To those that used neoprene washers on your strut bar… you may want to check up on them

[Benjilis]

I was removing my blitz strut bar when I noticed washers people said they used were fully destroyed.
I ended up buying 1 inch nylon washers and drilled the right hole for each strut brace bolt.
I think these will do and be better long term

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[Deighvid]

I put electrical tape to not scratch the paint on either side. I guess I could consider actual washers lmao

 

[NitroYellowMKV]

I don't even remember what my Cusco bar came with. I think I used some grade 8 hardware I had laying around.

 

[zrk]

I put electrical tape to not scratch the paint on either side. I guess I could consider actual washers lmao

This should be actually fine, depending on the bolts used. The factory bars don't use any washers. The problem comes from the hardware that mounts from the bottom. It allows for a little bit of play that allows for the bars to slides a bit.

 

[Rocksandblues]

wouldn't plastic washers allow some movement?

Whole point of those pieces are rigidity.

 

[zrk]

wouldn't plastic washers allow some movement?

Whole point of those pieces are rigidity.

Yeah - I think the actual "bug" is the movement allowed with the narrower-than-stock hardware that comes with the aftermarket bars. Tapping the struct tower seems like the solution.

 

[PhantomPurple]

narrower-than-stock hardware

All bolts will have a gap in a through-hole.

Tapping the struct tower seems like the solution.

While this is possible, I've worked for 2 aluminum part suppliers (literally making shock towers) and getting a high-quality tap is a bitch.

A bolt works is by pulling tension along its length, so a neoprene, rubber, or soft plastic washer will always loosen or get destroyed. Bolting them directly together might be best, but I think the Nylon washer is a great idea.

 

[NDR008]

As was said - bolts apply tension, and bolt-head/washer bearing surface and the pressure generated by the tension is what prevents sideways slip.

A nylon washer may cause slip (depends on the washer) or require more torque...
The other option would be like a diamond coated friction washer if more torque cannot be applied.

 

[Deighvid]

This should be actually fine, depending on the bolts used. The factory bars don't use any washers. The problem comes from the hardware that mounts from the bottom. It allows for a little bit of play that allows for the bars to slides a bit.

That's what I thought as well. I have a 2021 too, so I used the stock mounting bolts and both the through-bolts/nuts supplied with the Cusco for that reason.

I was going to bring up what everyone else mentioned above about losing tension and things getting looser as the washer degrades but couldn't find the words. Makes sense to have as little between the chassis and the bar as possible, for maximum rigidity.

 

[Thraxbert]

LOL I went in dry with bolts and a washer. Seems to be fine. YOLO?

 

[Benjilis]

LOL I went in dry with bolts and a washer. Seems to be fine. YOLO?

It’s okay to do that. But my goal was to protect the paint on the car and the struts for resale down the road if I ever parted out.
I will recheck the nylon in a few days after some hard driving and see what they look like as well as re torque to see if they have loosened up which I doubt they will.

 

[spta97]

I was removing my blitz strut bar when I noticed washers people said they used were fully destroyed.
I ended up buying 1 inch nylon washers and drilled the right hole for each strut brace bolt.
I think these will do and be better long term

Hey @Benjilis thanks for posting this.

I just installed the Blitz bar on a 2021 which has the OEM strut braces and tapped holes for the back part so I reused the stock bolts.

When I was looking for torque specs I came across this thread so ran to the store to get nylon washers instead of the rubber/neoprene ones I previously purchased.

In looking at your pics, it's hard to tell if the deterioration was due to friction or heat. I looked up the melting point of both nylon (~515 degrees) and neoprene (~500 degrees) so don't think that's the issue?

It got me thinking, are your bolts torqued enough? Is it possible the bar is moving (ever so slightly) causing rubbing and deterioration of the washer?

The bolts on the 2021 have a yellow thread locker which made them fairly tight (I had to use more force than I would have thought to remove them) and they backed out with friction (meaning the residual yellow locker still had an inpact). Since I broke the seal, I lined all the bolts with blue thread locker (hopefully I didn't make a weaker green formulation ) - which included the cross member bolts as well.

For the front and back bolts, I used the spec quoted in the Blitz instructions and Hia Tran's YouTube video.

Originally I used 21 ft/lbs for the back bolts but then realized that was for the Blitz bolts (which connect with a nut underneath) so I increased the torque to 31 ft/lbs.

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous as I felt I was applying more torque than I was comfortable with and I was going to ruin Christmas lol, but the purpose of this bar is to strengthen rigidity so it should be super solid.

Also supporting my theory, the 2021 has the yellow thread locker on it which makes me feel BMW/Toyota don't want the bar to move at all. Moreover, there was no paint damage on the OEM metal to metal contact points.

It would be great if I could find the factory torque specs of the bolts but I wasn't able to do so.

I would recommend putting some blue threadlocker on your install - the med strength which will help the bolts from backing.

 

[puzzled]

My BMS brace did not come with nylon nor rubber washers. That piece is not supposed to move, so I’d just use a regular metal washer there or not use one at all.

?

 

[spta97]

My BMS brace did not come with nylon nor rubber washers. That piece is not supposed to move, so I’d just use a regular metal washer there or not use one at all.

?

No washer is called for, nor included.

Where this started was someone (perhaps Hai Tran?) indicated since the parts were metal on metal, he added a washer to prevent potential scratching/paint damage.

The OEM 2021 does not have any washers at all and I did not see any paint damage. I used the nylon just in case.

I agree the bar is not supposed to move which is why I asked what torque people are using. I'm wondering if they did not tighten the bolts enough.

 

[puzzled]

Hai Tran.

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