ECS Tuning strut bar review

[stephenkirsh]

Bought it during their holiday sale because it was a good price. Thought I'd take a chance.

When it arrived, I pulled it out of the box and immediately flexed if with my arms. It didn't take much effort. It went back into the box and I started working on getting a refund. Which they did without any issues.

So thumbs down on the product. Thumbs up on ECS getting me a fast refund.

http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330i-M54_3.0L/Suspension/Strut_Tower_Brace/ES10995/

[TigerTater]

Lol. In for real review...eventually...?

[ELCID86]

SO are you saying you think it's just a bling-thing and will not add to rigidity, etc?

[danewilson77]

Most do not. I had the ecstuning strut bar and loved it. As stated, most are for aesthetics.

I eventually moved on to UUC strut bar. Much more rigid, but could I tell the difference? Maybe.

My car is a DD, so it's not going to be pushed like to would be at autox.

The best on the market, concerning rigidity is the Mason Engineering Strut Bar. It will be the next one I get.

The racing strut bar.
http://www.masonengineering.net/Subpages/E46.htm

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[stephenkirsh]

SO are you saying you think it's just a bling-thing and will not add to rigidity, etc?

Yes, sorry for the lack of clarity. My review was "I could bend it with my arms, and therefore, it's useless."

For bling… it's ok I guess. There's a lot nicer looking bars out there for not that much more money.

[Oli77]

Quick question for those who installed the ECS strut bar, were the nuts from the upper strut mount long enough?

What if I also throw in a reinforcement plate?

Thinking about it...

[Ssparrow]

Quick question for those who installed the ECS strut bar, were the nuts from the upper strut mount long enough?

What if I also throw in a reinforcement plate?

Thinking about it...

I'd also like to know this. Ordered one a few days ago! Price seemed good and I've been wanting a strut bar for a while now. Even if it doesn't serve an actually purpose it sure does look good.

[Johal E32]

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=998836

[Oli77]

^ yes, but its hard to read all 12-13 pages. This is why I was asking the boss and OP.

[stephenkirsh]

I never installed it, but I now have a Mason engineering strut bar and used OEM nuts. Plenty of room to spare.

[Oli77]

Thanks Stephen, and hopefully Shawn will post once he has installed his.

[Oli77]

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=998836

Thanks Johal, I actually went in there and read until post #24:

"Yes the pics are with the reinforcement plates installed on the bottom. The Lemforders give you enough bolt to use WITH plates. The Meyle strut mounts DO NOT. "

I will buy Lemforder strut mounts then!

[Simmsled]

The tensile strength of carbon fiber varies by axis.
Just because it is flexible in one direction, does not mean that it does not do well at connecting/keeping the strut towers connected (rigid) under load.

Caveman translation:
Bar flex one way, very stiff other way.

Once installed, i bet this bar is much better than its initial impression provides.

[yj4x4]

There's another "Scratch and Dent" ones for $124.46
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330Ci-M54_3.0L/ES2931692/

[BMWCurves]

Link doesn't work.

[yj4x4]

Hmm.. maybe someone bought it already?

Hit or Miss i guess:
Black
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330Ci-M54_3.0L/ES2931692/
Silver
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330Ci-M54_3.0L/ES2784956/

[JGomon]

One other downside to this bar is the mounting configuration. It does not allow me access to my Ground Control Camber Plates or Koni shock settings while installed due to the center not being open. That make this a non-starter...nono

[cakM3]

One other downside to this bar is the mounting configuration. It does not allow me access to my Ground Control Camber Plates or Koni shock settings while installed due to the center not being open. That make this a non-starter...nono

That's why I went from my ECS Tuning carbon fiber strut bar to a more rare BMW Performance carbon fiber strut bar :) Other than that, I found the ECS Tuning strut bar to be of very good quality :thumbsup For those who desire to remain completely stock regarding suspension setup, this strut bar would be a great choice :)

[WOLFN8TR]

Yes, sorry for the lack of clarity. My review was "I could bend it with my arms, and therefore, it's useless."

For bling… it's ok I guess. There's a lot nicer looking bars out there for not that much more money.

If you want a strong bar with no bling factor the stock M3 strut bar is the one to get.

http://m3.madrussian.net/review_oem_strutbar.shtml

[JeffSaysThings]

The tensile strength of carbon fiber varies by axis.
Just because it is flexible in one direction, does not mean that it does not do well at connecting/keeping the strut towers connected (rigid) under load.

Caveman translation:
Bar flex one way, very stiff other way.

Once installed, i bet this bar is much better than its initial impression provides.

I agree... I don't think it means much that you can bend the bar with your arms. I think a strut bar is only there to resist deflection of the strut towers toward each other. From a load-path perspective, no matter what the material, a strut bar will only have meaningful rigidity down the axis of the bar. I think that's why so many strut bars are hinged at each end, because they only need to be loaded axially. And as Simmsled said, a carbon fiber bar can be extremely strong axially while being kinda weak in bending... that's why we like carbon, you can tailor the stiffness to suit your application.

Don't forget gentlemen... a strut bar will never make your car faster by itself, it will only make the chassis easier to tune and more predictable. Plenty of fast cars had noodley limp chassis.

[stephenkirsh]

I have the mason engineering bar now. It's solid. No hinges.

Most everybody says don't get a hinged one.

I've seen the BMW carbon fiber ones snap. Doesn't seem like a good design to me.

Rigidity down the axis of the bar is great in theory, but the bars have forces acting on them in all 3 axises, especially when the road gets bumpy.

I purchased the mason bar to protect the strut mounting point and increase response in turn in for autocross. Which it has.

I feel if these ECST bars were any good, they wouldn't be the cheapest one you can buy.