ETA MFG Rennstand Review

F87source · 05-22-2024, 12:22 AM

Credit: ETA MFG https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ece-p252276669

Credit: ETA MFG https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ces-p255054561

Credit: ETA MFG https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ces-p255054561

Introduction:

In this review I will be going over the Rennstand jack stands, and all the technical details of this particular jack stand. I will also go over the particular use cases and benefits of this jack stand and why I think they make this jack stand one of the best if not the best jack stands on the market. I will also compare these jack stands to other alternatives like ramps and the quick jacks, and contrast and compare the pros and cons of these alternatives. I will also go over the BMW Jack pad adapter for the Rennstands as well.

So if you are interested in purchasing the Rennstands here’s are some links to do so:

Rennstand: https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ece-p252276669

BMW Jack Pad adapter: https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ces-p255054561

Disclaimer:

Damage/Injury Disclaimer: Any information, guidance, technical advice, coding advice, tuning advice, datalogging advice, installation instruction, calculation, experiment, safety information, or product installation demonstrated in my reviews is to be consumed/read/understood/followed and or done at your own risk. I will not be responsible/held liable for personal injuries, injuries to others or any living being, or any damage to your car, or any property damage.

Monetary disclaimer: I do not make commission, or profits or any kind of monetary gain from the sale of the Rennstand or the BMW Jack Pad adapter for the Rennstand.

Sponsorship disclaimer: The way my reviews work is that I determine what product that I want to buy and actually use on my own car, and during this process the product that I end up choosing is what I believe is the best option on the market. I then reach out to the company offering the product and ask them if they would be willing to sponsor me in a review, if the answer is yes then I write a review, if the answer is no I would end up buying the product (sometimes at a later date) but I wouldn’t complete a detailed review about it (I might write something, but not to the same extent as my standard reviews). But the critical thing is that I reach out for a sponsorship and not the other way around, this means that the products I am reviewing are actually things I believe in and would use on my own car. This also means that I am not being paid to review something I do not care about. Would I do a review if a sponsor reached out to me? The answer would depend on if I believed in the product, and I would make it clear in my review if this were the case. But at the time of writing this review, such an interaction has not occurred yet.

Time of writing disclaimer: everything I am writing about in this review is described at the time of writing and may not be updated in the future, so there is a potential that things are no longer accurate in my comparisons as parts are changed and upgraded as time passes.

Bias and comparison disclaimer: Throughout this review I will attempt to be as unbiased as possible while drawing comparisons to other products.

Mistakes and Inaccuracies Disclaimer: Throughout my review I will try to be as factually accurate as possible, but there are always chances that I make mistakes and write things that are incorrect/false. If this is the case please point it out to me and if indeed it is true that I am incorrect, I will correct these mistakes and apologize for them. Afterall I am only human, so mistakes can and will inevitably happen.

Subjective Disclaimer: Please note, these reviews are also written in my own opinion, so when I am comparing different products to determine what I see as the best, there are many factors that I go through to form this opinion. Obviously there will be disagreements between people, so I will do my best to objectively determine what I deem to be the best, but at the end of the day it is still just my own opinion whether it be right or wrong. Take whatever I say in my reviews with a grain of salt.

Information Disclaimer: I read a lot of material over the years just out of sheer interest or to make these reviews. I also accumulated a lot of knowledge over my many years of education that are really relevant to cars (Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics). That being said, my reviews are mostly based on this accumulated knowledge and I cannot always cite these sources due to the original source material possibly being lost to time, or there being so much knowledge compiled to make a single point. So, when possible I will cite my source(s) (for example data on tensile strength of a metal, or peer reviewed research). There are cases when I get information from blog posts, youtube videos, or forum posts I may not cite it, because I go through a lot of these sources only to use the gained knowledge in a small section of my review and it is not feasible to list them all. So pretty much what I am trying to say is I am not citing “common knowledge” - I will cite peer reviewed research and photos though (if applicable or used), or really explicit user experiences (if applicable or used).

Image Credits:

Images and videos used in this review are all property of their rightful owners as credited below each image, I am just using them for the purpose of this review but if you (the owner of the image) would like them removed please let me know via pm. Otherwise thanks to the respective image owners (I made sure to credit your online name and link where I found the photo) of the photos, without you this review would be so much more bland.

Review Disclaimer:

First and foremost I would like to thank ETA MFG for agreeing to sponsor me for this review. Despite this I will remain as unbiased as possible during the review. Please note, the dynamics of this relationship was that I reached out for a sponsorship review and not the other way around. This should demonstrate how I truly feel about the Rennstand - in the sense that I truly believe it is the best jack stand on the market, and a suitable alternative to the quick jacks. In fact I actually I am actually using these Rennstands to install all of my mods and do all of my services in 2024, and I likely will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

What Are Rennstands, and who makes them?:

So let’s begin by discussing what are “Rennstands”? The best answer to that revolves around Rennstand’s own motto: “One Jack, One Jack Point, Rennstand” - essentially Rennstands are jack stands that can be disassembled and used to lift a car at a specific jacking point, then once the car is lifted the Rennstand can be reassembled and left there while the jack is removed. The end result is a jack stand that can support the car right at the point it is lifted from - meaning you no longer have to jack the car up at the jacking point and look for a suitable place on the chassis to leave a jack stand (not always suitable on cars with alot of underbody panels - such as BMW’s). This is also the most optimal and ideal place to put a jack stand, since vehicles are technically only meant to be lifted and supported at the jacking point - and manufacturers did not intend to have the car lifted by a jack and supported elsewhere by a jack stand. Manufacturers only really intended for cars to be worked on via post based lifts (the stuff you would find in a shop) which lifts and supports the car right at the jacking point, and thus the Rennstands are really the only jack stands on the market that can fulfill this requirement (every other jack stand requires you to jack on the jacking point and shove the jack stand somewhere on the frame).

Here’s a video briefly going over using the Rennstand itself:

Next I would like to discuss who makes the Rennstands, because as you may have noticed there seems to be a lot of different vendors and variants out there.

So, the Rennstands were actually created by Frank Ceravolo a Porsche owner on Rennlist (username: gyrfalcon) in mid 2016 with the goal of trying to create a jack stand that could be placed exactly where the vehicle manufacturer intended for the car to be supported - i.e. the jacking point and not on some random part of the frame. His goal was also to make the Rennstands light weight, extremely compact, easily transportable, height adjustable and low profile to fit under really low cars. After creating this initial design, Frank had his design rigorously tested by an engineer at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University for strength and durability. After the designs were tested he was able to obtain patents protecting the design.

Now fast forward to production and these patents were licensed out to various vendors to facilitate production and sale of the Rennstand and that’s why you may have seen several different vendors selling the Rennstand. Initially they were made by safe jack - but they are no longer selling or making the Rennstand, now Rennstand Inc (I think this is Frank’s company - but I am not sure) is currently manufacturing (made in the USA) and selling the original design of the Rennstand along with ETA MFG who are manufacturing (made in China) and selling what they call “Rennstand 2.0” (under licensing from Frank) which is a modified version of the Rennstand (and imo an improved/better version that fixes some of the gripes I had with the original one - and I will explain why later on). So that basically sums up the history of the Rennstand and who is authorized to sell a legit version of the Rennstand (currently it is ETA MFG with Rennstand 2.0 and Rennstand Inc with the original Rennstand) - that has been engineered and tested to be safe, unlike any knock offs you may find online.

If you want to see some sources here are the links:

Here’s Frank’s initial thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...-new-idea.html

Here’s Frank’s first intro thread :https://rennlist.com/forums/987-foru...che-owner.html

Here’s ETA MFG’s thread talking about Rennstand 2.0: https://www.etamfg.com/rennstand-ii.html

Also I wanted to include a small excerpt about who ETA MFG are - because if you judge them by their website and not go in depth reading about them you may not get the full picture of exactly who these people are and might not feel reassured buying their products (I have heard people say “who are these guys, why buy the Rennstand from them they didn’t even design it so why trust them to make it etc”). Well ETA MFG is actually a manufacturing powerhouse with a factory spanning 1.6 million SF built-up structure on a 50 acre campus, and they specialize in manufacturing private label products for the global market. So pretty much you design it, they will manufacture it for you. But in the case of the Rennstand and the Mylift stand, they not only manufacture it but they resell it for you as well.

Traditional Jack Stands:

Credit: Canadian Tire https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/m...jack+stand#srp

Next let’s talk about traditional jack stands. Now I have nothing against traditional jack stands, they serve their purpose well and are very safe for use on vehicles with large tubular frames or pinch welds that can be used to support the weight of a vehicle. Plus they are cheap, easy to use, portable and easy to store since they are so small. However on modern day BMW’s I personally think jack stands with the claw style saddle are absolutely horrible - and let’s talk about why.

Credit: KC Design https://www.tw-kcdesign.com/upload/i...3%E5%9C%96.jpg

The first issue is placement (as you can see above this is an underbody image of the F87 M2 (representative of the F8X Chassis) and the F2X M235i (representative of the F2X and F3X chassis)):

On the rear of the F8X chassis you could put the jack stands on the rear subframe, but there aren’t any good areas at the front of the car given you use the jacking points to lift the car. You obviously can’t put jack stands on the suspension arms (tension arm, lower control arm, thrust arm) as they aren’t made to take weight and you risk damaging them. You can’t put jack stands on the stiffening plate as that might need to be removed and it’s a weird flat shape which isn’t a super good place to put a claw style jack stand (or you might have to remove the plate entirely for servicing), and obviously you can’t put it on the floor panels as it’ll punch straight through and damage the sheet metal underneath. So there really isn’t any good place to put jack stands on the F8X except the rear subframe. On the F22 since the rear subframe isn’t as aggressive as on the F8X it becomes even more difficult to place jack stands.

Credit: .Slug https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1854652

The next issue is with the claw style design:

Now if you wanted to place the jack stands on the jacking points you’d need a flat top jack stand like ESCO in conjunction with aluminum jack pad adapters, because placing traditional claw style jack stands under the plastic jacking points will cause them to break over time - plus the plastic was not meant to bear weight so you also risk the car collapsing if the plastic fails. Traditional claw style jack stands also don’t have a large enough surface area to hold a jack pad adapter in a stable configuration, so you risk it slipping off if you try to stack a jack pad adapter onto the claw.

Credit: chiefsubjugator https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...6&postcount=32

The final issue is choosing a location to jack from - and this applies to all jack stands:

You’d also need to jack from the front and the rear center jack points, on an F2X and F3X vehicle you can do so fairly stably via the front center jack point and the rear differential. On an F8X vehicle you can jack the front up via the front center jack point without issue, but the rear must be jacked up using the rear subframe. Now this poses a bit of risk because the central part of the rear subframe is extremely close to the differential meaning only a small part of the jack’s saddle can make contact with the subframe so it is very risky as the car can slip off the jack (as you can see in the image above). You can choose to jack from the side protrusion on the rear subframe, but that can pose instability issues as you try to lift the entire rear end of the car up while being closer to one side vs. the other.

Now something I did not mention is jacking from the front center jack point is a massive pain, since the front center jack point is so deep under the car you require a special lower profile extended length jack - otherwise you will need to first jack/drive the car onto blocks of wood for additional clearance. Then the next issue is pumping the car up, since the clearance between the front bumper and the floor is so small your jack handle literally can only move inches at a time, and it takes forever to jack the car up from the front center jack point and this is a major pain to deal with.

Overall the cons of jack stands revolve around placement, compatibility with the factory jacking point, and time consuming and tedious nature to lift the car up onto said jack stands.

Ramps:

Credit: F87Source

Now let’s quickly talk about Ramps - this is another traditional way to raise the car up to a working height. This personally was my favorite method of working on my m2 (until the Rennstand) - due to its unparalleled stability (since the car is sitting on 4 massive contact patches and due to the fact that cars were designed to sit on their wheels for the life of the car), extreme affordability (Rhino ramps are extremely cheap), and due to their weight build and ability to be stacked - they are very easy to store. Ramps also allow for realistic suspension tuning by putting preload on the suspension - something quick jacks or jack stands cannot do. So these are all the reasons why I loved my ramps, however there are still massive flaws, so let’s talk about them.

The first issue is lifting the car:

Most ramps are way too tall for the more sporty models of BMW to just drive up on, especially when you want all 4 wheels to go up at the same time - meaning the rear ramps have to already be underneath the car for you to drive up onto them at the same time as the front ramps. This means your only option is to jack the car up onto the ramps (the exceptions are race ramps but they are quite expensive, and for the price you might as well just buy Rennstands). Now the issue with jacking the car up onto Ramps is that you need 2 jacks - one for each side of the car so you can raise the car onto the ramps in a level manner. This is a massively time consuming process as you have to pump one side of the car up little by little to ensure it doesn’t flip, and if one of your jacks are too short (like mine is in the image above) you need to prop it up on 2 by fours and move all that wood to the next wheel along with your jack. It is also extremely risky and dangerous, because the front wheels on RWD BMW’s do not have any parking brakes. This means when you have to jack the rear of the car up on ramps first as you can still chock the front wheels while they’re on the ground, and the rear wheels are safe to be on the ramps first as they have parking brakes. Then you have to carefully jack the front wheels up on ramps afterwards. To make this process safer you should get a brake pedal depressor tool like I have. But this is still extremely tedious and time consuming.

The second issue is you can’t do anything that requires the wheels to be off:

This means if you need to do brake jobs, wheel rotations etc. Your ramps are completely and utterly useless - which is why I wanted to upgrade to Rennstands for my primary mode of supporting the car, and have the ramps for suspension tuning.

The final issue is adjustability:

The final issue with ramps is the lack of adjustability, ramps are one height and that’s it. You can’t go lower and you can’t go higher, and that is an annoyance if you want to work in the engine bay while it is on ramps. It becomes a bit of a challenge to reach deep down into the engine bay when the car is high up.

So these are the reasons why ramps are not completely ideal for working on your car.

Quick Jacks:

Credit: Driver87 https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...95&postcount=9

Finally I want to talk about the Quick jacks. These are very very nice pieces of equipment, they allow for the car to be lifted via the press of a button - so no more pumping up jacks. They lift front and rear and left and right simultaneously so it is one and done, no need to worry about the front and then the rear and vice versa. The quick jacks also allow for a 24” lift height which surpasses all jack stands and ramps by quite a big margin iirc. But there are always drawbacks to everything, so let’s talk about it.

The first issue is price:

Quick jacks are insanely expensive, they retail for $1500 USD + (and that's for the cheapest model). For that price you can buy ~3 sets of Rennstands, ~15 pairs for Rhino ramps, and ~30+ pairs of conventional jack stands. So it is not cheap and that’s always a huge drawback for a lot of people, since it becomes a money issue. Now before I hear “you own a BMW you should be able to afford quick jacks”, don’t forget these cars are rapidly becoming older and more accessible to more and more people, so money is always going to become a factor eventually. Plus it’s a BMW, they’re relatively affordable for sports car sake.

The second issue is Size:

Quick jacks are quite large at 60” +, and quite heavy at 60 lbs + for the frame itself and 15 lbs for the motor. So this makes portability and setup a concern, so if you have a small garage or a space constrained garage storing these quick jacks and setting them up and taking them down to store some place else might become tiresome as they are heavy and bulky. This is one of the main restricting factor for myself, since my garage is full of stuff and I don’t have room for quick jacks (I have 3 cars in my garage, bikes, a lawn mower, snow blower, leaf blower, tools, air compressor, etc - so unfortunately there is no room for quick jacks in my garage). This is an even larger issue if you live in a house without a garage (apartment, condo, townhouse etc) and you can’t constantly carry the quick jack into and out of your house. For most people the size and weight are deal breakers, and this unfortunately is my issue.

The Final issue is maintenance:

Like with most hydraulic power tools you have to maintain them to ensure they work properly. You have to ensure that the quick jack frames stay clean, you have to ensure the hoses and quick disconnect fittings stay clean, and you always have to watch for leaks and inspect the locking system. You also have to bleed the system occasionally.

So this is a minor hassle that must be dealt with, and doesn’t make the quick jack a true set it and forget it system (unlike mechanical systems like ramps or jack stands) and this might be annoying to some.

Rennstands:

Now onto my discussion of the Rennstands.

Unboxing:

First let's start off with the unboxing so you guys will have an idea of what you are going to get, since I don’t see too many unboxings of the ETA MFG version of the Rennstand.

Credit: F87Source

Credit: F87Source

So the first 3 images show the box that each individual Rennstand comes in, and they are actually really small overall (even smaller than a pizza box but just a bit thicker), however each box is quite heavy at ~25 pounds. The ETA MFG box itself was also double boxed and contained within the outer USPS box.

ETA MFG also have duty free shipping to Canada and the USA so if you are in those locations, you will be glad to hear it will arrive to you without the worry of paying duties, taxes, and brokerage fees (and take it from me a guy who buys a lot of stuff from the US, brokerage fees from UPS often cost 2-3x as much as the shipping itself and that really sucks). My package was also shipped via Canada post, and arrived to me in ~4 business days, which is absolutely excellent, and the package arrived as if it were brand new so shipping was good and packaging was excellent.

Credit: F87Source

The next image shows the Rennstand box opened up, you will notice it is packaged excellently - I can’t even begin to describe how good this packaging was - it must be the best packaged item I have ever purchased in terms of car parts. Now let me explain, the box itself has a wooden frame going around its circumference, this prevents the heavy weight from collapsing the box and prevents the box from being dented in and damaging the Rennstands. Next each item in the box was individually bagged, and parts that would touch were covered in cardboard, there was also a wooden divider separating the solid metal kegs from the rest of the box to prevent damage. Loose items like the pins were put in a bag (the pin one to the right of the image) and wrapped with foam and then tied down. Also critical voids in the box were filled with styrofoam or cardboard, and as a result there were ZERO rattles or movement in the packaging and that meant the Rennstands arrived in essentially excellent condition. So props to ETA MFG on packaging - I am thoroughly impressed. The only con was how long it took to unpack everything haha, but better that than having all of my stuff arrive damaged.

Credit: F87Source

So in this image above you will see everything in the box laid out: Feet, legs, saddle, jack pad, and pins.

Credit: F87Source

Credit: F87Source

Next are images of the Orange feet that these Rennstands come with, and they are very well built. All the welds look good and the side of the feet themselves are very wide - which results in very good stability.

Credit: F87Source

Credit: F87Source

Next are images of the saddle, as you can see the saddle can be removed from the rest of the Rennstand and be used to jack up the car. It also has a hole on top to allow various jack pad adapters to be attached to it.

Credit: F87Source

Credit: F87Source

Next are images of the pins, these are solid steel pins with a spring loaded ball at the end to keep it in place when clipped into the Rennstands. You get 4 pins per stand, 2 to connect the saddle to the legs, and another 2 to connect the legs to the feet. Each pin has a key ring on it to allow for easy removal even when wearing gloves.

Credit: F87Source

Credit: F87Source

Next are images of the jack pad adapter that is included with the Rennstand, it is just a standard pinch weld adapter, and comes with a large washer to distribute the load more evenly to the saddle.

Credit: F87Source

Finally the last image is of the legs, and they are solid steel - not tubular like other versions of the Rennstands. I will talk more about these later on but they are very hefty for their size and are absolutely solid.

Instructions Manual:

Next I wanted to share the instructions manual for the Rennstands, because I don’t think it’s available online and sharing it will allow anyone that wants to read it the opportunity to do so. Also, having it archived online will help anyone who has lost their instructions.

View post on imgur.com

Technical Details:

Now let’s move onto the technical details.

1) Base: The first thing I would like to talk about is the base of the Rennstands, because the stability of a jack stand comes from its base.

Credit: F87Source

Credit: F87Source

If we look into the size of the feet, my measurements have these feet at ~22.5 cm long, and the feet are ~4.76 cm wide (as per ETA MFG). The distance between the feet is ~33.33 cm in its lowest setting but increases to ~39.6875 cm in its highest setting (as per Rennstand) - this means as the stands get higher the base gets larger which adds to its stability. These dimensions give the Rennstands a very large footprint and base, making it incredibly stable overall. In fact I tried to test the stability of these jack stands by pushing on my car quite hard (well over 100 lbs of force) and there was no sign of movement or wobbling from the Rennstands. I also tried testing stability without any load on the Rennstands and they are pretty hard to push over. Another thing to note is that the Rennstands have pretty large flat feet - meaning it is going to be more resistant to sinking in softer ground, for instance asphalt when it gets very hot. The larger feet also do a better job spreading load across a larger surface area, meaning it is less likely to crack thinner concrete garage floors. Note: it is not recommended to use jack stands on anything but hard solid level ground.

Now if we compare that to a traditional jack stand like my 2 ton AC Delco, they have a base of ~16 cm X 17 cm, so significantly smaller than the Rennstand. This leads to less overall stability, and why it was easier to push over when unloaded. The traditional jack stands also have smaller, very narrow and sharp feet, which means it will be more likely to sink on softer surfaces or damage the ground it is on.

So overall we can see the feet and base of the Rennstand gives it tremendous stability compared to traditional jack stands despite its narrow appearance. Its wide feet also give it the ability to resist sinking and cracking the ground it is on, as it is able to spread the load over a larger surface area.

2) Height and Access: The Rennstand has a maximum lift height of ~41.95 cm, which is comparable to the ESCO shorty jack stand (~43.18 cm) and other typical jack stands (they are taller than my no name certified jack stands, but are shorter than my moto master jack stands), and they offer significantly more underbody clearance than my rhino ramps. Compared to quick jacks they fall far behind, as quick jacks offer a lift height of ~60.96 cm.

So overall access to the underbody is comparable to other jack stands, is greater than traditional ramps, and is less than quick jacks. However, the one major benefit of jack stands, Rennstands, and ramps over the quick jacks is side access to the underside of the car. This allows anyone easy access to the middle of the car by crawling from the sides of the car rather than from the front or the back - which you must do when using quick jacks as the massive frames take up the entire side of the car. So if you need to do a transmission oil flush, it is much easier to access the car from the side while holding a bottle of fluid with a pump sticking out from the top, vs. trying to crawl from the front of the back. It’s also much easier to perform work that requires constant access to the middle of the underbody by going through the side vs. the front or the rear - for instance a clutch delay valve delete or short shifter install where you constantly have to go under the car to access things.

3) Solid Steel legs: I would also like to discuss the legs that come with these Rennstands, and how they are solid steel bars and not hollow.

Credit: F87Source

Credit: F87Source

As you can see in the images above, the legs on the ETA MFG version of the Rennstands are completely solid metal, they are not hollow nor tubular unlike the original Rennstands - pictured below:

Credit: starastronomer https://www.you tube. com/watch?v=xj36YbaSljs&t=754s

(remove the spaces if you want to see the video, I just put spaces so it wouldn’t embed the video into the post)

Now what this should mean is that the ETA MFG version of the Rennstands are going to be significantly stronger than the traditional Rennstand with their hollow legs, and that you can rest assured that these legs will be able to handle the weight of a car without an issue. There is no way that these legs will shear, bend, or have the pin holes fail when used under the rated weight limits. Like if you ever had the chance to hold these legs you would be able to feel how hefty and rock solid they are. They literally contribute the bulk majority of the weight to the overall Rennstand.

So overall based on just the legs alone, the Rennstand 2.0 must be the strongest version of the Rennstand.

4) Side Leg Removal: The ETA MFG Rennstand allows for the legs to be removed from the sides (pulled out to the left and the right of the saddle) vs. having to removed from under the saddle like on traditional Rennstands.

Credit: ETA MFG https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ece-p252276669

Credit: F87Source

Credit: ECS Tuning https://www.ecstuning.com/b-rennstan...nd/18mrs3~rst/

Credit: ECS Tuning https://www.ecstuning.com/b-rennstan...nd/18mrs3~rst/

As you can see from the images above, the ETA MFG version of the Rennstand has legs that remove from the sides, whereas the other versions of the Rennstands have legs removable from the bottom. This means you have to lift the Rennstands a lot less to fit the legs in place compared to the alternate version.

5) Material: The Rennstands are made from very strong carbon steel, and are electrostatically powder coated orange. This allows the Rennstands to be extremely strong, and well protected from corrosion.

5) Jack Size: The Rennstand’s saddle has a jacking point of ~3”, so you must have a corresponding floor jack with a saddle diameter of 3” or more so it can properly lift the Rennstand.

6) BMW Jack Pad Adapter: The Rennstand has a variety of attachments for it’s saddle, one of which is a BMW specific jack pad adapter.

https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ces-p255054561

Credit: F87Source

Credit: F87Source

So as you can see in the images above this is the BMW specific jack pad adapter, it also has a slot in the middle to double up as a pinch weld adapter for Dodge vehicles. I’ve tried this specific adapter on my own M2 and it fits perfectly in the plastic jack pad, and has sufficient height to clear the sides of the adapter so it doesn’t damage it. It also is tall enough to clear my rear M performance winglets - which sits right next to the plastic jacking point.

7) Additional Jack Pad adapters: The Rennstands also have a variety of jack pad adapters that you can choose from. For instance they have a really cool saddle adapter:

Credit: ETA MFG https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ces-p251403769

That should be large enough to fit aluminum jack pad adapters for BMW’s, incase you would like to use your existing jack pad adapters instead of the one’s ETA MFG makes. You can also use this to put hockey pucks on it for use on the front center jacking point, and so much more. So this saddle adapter really opens up new possibilities.

They also have flat top adapter pad for use on subframes, and they have honda, audi, tesla and porche specific pinch weld adapters as well if you want them.

8) Price: The ETA MFG version of the Rennstands are ~$149.99 on sale (i’m pretty sure the sale is very frequent so it is almost a regular price), making them cheaper than the alternate versions of the Rennstands. So it’s a huge benefit that IMO the best version of the Rennstand is also the cheapest.

9) Portability: Finally the last thing I would like to talk about is the portability of the Rennstands, since they can be dismantled into very small components, they are very portable and easily stored anywhere. This gives it a major advantage over traditional jack stands and even the quick jack - since these Rennstands can easily fit in the floor well on the passenger side, under trunk floor liners, in the back seat floor well, and can be easily stored in very smaller areas like under the stairs.

Testing:

Finally I would like to talk about load testing on the Rennstands, since this is a pretty important aspect for safety. Note: Everything i’m going to be talking about only applies to the ETA MFG version of the Rennstand, not the other versions you may find out there.

So the ETA MFG Rennstands are rated for 3 Tons per pair under the ASME/PALD certification standards, which are more rigorous than the ANSI testing rules used by the alternate Rennstands and this is also why the weight ratings are done in pairs. However, when tested in house the ETA MFG version of the Rennstands were capable of holding over 6 tons each - but legally they were only able to rate it at 3 tons per paid as that’s what the lab testing under ASME/PALD yielded.

So rest assured that these Rennstands should be able to hold any BMW ever made without issue, and you will be safe while working underneath a car supported by these stands (given you are using them properly and within their rated weight).

Rennstand in Action:

Now let’s take a look at some images of the Rennstand in action holding up my M2:

Credit: F87Source

Credit: F87Source

And here are some images showing underbody height (specifically under the front bumper) when supported by the Rennstands:

Credit: F87Source

Finally here is an image of how high it can lift the M2 as measured from the jacking point, and the result is ~43.5 cm.

Credit: F87Source

And let’s finish off the images with some pictures of the Rennstands when they are fully assembled:

Credit: F87Source

Credit: F87Source

Now finally let me go over some additional things I noticed when using these Rennstands on my own m2:

1) Lifting Height: These Rennstands actually lift the m2 a surprising amount, as a result I am getting a lot more underbody clearance compared to my ramps and it makes working under the car and getting under the car a lot easier.

2) Stability: I tested the stability of these Rennstands by pushing on the tire with considerable amounts of force (easily over 100 lbs) and the inside of the door panel to simulate lateral force along the centerline of the car and there was no movement or rattles/noises from the Rennstands - they were rock solid. This is extremely confidence inspiring especially since I will be using these for suspension work which requires torquing the lower control arms to ~130 ft lbs.

3) Ease of use: The Rennstands were really easy to set up compared to my ramps, and literally only required a few pumps of a jack to lift the car up and get the Rennstands in place. Everything fit perfectly fine and there were no issues. Again this is a huge reason why I chose them over conventional jack stands, you jack them up right at the jacking points - no need to get fancy with where you put the jack stand, and no need to get creative with where you have to jack. So IMO the Rennstands blow away traditional jack stands and it isn’t even a comparison.

Note: I had to drive the front wheels up onto some 2 X 4 pieces of wood since the car was just a tiny bit low to clear the Rennstands with the floor jack I was using. Also If you use 2 floor jacks you would be able to go to max height in one go (as you would be able to lift the front all at once, and then the rear all at once), with just one floor jack you have to go one height setting at a time to not make the car tilt too much.

4) Portability: These Rennstands were actually a lot larger than I initially anticipated since they have a massive base and width between their feet. However, since you can take them apart, storing it was really easy as I could just slide them beneath my stairs in the garage. This is even better than my ramps or jack stands because when it is taken apart the sum of its components are relatively small and easy to store and can fit in all sorts of places (as you can see from the size of the box that these things come in). Obviously this is also a significantly better solution than buying quick jacks, since I simply don’t have the storage space for them, nor do I want to fork over $1600 for a set.

5) Wheel clearance: Most people are worried that the Rennstands will not fit their car since the foot print is quite large, however the jack point location on our BMW’s are far enough away from the wheels it was not even a remote issue.

Summary:

Overall I must say these Rennstands are absolutely excellent, they are extremely stable, convenient, offer massive lift height, and very easy to store as they can be dismantled. The Rennstands also solve a lot of the issues that the alternative lifting methods I described earlier have. For instance they allow you to have a jack stand right where you jack up the car so you don’t have to struggle for a suitable location to put a jack stand (which as I described earlier a suitable location for jack stands are very limited and sometimes not even available on modern day BMW’s), they lift the car by the jacking points so you can remove the wheel unlike with ramps, and they are cheaper, significantly more portable than quick jacks (great for people with limited storage ******* and allow side access under the car which the quick jacks cannot do. So for these reasons I personally think the Rennstands are an ideal choice to support your car, and why I recommend this product. I also recommend the ETA MFG version of the Rennstand over all of the other ones on the market, simply because: they have solid legs (meaning they are stronger than the hollow leg versions), the legs connect from the side meaning you don’t have to jack the car up as high to remove them compared to other versions of the Rennstand, and they are cheaper than the other versions of the Rennstand. So IMO you get the best version of the Rennstand for cheaper, so why not pick the ETA MFG version.

So if you are interested in purchasing the Rennstands here’s are some links to do so:

Rennstand: https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ece-p252276669

BMW Jack Pad adapter: https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ces-p255054561

F87source · 05-22-2024, 12:23 AM

Reserved for Future Posts.

123Britt · 05-28-2024, 02:22 PM

I have and currently use SAFEJACK -- look very similar --- I love them.

05-22-2024, 12:22 AM	#1
F87source Major General 7820 Rep 7,915 Posts Drives: Bmw M2 Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: . iTrader: (1)	ETA MFG Rennstand Review Credit: ETA MFG https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ece-p252276669 Credit: ETA MFG https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ece-p252276669 Credit: ETA MFG https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ece-p252276669 Credit: ETA MFG https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ces-p255054561 Credit: ETA MFG https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ces-p255054561 Introduction: In this review I will be going over the Rennstand jack stands, and all the technical details of this particular jack stand. I will also go over the particular use cases and benefits of this jack stand and why I think they make this jack stand one of the best if not the best jack stands on the market. I will also compare these jack stands to other alternatives like ramps and the quick jacks, and contrast and compare the pros and cons of these alternatives. I will also go over the BMW Jack pad adapter for the Rennstands as well. So if you are interested in purchasing the Rennstands here’s are some links to do so: Rennstand: https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ece-p252276669 BMW Jack Pad adapter: https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ces-p255054561 Disclaimer: Damage/Injury Disclaimer: Any information, guidance, technical advice, coding advice, tuning advice, datalogging advice, installation instruction, calculation, experiment, safety information, or product installation demonstrated in my reviews is to be consumed/read/understood/followed and or done at your own risk. I will not be responsible/held liable for personal injuries, injuries to others or any living being, or any damage to your car, or any property damage. Monetary disclaimer: I do not make commission, or profits or any kind of monetary gain from the sale of the Rennstand or the BMW Jack Pad adapter for the Rennstand. Sponsorship disclaimer: The way my reviews work is that I determine what product that I want to buy and actually use on my own car, and during this process the product that I end up choosing is what I believe is the best option on the market. I then reach out to the company offering the product and ask them if they would be willing to sponsor me in a review, if the answer is yes then I write a review, if the answer is no I would end up buying the product (sometimes at a later date) but I wouldn’t complete a detailed review about it (I might write something, but not to the same extent as my standard reviews). But the critical thing is that I reach out for a sponsorship and not the other way around, this means that the products I am reviewing are actually things I believe in and would use on my own car. This also means that I am not being paid to review something I do not care about. Would I do a review if a sponsor reached out to me? The answer would depend on if I believed in the product, and I would make it clear in my review if this were the case. But at the time of writing this review, such an interaction has not occurred yet. Time of writing disclaimer: everything I am writing about in this review is described at the time of writing and may not be updated in the future, so there is a potential that things are no longer accurate in my comparisons as parts are changed and upgraded as time passes. Bias and comparison disclaimer: Throughout this review I will attempt to be as unbiased as possible while drawing comparisons to other products. Mistakes and Inaccuracies Disclaimer: Throughout my review I will try to be as factually accurate as possible, but there are always chances that I make mistakes and write things that are incorrect/false. If this is the case please point it out to me and if indeed it is true that I am incorrect, I will correct these mistakes and apologize for them. Afterall I am only human, so mistakes can and will inevitably happen. Subjective Disclaimer: Please note, these reviews are also written in my own opinion, so when I am comparing different products to determine what I see as the best, there are many factors that I go through to form this opinion. Obviously there will be disagreements between people, so I will do my best to objectively determine what I deem to be the best, but at the end of the day it is still just my own opinion whether it be right or wrong. Take whatever I say in my reviews with a grain of salt. Information Disclaimer: I read a lot of material over the years just out of sheer interest or to make these reviews. I also accumulated a lot of knowledge over my many years of education that are really relevant to cars (Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics). That being said, my reviews are mostly based on this accumulated knowledge and I cannot always cite these sources due to the original source material possibly being lost to time, or there being so much knowledge compiled to make a single point. So, when possible I will cite my source(s) (for example data on tensile strength of a metal, or peer reviewed research). There are cases when I get information from blog posts, youtube videos, or forum posts I may not cite it, because I go through a lot of these sources only to use the gained knowledge in a small section of my review and it is not feasible to list them all. So pretty much what I am trying to say is I am not citing “common knowledge” - I will cite peer reviewed research and photos though (if applicable or used), or really explicit user experiences (if applicable or used). Image Credits: Images and videos used in this review are all property of their rightful owners as credited below each image, I am just using them for the purpose of this review but if you (the owner of the image) would like them removed please let me know via pm. Otherwise thanks to the respective image owners (I made sure to credit your online name and link where I found the photo) of the photos, without you this review would be so much more bland. Review Disclaimer: First and foremost I would like to thank ETA MFG for agreeing to sponsor me for this review. Despite this I will remain as unbiased as possible during the review. Please note, the dynamics of this relationship was that I reached out for a sponsorship review and not the other way around. This should demonstrate how I truly feel about the Rennstand - in the sense that I truly believe it is the best jack stand on the market, and a suitable alternative to the quick jacks. In fact I actually I am actually using these Rennstands to install all of my mods and do all of my services in 2024, and I likely will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. What Are Rennstands, and who makes them?: So let’s begin by discussing what are “Rennstands”? The best answer to that revolves around Rennstand’s own motto: “One Jack, One Jack Point, Rennstand” - essentially Rennstands are jack stands that can be disassembled and used to lift a car at a specific jacking point, then once the car is lifted the Rennstand can be reassembled and left there while the jack is removed. The end result is a jack stand that can support the car right at the point it is lifted from - meaning you no longer have to jack the car up at the jacking point and look for a suitable place on the chassis to leave a jack stand (not always suitable on cars with alot of underbody panels - such as BMW’s). This is also the most optimal and ideal place to put a jack stand, since vehicles are technically only meant to be lifted and supported at the jacking point - and manufacturers did not intend to have the car lifted by a jack and supported elsewhere by a jack stand. Manufacturers only really intended for cars to be worked on via post based lifts (the stuff you would find in a shop) which lifts and supports the car right at the jacking point, and thus the Rennstands are really the only jack stands on the market that can fulfill this requirement (every other jack stand requires you to jack on the jacking point and shove the jack stand somewhere on the frame). Here’s a video briefly going over using the Rennstand itself: Next I would like to discuss who makes the Rennstands, because as you may have noticed there seems to be a lot of different vendors and variants out there. So, the Rennstands were actually created by Frank Ceravolo a Porsche owner on Rennlist (username: gyrfalcon) in mid 2016 with the goal of trying to create a jack stand that could be placed exactly where the vehicle manufacturer intended for the car to be supported - i.e. the jacking point and not on some random part of the frame. His goal was also to make the Rennstands light weight, extremely compact, easily transportable, height adjustable and low profile to fit under really low cars. After creating this initial design, Frank had his design rigorously tested by an engineer at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University for strength and durability. After the designs were tested he was able to obtain patents protecting the design. Now fast forward to production and these patents were licensed out to various vendors to facilitate production and sale of the Rennstand and that’s why you may have seen several different vendors selling the Rennstand. Initially they were made by safe jack - but they are no longer selling or making the Rennstand, now Rennstand Inc (I think this is Frank’s company - but I am not sure) is currently manufacturing (made in the USA) and selling the original design of the Rennstand along with ETA MFG who are manufacturing (made in China) and selling what they call “Rennstand 2.0” (under licensing from Frank) which is a modified version of the Rennstand (and imo an improved/better version that fixes some of the gripes I had with the original one - and I will explain why later on). So that basically sums up the history of the Rennstand and who is authorized to sell a legit version of the Rennstand (currently it is ETA MFG with Rennstand 2.0 and Rennstand Inc with the original Rennstand) - that has been engineered and tested to be safe, unlike any knock offs you may find online. If you want to see some sources here are the links: Here’s Frank’s initial thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...-new-idea.html Here’s Frank’s first intro thread :https://rennlist.com/forums/987-foru...che-owner.html Here’s ETA MFG’s thread talking about Rennstand 2.0: https://www.etamfg.com/rennstand-ii.html Also I wanted to include a small excerpt about who ETA MFG are - because if you judge them by their website and not go in depth reading about them you may not get the full picture of exactly who these people are and might not feel reassured buying their products (I have heard people say “who are these guys, why buy the Rennstand from them they didn’t even design it so why trust them to make it etc”). Well ETA MFG is actually a manufacturing powerhouse with a factory spanning 1.6 million SF built-up structure on a 50 acre campus, and they specialize in manufacturing private label products for the global market. So pretty much you design it, they will manufacture it for you. But in the case of the Rennstand and the Mylift stand, they not only manufacture it but they resell it for you as well. Traditional Jack Stands: Credit: Canadian Tire https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/m...jack+stand#srp Next let’s talk about traditional jack stands. Now I have nothing against traditional jack stands, they serve their purpose well and are very safe for use on vehicles with large tubular frames or pinch welds that can be used to support the weight of a vehicle. Plus they are cheap, easy to use, portable and easy to store since they are so small. However on modern day BMW’s I personally think jack stands with the claw style saddle are absolutely horrible - and let’s talk about why. Credit: KC Design https://www.tw-kcdesign.com/upload/i...3%E5%9C%96.jpg The first issue is placement (as you can see above this is an underbody image of the F87 M2 (representative of the F8X Chassis) and the F2X M235i (representative of the F2X and F3X chassis)): On the rear of the F8X chassis you could put the jack stands on the rear subframe, but there aren’t any good areas at the front of the car given you use the jacking points to lift the car. You obviously can’t put jack stands on the suspension arms (tension arm, lower control arm, thrust arm) as they aren’t made to take weight and you risk damaging them. You can’t put jack stands on the stiffening plate as that might need to be removed and it’s a weird flat shape which isn’t a super good place to put a claw style jack stand (or you might have to remove the plate entirely for servicing), and obviously you can’t put it on the floor panels as it’ll punch straight through and damage the sheet metal underneath. So there really isn’t any good place to put jack stands on the F8X except the rear subframe. On the F22 since the rear subframe isn’t as aggressive as on the F8X it becomes even more difficult to place jack stands. Credit: .Slug https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1854652 The next issue is with the claw style design: Now if you wanted to place the jack stands on the jacking points you’d need a flat top jack stand like ESCO in conjunction with aluminum jack pad adapters, because placing traditional claw style jack stands under the plastic jacking points will cause them to break over time - plus the plastic was not meant to bear weight so you also risk the car collapsing if the plastic fails. Traditional claw style jack stands also don’t have a large enough surface area to hold a jack pad adapter in a stable configuration, so you risk it slipping off if you try to stack a jack pad adapter onto the claw. Credit: chiefsubjugator https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...6&postcount=32 The final issue is choosing a location to jack from - and this applies to all jack stands: You’d also need to jack from the front and the rear center jack points, on an F2X and F3X vehicle you can do so fairly stably via the front center jack point and the rear differential. On an F8X vehicle you can jack the front up via the front center jack point without issue, but the rear must be jacked up using the rear subframe. Now this poses a bit of risk because the central part of the rear subframe is extremely close to the differential meaning only a small part of the jack’s saddle can make contact with the subframe so it is very risky as the car can slip off the jack (as you can see in the image above). You can choose to jack from the side protrusion on the rear subframe, but that can pose instability issues as you try to lift the entire rear end of the car up while being closer to one side vs. the other. Now something I did not mention is jacking from the front center jack point is a massive pain, since the front center jack point is so deep under the car you require a special lower profile extended length jack - otherwise you will need to first jack/drive the car onto blocks of wood for additional clearance. Then the next issue is pumping the car up, since the clearance between the front bumper and the floor is so small your jack handle literally can only move inches at a time, and it takes forever to jack the car up from the front center jack point and this is a major pain to deal with. Overall the cons of jack stands revolve around placement, compatibility with the factory jacking point, and time consuming and tedious nature to lift the car up onto said jack stands. Ramps: Credit: F87Source Now let’s quickly talk about Ramps - this is another traditional way to raise the car up to a working height. This personally was my favorite method of working on my m2 (until the Rennstand) - due to its unparalleled stability (since the car is sitting on 4 massive contact patches and due to the fact that cars were designed to sit on their wheels for the life of the car), extreme affordability (Rhino ramps are extremely cheap), and due to their weight build and ability to be stacked - they are very easy to store. Ramps also allow for realistic suspension tuning by putting preload on the suspension - something quick jacks or jack stands cannot do. So these are all the reasons why I loved my ramps, however there are still massive flaws, so let’s talk about them. The first issue is lifting the car: Most ramps are way too tall for the more sporty models of BMW to just drive up on, especially when you want all 4 wheels to go up at the same time - meaning the rear ramps have to already be underneath the car for you to drive up onto them at the same time as the front ramps. This means your only option is to jack the car up onto the ramps (the exceptions are race ramps but they are quite expensive, and for the price you might as well just buy Rennstands). Now the issue with jacking the car up onto Ramps is that you need 2 jacks - one for each side of the car so you can raise the car onto the ramps in a level manner. This is a massively time consuming process as you have to pump one side of the car up little by little to ensure it doesn’t flip, and if one of your jacks are too short (like mine is in the image above) you need to prop it up on 2 by fours and move all that wood to the next wheel along with your jack. It is also extremely risky and dangerous, because the front wheels on RWD BMW’s do not have any parking brakes. This means when you have to jack the rear of the car up on ramps first as you can still chock the front wheels while they’re on the ground, and the rear wheels are safe to be on the ramps first as they have parking brakes. Then you have to carefully jack the front wheels up on ramps afterwards. To make this process safer you should get a brake pedal depressor tool like I have. But this is still extremely tedious and time consuming. The second issue is you can’t do anything that requires the wheels to be off: This means if you need to do brake jobs, wheel rotations etc. Your ramps are completely and utterly useless - which is why I wanted to upgrade to Rennstands for my primary mode of supporting the car, and have the ramps for suspension tuning. The final issue is adjustability: The final issue with ramps is the lack of adjustability, ramps are one height and that’s it. You can’t go lower and you can’t go higher, and that is an annoyance if you want to work in the engine bay while it is on ramps. It becomes a bit of a challenge to reach deep down into the engine bay when the car is high up. So these are the reasons why ramps are not completely ideal for working on your car. Quick Jacks: Credit: Driver87 https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...95&postcount=9 Finally I want to talk about the Quick jacks. These are very very nice pieces of equipment, they allow for the car to be lifted via the press of a button - so no more pumping up jacks. They lift front and rear and left and right simultaneously so it is one and done, no need to worry about the front and then the rear and vice versa. The quick jacks also allow for a 24” lift height which surpasses all jack stands and ramps by quite a big margin iirc. But there are always drawbacks to everything, so let’s talk about it. The first issue is price: Quick jacks are insanely expensive, they retail for $1500 USD + (and that's for the cheapest model). For that price you can buy ~3 sets of Rennstands, ~15 pairs for Rhino ramps, and ~30+ pairs of conventional jack stands. So it is not cheap and that’s always a huge drawback for a lot of people, since it becomes a money issue. Now before I hear “you own a BMW you should be able to afford quick jacks”, don’t forget these cars are rapidly becoming older and more accessible to more and more people, so money is always going to become a factor eventually. Plus it’s a BMW, they’re relatively affordable for sports car sake. The second issue is Size: Quick jacks are quite large at 60” +, and quite heavy at 60 lbs + for the frame itself and 15 lbs for the motor. So this makes portability and setup a concern, so if you have a small garage or a space constrained garage storing these quick jacks and setting them up and taking them down to store some place else might become tiresome as they are heavy and bulky. This is one of the main restricting factor for myself, since my garage is full of stuff and I don’t have room for quick jacks (I have 3 cars in my garage, bikes, a lawn mower, snow blower, leaf blower, tools, air compressor, etc - so unfortunately there is no room for quick jacks in my garage). This is an even larger issue if you live in a house without a garage (apartment, condo, townhouse etc) and you can’t constantly carry the quick jack into and out of your house. For most people the size and weight are deal breakers, and this unfortunately is my issue. The Final issue is maintenance: Like with most hydraulic power tools you have to maintain them to ensure they work properly. You have to ensure that the quick jack frames stay clean, you have to ensure the hoses and quick disconnect fittings stay clean, and you always have to watch for leaks and inspect the locking system. You also have to bleed the system occasionally. So this is a minor hassle that must be dealt with, and doesn’t make the quick jack a true set it and forget it system (unlike mechanical systems like ramps or jack stands) and this might be annoying to some. Rennstands: Now onto my discussion of the Rennstands. Unboxing: First let's start off with the unboxing so you guys will have an idea of what you are going to get, since I don’t see too many unboxings of the ETA MFG version of the Rennstand. Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source So the first 3 images show the box that each individual Rennstand comes in, and they are actually really small overall (even smaller than a pizza box but just a bit thicker), however each box is quite heavy at ~25 pounds. The ETA MFG box itself was also double boxed and contained within the outer USPS box. ETA MFG also have duty free shipping to Canada and the USA so if you are in those locations, you will be glad to hear it will arrive to you without the worry of paying duties, taxes, and brokerage fees (and take it from me a guy who buys a lot of stuff from the US, brokerage fees from UPS often cost 2-3x as much as the shipping itself and that really sucks). My package was also shipped via Canada post, and arrived to me in ~4 business days, which is absolutely excellent, and the package arrived as if it were brand new so shipping was good and packaging was excellent. Credit: F87Source The next image shows the Rennstand box opened up, you will notice it is packaged excellently - I can’t even begin to describe how good this packaging was - it must be the best packaged item I have ever purchased in terms of car parts. Now let me explain, the box itself has a wooden frame going around its circumference, this prevents the heavy weight from collapsing the box and prevents the box from being dented in and damaging the Rennstands. Next each item in the box was individually bagged, and parts that would touch were covered in cardboard, there was also a wooden divider separating the solid metal kegs from the rest of the box to prevent damage. Loose items like the pins were put in a bag (the pin one to the right of the image) and wrapped with foam and then tied down. Also critical voids in the box were filled with styrofoam or cardboard, and as a result there were ZERO rattles or movement in the packaging and that meant the Rennstands arrived in essentially excellent condition. So props to ETA MFG on packaging - I am thoroughly impressed. The only con was how long it took to unpack everything haha, but better that than having all of my stuff arrive damaged. Credit: F87Source So in this image above you will see everything in the box laid out: Feet, legs, saddle, jack pad, and pins. Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Next are images of the Orange feet that these Rennstands come with, and they are very well built. All the welds look good and the side of the feet themselves are very wide - which results in very good stability. Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Next are images of the saddle, as you can see the saddle can be removed from the rest of the Rennstand and be used to jack up the car. It also has a hole on top to allow various jack pad adapters to be attached to it. Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Next are images of the pins, these are solid steel pins with a spring loaded ball at the end to keep it in place when clipped into the Rennstands. You get 4 pins per stand, 2 to connect the saddle to the legs, and another 2 to connect the legs to the feet. Each pin has a key ring on it to allow for easy removal even when wearing gloves. Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Next are images of the jack pad adapter that is included with the Rennstand, it is just a standard pinch weld adapter, and comes with a large washer to distribute the load more evenly to the saddle. Credit: F87Source Finally the last image is of the legs, and they are solid steel - not tubular like other versions of the Rennstands. I will talk more about these later on but they are very hefty for their size and are absolutely solid. Instructions Manual: Next I wanted to share the instructions manual for the Rennstands, because I don’t think it’s available online and sharing it will allow anyone that wants to read it the opportunity to do so. Also, having it archived online will help anyone who has lost their instructions. View post on imgur.com Technical Details: Now let’s move onto the technical details. 1) Base: The first thing I would like to talk about is the base of the Rennstands, because the stability of a jack stand comes from its base. Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source If we look into the size of the feet, my measurements have these feet at ~22.5 cm long, and the feet are ~4.76 cm wide (as per ETA MFG). The distance between the feet is ~33.33 cm in its lowest setting but increases to ~39.6875 cm in its highest setting (as per Rennstand) - this means as the stands get higher the base gets larger which adds to its stability. These dimensions give the Rennstands a very large footprint and base, making it incredibly stable overall. In fact I tried to test the stability of these jack stands by pushing on my car quite hard (well over 100 lbs of force) and there was no sign of movement or wobbling from the Rennstands. I also tried testing stability without any load on the Rennstands and they are pretty hard to push over. Another thing to note is that the Rennstands have pretty large flat feet - meaning it is going to be more resistant to sinking in softer ground, for instance asphalt when it gets very hot. The larger feet also do a better job spreading load across a larger surface area, meaning it is less likely to crack thinner concrete garage floors. Note: it is not recommended to use jack stands on anything but hard solid level ground. Now if we compare that to a traditional jack stand like my 2 ton AC Delco, they have a base of ~16 cm X 17 cm, so significantly smaller than the Rennstand. This leads to less overall stability, and why it was easier to push over when unloaded. The traditional jack stands also have smaller, very narrow and sharp feet, which means it will be more likely to sink on softer surfaces or damage the ground it is on. So overall we can see the feet and base of the Rennstand gives it tremendous stability compared to traditional jack stands despite its narrow appearance. Its wide feet also give it the ability to resist sinking and cracking the ground it is on, as it is able to spread the load over a larger surface area. 2) Height and Access: The Rennstand has a maximum lift height of ~41.95 cm, which is comparable to the ESCO shorty jack stand (~43.18 cm) and other typical jack stands (they are taller than my no name certified jack stands, but are shorter than my moto master jack stands), and they offer significantly more underbody clearance than my rhino ramps. Compared to quick jacks they fall far behind, as quick jacks offer a lift height of ~60.96 cm. So overall access to the underbody is comparable to other jack stands, is greater than traditional ramps, and is less than quick jacks. However, the one major benefit of jack stands, Rennstands, and ramps over the quick jacks is side access to the underside of the car. This allows anyone easy access to the middle of the car by crawling from the sides of the car rather than from the front or the back - which you must do when using quick jacks as the massive frames take up the entire side of the car. So if you need to do a transmission oil flush, it is much easier to access the car from the side while holding a bottle of fluid with a pump sticking out from the top, vs. trying to crawl from the front of the back. It’s also much easier to perform work that requires constant access to the middle of the underbody by going through the side vs. the front or the rear - for instance a clutch delay valve delete or short shifter install where you constantly have to go under the car to access things. 3) Solid Steel legs: I would also like to discuss the legs that come with these Rennstands, and how they are solid steel bars and not hollow. Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source As you can see in the images above, the legs on the ETA MFG version of the Rennstands are completely solid metal, they are not hollow nor tubular unlike the original Rennstands - pictured below: Credit: starastronomer https://www.you tube. com/watch?v=xj36YbaSljs&t=754s (remove the spaces if you want to see the video, I just put spaces so it wouldn’t embed the video into the post) Now what this should mean is that the ETA MFG version of the Rennstands are going to be significantly stronger than the traditional Rennstand with their hollow legs, and that you can rest assured that these legs will be able to handle the weight of a car without an issue. There is no way that these legs will shear, bend, or have the pin holes fail when used under the rated weight limits. Like if you ever had the chance to hold these legs you would be able to feel how hefty and rock solid they are. They literally contribute the bulk majority of the weight to the overall Rennstand. So overall based on just the legs alone, the Rennstand 2.0 must be the strongest version of the Rennstand. 4) Side Leg Removal: The ETA MFG Rennstand allows for the legs to be removed from the sides (pulled out to the left and the right of the saddle) vs. having to removed from under the saddle like on traditional Rennstands. Credit: ETA MFG https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ece-p252276669 Credit: F87Source Credit: ECS Tuning https://www.ecstuning.com/b-rennstan...nd/18mrs3~rst/ Credit: ECS Tuning https://www.ecstuning.com/b-rennstan...nd/18mrs3~rst/ As you can see from the images above, the ETA MFG version of the Rennstand has legs that remove from the sides, whereas the other versions of the Rennstands have legs removable from the bottom. This means you have to lift the Rennstands a lot less to fit the legs in place compared to the alternate version. 5) Material: The Rennstands are made from very strong carbon steel, and are electrostatically powder coated orange. This allows the Rennstands to be extremely strong, and well protected from corrosion. 5) Jack Size: The Rennstand’s saddle has a jacking point of ~3”, so you must have a corresponding floor jack with a saddle diameter of 3” or more so it can properly lift the Rennstand. 6) BMW Jack Pad Adapter: The Rennstand has a variety of attachments for it’s saddle, one of which is a BMW specific jack pad adapter. https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ces-p255054561 Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source So as you can see in the images above this is the BMW specific jack pad adapter, it also has a slot in the middle to double up as a pinch weld adapter for Dodge vehicles. I’ve tried this specific adapter on my own M2 and it fits perfectly in the plastic jack pad, and has sufficient height to clear the sides of the adapter so it doesn’t damage it. It also is tall enough to clear my rear M performance winglets - which sits right next to the plastic jacking point. 7) Additional Jack Pad adapters: The Rennstands also have a variety of jack pad adapters that you can choose from. For instance they have a really cool saddle adapter: Credit: ETA MFG https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ces-p251403769 That should be large enough to fit aluminum jack pad adapters for BMW’s, incase you would like to use your existing jack pad adapters instead of the one’s ETA MFG makes. You can also use this to put hockey pucks on it for use on the front center jacking point, and so much more. So this saddle adapter really opens up new possibilities. They also have flat top adapter pad for use on subframes, and they have honda, audi, tesla and porche specific pinch weld adapters as well if you want them. 8) Price: The ETA MFG version of the Rennstands are ~$149.99 on sale (i’m pretty sure the sale is very frequent so it is almost a regular price), making them cheaper than the alternate versions of the Rennstands. So it’s a huge benefit that IMO the best version of the Rennstand is also the cheapest. 9) Portability: Finally the last thing I would like to talk about is the portability of the Rennstands, since they can be dismantled into very small components, they are very portable and easily stored anywhere. This gives it a major advantage over traditional jack stands and even the quick jack - since these Rennstands can easily fit in the floor well on the passenger side, under trunk floor liners, in the back seat floor well, and can be easily stored in very smaller areas like under the stairs. Testing: Finally I would like to talk about load testing on the Rennstands, since this is a pretty important aspect for safety. Note: Everything i’m going to be talking about only applies to the ETA MFG version of the Rennstand, not the other versions you may find out there. So the ETA MFG Rennstands are rated for 3 Tons per pair under the ASME/PALD certification standards, which are more rigorous than the ANSI testing rules used by the alternate Rennstands and this is also why the weight ratings are done in pairs. However, when tested in house the ETA MFG version of the Rennstands were capable of holding over 6 tons each - but legally they were only able to rate it at 3 tons per paid as that’s what the lab testing under ASME/PALD yielded. So rest assured that these Rennstands should be able to hold any BMW ever made without issue, and you will be safe while working underneath a car supported by these stands (given you are using them properly and within their rated weight). Rennstand in Action: Now let’s take a look at some images of the Rennstand in action holding up my M2: Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source And here are some images showing underbody height (specifically under the front bumper) when supported by the Rennstands: Credit: F87Source Finally here is an image of how high it can lift the M2 as measured from the jacking point, and the result is ~43.5 cm. Credit: F87Source And let’s finish off the images with some pictures of the Rennstands when they are fully assembled: Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Credit: F87Source Now finally let me go over some additional things I noticed when using these Rennstands on my own m2: 1) Lifting Height: These Rennstands actually lift the m2 a surprising amount, as a result I am getting a lot more underbody clearance compared to my ramps and it makes working under the car and getting under the car a lot easier. 2) Stability: I tested the stability of these Rennstands by pushing on the tire with considerable amounts of force (easily over 100 lbs) and the inside of the door panel to simulate lateral force along the centerline of the car and there was no movement or rattles/noises from the Rennstands - they were rock solid. This is extremely confidence inspiring especially since I will be using these for suspension work which requires torquing the lower control arms to ~130 ft lbs. 3) Ease of use: The Rennstands were really easy to set up compared to my ramps, and literally only required a few pumps of a jack to lift the car up and get the Rennstands in place. Everything fit perfectly fine and there were no issues. Again this is a huge reason why I chose them over conventional jack stands, you jack them up right at the jacking points - no need to get fancy with where you put the jack stand, and no need to get creative with where you have to jack. So IMO the Rennstands blow away traditional jack stands and it isn’t even a comparison. Note: I had to drive the front wheels up onto some 2 X 4 pieces of wood since the car was just a tiny bit low to clear the Rennstands with the floor jack I was using. Also If you use 2 floor jacks you would be able to go to max height in one go (as you would be able to lift the front all at once, and then the rear all at once), with just one floor jack you have to go one height setting at a time to not make the car tilt too much. 4) Portability: These Rennstands were actually a lot larger than I initially anticipated since they have a massive base and width between their feet. However, since you can take them apart, storing it was really easy as I could just slide them beneath my stairs in the garage. This is even better than my ramps or jack stands because when it is taken apart the sum of its components are relatively small and easy to store and can fit in all sorts of places (as you can see from the size of the box that these things come in). Obviously this is also a significantly better solution than buying quick jacks, since I simply don’t have the storage space for them, nor do I want to fork over $1600 for a set. 5) Wheel clearance: Most people are worried that the Rennstands will not fit their car since the foot print is quite large, however the jack point location on our BMW’s are far enough away from the wheels it was not even a remote issue. Summary: Overall I must say these Rennstands are absolutely excellent, they are extremely stable, convenient, offer massive lift height, and very easy to store as they can be dismantled. The Rennstands also solve a lot of the issues that the alternative lifting methods I described earlier have. For instance they allow you to have a jack stand right where you jack up the car so you don’t have to struggle for a suitable location to put a jack stand (which as I described earlier a suitable location for jack stands are very limited and sometimes not even available on modern day BMW’s), they lift the car by the jacking points so you can remove the wheel unlike with ramps, and they are cheaper, significantly more portable than quick jacks (great for people with limited storage ******* and allow side access under the car which the quick jacks cannot do. So for these reasons I personally think the Rennstands are an ideal choice to support your car, and why I recommend this product. I also recommend the ETA MFG version of the Rennstand over all of the other ones on the market, simply because: they have solid legs (meaning they are stronger than the hollow leg versions), the legs connect from the side meaning you don’t have to jack the car up as high to remove them compared to other versions of the Rennstand, and they are cheaper than the other versions of the Rennstand. So IMO you get the best version of the Rennstand for cheaper, so why not pick the ETA MFG version. So if you are interested in purchasing the Rennstands here’s are some links to do so: Rennstand: https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ece-p252276669 BMW Jack Pad adapter: https://www.etamfg.com/shop.html?sto...ces-p255054561 __________________ Click on the link below to see a compiled list of every review I have ever written: https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...2#post30368242
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

05-22-2024, 12:23 AM	#2
F87source Major General 7820 Rep 7,915 Posts Drives: Bmw M2 Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: . iTrader: (1)	Reserved for Future Posts. __________________ Click on the link below to see a compiled list of every review I have ever written: https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...2#post30368242
	Appreciate 0 Quote

05-28-2024, 02:22 PM	#3
123Britt Captain 300 Rep 870 Posts Drives: 15 M235i AT; 2008 Z4 3.0Si MT Join Date: May 2008 Location: Madison, Alabama iTrader: (0)	SAFEJACK I have and currently use SAFEJACK -- look very similar --- I love them.
	Appreciate 1 F87source7819.50 Quote