Performance Package has arrived!

[Grease Monkey]

The Performance Package arrived at my house today. Frankly, I am very impressed with it. The cross brace, which mounts to the square tube frame members in front of the strut housings, is very well made and should be more than capable of handling the forces involved. What isn't apparent from the pictures but is essential to its structural integrity is the fact that the cross brace is not a flat piece of steel but rather a gently curved flat tube. Picture a very thin airplane wing. This means it has 2 curved sides and a hollow center making it highly resistant to bending. And since the frame tubes it is attached to are the ones most likely to deform from suspension forces, this should be a real solution to the problem. Plus, I think it looks great under the hood. My Z8s are silver and the black looks totally at home in the engine compartment. Next comes the strut mounts which are, as I expected, much stronger than the originals. What BMW did was replace the top plate, which is made of aluminum, with a top plate made of steel. Since this top plate is in direct contact with the underside of the tower, any tendency for it to bend or deform was going to transfer into the aluminum structure of the tower, which would show up as doming. Plus, since the 3 mounting studs are press fit into the top plate, any tendency of the plate to bend or deform would cause the studs to splay out, exactly what some owners have seen. With the switch to steel, any tendency of the top plate to deform should have been eliminated and to provide further insurance, BMW has included steel rings which mount on top of the towers and form a steel sandwich to protect them from deformation. I am convinced that the steel top plates would have done the job alone so I continue to believe that the real value of the top rings will be to help flatten out any existing doming when the sandwich is tightened down. Interestingly, the reinforcement rings are not perfectly circular, instead they have one portion which is narrower than the rest and is designed to provide visual clearance where the rings would have covered up the serial numbers stamped into the towers. Another point to mention is that, because the new strut mounts are exactly the same size and shape as the originals, use of the Dinan caster plates will be unaffected. All in all, a very well thought out package which I believe will completely eliminate worries about frame and strut tower deformation. Bravo BMW!

[eurekatrading]

I just left my dealer in Sarasota FL. They knew nothing about this! How much does it cost in parts and labor?

[Grease Monkey]

Price may vary, but I paid $525 US for the kit. I have no idea what it will cost to install since I will be doing it myself. Shouldn't be too much since the installation will be pretty straight forward.

[joea2]

Are there instructions? That was one of the reasons for the Freeze.[IMG]

[eurekatrading]

THANKS EOM

[Grease Monkey]

On the outside of the box there is a notice warning that no instructions are included and that the dealer needs to look them up on the Aftersales Assistance Portal and provide them to the customer. My dealer is checking on it.

[Z8 Dave]

MIne arrives at Tom Bush BMW in Jacksonville on Wednesday for installation on Thursday.

[joea2]

[IMG]

[robz82001]

I'm in North Carolina, but I'm from Jax and drive there several times a year to visit my folks. How many Z8s are there in NE Fla? I'm guessing your the owner in Ponte Vedra.

[Z8mania]

I did notice the bends in the brace from the pics- you have to look carefully. I wondered about why some would criticize before seeing it.

[DanaC]

I have the installation instructions and can email them to any of you that want to look at them. The installation time per the instructiuons is approx. 8.5 hours. I have not done one in house yet but I have a few scheduled this month so I'm not sure how accurate the time is.

email me at dana@peterpanbmw.com and I will send the instructions to you.

Thanks
Dana Caldwell
Service & Parts Director
Peter Pan BMW
San Mateo, Ca

[Z8NY]

I nominate you, GreaseMonkey. How about taking some pix of your install process?

[joea2]

[IMG]

[Z8 Dave]

Yes, I am in PV. I believe there are 2 or 3 here in the Jax area. I have only seen 2, both silver and black like mine. . Where in NC? We are looking for a second house in Blowing Rock, we love it up there! Next time you are in town, stop by and say hi!
-dave

[robz82001]

I'm in Charlotte. We take the Z8 up to Blowing Rock on a regular basis. Have done Blue Ridge Pkwy too....simply beautiful. Blowing Rock is great....if you have not already, try Lake Lure / Chimney Rock area. Great driving and drop dead beautiful. EXTREMELY fun roads getting up there. Next time you're up in that area the www.lodgeonlakelure.com is awesome. And an hour west of that area is www.tailofthedragon.com. Arguably the best sports car drive in North America....318 curves on an 11 mile stretch....pure Heaven.

[joea2]

There is no way to tell that it isn't original. Very impressive the way it gets lost in there. The car handles much better with the "Performance Package"(only kidding).
My Dealer was outstanding to "comp" it!!!![IMG]

[Z8Bob]

[Michael]

Do you plan to use the new strut mounts with your caster plates?

[Z8 Dave]

[Grease Monkey]

I am convinced the Dinan caster plates provide the same amount of protection that the updated strut mounts do so I don't plan to install them at this time. For one thing thing, they are heavier and I don't want to add any more weight to the front end of the car. I would also like to determine whether BMW softened the damping material used in the strut mounts to reduce the forces transferred to the tower before putting them in my car. However, if I didn't have the Dinan plates, I wouldn't hesitate to install the new strut mounts. I do plan to install the cross brace since I believe the added weight will be more than offset by the increased structural rigidity of the car. I don't care what BMW says, that brace is going to add stiffness in a crirtical area and it will improve the car's handling. Plus, I think it looks great in the engine compartment!