ECS News

Why use wheel studs instead of wheel bolts? When removing and installing wheels that utilize the factory wheel bolts the process can be frustrating, holding the wheel up with your legs, lining up the holes, and threading the bolts all at the same time. Wheel studs also allow the use of varying length wheel spacers - a highly convenient feature for those that anticipate using different spacer size setups in the future. Conical seat lug nuts are available for a maximum of 10mm, 20mm, or 30mm wheel spacer use.

A better secured drivetrain supports power modifications, average every day stresses on your vehicle's chassis, and allows for a more immediate feeling of connectedness between the driver and the road. The factory rubber BMW mounts have a propensity to degrade over time, causing over-revving, mis-shifts, and even chassis damage. ECS has developed a 70A or 80A polyurethane density Transmission Mount Sets for the BMW E46 - soft enough for comfortable daily driving, but durable enough to increase drivetrain solidarity and responsiveness.

The engine in the E46 325/330 is known for only one weakness - the cooling system. The ultimate assurance that you wont be left on the side of the road with an over heated engine is to refresh all the major components at the first sign of any failure. In many cases, M54 engines last the life of the vehicle - meaning by this time there will be more wear and tear on cooling system components than predicted by BMW. ECS offers Cooling System Refresh Kits with varying levels of components for this very reason - Three levels of ECS-assembled kits are available.

Achieving that show-room shine for your paint and interior surfaces requires patience and care - thorough cleaning and detailing can elevate a car to the next level. Three innovative car protection solutions from ECS give you the peace of mind that your body and interior are safe from accidental scratching, scuffing, weathering, and debris. The ECS Mechanics Seat Protector Cover is made of full-bound, padded vinyl and resists most acids, grease, dirt and grime. Keep your fender cover in place and protect your finish with the convenient and stylish ECS Magnetic Fender Covers.

There are several critical automotive projects that require pulling fluid lines – these jobs oftentimes end in an unnecessary mess from using inadequate tools and procedures. The tool experts at Schwaben have developed the highly convenient Fluid Stopper Kit for this reason, allowing you to properly clamp any fluid hoses and avoid messes or fluid losses. Additionally, the clamps offer a temporary seal, meaning you will not compromise any lines for later use. Address all common hard lines, including fuel lines, brake lines, and banjo connections.

The easy to use Schwaben Bleeding Products allow you to bleed and flush your fluid systems with the convenience and accuracy of a professional. The line of fully-loaded pressure bleeders are undoubtedly the best-performing products of their kind available on the market today. Schwaben also offers a catch bottle that holds a full 1 Liter of fluid and features easy to read oil level marks for accurate draining.

Spacers for your racer. ECS Tuning lets you tweak your stance - or swagger down the road with a 20mm monster offset. Engineered and tested in-house to fit your BMW perfectly. Choose from our huge inventory of hub centric spacers in thicknesses sure to match your car, your wheels, and your shopping budget. All ECS BMW spacers are aluminum, and are black anodized for corrosion protection. Kits come with correct-length black lug bolts for a complete package.

Schwaben Specialty Tools announces new innovative solutions to the most common dilemmas faced by European car owners. For those hard to reach hose clamps with 7mm hex nuts, the Schwaben Hose Clamp Flex Driver features an overall length of 10-1/2" and a flex shaft length of 6" for exceptional convenience. The ergonomic handle features a non-slip grip for when your hands are oily or wet. The 46 Piece 1/4" Drive Set contains all the most popular tools needed to address the most common installation and repair projects for European cars.

Features of convenience and ease of use define this latest Schwaben Specialty Tools release. The Schwaben Telescoping Round/Rectangular Mirror offers an 9-1/2" to 29" extendable handle with a stainless steel shaft, plus a 2-1/4" mirror head mounted on a dual swivel for a full 360 degree rotation. The Schwaben Telescoping Magnet is rated to pick up 3.5 lbs. Its stainless steel shaft is 7" collapsed and 26" extended, while its powerful magnet is encased in a aluminum sleeve to help prevent side of magnet from sticking.

The BMW E46 3 Series has proven itself to be a true-blooded BMW, with handling dynamics that are close to perfect. One area of this particular model's suspension that can use bolstering is at the sway bar. ECS tested 27mm front and 21mm rear sway bars for this precise reason. Reduce body roll in turns, stiffen suspension, and add a much needed dimension of handling predictability with the ECS units - designed to fit and function in perfect harmony with your BMW.

Megan Racing Coilovers are the ideal upgrade for BMW E46 3 Series owners looking for a fully-featured, highly adjustable coilover setup that will take them from aggressive street driving to the track. Offering 32 levels of damper force adjustment, Megan Racing’s coilovers have separate adjustments for both spring perch height and shock length, allowing you to fine tune your suspension according to differing driving conditions. The included camber plates give you much-needed control over camber angle in order to dial in the perfect stance and ideal handling dynamics.

Ideal for the Euro enthusiast enjoying an aggressive lowered ride height, the all-new Schwaben Low Profile 2 Ton Aluminum Floor Jack allows you to sneak under the ground-hugging rockers on your car. Constructed from lightweight aluminum, this exceptionally durable floor jack features a long and low profile curve for extended reach under the car. The specialty tool experts at Schwaben have designed this jack with a max lift height of 20" and a low height of just 3.25". Dual pump pistons raise the saddle to its maximum height in only 5 pump strokes with minimum effort.

Looking to improve your vehicle's handling characteristics without spending massive amounts of money? If so, this new ECS Carbon Fiber Strut Bar is perfect for you. A strut bar is designed to reduce strut tower flex by tying two parallel strut towers together. This transmits the load of each strut tower during cornering, resulting in reduced chassis flex. The show-quality autoclave process carbon center bar is actual carbon fiber and mounts to your BMW with lightweight CNC machined aluminum tower plates. Once in place, it will seem like you have a whole new race BMW.

Hawk high-performance braking solutions have served European car owners diligently with their exceptionally effective and economical brake pad kits. The latest addition to their growing catalog of superior braking setups, Sector 27 Drilled and Slotted Brake Rotors and Performance Ceramic Brake Pads bring are ideal for daily-driven vehicles that are in need of a high level of performance that stock pads and rotors cannot provide. Slotting and drilling significantly lowers brake rotor temperatures, while the proven Hawk Performance Ceramic Pads exhibit low noise and dust.

We have a pretty good idea of what dads really want in life: a full garage... tools on top of tools on top of accessories. Make this Father's Day little extra special and reward all his hard work by treating him with the gift of ECS Tuning and Schwaben. And don't forget ECS Tuning gift cards! We now have virtual giftcards sent to you via email for that last minute gift giver.

Avoid finding yourself without a key trim fastener - stock up for good with the Vaico BMW/MINI Fastener Assortment Kit. Designed with the DIY enthusiast or body shop in mind, this assortment comes stocked with clips for fender liners, interior trim, and body moldings, all in a convenient storage case. An extremely convenient kit for the discriminating MINI owner, you can now achieve a factory-perfect look instead of leaving crucial interior elements out of sorts.

ECS engineers have created a performance clutch kit designed with the enthusiast in mind, meaning you get all the benefits of a single mass flywheel without the drawbacks. The stock dual mass flywheel is designed using the weight to smooth out the clutch engagement which means in most cases going to a single mass they develop a chatter and hard shifting. ECS has found a way to keep that smooth feeling and gain the enhancements in response, the quality any daily driver would want. Kits have been designed with Hardened 4140 chromoly steel for an excellent feel and wear resistance.

A stripped thread can turn an enjoyable weekend project into an unbearably frustrating experience, occasionally bringing the entire job to a complete halt. The Schwaben Thread Repair Kits were designed specifically for European cars with the most commonly used metric sized threads in mind, keeping your project in motion whenever metric threads are stripped or otherwise damaged. The kit contains everything to keep your project going - simply drill out the old thread, tap out the hole with the correct sized tap, and screw in a new insert with the installation tool.

Ever tried removing a radio trim bezel with a screwdriver or metal putty knife? Ugly. Ineffective. Metal prying tools gouge, scratch, and crack expensive interior parts adding needless cost and aggravation to any repair or accessory installation requiring trim panel removal. Stop the madness. Invest in one of our affordable trim removal kits. Large kit or small, our trim removal tools are made of tough, non-marring molded plastic, brightly colored so you won't leave them behind when the job is done. Do it right. Do it faster. Schwaben.

The engine in the E46 325/330 is known for only one weakness - the cooling system. The ultimate assurance that you wont be left on the side of the road with an over heated engine is to refresh all the major components at the first sign of any failure. In many cases, M54 engines last the life of the vehicle - meaning by this time there will be more wear and tear on cooling system components than predicted by BMW. ECS offers Cooling System Refresh Kits with varying levels of components for this very reason - Three stages of ECS-assembled and Genuine BMW kits are available.

Your factory brake calipers slide on guide pins through rubber bushings. This design is adequate and widely used from the factory by BMW. For more precise braking, bronze bushings and 304 stainless steel guide pins allow for a more positive feel at the pedal and more even pad wear. The ECS Performance Caliper Guide Bushings are oil-impregnated to complement anti-seize, providing additional lubrication - all of which is held in place by an integrated o-ring & dust cap. Working in concert with new stainless steel guide pins allows for much longer service life & less maintenance.

We have a pretty good idea of what dads really want in life: a full garage - but not full of just anything. Ideally, dad needs the perfect tools to pour over every dimension of his baby on summer weekends and evenings. Make this Father's Day little extra special and reward all his hard work by treating him with the gift of Schwaben. Organization, mobility, vision, safety, and charging specialty tools give dad the motivation he needs to get out there and enjoy his hobby like a pro.

For over 35 years, Escort has been a leader in high-performance radar and laser detectors. Offering advanced features of convenience such as GPS, Bluetooth, and cell phone integration, as well as clever performance features like all-band ultimate radar/laser protection, 'instant on', and laser shifters, Escort radar detectors are the pinnacle of protection for the automotive enthusiast. ECS Tuning is proud to be your authorized dealer of Escort products, the most intelligent solution for discerning drivers.

Utilizing the latest advancements in materials science and manufacturing processes, Cool Carbon has arrived at formulation that provides the ultimate braking experience. Developed to withstand extreme temperatures exceeding 600°C while retaining smooth brake feel, Cool Carbon pads display the type of engineering rigor that fits your BMW: - Excellent for spirited street performance applications - Low to no noise or dust - rotor friendly! - Faster heat dissipation allowing consistent performance at higher temperatures Cool Carbon Pads are the discerning enthusiast's first choice.

Enlighten your engine with new LIQUI MOLY Molygen engine oil, exclusively available in the United States through ECS. Using revolutionary molecular friction control, Molygen will provide the quality protection your BMW deserves. Molygen is specifically engineered to preserve, cool, and lubricate your naturally aspirated or forced induction engine from performance use to daily driving. ECS now offers Molygen for BMW engines, sold individually, or in complete service kits.

Oxygen sensors are a key component in fuel efficiency and idle. The O2 sensor measures the amount of unburned fuel in the exhaust pipe to adjust fuel mapping for less emissions and better fuel economy. When these sensors fail, you'll likely experience a check engine light and code directing you right to the problematic sensor. When driving with a problematic O2 sensor, your MPG and performance will often suffer. Replaced fairly easily, new O2 sensors will help restore your BMW E46's performance and mileage back to factory standards.

The growing Schwaben Tool catalog has just expanded again with the release of the superbly engineered, exceptionally reliable Schwaben hand tools - now available from ECS tuning. The new Schwaben 1/2" breaker bar has a full 180°swing for those hard to reach bolts and nuts. A complete set of Schwaben twelve-point metric combination wrenches from 8 to 19 mm is also available. Mechanic-quality 290mm and 200mm long ratchets featuring a durable fine satin finish round off this latest premium tool release.

Your wheels and tires require a little extra care and attention, especially during storage. ECS offers several smart & simple storage solutions, specifically designed for your Vehicle. The Schwaben Wheel Tree is a non-marring Wheel Rack, allowing you to safely store your wheels & tires upright in close corners. The Schwaben Wheel & Tire Rack saves your floor space, securely mounting your wheels & tires on the wall.

A lesser known feature of the highest caliber performance cars has nothing to do with engine power output, suspension dynamics, or build materials. Almost every truly distinguished European sports car utilizes a limited-slip style differential. While an open differential effectively accomplishes the task of allowing one wheel to spin faster than the other around corners, during power delivery, this behavior is not always desirable. Team MFactory LSDs are the best option on the market for transforming the drivetrain of your BMW E46 325/328/330i/Ci.

We are here to help. Our team of sales enthusiasts are here to assist you with all of your German auto parts needs until 11pm EST weekdays. We are also here on Saturdays from 10am -7pm. For assistance outside of these hours please email [email protected] and we will get you an answer.