Strong Strut

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Fri 27 Apr, 2007 12:37

Hi all.

RED is still in need of a front strut brace and despite extensive research, I can only find a few brands that look as if they might fit the S54 engine. The problem is a breather pipe that sits proud right in the middle of the engine. This clashes with almost all models of brace.

Our Aquatic Gazza has successfully fitted a Wiechers Domstrebe brace to his S54, which is damn cheap, but I don't like the fact that it only fixes to two bolts each side and I'm not over-keen on the look either (sorry mate! Just IMHO).

Ben at Chromeline ordered me a very tasty looking Schnitzer replica brace in the shape of a girder. It looked the absolute biz, but sadly was the wrong length for an ///MR and the bolt orientation was wrong too. I was gutted when we offered it up and it didn't fit! I've tried to find the original ACS version of the same thing, but with no luck.

I've seen a nice one which has a slight bend in the middle to pass in front the breather pipe, but I don't know what brand it is, and there's one on the MK Motorsport website but it's labelled as 'coming soon' and their blurb says 'don't contact us about anything that's not shown, because we don't do it....' which scared me off calling them!

So this has led me to the conclusion that I'm gonna have to break the piggy bank again and place my order with Strong Strut.
There's no doubt that they are the top of the class in every respect. The design is perfect and the build quality is (so I've heard) superb. But obviously that all adds up to a pretty hefty price tag.

I priced up my choice from the American SS website advertised above this post, and it came to $515 all in, which is about £260 at the moment. Pretty good I thought. So I contacted CA Automotive who distribute SS in the UK, and they priced the same thing at £330, stating that they must add VAT and import duty to the US price. Ouch.

But they did offer to do a discount of 10% if I could place an order of five or more units, which works out at £297. That's a bit better.

Sooooo....
If anyone fancies getting hold of the very best strut brace for any model of Zed at a decent price without the hassle of ordering and importing yourself, please reply here or send me a PM.

There are options on finish, materials and accessory kits which are all detailed in the SS site linked from the top of this page, but initially I only need you to register your interest and we can work out the details from there. Delivery time is approx. 2 weeks from order.

Let me know soon please.....

Cheers.
Alfie.

Boysie · Post by **Boysie** » Fri 27 Apr, 2007 17:15

Hi

Go direct to strong strut
Mine came to about $460 = £241 all in
That was when the dollar was not so good
And yes the build quality and fit is second to none
And service, plus tracking was great

Ray

Gazza · Post by **Gazza** » Fri 27 Apr, 2007 21:28

Dont forget if you import an item yourself that you are still liable to import duty and VAT before you can receive the goods, if the Customs and Excise people spot your parcel

Gazza.

JAY · Post by **JAY** » Fri 27 Apr, 2007 21:37

Hi Alfie,

I got a strong strut that fits just fine.

pic...

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Sat 28 Apr, 2007 00:29

Boysie wrote:Go direct to strong strut

I'm told that any dealings with SS USA will be directly passed on to CA Automotive UK. Maybe that's come round since your transaction?

Boysie wrote:Mine came to about $460 = £241 all in

Ok.....my figure of $515 was for a steel SS with 'extra holes' plus 'large' accessory kit, plus delivery to UK.
I'm sure the US price hasn't changed, but the exchange rate obviously has.

Boysie wrote:And yes, the build quality and fit is second to none.

Good to hear.....that backs up all I was saying.

Jay....
Is yours the chrome finish????
Looks really yummy, but a lot more pricey.

A.

Boysie · Post by **Boysie** » Sat 28 Apr, 2007 06:45

Hi

I used paypal to buy my strut
So so easy
This is the Man to speak to, very helpful
azz3man@cox.net

My strut has holes, large accessory kit
It looks the DB's
And they chucked in a fitting kit for my brother's Z4
He has the BMW one fitted,
after seeing mine he wished he had got a SS

Ray

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat 28 Apr, 2007 08:57

Alfie,

I dealt with Strong Strutt direct, but that was 3 years ago. Back them CA Automotive was not a distributor and SS used to have a special link for UK pricing. I don't see that now.

IMO, the best looking brace out there. In black, it looks stock and I am contemplating adding the rear strutt and body brace. Good Luck!

Mine is the Alloy bar in flat black!

GAZ · Post by **GAZ** » Sat 28 Apr, 2007 14:23

Hello Alfie

Have you had a look at the Dinan Strutt Brace. I believe that they do one to fit the S54 part number D180-0366 for $454.00 this includes postage and the there is import tax and VAT which was about £55.00.

Gaz

icarus · Post by **icarus** » Sat 28 Apr, 2007 15:06

Do you think my 1.9 would benefit form having such a strut?

Gazza · Post by **Gazza** » Sat 28 Apr, 2007 15:35

Hi Stewart, yes you would notice the difference

Gazza.

tuxman · Post by **tuxman** » Sat 28 Apr, 2007 15:39

Hi Alfie,put me down for one !!!!

///M Breadvan · Post by **///M Breadvan** » Mon 30 Apr, 2007 09:55

Boysie wrote:Hi

Go direct to strong strut
Mine came to about $460 = £241 all in
That was when the dollar was not so good
And yes the build quality and fit is second to none
And service, plus tracking was great

Ray

Ditto,

I ordered direct from strongstrut and the service was great. No import duty as they stated package order less than $50. received with 7 days.

Paid paypal and could not be easier.

hope this helps.

Dave L2 · Post by **Dave L2** » Mon 30 Apr, 2007 10:25

Alfie,

I've already got a front SS on my 3.0, but I might be tempted with a rear if the price was right and they counted it towards the Group Buy therefore benefiting other buyers.

///M Breadvan · Post by **///M Breadvan** » Mon 30 Apr, 2007 10:33

sorry to deviate a little from the topic but has anyone fitted a rear "butt strut" from strong strut?

How easy is it to do? How long did it take and are any special tools required?

thanks

David

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Mon 30 Apr, 2007 11:50

///M Breadvan wrote:No import duty as they stated package order less than $50.

Sounds dodgy. Are UK customs really that easy to fool?

Boysie wrote:Go direct to strong strut. Mine came to about $460 = £241 all in.

///M Breadvan wrote:Ditto, I ordered direct from strongstrut and the service was great.

Roy at CA is very helpful and doing his best to strike a deal, but I'll have a look elsewhere.

Thanks for your help.

Interested so far:

Alfie - Front strut
Tuxman - Front strut
Dave L2 - Butt strut

And possibly:

Si - Rear strut and body brace

That's 5 items, so I guess that might qualify!

I'll do some more research and post back here later.

Anybody else interested?

A.

///M Breadvan · Post by **///M Breadvan** » Mon 30 Apr, 2007 12:52

alfie, Sorry mate. I already have a butt strut awaiting fitting. My fault for hijacking your thread. Wont happen again

Loads of guys on z3mcoupe.com have had ss products delivered using the $50 package value and none have been queried as far as i know. Maybe worth a post on there to get additional support for the group buy.

Good luck.

PS the black finish looks fantastic. well impressed.

David

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Mon 30 Apr, 2007 13:52

///M Breadvan wrote:Sorry mate. I already have a butt strut awaiting fitting.

No problem David. I'll edit the list.
And yep, I'll have a look at z3mcoupe.com, thanks.

A.

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Tue 01 May, 2007 12:05

UPDATE:

It looks like I might have secured a much better deal elsewhere. This has brought the prices down significantly and will get even better the more units we buy.

For more info, send me a PM and I'll fill you in.

Cheers.
A.

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Wed 02 May, 2007 20:24

Thanks for all the PMs chaps.....

It's looking very healthy for a bulk buy.
Sorry to those I haven't got back to yet. Blame it on Zroadster being unavailable over lunchtime today!

It's looking like this would be much easier to deal with on email, so could you please PM me your email addresses and we can communicate that way.

Anyone else interested?
Just PM me your addy and I'll put you in the loop.

A.

johnn · Post by **johnn** » Thu 03 May, 2007 07:26

Hi Alfie
Can you e-mail me detaiols of the prices you have arranged for the group buy. I am interested in an alloy front strut. My e-mail address is :-
j.nary@blueyonder.co.uk

Cheers

John

johnn · Post by **johnn** » Thu 03 May, 2007 07:26

Hi Alfie
Can you e-mail me detaiols of the prices you have arranged for the group buy. I am interested in an alloy front strut. My e-mail address is :-
j.nary@blueyonder.co.uk

Cheers

John

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Thu 03 May, 2007 12:34

We currently have 12 interested Zedders, which puts us in a very 'strong' position for some serious discount.

I'll be sending emails to all that have pm'd me, but in the meantime.....

For front strut braces, these are the choices you need to make:

1. Material.

Steel ("Evolution") OR Alloy (Competition Lightweight "CL")

The steel is stronger, but heavier.
The difference in flex could probably be measured in microns, so not of any consequence in the real world.
And the difference in weight, although huge percentage wise, is negligible in terms of total mass of the car.
The prices are the same.
My choice would be steel, but apparently the S54 engine can only be accommodated by the CL model.

2. Finish.

If you want the steel strut, choose between Black powder coat OR Titanium powder coat OR Stainless Steel. Stainless is an extra cost option.

If you want the CL, choose between Black powder coat, Titanium powder coat or Galaxy.

I don't think you can get the steel in Galaxy or the CL in stainless, but I could be wrong. If you particularly want those, let me know and I'll find out.

3. Holes.

If you want the steel strut, you can have six weight-saving/decorative holes drilled as a cost option.

The CL has 11 holes as standard with no further options.

4. Accessory kits.

These are cost options, but I'm hoping that the 'group buy' will get a serious saving if you want them.

You can choose the 'small accessory kit' which includes some nice shiny stainless washers and 'acorn' nuts.

Or ///M owners can choose the 'large accessory kit' which has the stainless fixings and adds some black plastic covers for the strut tower tops. Apparently this option only fits ///M cars, but I can't see why.

5. Anything else from Strong Strut

Such as butt strut, body brace, air intakes, chrome handles, etc. I can't really help you with these items so please check out the website for more info, but they can all be included in the group buy.

Cheers!
A.

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Fri 04 May, 2007 12:51

I've sent out an email to all those that have sent me their addresses, detailing where we are at with the group buy.
There are currently 13 potential customers which is great, but it's not too late for others to join in......

If you've contacted me about this and HAVEN'T received today's email, please PM me.

And there is one person who hasn't sent me their email address, so please do ASAFHP.

Cheers!
A.

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Tue 08 May, 2007 12:26

From the other thread....

sundaydriver wrote:I had a similar problem when viewing the String Strut site after seeing Alfies SS group buy post.

The website seems little dis-jointed and difficult to follow in order to evaluate which strut is most suited to one's requirements.

Mr SS saw this and asked me to post the following:

"We saw a comment on the forum that our web site is not clear which Strong-Strut is appropriate for the Z3......either the all steel Evolution model or the CL are appropriate. We highly recommend the CL for street and highway use and the steel Evolution model for owners who track their cars or are serious autocross competitors.

Thank you,
Paul"

Hope that clears things up.....

As an update, the group buy is progressing very well but there's still time to add your name to the list if you haven't already done so.

A.

nero · Post by **nero** » Tue 15 May, 2007 11:25

Got an email from Paul (Strong Strut) today, with a shipping/tracking number.

Your order can be tracked using http://www.parcelforce.com/portal/pw using the number in your email
(note you need to delete spaces between the letters and numbers in your tracking number)

Can't wait

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Tue 15 May, 2007 12:02

Nero wrote:Got an email from Paul (Strong Strut) today, with a shipping/tracking number.

Excellent!
So I guess that means everyone's paid then? I've only had confirmation from 4 including myself. Not that it matters, just out of interest.

Nero wrote:note you need to delete spaces between the letters and numbers in your tracking number

I didn't need to do that, I think the tracker feature rearranges the digits as required.

So in the end, we had 8 confirmed purchases (and I've just had another enquiry which could make it 9) which, although less than initial enquiries, was enough to get us a pretty good group-buy discount. That combined with the excellent exchange rate against the dollar gave us quality Strong Strut products at stunningly good prices.

If anyone else is still interested, it's not too late, so please PM me your email address and I'll send you all the details.

Cheers.
A.

QED · Post by **QED** » Tue 15 May, 2007 12:13

Guys,

http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopi ... 144#126144

With reference to the above thread, if your Zed tramlines at present, after you fit your new strut, can you let us know if this helps the tramlining?

(Gaz, it's not that I don't believe you, I think it would just be interesting to get others views.)

JontyP · Post by **JontyP** » Tue 15 May, 2007 12:16

Top work Alfie. Had my tracking details this morning aswell. Gonna be xmas soon

Jonty

Gazza · Post by **Gazza** » Tue 15 May, 2007 12:56

What was the final price ?????

Gazza.

JontyP · Post by **JontyP** » Tue 15 May, 2007 12:58

That would be telling

. Twas a very good price but still not "cheap". Personally, I couldn't resist.

Jonty

cxtwo · Post by **cxtwo** » Tue 15 May, 2007 15:59

Just to say thanks to Alfie for organising the group buy. I haven't received any invoice/communication from Paul at SS yet, so have emailed him today to follow up

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Tue 15 May, 2007 16:48

No prob Chris.

Let me know if you don't hear back and I'll chase it up too.

A.

tuxman · Post by **tuxman** » Tue 15 May, 2007 18:35

first thanks Alfie he got us a good deal !!! have had no invoice yet but the cl in titanium were out of stock so i guess i' am just going to have to be patient !!!!

Dave8300 · Post by **Dave8300** » Thu 17 May, 2007 06:37

No invoice for me as of yet

Have sent him an email this morning

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu 17 May, 2007 08:24

I don't have an invoice, but I do have tracking number )

Dave8300 · Post by **Dave8300** » Fri 18 May, 2007 06:49

Paid

JontyP · Post by **JontyP** » Fri 18 May, 2007 07:52

According to the tracking, mine has left the local depot for delivery TODAY. Yaaay.

. Can't recall now if I asked for delivery here to me at work (usually do), or to home address. Oh well, I'll find out soon enough.

Jonty

nero · Post by **nero** » Fri 18 May, 2007 09:46

Looks like mine will be delivered today too.

parcelforce wrote:Parcel number: **********
Service: Parcelforce 24
Status: In progress
Last tracked at: National Hub
Expected delivery date: 18-05-2007

Freezed · Post by **Freezed** » Fri 18 May, 2007 10:10

I'm the same as you Tuxman

JontyP · Post by **JontyP** » Fri 18 May, 2007 11:58

Mine has been delivered at home. Appears to have been signed for by next door neighbour. Prezzies, prezzies. And it's my birthday at the end of the month.

Celebratory beer or two tonight I think.

Cheers

Jonty

trickyb · Post by **trickyb** » Sat 19 May, 2007 12:14

Had contact from Paul @ Strong Strut yesterday

My brace has been delayed due to manufacturing problems (as mentioned by Alfie in email), and could be another 2 weeks

JontyP · Post by **JontyP** » Sun 20 May, 2007 18:16

Pooh. The tower rings delivered with mine a from the duff batch. Will have to wait approx 2 weeks to get a good set. Ho Hum. Worse things happen at sea.

Jonty

nero · Post by **nero** » Sun 20 May, 2007 19:27

Mine didn't arrive on Friday (boo/hiss) so I hope it will be here tomorrow?

I got the email from Paul, so I'm guessing mine will also have the bad rings.

Jonty - any chance you could post a picture, so I can see what to look for?

JontyP · Post by **JontyP** » Mon 21 May, 2007 07:26

Sorry mate, didn't check postings yesterday. Am at work all day today but if you still want a piccy I can post one up this evening. You'll probably have got yours by then but let me know.

Jonty

nero · Post by **nero** » Mon 21 May, 2007 11:53

Good news - received my Strut this morning

Bad news - looks like I've got the duff mounts

I've emailed Paul (Strong Strut) for confirmation. I've put pics here for you to see what it looks like.

Dave8300 · Post by **Dave8300** » Wed 30 May, 2007 09:53

Anyone had either new rings or news of when the new braces are being shipped out?

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Wed 30 May, 2007 09:57

Leave it with me Dave.
I'll get an email out this afternoon.

A.

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Thu 31 May, 2007 09:52

SS reply has been emailed to all the confirmed buyers.

Please let me know if you didn't get it.

A.

khushy · Post by **khushy** » Thu 31 May, 2007 10:16

it has all 3 braces - am considering selling them separately if anyone is interested!

The car itself will go up for sale on PistonHeads next week - when the new ride arrives!

Khushy

tuxman · Post by **tuxman** » Fri 08 Jun, 2007 17:16

I'm still waiting anyone got any more news ???

zroadster.net

Strong Strut - possible group buy?

Strong Strut - possible group buy?

Strong strut

WooHoo

BTW - I am about to put my S54 M up for sale . . .