Mason Engineering products are 100% AMERICAN MADE and use DOMESTICALLY PRODUCED ALLOY MATERIALS. 

At Mason Engineering we DO NOT outsource our manufacturing and have no plans to in the future.  With the expansion of the popularity of our products, companies in China have started copying and mislabeling their cheap knockoffs as our bars.  We want you to be 100% satisfied and we do our very best to provide you with the best product available.

Mason Engineering uses three types of materials, but our preferred material is aluminum, here is why.

Aluminum is one third the weight of carbon steel and stainless steel, and is twice as strong in a compression load situation.

The advantage of aluminum is it is light, and non-magnetic.  This means that electrical disturbances are reduced, and it resists corrosion.  In its natural state, aluminum has a clean appearance and absorbs impact loads without permanently deforming as aluminum has a high modulus of elasticity. Additionally Aluminum has a 45k PSI tensile strength.

Carbon Steel on the other hand is overall stronger in all directions of load but is three times as heavy, is prone to oxidation (rust), and is magnetic.  Carbon Steel has a 55k PSI tensile.

      Physical Properties of our materials:

        Carbon Steel: 55k PSI tensile and 40k yield strength

        60601T6 Aluminum alloy: 45k PSI tensile and 40k yield strength

        Stainless Steel: 85k PSI tensile and 35k yield strength

 As you can see, stainless steel in the weakest of the lot but is good when used in heat affected areas.

Commonly asked questions.

• Why do you need a strut bar.

The BMW 3 Series cars are well known for their agility and superb handling. However, because of the chassis design, there is a weakness in the 3 Series cars. The front shock towers are not well supported in the 3 Series chassis. In fact, they are somewhat isolated and unsupported. As a result, the towers can bend and flex under heavy cornering. This flexing can cause detrimental changes in the handling of your car, because, in general, the stiffer the chassis, the better the handling of the car. Camber strut braces are designed to maintain the distance between the shocks under heavy cornering. A bar linking the top of the shock towers ensures the towers do not bend when the chassis is flexing.

A strut bar, strut brace, or strut tower brace (STB) is a mostly aftermarket car suspension accessory usually used in conjunction with MacPherson struts on monocoque or unibody chassis to provide extra stiffness between the strut towers.

With a MacPherson strut suspension system where the spring and shock absorber are combined in the one suspension unit, the entire vertical suspension load is transmitted to the top of the vehicle's strut tower, unlike a double wishbone suspension where the spring and shock absorber may share the load separately. In general terms, a strut tower in a monocoque chassis is a reinforced portion of the inner wheel well and is not necessarily directly connected to the main chassis rails. For this reason there is inherent flex within the strut towers relative to the chassis rails.

A strut bar is designed to reduce this strut tower flex by tying two parallel strut towers together. This transmits the load of each strut tower during cornering which ties the two towers together and reduces chassis flex. To accomplish this effectively (especially on MacPherson strut suspensions), the bar must be rigid throughout its length, and also attached to the firewall.

• Why you need a rear shock tower bar?

The purpose of a rear shock tower bar is to reduce the amount of flex that the chassis experiences during cornering by bracing the tops of the struts and the strut towers against each other.  A strut brace results in a more rigid chassis with less flexing and twisting, which translates to a more confidence-inspiring driving experience. A rigid chassis is more responsive, whereas excess movement and flexing can make a vehicle feel loose.
The rear shock tower bar will also help to remove the common unwanted front end under steer associated with excessive body roll.

 

• Will you need to have your car realigned after installing a strut bar?

When you install the strut bar you are doing so with the suspension fully loaded due to the car being on the ground.  No movement will occur on the suspension during install, which means you will not affect your alignment.

 

• Will installing Mason Engineering parts on my vehicle affect my warranty?

Mason Engineering is not an endorsed manufacturer of BMW or MINI parts and accessories.  No warranty for our parts will be provided by BMW or their affiliates.  Installing Mason Engineering parts on your BMW or MINI vehicles could possibly violate or void the manufacturers warranty.  All liability is assumed by the customer.

BMW and MINI names and emblems are copyrighted by the BMW corporation. 

CustomerService@MasonEngineering.net