[TeKNiC330]

Which would you buy? Both look great to me, but leaning towards the Benfer one. They also said they'll give an introductory pricing on their CF strut bar; Haven't heard anything from UUC about a discounted price.

Benfer:

UUC:

 

[Commander FAT]

I vote UUC. I think the Benfer bar is pretty ugly. Especially the part that actually attaches to the car. What's up with that?

dave

 

[russ330]

To me it looks like an issue of function vs. form. From my limited knowledge it appears that the UUC bar will do it's job better than the offering from Benfer, the question is how noticeable will the difference be? :dunno:

In this case I'm somewhere in the middle, I may go with whichever is cheaper.

 

[cowmoo32]

On the thread about that BFP bar, it said that it should perform just as well. Plus it looks impin:

 

[Yellowmann]

Like everyone said its going to come down to what you want, wheather it's the look or the price. The strength and function is pretty much going to be the same since strut bar can only do so much.

BFP is $499 Carbon Fiber

UUC is $495 Magnesium

 

[dan330]

THe Benfer looks great. The UUC looks very plain. The attachment points look better on the Benfer too.

Now, I thougth benfer are better priced co. This is outside their normal price point.

I read some place and was told by driving instructor that the e46 really does not need a strut bar. They are very stiff by design. It only improves the function at the very high extremes.

 

[Yellowmann]

THe Benfer looks great. The UUC looks very plain. The attachment points look better on the Benfer too.

Now, I thougth benfer are better priced co. This is outside their normal price point.

I read some place and was told by driving instructor that the e46 really does not need a strut bar. They are very stiff by design. It only improves the function at the very high extremes.

Dan, I would say it still is... let say if that BFP design was lable as ACS, wouldnt you say it probably go for $1k since their current one is like $700 ? Also like you say the UUC looks plain and its going for about same price.

btw - BPF will have an introductory price.

 

[///M3Matt]

BFP looks great but UUC will be better b/c it is not hinged on the attachment point to the towers

 

[dan330]

you have a good point about the hing. That would be a moving point and does not add to stiffness.

Hmmmmm.........

 

[MillsBims]

OEM, i think of a strut bar as function over fashion, but thats just my $0.02. The magnesium is nice, but over priced; the CF is cool, but not functional. I doubt my OEM M3 strut is gunna get be less affective because it transfers heat...

 

[chmdrm]

A hinged bar is nothing but eye candy.

The ones I've seen that might really do something other than look nice are the stock M3 one, The UUC, and Strongstrut.com

 

[e46shift]

the hinge might guarantee a better fit than a nonhinge one. or not:dunno:

 

[Yellowmann]

I would agree that the OEM m3 would be the best one out of all of them. Most of this is for show.... just get sways if you want best fuctionality.

ACS, Dinan and few others are hinged then you got some that are not. Like I said it will come down to what you like and what you justify for price.

 

[WarSong]

i doubt a hinged design versus a non-hinged design will yield any handling improvements since a strut bar on an E46 is not supposed to make any noticable improvement anyways (based on what all of the track experts have said in the past on this board and my experience with my own bar). So I always look at them at eye candy. I would lean toward the UUC because it looks very clean and I am a more conservative type of person, but at that price, I'll just keep my OEM M3 bar since it looks very similar to me. I definetly give props to BFP for an original design and I believe a lot of people will like it.

 

[Richard]

both are impressive....

Benfer=show
UUC=go

 

[Ward]

with introductory pricing I'd go benfer. Without it, I would go uuc no question. But I actually would never spend anything near 500 for a strut bar unless it was so pretty and I had a show car. Strut bars give you the performance gain with the equivalence of a drop in K&N filter. If you guys are getting strut bars trying to get good performance....save it. Spend less than 500 on sways that will do the job WAY better than any strut bar.

 

[xxcosmicxx]

I definately like UUC's better...I think that the BFP one just looks a little funny....

The hinges, and even the dual spoke design looks weird to me...

But that is just my opinion...I saw their Carbon Intake at the socaleuro meet....GOD DAMN....they have nice carbon products...

So if you like theirs, their carbon is top notch....

 

[Presns323i]

can someone show a pic of a M3 strut wth the UUC, i wanna see just how simlar they look
how much is a m3 bar anyways?

 

[K-DOG]

No offence to anyone, but the Benfer does not look functional(ie. underhood jewlery), its more for decoration. It has so many places it can bend(ie near the bases) which kill rigidity....it does look pretty though. I would def choose UUC, if handling is more important than looks.

 

[x_chris_x]

shakes head....as has been mentioned already the benefits you'll notice on the road are negligible, most of you will never drive your cars to the point where you would notice a difference. As for bling, who the hell is gonna see it under your hood except maybe your mechanic :lmao: unless you're in the habit of popping your hood and pointing it out to everybody each time you stop :dunno:

The UUC one (IMO) looks like $50 of metal. The benfer one looks odd. I'd probably go with the Benfer if I was foolish enough to wanna blow that kinda dough on something that is mostly just eye candy, would probably be good for shows :dunno:

Sometimes I despair... I get the feeling that if some of you were told 'if you buy this $500 magnesium/carbon kevlar dog turd and stick it on the right side of your engine, it will improve the balance of your car' some of you would go buy it.

At the end of the day, at best, its about bling...simply which one looks the best and is the cheapest?

I know some will be offended by my comments but take a step back and think about it. Anyway a forum is for voicing an opinion and not everyones will be the same.