I started off with a positive review, now I will proceed to the least favorite product I have put on my car, the Chase Bay’s Power Steering Kit version 1.0. I believe they came out with a second system they believe to better. My experience with this product was an unmitigated disaster. Product was installed by professionals when a cage was installed last year.
:
isclaimer:: This product caused me to miss about 4 track days, desperate runs to a hydraulic hose shop, and desperately hoping I could make it 50 miles home from the track. In terms of installing, attempts to fix, and lost track time, this product cost me thousands of dollars only to then return to stock. I haven’t gathered receipts or anything of that nature, I am just telling you what happened. I did send them an email after the high pressure line catastrophically failed on the track. They asked me to send a picture. I didn’t send a picture back because I no longer had the line, as I was sitting in hydraulic shop 30 minutes away during a track day so they could attempt to cobble something together so I could get home. It’s hard to find parts on a Sunday… I didn’t communicate with them further, but I am sure they would have replaced the line for free. I would not have installed it. Their new product may be fantastic.::
Chase Bay’s Power Steering Kit (1.0)
Concept: The E46 M3 is prone to weeping, leaking, and catastrophic failure of the high pressure line. Additionally, under hard driving, or on the track, the reservoir can leak, resulting in a mess and loss of power steering fluid. This product would solve both problems by eliminating the high pressure line and introducing a baffled reservoir designed to reduce fluid velocity and thereby reduce the risk of loss of fluid in the reservoir.
Ease Of Install: 5
Not a particularly difficult install. If you change your P/S lines or have done work with the rack the install is straightforward. You will need a set of high quality AN wrenches. My suggestion would be to look for a low profile, stubby set as the clearance between the AN fittings on on rack requires some finagling. Test fit the lines from the reservoir prior to installing to get the correct orientation. The included plastic collar for the reservoir is a bit awkward but firmly secured the reservoir nonetheless.
Product Quality: 8.5
All lines appeared to be high quality. The reservoir is well designed and robust.
Product Performance: 1
There were multiple issues with this product based off of the design. The lines are the issue. The AN fittings from the pump to the rack, oriented as pictured in the instructions, would cause the crush washer on the fitting to gradually loosen resulting of the crush washer and leaks. These leaks can become quite serious. The quality of the lines, specifically the fittings, were incapable of handling the pressure from the high pressure lines. This resulted in consistent, predictable failures. The design was simply incapable of handling the pressure from the stock pump. That is a design failure. Full stop. Non-functional the day you open the box.
Recommended for Track-No
Recommended for Street-No
Notes: This is a statement from the owner regarding the 1.0 product.
“We have been selling Power Steering Kits for numerous chassis and engine types for the last 10 years, in total around 10,000+ kits. This has given us extreme confidence in our products. We are surprised and baffled, pun intended, to learn you were still having issues after our troubleshooting that solves 99% of issues.
Designing products all these years has humbled us. No matter what, there can always be a variable you haven’t seen or considered. BMW is no stranger to this. Once we started our research, we found that BMW made a few technical updates to E46 M3’s specifically. We were able to work around the updated LF30 pump that has the enlarged outlet (higher total output flow than non M3’s) by adding a check valve and restricted banjo bolt on the rack inlet port. Having a customer like Andrew @ Buildjournal who understands automotive troubleshooting is key. We were appreciative of his assistance to work through development to find a repeatable and consistent solution. Now we can proudly offer track-tested reassurance to customers trying to get the most from their M3’s by upgrading their steering system for trouble free competitive use. -Chase”
Analysis: There is no subtext here. The owner is admitting he sold a defective product advertised as track proven and reliable. That is an admirable admission that they sold a product that was not fit for a particular purpose. I have respect for the honesty. It doesn’t really change anything for those that purchased system 1.0 which is a design failure.
Overall: .5
One half point is awarded for honesty.
:
isclaimer:: This product caused me to miss about 4 track days, desperate runs to a hydraulic hose shop, and desperately hoping I could make it 50 miles home from the track. In terms of installing, attempts to fix, and lost track time, this product cost me thousands of dollars only to then return to stock. I haven’t gathered receipts or anything of that nature, I am just telling you what happened. I did send them an email after the high pressure line catastrophically failed on the track. They asked me to send a picture. I didn’t send a picture back because I no longer had the line, as I was sitting in hydraulic shop 30 minutes away during a track day so they could attempt to cobble something together so I could get home. It’s hard to find parts on a Sunday… I didn’t communicate with them further, but I am sure they would have replaced the line for free. I would not have installed it. Their new product may be fantastic.::Chase Bay’s Power Steering Kit (1.0)
Concept: The E46 M3 is prone to weeping, leaking, and catastrophic failure of the high pressure line. Additionally, under hard driving, or on the track, the reservoir can leak, resulting in a mess and loss of power steering fluid. This product would solve both problems by eliminating the high pressure line and introducing a baffled reservoir designed to reduce fluid velocity and thereby reduce the risk of loss of fluid in the reservoir.
Ease Of Install: 5
Not a particularly difficult install. If you change your P/S lines or have done work with the rack the install is straightforward. You will need a set of high quality AN wrenches. My suggestion would be to look for a low profile, stubby set as the clearance between the AN fittings on on rack requires some finagling. Test fit the lines from the reservoir prior to installing to get the correct orientation. The included plastic collar for the reservoir is a bit awkward but firmly secured the reservoir nonetheless.
Product Quality: 8.5
All lines appeared to be high quality. The reservoir is well designed and robust.
Product Performance: 1
There were multiple issues with this product based off of the design. The lines are the issue. The AN fittings from the pump to the rack, oriented as pictured in the instructions, would cause the crush washer on the fitting to gradually loosen resulting of the crush washer and leaks. These leaks can become quite serious. The quality of the lines, specifically the fittings, were incapable of handling the pressure from the high pressure lines. This resulted in consistent, predictable failures. The design was simply incapable of handling the pressure from the stock pump. That is a design failure. Full stop. Non-functional the day you open the box.
Recommended for Track-No
Recommended for Street-No
Notes: This is a statement from the owner regarding the 1.0 product.
“We have been selling Power Steering Kits for numerous chassis and engine types for the last 10 years, in total around 10,000+ kits. This has given us extreme confidence in our products. We are surprised and baffled, pun intended, to learn you were still having issues after our troubleshooting that solves 99% of issues.
Designing products all these years has humbled us. No matter what, there can always be a variable you haven’t seen or considered. BMW is no stranger to this. Once we started our research, we found that BMW made a few technical updates to E46 M3’s specifically. We were able to work around the updated LF30 pump that has the enlarged outlet (higher total output flow than non M3’s) by adding a check valve and restricted banjo bolt on the rack inlet port. Having a customer like Andrew @ Buildjournal who understands automotive troubleshooting is key. We were appreciative of his assistance to work through development to find a repeatable and consistent solution. Now we can proudly offer track-tested reassurance to customers trying to get the most from their M3’s by upgrading their steering system for trouble free competitive use. -Chase”
Analysis: There is no subtext here. The owner is admitting he sold a defective product advertised as track proven and reliable. That is an admirable admission that they sold a product that was not fit for a particular purpose. I have respect for the honesty. It doesn’t really change anything for those that purchased system 1.0 which is a design failure.
Overall: .5
One half point is awarded for honesty.
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