Quote:

John,

I would probably help to let the consumers know what kind of real world difference on the road and track can be expected from the different levels of suspensions XV is producing.

Say like an "average" 60 to 0 braking test is feet for the different brake kits I know most of the kits will be tested with hydra boost.

Then on the suspension components which levels should see such and such kind of performance.

Also at what level suspension difference will it take a veteran driver on a road course to wring out the difference.....

Especially what will the difference be between Level I, Level II Lite and full out Level II

I would also be interested in what Level I can do with the chassis kit added into the mix.

I think Peter has a Level I kit on his G Machine Dart and he says he usually can run in the middle of the road with the Porsche crowd on track days.

Thanks



To do all those comparisons will increase what I can sell our current setup for. We won't do back to back testing of the different pieces. Possibly some groups of components, but not sure even on that. However, we have more information than anyone on what works and what doesn't from all the testing we've already done. That testing wasn't back and forth tothe grocery store using the butt-o-meter either.

On the road differences won't be significant, it is on track where they will be seen. If you're talking about brakes for example, the brakes we have now won't have fade, lap after lap under hard conditions. For the average driver, this doesn't matter and if you're doing average track driving it won't be significant either. The brakes we are using are full on, hardcore road race quality in a huge way - road race championships are being won with them.

For the guy who is looking to really press it, lap after lap, it will matter - or if you are racing. Braking distance, without testing I'd only be guessing.

One difference on the brakes is you'll need a proportioning valve with the alternatives. With all the track time we've done and testing etc., we are not running any proportioning valve because the brakes are designed for the vehicle to deliver proper balance under hard braking. The entire system is sized for the applications, right down to the piston sizes in the calipers.

We will never use junk components, so no need to worry about that. There are different levels of products that can be used. What we have now is amongst the best.

A novice drive is unlikely to even know what they are looking for in terms of handling, unless it is glaring. There's an old adage in racing, which is very true - you need to improve the driver as well as the car. So, throwing the best possible parts on a car doesn't mean you'll be the fastest. The driver is a big part of the equation and the incremental benefit of the parts/setup may not show with a less experienced/skilled driver.

The other systems offer upgrades, we'll end up doing something similar, except they will be downgrades - LOL. I can tell you this, on some of the components we will never offer what is being used on other systems - especially shocks, because we have road race experience and would never consider them. We can get cost down on those, but we'll have something that works well - and will be based upon OUR specs and testing. I really want to make sure that our offering at any level can realistically be used on a track.

Our current offering drives like a very capable modern performance car. Smooth, predictable, responsive and no bump-steer. I want to preserve that as much as possible.

Let me put packages together, define the components and we'll do our best to define how they will perform. My guess is the other guys will start scrambling for better shocks, etc., if they haven't already.

One combination I think will be very interesting is our Level I front setup all dialed in, with our Level II rear. Everyone is focused on the front of the cars, but I'd be willing to guess that the wrong end of the car has been the priority in terms of actual handling. I think the T-Bar setup can be made to work better than a leaf sprung rear. As far as the rears go, everything else is even further behind us...but don't even know it, or why...

Just to be clear - Peter's Dart does not have any XV suspension parts on it. We don't have any XV suspension pieces for A-Body's at this time. The setup on his car is Peter's own combinations he put together.

Please don't confuse Peter's setup with XV product.