Damptronic E shock update

[DougW]

Well after much work we have joined forces with a company in the Netherlands Tractive suspension http://www.tractivesuspension.com. These guys are the real deal they worked with the Benetton F1 team on active suspension and now have a new electronic shock that can react in 3 ms, this works out to 6" at 125 mph. We will have a booth at PRI in Indy to introduce our new velocity based shock controller and the current CAN based unit. Now the question is what do we have for the FR-S, right now nothing but now I have a company willing to build what we need without me having to be in the shock business. We will have Penske level shocks the price will be more but the quality and reactive control should be a great improvement. We have plans for testing and racing in IMSA pro cars to get some real testing done. The new company is DSCSport and will be at booth 2612 & 2614 so come by and give me a hard time, we will have a shock dyno there to play with. http://www.dscsport.com/
Thanks
DougW

[DAEMANO]

[Calum]

This is going to be way out of my price range, but nothing I've seen for this car makes me want to spend the money anyway, more than this setup does.

[DougW]

I'm not sure of pricing because everything is new to me but over time I think it will be very competitive with higher end JRZ type setups. At least now I have a company that is proud of their product and willing to work with us. Don't get me wrong the Bilstein setup is still pretty cool but I had to build and machine everything, that just doesn't work for me right now.
DougW

[Captain Snooze]

Originally Posted by DougW

this works out to 6" at 125 mph.

[DougW]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

Yea mine bulged out too, I think with some time we can get that down to 1 msec these guys are shock people not electronics this is why this is soooooo coooool. Think about a rain setup or corner entry different from center and exit. We are working with velocity sensors which most cars are now using OEM to get true regressive control even at 12" per sec and no hysteresis and dumping the valve stack between reb/comp. Porsche, GTR, Viper first but I will work toward BRZ/FR-S they already have tested the mechanical version.
DougW

[Captain Snooze]

I shall put Quantum at the top (this is just for reference) and $700 Ebay specials at the bottom.
I appreciate that specialist damper manufactures don't get a lot of attention but could you tell me/us where Tractive Suspension fits into the hierarchy of damper manufacturers? (And I know that a manufacturer can produce a wide range of products at different price points even so I would rate the Penske brand above the Ksport brand).

[DougW]

Sorry, but right now I can't go into any more detail then their web site do to NDAs. I would put these guys up against Penske or IRL engineers anytime, I'm going to have to pedal hard to keep up and I've been racing a long time. They have the shocks and I have the electronics so we will if nothing else HAVE FUN and after all isn't that the goal? I suspect we will end up around 4k for a complete setup.

DougW

[OICU812]

Well nice to see you're back and got something in gear. Will this be something available in 2015???

[fasteddy]

I am looking forward to further updates on this!

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

[KoolBRZ]

Hi Doug,
Glad to see this idea rejuvenated. I'm interested in buying the ultimate struts. It is an adjustable, threaded mount coil-over style strut with airbags instead of coils. The electronic controls would have pressure sensors on each line to change response according to pressure. It would also use air pressure waves to signal strut travel for slow-speed big bumps. I'd be willing to sign an NDA to work with you and Tractive suspension on a FRS/BRZ prototype. I firmly believe the only suspension that can soften a BRZ's ride on the street is an electronic adjustable suspension

[DougW]

I know that there will be at least 1 set on my car in 2015, as far as the air bag development program while they should fit I don't see me using the airbag as a reference for travel. It would be more likely to use the same LCA sensors that GTR or Porsche uses for velocity control. I don't think that most people unless all out racing would use the regressive curves so without the sensors you can still do some amazing stuff. Since air bags use air I'm not sure the pressure would be repeatable based on temp as well as the rubber flexibility. They do have a ride height adjustable spring perch that we can integrate into the software so you can weight jack or just clear my gravel driveway, lots to play with.
DougW

[KoolBRZ]

Originally Posted by DougW

I know that there will be at least 1 set on my car in 2015, as far as the air bag development program while they should fit I don't see me using the airbag as a reference for travel. It would be more likely to use the same LCA sensors that GTR or Porsche uses for velocity control. I don't think that most people unless all out racing would use the regressive curves so without the sensors you can still do some amazing stuff. Since air bags use air I'm not sure the pressure would be repeatable based on temp as well as the rubber flexibility. They do have a ride height adjustable spring perch that we can integrate into the software so you can weight jack or just clear my gravel driveway, lots to play with.
DougW

Would they have adjustable mounts, rather than adjustable springs, so they could be lifted for the street, and lowered for the track, without losing travel?

[DougW]

Originally Posted by KoolBRZ

Would they have adjustable mounts, rather than adjustable springs, so they could be lifted for the street, and lowered for the track, without losing travel?

Not sure I think they sit under the spring so they might loose travel.
DougW