VinceBar Sub Frame Reinforcement Kit!

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Originally Posted by RUS_ZHP

Thank you for posting it here. I've never heard about this kit before.
If there will be a group buy, I'll go with assembled weld kit.
Last year I got a complementary inspection from Turner Motorsport and by my surprise I saw micro cracks on the sheet. metal. They are very tiny, but I thinks it's a matter of time, when they start to propagate. My car is 03 with unknown history before my ownership.

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Welcome...

There is a group buy that ends 9/18/16 here: http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=551862

thanks for posting, gary! i've been away in haiti for 8 days and am just catching up on this now.

to answer other's questions (and to resonate with RUS_ZHP), it is definitely possible for our cars to succumb to this, mine is case in point. vince's solution is phenomenal and as i intend to keep my car indefinitely, i am going for it.

the epoxy- and rivet-on kit is, according to vince, the stronger of the two kits - and definitely easier to install (especially if you don't own a welder ;)).

:cheers

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Originally Posted by slater

Thanks for posting, gary! I've been away in Haiti for 8 days and I'am just catching up on this now.

The epoxy- and rivet-on kit is, according to vince, the stronger of the two kits - and definitely easier to install (especially if you don't own a welder ;)).

:cheers

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Welcome...Looking forward to seeing how the install goes. I might be purchasing an epoxy set here soon before the GB is over on 9/18.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by slater

thanks for posting, gary! i've been away in haiti for 8 days and am just catching up on this now.

to answer other's questions (and to resonate with RUS_ZHP), it is definitely possible for our cars to succumb to this, mine is case in point. vince's solution is phenomenal and as i intend to keep my car indefinitely, i am going for it.

the epoxy- and rivet-on kit is, according to vince, the stronger of the two kits - and definitely easier to install (especially if you don't own a welder ;)).

:cheers

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If epoxy is stronger, I might consider going with this option. Somehow I missed that in the thread.
I was thinking about subframe reinforcement for sometime now. And i was leaning towards Turner kit intil i saw this discussion.
My friend has a welder, but honestly I'd rather go with the epoxy, but for some reason I was sceptical about epoxy application.
I am definitely will have to do more research over the weekend.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

epoxy bonds to a much larger surface area. When welding you can only go around the perimeter and a few rosette welds

So the epoxy kit would probably involve lower installation labor costs? (There's no way I can undertake either project myself).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RUS_ZHP

If epoxy is stronger, I might consider going with this option. Somehow I missed that in the thread.
I was thinking about subframe reinforcement for sometime now. And i was leaning towards Turner kit intil i saw this discussion.
My friend has a welder, but honestly I'd rather go with the epoxy, but for some reason I was sceptical about epoxy application.
I am definitely will have to do more research over the weekend.

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see rob's and my responses below!

i wouldn't use the turner kit, personally - does not cover enough surface area, and does not address the root of the problem. ;) do you have any cracks now?

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Originally Posted by Sockethead

epoxy bonds to a much larger surface area. When welding you can only go around the perimeter and a few rosette welds

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correct. epoxy + rivets = extremely strong (using the epoxy that vince specs, as not all epoxies are equal). also, vince's upcoming 'VincePlates' (if they materialize) will cover a much larger surface area than even the redish plates, and will be an epoxy- and rivet-on installation. i'm waiting for these for my car.

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Originally Posted by Dual

So the epoxy kit would probably involve lower installation labor costs? (There's no way I can undertake either project myself).

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yes - if you don't have any pre-existing cracks (which i would be surprised about on a post-10/2004 car), you can install this without even dropping the rear subframe and suspension. you do have to lower it about 3", but everything remains connected to the car (save rear shocks), which means a lot less labor.

:cheers

Here is the "Vince Plates" he is working on.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...bb2042acc5.jpg

And some of the parts needed for the reinforcement kit came in.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...d4371636a3.jpg

thanks gary, didn't see that post yet. :)

Welcome...[emoji106]

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Originally Posted by VinceSE2

Below please find some pictures from the installation I'm currently working on.

This is a pristine (i was actually pleasantly surprised with how well kept it is) -02 with approximately 62500 miles on it.

The owner contacted me after finding the usual hairline crack:

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...80bbb3812a.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...d1550c251e.jpg

And once the underside was cleaned a couple of popped spot welds were clearly visible as well (top middle of the picture):

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...de18942fe3.jpg

There is also a, hardly noticeable, separation at the connection between the RACP and the wheel well:

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...43bc027c94.jpg

And once the underside was cleaned, the two popped spot welds responsible for that separation were clearly visible (one at the lower left corner of the picture, and one at the top right:

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...30b57c9d4e.jpg

We didn't believe there was any damage to the front right mount, but once the rear axle was removed and the underside was cleaned, we found this:

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...8f16374c1e.jpg

A surprisingly bad crack at the right, and the typical semi circular hairline crack around the mounting hole where the hex piece of the stud rests against the RACP.

And after I'd cut open the access to the topside of the right front mount I was just about to tell the owner of the car that this was the first car I've seen that was not cracked at the top. But then I looked closer and found this:

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...b3f1f0ec3c.jpg

The right slot has cracks at the top left and bottom right corners.

So the owner caught this in just the right time to make it an easy repair/reinforcement project.

Oh, and the laser cutting guy told me today that the tubes are done![emoji106][emoji322]

So we'll be picking them up tomorrow and I'll assemble the first epoxy/rivet kit (that'll go into this car). I'll share some pics of that tomorrow.

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