BMW 1 Series Coupe Forum / 1 Series Convertible Forum (1M / tii / 135i / 128i / Coupe / Cabrio / Hatchback) (BMW E82 E88 128i 130i 135i)
 





 

Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      05-20-2018, 01:09 PM   #1
Onebunchmin
New Member
Onebunchmin's Avatar
3
Rep
15
Posts

Drives: (DAD's Car) 2008 135i
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Vero Beach FL

iTrader: (0)

ALL Ultra Racing Chassis bars review.

Hello all. First post. I recently purchased ALL three of the Ultra racing Braces for my car as they have a 20% off memorial day sale. I don't see anyone really taking about these braces so I thought I might give some insight in them once they arrive for others to consider them. It's a stock 2008 135i manual with 35k miles on it.
I've had great luck with braces on my previous car (R53) and am looking forward to trying these out when they ship out.

https://ultraracing-usa.com/product/...0tt-2004-2013/

Thanks for reading.

(Update with review)

Okidoki. Here are my initial thoughts.

Shipping and appearance:

I received all braces wrapped together with ALOT of plastic and paper. Each bar has their own serial number for the lifetime warranty registration and to make sure it's not an imitation product. These bars were made to order and took about a week and a half to arrive. Opening up those bars from that packaging was a nightmare. It took literally an hour for me as I did not want to scratch the powdercoat. Once unraveled I found a few nics and scratches but nothing of too much concern.



Installation:

Dirt easy if you have the appropriate tools. The center triangular brace is the easiest to install as you just need to undo the four torx screws and two rear bolts of the factory brace and swap them out.






The rear subframe Brace is a little trickier as I needed to support the subframe while installing.










Now the front brace fits great....until you go back to put on the under tray. You're going to need to modify it a bit to sit flush. It can still be mounted securely but the rear will be bent down a bit at the corners.









The braces themselves fit great and are reasonably light. The triangular brace is roughly the same weight as the stock piece but with that extra lateral bar in place.

Driving feel:

I did notice some differences.
The ride is somewhat smoother and more solid. Especially when going over railroad tracks, I also felt the added stiffness when exiting the parking lot ramp at an angle. With the body stiffened up the suspension could do its job more properly. I also feel the car has a bit more confidence when accelerating through a long corner. Such as an on ramp. The deflection in the body that was there before is now going to the OEM bushings. Which is a good and bad thing. Switching to poly or spherical bushings will definitely help.

Do I recommend these braces?

It depends.... For the price you pay and the product you receive I have no complaints. The welds are good and the bars feel solid on the car. These are a good value for money. HOWEVER...... I have a feeling these bars (mostly the front and rear subframe ones) will be much more effective if the vehicle has stiffer bushings installed throughout the suspension and drive train. Since the body deflection has reduced all of that twisting motion will go to the weakest link. The soft stock bushings. Fix that and you're golden.

Over all I am happy with these braces.

Last edited by Onebunchmin; 05-02-2021 at 12:23 PM..
Appreciate 0
      05-21-2018, 12:59 PM   #2
chris_flies
Sideways and Smiling
chris_flies's Avatar
3027
Rep
2,860
Posts

Drives: In Exuberance
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Rosamond, CA USA

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
Interesting products, I look forward to the review...
__________________
2012 BMW 328i 6-Speed Wagon | Deep Sea Blue with Grey Dakota Leather | Manual Swap, 330i Intake + Tune, 3.15 Helical LSD, Öhlins R&T
(SOLD) 2009 BMW 128i 6-Speed Coupé | Monaco Blue with Black Sensatec | chris_flies' 128i thread
Appreciate 0
      05-21-2018, 09:08 PM   #3
Onebunchmin
New Member
Onebunchmin's Avatar
3
Rep
15
Posts

Drives: (DAD's Car) 2008 135i
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Vero Beach FL

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by chris_flies View Post
Interesting products, I look forward to the review...
As do I. Although UR can take a while to ship their products
Appreciate 0
      05-26-2018, 10:29 AM   #4
Onebunchmin
New Member
Onebunchmin's Avatar
3
Rep
15
Posts

Drives: (DAD's Car) 2008 135i
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Vero Beach FL

iTrader: (0)

Braces were made to order. Will arrive next week.
Appreciate 0
      06-05-2018, 05:27 PM   #5
Onebunchmin
New Member
Onebunchmin's Avatar
3
Rep
15
Posts

Drives: (DAD's Car) 2008 135i
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Vero Beach FL

iTrader: (0)

Updated first post with review.
Appreciate 0
      07-21-2018, 11:16 PM   #6
Onebunchmin
New Member
Onebunchmin's Avatar
3
Rep
15
Posts

Drives: (DAD's Car) 2008 135i
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Vero Beach FL

iTrader: (0)

Bump
Appreciate 0
      07-22-2018, 08:08 PM   #7
spxxx
Boost
spxxx's Avatar
1349
Rep
3,689
Posts

Drives: 135i M-Sport
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Valley of Silicon, CA - United States

iTrader: (9)

Would love on track reviews
__________________
F80 M3 TrackBoi, Z4MC GarageBoi, 1M Clone StreetBoi
Appreciate 0
      07-30-2018, 10:28 AM   #8
Onebunchmin
New Member
Onebunchmin's Avatar
3
Rep
15
Posts

Drives: (DAD's Car) 2008 135i
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Vero Beach FL

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by spxxx View Post
Would love on track reviews
Unfortunately that probably won't happen any time soon.

Last edited by Onebunchmin; 05-02-2021 at 12:24 PM..
Appreciate 0
      07-31-2018, 03:13 PM   #9
spxxx
Boost
spxxx's Avatar
1349
Rep
3,689
Posts

Drives: 135i M-Sport
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Valley of Silicon, CA - United States

iTrader: (9)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Onebunchmin View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by spxxx View Post
Would love on track reviews
Unfortunately that probably won't happen. My dad isn't really interested in cars and driving fast lol.
Lol which is odd because this seems quite unnecessary for a street car. Hopefully some track rat picks one up
__________________
F80 M3 TrackBoi, Z4MC GarageBoi, 1M Clone StreetBoi
Appreciate 2
BimmerAg425.00
      08-04-2018, 07:44 PM   #10
Onebunchmin
New Member
Onebunchmin's Avatar
3
Rep
15
Posts

Drives: (DAD's Car) 2008 135i
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Vero Beach FL

iTrader: (0)

It can work for a street car in reducing body flex over crappy road surfaces but it is better suited for a track car with solid bushings.
Appreciate 0
      08-12-2018, 10:45 PM   #11
dojk
Private First Class
19
Rep
179
Posts

Drives: E82 135i
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Malaysia

iTrader: (0)

Ultra Racing is an outfit from Malaysia, been around for many years....their first manufacturing plant if you could even call it that was just an industrial warehouse with a pipe bender.

Years ago they expanded but I really do not believe they are highly engineered products.

At one point, they had a E60 Show car. It had a wide body kit on it, instead of doing the proper transformation, they simply added in 5inch wheel spacers. For me when you see things like this from a manufacture that claims to be producing performance products, it rings alarm bells.

If you go into YouTube, you will see videos by them promoting got ARBs and chassis stiffeners will improve the ride quality of your car to the point where it any sense of educated judgement is out of the window.

Just my 2 cents.
Appreciate 0
      08-12-2018, 11:09 PM   #12
Onebunchmin
New Member
Onebunchmin's Avatar
3
Rep
15
Posts

Drives: (DAD's Car) 2008 135i
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Vero Beach FL

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by dojk View Post
Ultra Racing is an outfit from Malaysia, been around for many years....their first manufacturing plant if you could even call it that was just an industrial warehouse with a pipe bender.

Years ago they expanded but I really do not believe they are highly engineered products.

At one point, they had a E60 Show car. It had a wide body kit on it, instead of doing the proper transformation, they simply added in 5inch wheel spacers. For me when you see things like this from a manufacture that claims to be producing performance products, it rings alarm bells.

If you go into YouTube, you will see videos by them promoting got ARBs and chassis stiffeners will improve the ride quality of your car to the point where it any sense of educated judgement is out of the window.

Just my 2 cents.
To each their own
Appreciate 0
      08-31-2018, 09:27 AM   #13
chris82
Brigadier General
chris82's Avatar
United_States
825
Rep
3,856
Posts

Drives: 128i
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: NY NY

iTrader: (8)

Garage List
2009 BMW 128i  [9.80]
I'm surprised how well they fit and that's great news for you. I stopped looking at them when another respected forum member had bought these for his 128i and said they fit so poorly he simply threw em in the garbage.
Appreciate 0
      08-31-2018, 09:34 AM   #14
Onebunchmin
New Member
Onebunchmin's Avatar
3
Rep
15
Posts

Drives: (DAD's Car) 2008 135i
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Vero Beach FL

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by chris82 View Post
I'm surprised how well they fit and that's great news for you. I stopped looking at them when another respected forum member had bought these for his 128i and said they fit so poorly he simply threw em in the garbage.
There's alot of fakes going around. I bought these from the Ultra racing USA site. They were made to order. These fit on the car with no issues apart from the front splash sheild. They are solid on the body and a good price. Made even better if there's a sale going on.
Appreciate 0
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:14 PM.




1addicts
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST