DROPtronics - UPDATE

[GreyZone]

Craziness, PArt III

Check it out, this is from the website of the shop where I am goping in about an hour. This is gonna happen guys...stay tuned...I will be lower and firmer, yet smoother with better handeling, less bounce and stiffness...IT IS POSSIBLE!!!!Big Fish MOTORSPORTS: http://bigfishmotorsports.com/services.htm

Suspension...... Hands down the most important aspect of a performance car. Acceleration, turning, and stopping all rely on proper suspension tuning. Our experience with custom suspension design and our direct connection to some of the worlds top suspension engineers will keep our clients grounded. Understanding the complicated physics behind suspension dynamics can be mind boggling. We're here to help simplify the whole experience for you. Springs, shocks, compression, droop, rebound, travel, roll center, camber plates, shock mounts, control arm bushings, sway bars, bushings, camber & toe correction kits, dive, squat....... you get the picture. Our success with suspension tuning has produced a double rally cross champion and several autocross victories in cars that were severely underpowered.

THis is the guy I am going to see...J. Farina: Most often referred to as "the guy with the iX", J.'s fascination with cars began with 70's muscle cars as a young kid, but once he started driving, he quickly realized that stopping and turning were even more fun than just going fast. His passion quickly turned to exotic sports cars with Ferrari's topping the list, especially after discovering the family connection exotic sports car designer Pinin Farina who is responsible for the design of decades of Ferraris. J even went as far as naming his only son Enzo, after the late Enzo Ferrari. Not having the means to drive Ferraris, J. eventually discovered German cars and from there his obsession with handling characteristics and suspension dynamics really took shape. J. eventually found himself a rare AWD e30 BMW which has been so overlooked, that most people didn't even know they existed. He decided to take advantage of the AWD system and compete in rally cross events. After nearly everyone told him the car would be to expensive to make competitive, J. took his 325iX in to his shop, ignoring the worn out 167HP, 200,000 mile engine, he completely rebuilt the suspension using many custom made and retrofitted parts. 10 months later, "the guy with the iX" was rally cross championship in two different racing series, outrunning cars with 3 times as much horsepower and 8 times bigger price tags. J. has decided to take this same philosophy to the tarmac and has tuned another old BMW with, this one with a whopping 150 HP, and has not lost an event in three tries so far: even placing 15th overall out of 120 cars at the latest club auto cross, outrunning all of the stock BMW M cars, a few instructors, and far more experienced drivers.

[GreyZone]

I think I have found one totally kick *** motorsports shop. J has a passion and speciality on suspension specifically. We talked for over and hour and a half about the copue and drop dynamics and all the variables involved. I got an increadible education.

What we are going to do is test the front and rear stock springs, get the spring rates of the stock setup, and then calulate keeping those same springs rates in a shorter spring. That way, Ill get the drop I want, but the ride will not end up stiffer or bouncier.

In addition, and this is where it starts to get really intesting, J knows people at billstien (http://www.bilstein.com/tech.php) who he says can make a customn shock, just for the exact specifications I want/need with the coupe. Since the front will probably be dropped close to an inch and a half, the stock shock would be under too much load, with too little room until it bottoms out on on the bump stop. That can be disasterious going fast around a corner, turning hard, braking, then, say, hitting a pothole, and bottoming out on the shock...the tendency is for the tire to raise up, and throw you right off the road.

Not a good thing.

To avoid all this? He said he can get the guys at bilstien to make a custom shock, with valving specifc to my application. Additionally, he can also have springs custom made, with the exact spring rate I want, with the exact amount of drop I'm after.

Granted, all this is going to cost more than just buying Ibach's, but I will have a ride much more dialed in to my specific goals, with shocks that can handel it. I'd rather spend the extra money, and have a killer set up, than spend less, and have so so performance. We may even need to modify the stut tower, do some welding to make it accomodate the new setup. J said he also has connections at Ibach, and is going to call them to discuss specific issues they ran into designing the Prokit for the AC. J also confirmed Ibach is the only spring he thinks is worth using, as they "are the only one's who have done it right."

All in all, Im pretty damn excited about it. I could easily put a $1,000 or more into this by the time Im done (including different springs for the rear, minus 4 plate weights!)...but it will be worth it to get what I am after.

And theres also more to come...Im already talking to J about custom fabriacting a supercharger for the AC that would add about 60 to 70 HP to the motor. Thats a nice gain, but wouldnt required any mods to the stock engine or fuel managemnt system....keep everything stock but add 70 hp, thats a good goal as well. Of course, probably have to punch a hold in the hood to accomodate the SC, but done right, that'd look pretty damn cool!

Definitely more to come.

[audtatious]

Interesting....

Keep posting updates as I'm sure others are reading

[GreyZone]

innovative creativity....priceless. I just wish it wasnt so damn addictive. I just knew this was going to happen to me. THought I could get a new car, and leave it the way it is....but no!