949 Racing Xida coilovers GT86/GR86

[949 Racing]

One risk of setting such high goals for the final product is that you encounter new obstacles. Making simple shocks is easy

In early testing we found the improvement over OEM ride quality by using 175 front/ 150 rear rates with 2.25" springs. Lower bounce frequency being the primary benefit. As we got further into determining actual BOM for production, we found those rates limited ride height adjustment range a bit. So we're now testing 250 front/200 rear with 2.5" springs. These changes give us more spring stroke which greatly increases ride height adjustment range. Those are pretty close to OEM rates so bounce frequencies remain about as OEM.

Our front camber range goal was a whopping -1.0 through about -4.5 without adjustable camber plates. Numerous small issues prevented that from working as a viable production spec though. So the goal has been dialed back from about -.5 through about -3° with stock upper mounts. It will still be possible to get to the -4.5° that some racers will need, but only with adjustable camber plates.

As before, no ETA. We'll publish updates when we have.. something new to update.

[solidONE]

I'm sure most that are considering these are already on something pretty competent. Take your time. Measure 100 times, cut once.

[Goingnowherefast]

Honestly this racing season is already toast with the Rona' ordeal, so yeah might as well take the time to get it right. I'll be first in line when it's ready.

[949 Racing]

Originally Posted by Goingnowherefast

Honestly this racing season is already toast with the Rona' ordeal, so yeah might as well take the time to get it right. I'll be first in line when it's ready.

We'll always take whatever time needed to get things dialed for production regardless

[Capt Spaulding]

@949 What would the effect be of preloading the lighter weight spring to get the ride height you're looking for? Assuming coil bind could be dealt with.

[949 Racing]

Originally Posted by Capt Spaulding

@949 What would the effect be of preloading the lighter weight spring to get the ride height you're looking for? Assuming coil bind could be dealt with.

The point is coil bind is unavoidable if the spring is too light. It is always possible to get at least one functional ride height with light springs at one specific vehicle weight. Complications arrive when you test at varying vehicle weights and try to achieve a range of functional ride heights.

We have developed several coilover systems. The bulk of R&D time is usually spent testing different spring combinations. Mains, tenders, helpers. Different rates, different lengths, different diameters. We have some calculation tools we have built to help us model them virtually before ordering samples to test. Another factor is that all springs are not created equal. Depending on the design and material, the useful stroke of a given spring will vary. From a production/ BOM (bill of materials) standpoint, we don't want to end up needing an exotic and expensive spring just to reach our design targets.

Good production engineering is setting realistic goals, finding creative ways to reach them in a cost-effective and easily reproducible manner. For a small company like us it's renting test tracks, pulling on a helmet, reviewing CAD drawings, playing with stuff on the 3D printer, supply chain management.. and keeping you all updated. I wear many hats

[Capt Spaulding]

Thanks

[949 Racing]

Some of the recent engineering challenges:

1. Getting enough spring stroke to reach target ride height adjustment range F&R.
2. Reaching our target camber adjustment range with OEM front mounts
3. Gaining adequate end link clearance with race front camber settings

1. Spring packs now pretty close to sorted for production. That also addresses ride height adjustment range.

Assuming a 255/40/17 tire, ride height adjustment range for the Race spring pack should be about 125-145mm.
Assuming a 225/45/17 tire, the Touring spring pack should be about 140-160mm


2. Camber wise, everyone with Xidas should be able to reach about -3° up front using OEM mounts. The eccentric inserts will give you three options from about -.5 to -3.0°. Adding our BCM (billet coaxial mounts) up front will increase that range to about -4.5° which is what we ran on Blub for all the track records we set last year.

Our BCM's will come later. They're designed to have the same offset as the OEM mount so no significant ride height adjustments will be necessary when upgrading from OEM mounts.

3. We have sorted clearance for OEM end links with a little extra negative camber. Race camber will require our 949 Racing sealed, adjustable end links.

[solidONE]

Very precise. What's the guesstimated ETA now? looks like you've already close to production.

[949 Racing]

Originally Posted by solidONE

Very precise. What's the guesstimated ETA now? looks like you've already close to production.

We still have some testing and BOM validation to do but we have arrived at the point where we think we have our full production configuration for both spring packs. Another day of track testing and some more validation stuff on public roads then we will know. When we are doing something that hasn't been done before and started pushing the envelope there are always unforeseen obstacles. Sometimes they're small and easily overcome, sometimes they require a redesign.

Which is all to say, we don't know when we will be shipping kits. But if it is a linear progression from here, no major obstacles we should be able to ship kits before the end of the year. We should also have our BCM's before the end of the year.

BCM - Billet Coaxial Mount

One note on our BCM, the C stands for a coaxial. Meaning the upper spring seat is isolated from the articulation of the upper mount. This is crucial for maintaining a linear spring rate. Low quality springs and lack of coaxial perch on many generic Alibaba shocks means the effect of spring rate can vary as much as 20% throughout its stroke. As you might guess, that plays havoc with the predictability, balance and ability for a driver to tune the car properly.

Here is a picture of a BCM we make for the early Miata chassis. Note the angle of the upper mount is independent of the spring.

[drivermodca]

Hey Emilio, I'm wondering if you have an ETA on these. I noticed that the 949 site still says "Coming soon".

Thanks!

[949 Racing]

Originally Posted by drivermodca

Hey Emilio, I'm wondering if you have an ETA on these. I noticed that the 949 site still says "Coming soon".

Thanks!

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/show...6&postcount=94

[949 Racing]

We had hoped to have Xidas ready at the end of 2019 but the many little customizations we're making each add time to the R&D process. A the same time we're developing a new Xida system for the NC Miata (2nd gen), a new low cost shock for the NA/NB 1st gen and a few other things. Many concurrent projects.

First set of pre-production prototype upper mounts arrived. We'll be track testing them in the next few weeks once we get our two rig back online.. The business that shares our parking lot has service trucks coming and going all day, one of which crunched the front of our Ram 3500 dually so its in the shop getting some dental work done.

The base Xidas will allow folks to get around -3° front camber with stock upper mounts. With our camber plates, that will increase to about -6°. If that seems excessive, it's pretty common for a pure race setup to need -3.5 to as much as -5° up front. Blub currently sitting in the shop at around 110mm pinch weld and -6° front camber. We nicknamed that broken camber :P

We were able to increase the bump travel with our mount as well. Lower stack height than any other camber plate for the 86.

Meanwhile just about every other design detail of the full system has been finalized. Testing with a mix of pre-production and handmade prototypes to confirm things and then we green light. Fingers crossed we got everything nailed down and are ready to start making shocks. Thanks for your patience, everyone.

[Pat]

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