Trunk Spring Tower Covers

[jhjacobs]

As I rebuild the interior of my trunk I need to find a solution for the trunk spring towers. The original formed vinyl is damaged beyond repair. I would appreciate suggestions and sources. To be honest I haven't attempted to order them yet through BMW but I would suspect they are NLA. If anyone has purchased them or knows of a source I would be interested. However, I've seen a number of creative solutions which may prove to be better than the original skins. Some things I am considering:

1. I could make soft vinyl boots to cover the towers.
2. I could simply paint the towers nicely and call it a day. This would also work well with the nice trunk mount battery kit from Racetep; it appears to conflict with the molded vinyl from photos I've seen.
3. Along the above idea, it appears the Racetep system requires some holes to be drilled for the 2-3 bolts on top of each column. Does drilling into this rust prone area pose any serious issues? Does the kit do anything to help overall body stiffness?
4. Do the vinyl covers pose any problem with water retention and rust encouragement?
5. Duct tape art could be interesting - the color is not too far off from the elephant skin.

 

[decoupe]

With respect to your third item, yes there are two holes required unless you weld the brace on. A liberal application of POR 15 or equal and any other heroic measures would be good insurance against rust.

The stiffening, if any exists might be noticeable in the extreme conditions on a track but I couldn't tell in everyday use. There is real benefit in moving the battery for better weight distribution but at the cost of trunk space.

The only suggestion I have is to install as directed but also weld/bolt the brace to the body at the battery tray so you create three points of connection (triangle). Even then I don't see how tying the tops of the shocks together would make any difference when it is the springs that carry and transfer the load.