Adjustable Control Arms, take 2

[mttpekin]

14 hours ago, Ian said:

I think the areas that might need trimming are marked by the red arrows in this pic, correct?  Those flanges can be trimmed.  I "might" have removed some of the flange already...

Area circled in green. ?

 

 

[Ian]

Got it.  No problem, a little massage with the grinder and that'll fit!

[mttpekin]

Finished installing/adjusting/torquing everything around sunset yesterday and took it for a cruise. Drive #1 on my suspension had me feeling pretttty good. The car feels good. I was taking it easy. Springs settled a bit so static camber is probably more around -1.4, -1.5ish. Didn't measure, was way too excited to drive it. Thanks all. 

Edited April 2, 2021 by mttpekin

[Ian]

Fabulous news, congrats!  Is the stunning view included in the price of the control arms?

[mttpekin]

It's about time for an update.

 

I've been working on these for the last couple months. All custom and off shelf parts are finally in stock. That encompasses 10 suppliers and 4 guys that do various mfg processes for me. Chromoly plate came from Chicago, bushings inbound from UK. Each arm has 29 parts so a total of 58 for the set. Materials pricing and availability is ever changing. Apparently fox shocks are 9mo-1yr out according to my fabricator. 

 

The 'new proto,' pictured below with the set that came off my car, was fabbed two days ago and is 100%. End caps, longer weld interface, bend angle & location etc have been very slightly massaged. I am verifying that they are dead nuts perfect before fabbing the rest. Post machining should be done soon. 

 

I appreciate everyone who's purchased. I am excited to see these run hard and hear reviews. There are some quite special cars these are going on so I'm excited for that too. 

 

Attached are pics of the stacks of parts awaiting the green light. It's going to be good. 

 

More info to follow as we close in on assembly/shipping etc. 

 

Thank you,

 

MP

 

 

-1.8 just looks right. Stoked. 

 

thanks guys

Edited June 2, 2021 by mttpekin
all words deleted first posting

[Ian]

Very drool-worthy!

[irdave]

Nice.  Aircraft Spruce, too.  I'm happy and sad that I'm on e30 stuff now.  They're beautiful.

[mttpekin]

Hi all,

 

First article of this run came out per my expectations. This is the final draft.

 

I've green lighted the production and have ironed out all the final details (secondary machining, electroless nickel plating). The deeper I go into this rabbit hole paired with the lack of compromise taken means the guys who've already paid are getting a very good deal. These will never again cost 1300. My initial pricing was naive. These will soon have a site with all the info. It's hard to know what you don't know. Thankfully, the 'figure it out' stage is finished. Lots learned. 

 

Here are a few pictures of the assemblies plus a couple installed pics. I'll be taking good photos of the plated sets in the near future when those are done. There is zero front-end ambiguity.

 

As always, thanks for the patience. You won't regret it.

 

Matt Pekin

 

 

 

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by mttpekin
grammar

[Ian]

They look great, almost a shame to paint them!

[Tommy]

They do look really nice but I'm afraid you will lose some customers if reaching for perfection increases the price too high.

Maybe you can offer somehing for those whose pockets aren't that deep, like without surface finish or something.

[Ian]

Fair points Tommy.  Although I do think we are  moving into a new era for 2002 modifications.  For years we have been low-buck and kind of proud of it, possibly because our cars were relatively inexpensive to start with.  I remember when Lee started offering his Wilwood big brake upgrades, and they were quite a bit more expensive than most of us were used to spending on the old "e12 calipers + 320 hubs + 320 rotors" brake upgrades.  But now it seems like everyone sells a Wilwood option. We are developing more sophisticated options for our cars, similar to what is available for the e30 M3.  Take a look on the e30 forums at the DTM-style suspensions that have been developed.  They are very sophisticated but pricey, probably because of a combination of development and materials cost.  I think there is a place for this type of development in our cars, and cost cutting may not be possible on all items. But I agree it is not for everyone and there will be a market for the middle ground.  

Edited June 15, 2021 by Ian

[mttpekin]

On 6/14/2021 at 11:51 PM, Ian said:

They look great, almost a shame to paint them!

Ian, I agree! The as-fabbed look is really cool and I too wanted to clear them but it just doesn't work out to be a viable option. The first prototype surface rusted in a couple weeks under the car and where I live is perpetually dry/warm. I am confident the plating will look good as well as prevent corrosion optimally. 

 

 

On 6/15/2021 at 1:28 AM, Tommy said:

They do look really nice but I'm afraid you will lose some customers if reaching for perfection increases the price too high.

Maybe you can offer somehing for those whose pockets aren't that deep, like without surface finish or something.

Hi Tommy, the price point is definitely a factor I try to keep in mind (these aren't billet titanium..) but at the same time, I can't cut corners. That's not the product I'm building, nor the mindset I posses. Mostly, I was relatively clueless going into this in terms of understanding what it costs to manufacture something like this to this level. The secondary operations are relatively inexpensive compared to welding/machining. The final amount will not be crazy. 

Edited June 16, 2021 by mttpekin

[bourkeco]

I am really excited to get my hands on these they are works of art! As far as price goes this particular component is not one I would want to shave a couple bucks off... These are critical parts just like brakes, I'll save money somewhere that my life doesn't hang in the balance. 

Thank you for striving for excellence..  

[Dudeland]

I think what would help is your guidelines for getting the best out of the adjustability offered by these arms.  Most people think in terms of what can be done differently that couldn't be done before.  Most importantly what we feed the person doing the alignment on the car.   

 

Not everybody has someone in their wheelhouse that knows what to do with the new functionality your product offers,  me included. 

 

Regards

 

[Ian]

This setup will let you fine-tune the control arm geometry to adjust for track width, camber, caster, and bump steer.  For most users this is probably overkill, but for those with extremely custom suspensions or who are setting up a track day suspension, this could help.  And nothing like this has been previously available for our cars.

Edited July 2, 2021 by Ian