Upper strut tie bar for E46 a waste of $$?

[Karateman]

I am contemplating on buying an upper strut tie bar for my E46, but BMW tells me it's a waste of money as the chassis is stiff enough. If that was true, then why do racers use them on the BMW? Obviously because racers corner harder.

Opinions?

If anyone is using one, does it make a responsive difference and tell me which brand?

[rwk1958]

I have one both front and rear,cant say they are usefull but look nice.I also track the car at driving schools so every little bit helps.I heard that they are usefull on convertables:flash: I use dinan

[kaoru-tochiro]

They're also useful especially if youre runningstiffer springs, keeps the frame from flexing and gettting metal fatigue, so I give'em 2 thumbs up.

[Fast Freddie]

I installed a strut tie bar on my 2001 BMW 330i. I selected one from AA tuning. I did ask service rep from BMW dealer and he recommened me to install one. Does it help???? When I installed the strutbar I also installed
larger tires and rims. So I am not sure if it helped. But both tires and strut bar really improved the handling of the car

[mflinehan]

I'm not sure if they have such a noticable affect on any BMW due to the stiffness of the body, but I previously owned a 03 Subaru Impreza WRX-STi and i thought it did some good there. In the end it comes down to the fact that every little bit helps; so i guess its a matter of what your intentions are for the vehicle.

[Skycity_BMW]

I would get one . . .

[Rossco]

Just out of interest - how much weight do the strut braces add to the car?
Are they worth the 'possible' improvement in handling for the weight penalty? - especially if only used on the road.

Just wondered if anyone had thought about it or not.

Rossco
1996 E36 320i(Euro)