Air Ride media event at Indy...

[SN65]

Wayne is off having fun while I am stuck back here at the office.

I guess that this a a banner event for Pro Touring in that two of our own (Bob Johnsons G-Force Cuda and the SN65) are both at the event. There may be others present, but these two are notible in that they are the only "NON" air ride suspension cars ever invited to the event (at least that is what Air Ride told me).

I am sitting here, depressed as all hell. Why do I have to stay in the office??? Why does Wayne get to do all the FUN events....

[SN65]

Just talked with Wayne and he is having a great time.

He said that two pro drivers have taken the SN65 for a spin. One is Scott Pruitt and the other is Boris Said (Please excuse the spelling if I got it wrong).

While I did not get any direct quotes, Wayne said that both were really impressed with the SN65. And currently, the SN65 holds the fastest lap on the Autocross. I guess there are a few more cars to run the autocross, so we won't know how we did till this afternoon.

I will keep you updated as the info comes in.

[kennyd]

i had a invite also and could not get away to attend . but i did get to ride around the autocourse with bret in the bada$$ airride mustang this weekend .

[Bow Tie 67]

Maybe you can take a nice " spirited " cruise at lunch!!! something to get the adrenaline going.

[SN65]

Wayne just called and said he took Joe (from Horse Power TV) for a ride. I hope he did not have to change his shorts after Wayne was done with him. Both Wayne and I are just amateurs at this road course stuff. Sometimes Wayne scares the hell out of me just driving around town. I am afraid, truly afraid, to see what he does on a road course.

Please God, if you could just get the car back to the shop in one piece, I will be forever grateful. :-)

[SN65]

Maybe you can take a nice " spirited " cruise at lunch!!! something to get the adrenaline going.
I get to drive the car all the time, so I get to go on "spirited" cruises all the time. I have never had the opportunity to drive it on a track yet. I don't know about you, but I am afraid to push any car to it's limits on the open road. To much can go wrong.

So far we have put about 3,000 miles on the car since we finished the car in March. I figure we can put about another 5,000 or so on it before we end up at Scottsdale in Jan.

[Steve Chryssos]

I have a decent scratch on my passenger door from an autocross event. Not really noticeable unless you are washing the car, but I know it's there. Apparently a cone jumped up off the ashpalt and bounced itself against my car. Not my fault. :wasntme: But that's the worst that can happen unless you slide sideways into a light pole or something.

[Bow Tie 67]

I never push the car to the limit on the street, and it took several autocross events before I hit the limit on the track. ( Well past the limit ) It's much more enjoyable once you learn to drive the car instead of fighting it. I see alot of the younger drivers post times close to mine, but they are out of control on many corners. Where I'm smoother with a slower car.

[Larry Callahan]

I so wanted to go but with our Pigeon Forge event so close I had to pass. I hate having to work a day job. lol

[SN65]

I wonder if Bob's Cuda ran the autocross yet??? I am afraid he is going to obliterate our time. I think that Bob could win this thing just by shear willpower alone. :-)

[Mean 69]

Scott Pruett and Boris Said are two of the best road racers out there currently, so it's nice to hear something positive from them. Great for you!

Sounds like a fun time, wish I had the chance to go and beat on, er, "drive" some of the cars there.

Mark

[SN65]

"Chicayne" is supposed to be at the event. That car is a real killer. I wonder if it is just there for show or if it will compete in the autocross, etc...

[kennyd]

I wonder if Bob's Cuda ran the autocross yet??? I am afraid he is going to obliterate our time. I think that Bob could win this thing just by shear willpower alone. :-)


i heard the power steering quit , thats the last thing i have been told today .

[kennyd]

"Chicayne" is supposed to be at the event. That car is a real killer. I wonder if it is just there for show or if it will compete in the autocross, etc...

it was there last year and spun out, and was in the mud ! thats a driven car . i have seen jack and glen both throttle that car .

[SN65]

i heard the power steering quit , thats the last thing i have been told today .
Damn... If Bob didn't have bad luck, he wouldn't have any luck at all. :-)

Except where SMOTY is concerned. There he had good luck. Otherwise, all bad... :-)

[SN65]

Looks like the SN65 finished second in the Autocross both times (10 and 11 AM).

We lost both times (by only 1/10th sec) to a built 05 stang. Well, at least it was a Mustang. :-)

[Steve1968LS2]

Scott Pruett and Boris Said are two of the best road racers out there currently, so it's nice to hear something positive from them. Great for you!

Sounds like a fun time, wish I had the chance to go and beat on, er, "drive" some of the cars there.

Mark

Yea, they really like the feel of the Air Ride cars last year..

Johnny is there today driving cars and covering the event.. what am I doing? I get the pleasure of putting a new interior into the '76 Camaro.. lol

[Doug Cooper]

Overall Days end Autocross Top Three Times

#1 Boris Said 3124 in the Air Ride Mustang 2005 [alot of laps]
#2 Scott Pruitt 3137 in Johnson's Cuda [3 laps]
#3 Boris Said 3139 in the Air ride Mustang [wore the right front tire off it]

[rocketman]

To bad this badazz red 57 chevy wasn't there that guy was tearing up the track at kansas goodguys,almost gave that mustang an azzwhippin.

the driver has a career autocrossing if the car building thing doesn't pan out.

[SN65]

Overall Days end Autocross Top Three Times

#1 Boris Said 3124 in the Air Ride Mustang 2005 [alot of laps]
#2 Scott Pruitt 3137 in Johnson's Cuda [3 laps]
#3 Boris Said 3139 in the Air ride Mustang [wore the right front tire off it]
Glad to hear that Bob got the PS pump issue resolved.

These times must have been later in the day. Wayne said that Bob was still working on the pump when the morning Autocross sessions were over.

Any info on the slalom or the main track times?

[Bob Johnson]

The pump didn't go out..it just got hot and started leaking some out of the seal...we didn't do anything to it, I got a new one flown in in case it started pouring. We're using their reservoir and pump..hard to believe it got hot running 3 laps on the road course and a few on the autocross..Scott came up with what our main problem is. He and his engineer theorize that our posi unit isn't unlocking under power..thus pushing the car in the turn . I called Rockland, he said to put some Motorcraft posi additive in it..hope that will cure it. Alan was going to put some in it when we started, but Amsoil said their fluid already had the posio additive in it. Pruitt said that would make a world of difference. Said the Autocross stuff is way too short for that car, it really liked the long road course. Sounded mighty good coming down the long straightaway. He gave us some good feedback that we are going to implement. he said it would make a lot of difference..we don't have time to make the changes before Pigeon Forge..I have to be in Charlotte Tuesday to meet Barrett Jackson for a new TV show they're doing..as soon as I can get away from them, i'm taking the Cuda over to Howell's autocross in P Forge. We won the post 48 Car of the year for Shades of the Past over the week-end..Seth Wagner won pre 48 with his Willys Truck. He finally got some respect. he's a nice guy..been hard on him I'm sure

[jb@ridetech]

2006 Air Ride Technologies 3rd Annual Street Challenge


We thought about writing an “expanded press release” or a “mini story” for the media, but the raw information from the Street Challenge seems to speak for itself. We have included quotes from the professional drivers who were present and the timing data from the comparison cars that we tested. We have also included images of the vehicles present and a list of car owners for reference.
We have also outlined the goals for this event and how they were accomplished. Hopefully this will give you the “who, what, why, and when” info you need to relay to your readers. Be sure to give me or Peg a call if you need anymore information!


What is the Street Challenge?· Simply put…Air Ride Technologies track day. We rented Putnam Park road course, brought 12 of our own air suspended hotrods, invited several of our customers, and did some timed autocross and open track laps. All of the print and TV media present had the opportunity to ride in, and drive a number of different air suspension vehicles at speed on the racetrack.


Why the Street Challenge exists…· To expose the hotrod world to the performance benefits of air suspension. For years air suspension had the image of being cosmetic…for laying around in the parking lot and detrimental to hardcore performance. Although we knew this was not true, the only way to change anyone’s opinion about this was to put some butts in some seats!


How was the Street Challenge different from any other track day?· Professional drivers. Boris Said, Scott Pruett, Mike McGlaughlin, Ted Musgrave, and Timothy Peters were on hand to give rides, driving instructions, do timed comparisons, and answer questions. The addition of professional opinions about the performance of these cars was quite enlightening to the media that was present as well as the Air Ride Technologies staff and customers.


What was different about the Street Challenge this year?· direct comparison between stock suspension and air suspension. The previous 2 years we ran an oem suspension car in the morning and coverted it to sir suspension over lunch. This year we actually had 2 stock suspension musclecars, a 67 Chevelle and a 68 Camaro, to directly compare to an air suspension 66 Chevelle and 67 Camaro. The results were nearly unbelievable, as you can see from the timing data.
· More real timing data. This year Nick Lacata and Tim Foss from Primedia recorded lap times on all vehicles in the shorter ½ mile autocross style lap and the slalom event. They also recorded the stock suspension comparison vehicle to their air suspension counterparts on the open track. [actual timing data included below]


Street Challenge drivers quotes

One of the highlights of the Street Challenge event this year was the participation of several professional racecar drivers to give us driving instruction and evaluation of our suspension systems. They had some interesting comments about their experience.

Boris Said is a well known road course driver who is currently co-owner of the # 60 SoBe/No Fear ford in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. He also has competed extensively in the Grand American Racing Series GT, NASCAR Craftsman Truck and Busch Series, and Trans AM series. His aggressive driving style will expose the weak link in any car and his candor will leave no doubt about what that link may be!

“ Before I came to the Street Challenge last year I thought that air suspension was what you see when the car bounces up and down. After driving many of the Air Ride Technologies cars, I was shocked! It made an old car drive like a new one…the car was much crisper, much flatter. I liked that fact that I could make changes in the air pressure and directly affect the handling of the car…if it was pushing I would raise the back just a little, if it was loose I would soften the rear.
I am buying a 55 F100 and one of the first things I am doing is putting an air suspension on it. Now that I have seen how nice the ride quality is, and how well they drive, it’s definitely what I want for my everyday driver.”

Scott Pruett is the driver for the Ganassi Racing #01 in the Grand American Rolex sports Car Series. He has also won several SCCA Trans Am, IMSA GTO, and IMSA GT Endurance Championships.

“ Like many people, I thought that air suspension was more of a style or cosmetic thing than a performance item. I had a 50 Buick with a crude airbag system on it but had never taken the time to learn anything about it so the performance of my Buick system was not impressive. After coming to the Street Challenge this year I know there is a whole new level of performance available with an air suspension. These cars rode and drove great! It is truly the best of both worlds. There was no sacrifice of ride quality to get superior performance. When I got out of the red Chevelle with the stock suspension, I was DONE with that car…it was scary. The air suspension Chevelle drove and rode great…AND was 14 seconds a lap faster!”


Mike McGlaughlin is a former NASCAR Busch Series driver and is currently a driving coach for Joe Gibbs Racing in North Carolina.

“ Being very interested in street rods, I had heard of air suspension and figured it was mostly for cosmetic purposes…to get the car low and still be able to drive it. Attending the Street Challenge really expanded my expectations of what a performance suspension can be. When driving the stock suspension vehicles [at the event] it would take a huge amount of steering input [11/2 turns] to get any response. It seemed like /I was chasing it all the time. With the air suspension car a ½ turn of the wheel was all it took to point it where you wanted to go! The cars drove great…they did everything I asked them to do… but I can’t wait to play with more shock and swaybar combinations to wring out even more performance.”

Timothy Peters is the driver for Bobby Hamilton Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series and will drive in the Busch Grand National Series for Richard Childress Racing in 2007.

“I have to admit, I had no experience at all with an air suspension car before the Street Challenge this year, so I had no expectations good, bad, or indifferent. I was impressed. This first thing I noticed was the ride quality. Then we went into the first turn. It was like a race suspension with a comfortable ride! The Camaro with the stock suspension felt like it was going to spit me out at any moment…and finally did. [Tim spun the stock 68 Camaro hard in turn 7] This air suspension stuff just blew me away. The really cool thing was the changes you could make with air pressure and shock valving to change the performance of the car. In a race car you have to stop and make adjustments or even change parts…with this stuff you just push a button!


Street Challenge timing highlights:



1.112 G cornering force (recorded on the blue 1966 air suspension Chevelle via RacePak G2X on Sept. 6, 2006 at Putnam Park Road Course on BF Goodrich G-force tires with Boris Said Driving)

The blue 1966 Chevelle with Air Ride Technologies air suspension components (Front – ShockWaves® with upper and lower StrongArm® control arms, Rear – AirBar® system) turned an open track lap of 1:29.05. The red 1967 Chevelle SS with stock suspension ran a 1:43.27 lap. Scott Pruett ran both runs picking up 14.22 seconds with the air suspension Chevelle. At that pace the stock suspension Chevelle would be lapped by the air suspension Chevelle every 7.3 laps!

In the Autocross the gold 1968 Camaro with stock suspension ran a 39.79 seconds lap. The red 1967 Camaro with Air Ride Technologies air suspension (Front – ShockWaves® with upper and lower StrongArm® control arms, Rear – AirBar® system) ran a 34.16 seconds lap. Both laps were driven by Mike McLaughlin. The air suspension Camaro picked up just over 5.5 seconds over the stock suspension.