Recently re-introduced, the Halibrand Sprint wheel is a reproduction of the popular square-body Chevrolet C10 wheel. It is available in a wide range of widths from skinnies to 15×10 and in a 19″ version.
Finspeed, at the other end of the spectrum, is a custom forged wheel manufacturer. They offer custom backspacing/offsets in a wide array of sizes, custom finishes, and even custom profile and spoke patterns. With all kinds of options from knurled bead seats to extra lightening to center locks and more, Finspeed can provide that ultra-performance wheel you are looking for when you have exacting specifications.
But what was surprising about the… surprise… was that this F1 car was in the Penske shocks booth. I’m sure that Mercedes has some ultra-proprietary-NDA relationship with Penske for whatever damper bits are used, and I’m sure that they’re made out of some element on the periodic table that only Penske and Mercedes even know exists, but, still, cool!
Pictured is a Hyundai front strut converted to use Penske’s 45mm bore size double-adjustable damper. The struts are sent to Penske’s facility, and there they are gutted and then modified to have a threaded spring perch. Finally, the double-adjustable damper is fitted. With a wide range of piston options, Penske can achieve just about any damping curve that you are looking for. And, as Penskes are so widely used in many forms of racing, you can likely have them serviced locally if need be.
While it’s unlikely that most of our readers are in a position to need a shock dyno, for those that are, this new Penske dyno is impressive. It’s insanely quiet, smaller than most competing units, offers higher loads at higher speeds, and is supported by a trusted brand.
Mike Figaro from Figs Engineering is not included with the purchase, although he may be available for consult on shock damping curves.
4 comments
Thanks for the summary! I have only been to PRI once sadly, and I think that was back in 2008 when it was still in Orlando. Interesting about the Precision, the end housings look very EFR-like. Well, only so many ways to do the same feature set. I know the owner of Dyme PSI, he’s very active out here in SoCal helping with builds. The rattle snake kit would be awesome for any shop that builds cars. It takes all the guess work out, reduces wasted material, and all the stuff they send is tested for quality to ensure there are no leaks (maybe the most important part). I was wonder how the Miata Cup cars were keeping from grenading the manual transmission… I see they just replaced it completely, ha! I bet Hunter will sell a ton of those tire change machines. The EV conversions are coming… the tricky part right now for the DIY’er is the battery pack and thermal management. AEM was smart and jumped on it early, getting their ECU and BMS stuff going. Now the OEMs are doing crate motor/inverter setups. The last piece really are battery modules/packs.
Khiem, to answer your “question” on the Miata Cup car transmissions: they obviously weren’t doing anything to keep them from grenading- but they were covering them under warranty and contingency. I had a friend go through 2 transmissions- completely covered under warranty. Mazda told him they would not cover the 3d one if it blew as well.
But, isn’t that one of the best benefits of selecting the Mazda as a track toy? Things are covered under warranty just like on the street car, and for things that aren’t- you get a discount on the parts- 2yrs ago replacement crash parts for cup car owners was cost plus 10%! What other auto manufacturer is supporting their grassroots motorsport customers like that?
Part of the reason for the change from the OEM transmission to the SADEV was that the OEM trans were not holding up to the rigors of racing. However, it was usually the front-pack racers who were flat-shifting and driving the cars to 99.99% of their capabilities that were destroying the trans. I don’t think it was 100% of the cars that were grenading transmissions all the time, but rather the most abusive drivers were guaranteed to kill one.
I don’t think your casual weekend warrior or track-day enthusiast is going to kill an OEM trans.
I definitely see the value in the Dyme system for volume. For one-sy two-sy kind of hose work, though, it may not be worth the entry price.
I was definitely at a few of those Orlando-era PRI events!
I believe this is basically the same transmission in the FR-S/86/BRS and if so its is pretty fragile.