I was referred to your forum by Steve Edwards in Florida, one of your members. He got wind of the fact that we need a local (metro Phoenix, AZ) XK8 and/or XKR as a test mule for a shock tower strut brace. We are the "Strong-Strut" folks, a mom & pop manufacturer of BMW strut braces. We have been in business 14 years and ship all over the world. A while back, we had a local Jag owner/enthusiast who told us there was a market for our product with the Jag owners and we proceeded to manufacture a prototype unit. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, our test mule owner vanished and left us with a 60% completed prototype brace which we would like to finish and offer to the Jag community. We need a local owner so we can take some measurements and complete the project. The volunteer will receive a free Strong-Strut, assuming we get into a production version. we manufacture only first class, high quality accessories, something you will be proud to install on your Jag. Please respond to this email pebeyer@***.net or 480 513 3222 and ask for Paul. We are also interested in your thoughts on this type of accessory for your Jag, according to Steve Edwards, this is a desirable accessory that may correct some flaws built into the XK8 and XKR shock towers

 

Thanks for the message...and heck yes, anyone interested in manufacturing quality aftermarket bits for XK8s and Rs is a great friend to all of us.

Wish I lived in Arizona...I'd be in your garage within the hour.

Best of luck to you...someone get on this...and be sure to let us know when you're ready to go to market.

 

Thank you for your kind words, hopefully we will pick up a local owner, until then our hands are tied.

Paul

 

i completely agree with the coupe, if i was there you would have my car in 10 minutes. this is to good to pass up! if you do produce a strut bar ill be on your list of customers.

also i dont know if you guys do this but do you make sway bars? thatll probably be another good seller

 

I am interested in your product. I am pretty sure there are some owners in your area that will come forward.

One question I have is will the braces really fit an XKR...I was under the impression that there was not enough clearance under the hood on the R for a brace.

 

sorry, we do not make sway bars but thank you for asking. We are not allowed to post our web page on this forum and we respect that but if you use your imagination we are easy to find on google and you can see BMW examples of our products. Anything we make for the Jag will be the same high quality. Paul

 

until we get an XKR in our shop we will not know. It may be possible but may require a slightly different design than the XK8. Thanks, Paul

 

I suspect that if you concentrated on the 'R' it would fit the '8' without modification. Your market would also extend to the XJ8/R owners.

How far is Phoenix from Ellijay?

 

Hey Testy-

I'm just up the road in Greenville. I'll race ya.

 

I have looked at doing this, there is no room for anything that shall we say as far as strut braces go "standard" in looks, there is almost zero clearance between the engine and hood, most people reconise this through the wear marks on the hood liner where the supercharger touches.
Maybe possible for the XK8, I did my track car by fitting to the standard setup off the strut tower to the bulkhead the same fashion as the convertibles but then added a piece joining the 2 braces together, the only reason I was able to do this is because I have no throttle body in the way or induction pipe

I wish you luck but I know of a few other companies who have tried and failed, mainly beacuse the thing was so elaborate it was not cost effective

 

+1, especially if it's in sexy brushed aluminium.

 

Well im here in AZ and I will call them later. Im not done fixing the front end damage on my XKR (way I bought it) but will call them and see if there interested. Ill let ya know.

 

about 1500 miles I would esitmate
Paul

 

We'll look forward to hearing from you. 480 513 3222
Paul

 

Yes, clearance was the big issue with our partially completed prototype brace but we would like to take another shot at it and see if there is a reasonable "work around." Thanks for the very valuable information. Paul

 

Nowhere near Arizona, but I agree with Racer. This is a non-starter. Already been there, Already tried to do that on an XK8. No hood clearance, then there is an "awkward" shall we say, strut tower angle. The brace ends up either looking like a pretzel, or like a pretzel, neither one of which is desireable. Not to discourage though, give it a try anyway, and I'll be glad to say Wow.

 

Good luck with the project reyebe, I've always been interested in a strut tower option for the convertible. Maybe you'll come up with a design that overcomes the existing challenges, and it is reasonably affordable. If you do get a prototype that works and have determined a retail price to cover manufacturing, and O&P, you'll have no shortage of opinions on whether or not us owners would be willing to pay that amount. You've got your own personal marketing study group right here.

 

Thanks again for the heads up, Matt. I just left a message for Paul. I'll let you know what happens.

 

Hey Kevin, I talked to Paul this morning, super nice guy. Anyway, he really needs a XK8 so my XKR really wont work but I will as soon as I can head up to see him anyway. If you can please try to hook up with him. Not sure where in PHX you are but im about 70 miles away down in Casa Grande. Hopefully your closer.

 

We have hooked up with both John and Kevin and we're grateful for them coming forward. We know this will be a challenge but we do want to give it one more sincere attempt. Thanks,

Paul