I'm REAL skeptical about these "stress bars" for the E46. Just by the location of the struts, and the construction of the firewall (partially double, given the separate area the empty battery box area, etc.), it just doesn't need this additional reinforcement. I've even read reviews from some earlier makers of these for the E46 where they said they were basically useless/cosmetic in this application. On the other hand, they won't hurt anything, other than your wallet, and won't have any affect on warranty, unlike some other mods.

People that want these should first define what change they are wanting in the handling. If it's reduced body roll, there are anti-sway bars that really do reduce that. These strut bars won't affect that one bit. If you're looking for minor improvements toward "neutral" handling, just playing with tire pressures will have more effect (and anti-sway bars are effective there too). In theory, all they can do is reduce chassis flex somewhat. But is that a problem with the E46? So, BMW did a not good enough job in designing the car, given the computer-aided design they do now, and given the improved rigidity over the already good E36?

Just one person's opinion.