate tools to trim metal from the grounding lug.
Some owners have removed the lug entirely at their option. Since
the battery is in the trunk, the purpose of the lug is to provide
a convenient negative ground point when jump starting the car.
Since there are any number of grounding points elsewhere, the
lug is merely a convenience and not a necessary or important part
of the car. The original Z3's had the battery in the engine compartment
and no lug.
CLEARANCE CONCERNS
This exercise will guarantee you have proper under hood clearance.
The tower "domes" tilt downward and inward. The upper
outer edge is the highest point of the dome. On the drivers side,
it's the 4 o'clock position. On the passenger side it's the 8
o'clock position (viewed from front of car facing engine).
The high spots are obvious when looking at the dome and correspond
to the diagonal recess cut into the SS tower plates. Once you
establish proper clearance here, you will have no clearance concerns
elsewhere. Cross strut to hood clearance is about one full inch
on most cars, not even an issue.
THE ADJUSTABLE STOPPERS CONTROL UNDER HOOD CLEARANCE
There are two rubber "stoppers" mounted on the body
in front of the radiator above the electric cooling fan, and a
stopper mounted on the body, toward the front of each wheel well
arch. The factory uses these to adjust the hood-to-body seam and
make it uniform. The stoppers can be adjusted to alter the amount
of clearance under the hood to accommodate the shock tower plates
of the STRONG-STRUT.
DO NOT INSTALL THE SHOCK TOWER PLATES AND CLOSE THE HOOD UNTIL
YOU KNOW YOU HAVE THE REQUIRED CLEARANCE. When the SS is properly
installed, you can remove and replace it without repeating the
"clearance" procedure, providing you haven't changed
anything that would affect clearance. Our concern is to prevent
the tower plates from hitting the hood. The secondary consideration
is the resulting body seam between the closed hood and the lower
body. I have intentionally made the clearance measuring process
appear "tedious." We WANT you to worry a little so you
will move slowly with forethought and deliberation. The penalty
for doing it wrong may be a dinged hood. We have built a "fudge
factor" into these measurements in order to provide a safety
margin above and beyond what you are reading. Do it right
and everything will be fine.
ESTABLISH A SAFE CLEARANCE
STEP ONE. GROSS AVAILABLE CLEARANCE
Stand in front of the car facing the engine. Take a cube of the
modeling clay shipped with your SS and place it on the passenger
side shock tower "dome" at the 8 o'clock position and
one on the drivers side shock tower dome at the 4 o'clock position.
Close the hood gently to the full closed and locked position.
This will compress the clay cubes. Open the hood, leave the clay
in place, and study the newly formed shape. It's a 3D image of
the clearance between the dome and the hood. Measure the clay
at the THINNEST point. Minimum desired clearance is 7/16th inch.
Increasing this clearance is your option. Simply raise the stoppers
evenly, an appropriate amount. However, as you increase clearance,
you increase the body seam width. You may however, re-adjust the
seam as a final step providing you have excess underhood clearance.
If you raise the stoppers too high, it will place pressure on
the hood latch pin and make the hood difficult or impossible to
open. This is very rare but we discuss it here just in case. Fortunately,
the hood latch pin is adjustable and if your final adjustments
elsewhere cause latch difficulties, here's the remedy. Loosen
the 3/4 inch nut at the base of the pin under the spring. The
tip of the pin is slotted for a large bladed screwdriver. Lengthen
the pin a bit by unscrewing it (trial and error method) this removes
the pressure and restores the latch and cable pull to normal.
Remember to tighten the 3/4 inch nut when finished (this procedure
is sometimes required when installing a protective "bra").
STEP TWO. NET AVAILABLE CLEARANCE
If you don't have the MINIMUM 7/16th inch clearance, repeat step
one. The tower plate will occupy 3/8 inch of the 7/16th gross
clearance. We machined a diagonal recess along the high side of
the tower plates lowering that edge by 3/16 inch, this is the
"fudge factor."
Remove the six shock tower nuts, mount the tower plates, replace and tighten the nuts. Repeat the same measuring steps with the clay that you did previously, but now the clay will be resting on top of the SS tower plate instead of the dome. If you followed these instructions the clearance will be 3/16" or more. If you have less than 3/16", raise the hood spacers until you do - otherwise, it's possible that hood "slamming" could cause the hood to "bounce", creating a ding. It won't require a large adjustment and you will be worry free from "hood slamming." Most cars end up with 1/4 inch clearance or more and maintain the 3/8 inch body seam. This is the recommended configuration and on most cars it works out that way on the first try.
STRUT CLEARANCE
There are no clearance concerns for the strut. Only one inch above
the engine cover is needed and most cars have 2 inches. If your
blanket is not glued, the strut will compress the blanket against
the hood. Short term, this will be no problem. We recommend you
follow the instructions further down for correcting the sagging
hood blanket syndrome.
STRUT INSTALLATION STEP THREE
Position the strut over the engine and "i" bolts over
the retaining gussets on the tower plate. Align with mounting
holes by adjusting the length of the "i" bolts. Install
the fastener through the "i" bolt and tower plate on
the passenger side and make finger tight. Repeat on the drivers
side. Then fully tighten the "i" bolt fasteners and
finally, the locking nuts on the threaded shaft of the "i"
bolts against the end of the strut bar and you're finished. We
engineered the "i" bolt and jam nut so there would be
very little "i" bolt threads showing after installation.
Since this tolerance has been reduced, installation requires a
little trial and error in this phase. You will have to adjust
the "i" bolt length and the position of the jam nut
in order to allow the cap screws to align with their respective
holes (obvious and easy when you're doing it). Be sure the
cross strut is level. If it is tilted either forward or backward,
it reduces engine clearance. You can "eyeball" it but
use of a level is better.
OPTIONAL
The hood to body seam usually works out OK by itself. The clearance
measurements we used are intentionally on the "safe side".
You might be able to reduce the seam width and still maintain
safe hood clearance. If you re-adjust it, be VERY CAUTIOUS when
turning the stoppers DOWNWARD. Move the stoppers in small increments
of about 1/4 turn then measure with the clay cube each time as
under hood clearance decreases. Do not reduce the clearance below
3/16". 1/4" is even better. Most owners would
rather tolerate a slightly larger seam for the extra safety of
more under hood space. Many cars end up with 1/2 inch hood clearance
and a tight body seam as well.
FINISHED
Admire your handy work, then go drive your "sweet ride."
Notice the difference the SS makes in reduced cowl shake and chassis
flex. It will be most noticeable when driving over bumpy or uneven
surfaces like railroad track crossings, and wash boarded or bumpy
roads. The long term benefit of the SS will insure and maintain
structural integrity of the chassis and the car will continue
to feel new and solid as it gets older.
NOTE: When taking your car to the dealer, instruct them not to
change the adjustment of the rubber stoppers and explain why.
Always inspect your hood for dings before leaving the facility.
If your hood is "dinged" above the tower plates, somebody
changed your adjustments.
Please e mail me at azz3man@cox.net with your comments We enjoy hearing from our customers. We would appreciate it if you would tell other Z3 Drivers about the SS. The more orders we get from referrals the less advertising we have to do. This helps us keep pricing low.
If you have problems or questions during or about the installation, e mail me and I will give you the help you need as soon as possible. Send us your ideas to improve the strut design or thoughts on the installation procedure.
We thank you and offer our sincerest appreciation for the confidence you have shown in the SS company. If you become unhappy with it for any reason, please tell us right away. We will gladly address any issue and resolve any problem related to our product. Visit the SS web page http://www.STRONG-STRUT.com from time to time. We add helpful tips and information as they become available and will be adding new products, too.
STRONG-STRUT
E mail azz3man@cox.net Phone
480 513 3222 Fax 480 513 3238
Business address: 9777 East Granite Peak Trail
Scottsdale, Arizona 85262
LINKS
Arizona BMW Z3 Roadster Club http://www.azbmwz3.com
Quality Z3 products z3solution http://z3solution.com
Independent evaluation of STRONG-STRUT: http://mz3.net
THAT SAGGING HOOD BLANKET
Every Z3 comes from the factory with a sagging hood blanket. Examine
yours and you will see rub marks on it from the engine cover or
other components. When the hood blanket rubs on the strut, it
will wear deeper into the blanket or wear the finish off the strut.
Place your hand on the hood blanket over center and push inward.
It will have at least 3/4 inch of "sag." I recommend
that you glue the hood blanket before you install the STRONG-STRUT.
There are many products that will work for this application. Contact
cement, automotive trim adhesive or liquid nails, for example.
It is unnecessary to glue the entire blanket surface, but be sure
to glue it well under the center section which is the main unsupported
area of the blanket.
With the hood open and a COLD engine, place a drop cloth over the entire engine bay opening. You will be dropping plastic fasteners in the following process and if you don't have the drop cloth, they will disappear forever into the dark recesses of the engine bay. This will also prevent dripping glue from getting onto surfaces where you don't want it. You have the option of removing the hood blanket completely or just detaching it enough to access the area you need to spread the glue. It's handy to have two persons available when you detach the blanket. If you decide on partial removal, do not allow the blanket to "hang" under it's own weight from the attached side. It has sufficient weight to "crease" itself or break the "backing" of the blanket material at the fastener points. Remove whatever fasteners are required for the access you need to apply the glue. The hood blanket is attached by numerous plastic fasteners around the perimeter which engage holes in the hood. Using a Phillips head screwdriver, back out the plastic screw in the center of the fastener about 3/8th of an inch but don't remove it completely. Using your fingers, pull outward on the head of the extended screw and the entire fastener should pull out of it's hole in the hood. With the first one removed, look it over and it will be obvious what you're dealing with as you remove the remaining fasteners the same way. Once you have the access you need, follow the directions on the glue you selected and apply it. Replace the fasteners by inserting the lower "stem" in it's mounting hole while the screw is in the backed out position. Then tighten down the plastic Phillips head screw. The blanket will tend to return to it's sagged position and pull away from the hood as the glue is drying. You must address this in the gluing process as it is drying and setting up.