Thanks Stephen, and hopefully Shawn will post once he has installed his.
Thanks Stephen, and hopefully Shawn will post once he has installed his.
325i, 2005, 5MT, Silvergrey, leatherette, Sport package; CDV delete, KONI STR-T & KYB Excel-G, Weisslichts, Stewart H2O pump
328i, 2010, 6MT, Spacegrey, dakota leather, M-sport packages; has a 330 intake but no tune - yet
325i, 2005, 5MT, Silvergrey, leatherette, Sport package; CDV delete, KONI STR-T & KYB Excel-G, Weisslichts, Stewart H2O pump
328i, 2010, 6MT, Spacegrey, dakota leather, M-sport packages; has a 330 intake but no tune - yet
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.
BMW CCA # 510252
There's another "Scratch and Dent" ones for $124.46
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330....0L/ES2931692/
2006 330cic ZHP - Mystic Blue Metallic, AT, 72k
2012 Mazda 3i Hatchback
1978 Suzuki GS750E
Hmm.. maybe someone bought it already?
Hit or Miss i guess:
Black
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330....0L/ES2931692/
Silver
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330....0L/ES2784956/
Last edited by yj4x4; 07-13-2015 at 10:53 AM.
2006 330cic ZHP - Mystic Blue Metallic, AT, 72k
2012 Mazda 3i Hatchback
1978 Suzuki GS750E
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...
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 For those who desire to remain completely stock regarding suspension setup, this strut bar would be a great choice
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
BAV Stage 1 - BlueBus - UltraGauge - V1 - Orion V4's - ARC-8's - Brembo 996
TTFS Engine/SMG Tune/CSL 255 - SGT Headers/Sect 1/SCZA - Evolve Eventuri
VIS XTS CF Hood - CF Lip/Console/Diffuser - OE CSL Trunk - BWS 500S 9k/11k
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.
Current: 2011 E92 M3 l 6 Speed Manual l Lemans Blue l Palladium Silver Leather l Bone Stock
Previous: 2004 330i Imola ZHP l 6 Speed Manual l Sand Beige Leather l Black Cube l VMR V703s l Koni Yellows
AFE CAI l TRS Bi-Xenons l Adjustable Front & Rear Sway Bars l MFactory Helical 3.38 LSD