Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Review: ECS Hybrid RSMs

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Review: ECS Hybrid RSMs

    I had a chance to install these on my car last weekend, and I'm exceedingly pleased with them! They are completely silent, did not add any perceptible NHV, and being sealed from the bottom should keep the monoball operating freely (and silently) for a long time to come.

    Here's excited for them...
    Traditionally there's two types of RSMs: Bushing based or monoball based. Both have tradeoffs.

    Bushing based RSMs must to be soft enough the angle of the shock to change, at various points on the suspensions travel (so that the shock doesn't bind, and/or ruin its seals-- more important on higher end shocks, but always useful). This solution meant low NHV, but the precision with which the shock could control the wheel was significantly restricted by the need for fairly soft bushings. Most of my cars life has been on these.

    Traditional monoball based RSMs allow complete shock articulation and 100% precision, but transferred NHV is very significant (annoying). Over time, the monoballs themselves can get noisy as they are not sealed from dirt. Good for race cars, not great for street cars or street driven track cars. I ran these for ~10,000 miles before I got fed up with them.

    ECS's new Polyurethane-isolated monoball RSMs are very much the best of both worlds. They have a bushing, but that bushing is only responsible for NHV control-- the monoball is there to allow to shock to articulate. That means they can use a much stiffer bushings, allowing the shock to be much more precise in its wheel control. They also include a gasket to seal the bearing from below, which should keep the monoball operating as new for a much longer time than traditional, unsealed monoball RSMs.

    The result is just kick ass. Almost all of the precision of a full monoball RSMs, no perceptible increase in NHV. It's the perfect RSM for anything other than a dedicated race car, IMO!

    Some pictures from ECS's site, because I didn't remember to take any:









    I'm super pleased with them

    2005 IR/IR M3 Coupe
    2012 LMB/Black 128i
    2008 Black/Black M5 Sedan

    #2
    They're also on-sale.. https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-part...002542ecs01kt/
    Phoenix Yellow e46m3 Build Thread
    Japanrot Red E46 330i Msport k24/dct/turbo Build Thread

    Comment


      #3
      Quick FYI: As of late last year, they (unfortunately) stopped producing the spacers for the larger strut shafts found in most high-performance CO's. Sooo, as a result, you can no longer use these for most of the more race oriented CO's. It's a bummer too, becuz I have these and love them, but can no longer use them w/my JRZ's-AARGH!

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by stash1 View Post
        Quick FYI: As of late last year, they (unfortunately) stopped producing the spacers for the larger strut shafts found in most high-performance CO's. Sooo, as a result, you can no longer use these for most of the more race oriented CO's. It's a bummer too, becuz I have these and love them, but can no longer use them w/my JRZ's-AARGH!
        Sounds like you could perhaps get the spacer made. It doesn't seem like a super complicated part to be made.
        Phoenix Yellow e46m3 Build Thread
        Japanrot Red E46 330i Msport k24/dct/turbo Build Thread

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by liam821 View Post

          Sounds like you could perhaps get the spacer made. It doesn't seem like a super complicated part to be made.
          Ya, suppose that's the route I'll likely be taking in lieu of the situation w/ECS no longer supporting these RSM's.

          Comment


            #6
            There appears to be 3 types of kits offered:

            https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-part...02542ecs01kt2/
            No reinforcement plates. $194.70

            https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-part...002542ecs01kt/
            Polyurethane-isolated monoball design offers street comfort with race performance while eliminating blowouts!! Includes ECS heavy duty reinforcement plates. $216.55

            https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-part...02542ecs01kt1/
            Polyurethane-isolated monoball design offers street comfort with race performance while eliminating blowouts!! Includes ECS heavy duty E46 convertible-specific reinforcement plates. $216.55





            Comment

            Working...
            X