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  #11  
Old 09-22-2006, 10:07 AM
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This car's got airbags, AND a 4L60E AND skinny tires. Coolest video out there so far.

AirRide 71Camaro SS In car video
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  #12  
Old 09-22-2006, 11:34 AM
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Default That was way cool.

How much fun is that...
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  #13  
Old 09-22-2006, 11:55 AM
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Pretty cool, thanks for the video.
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  #14  
Old 09-22-2006, 12:13 PM
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Mind you, Brad Coomer from Air Ride is practicing for a career as a "wheelman" on a bank heist crew. He was letting it all hang out. As the video shows, Brad's driving style was a real crowd pleaser and his times were fast despite the tire smoke. Tony Bolton, the local gun, drove the car with a lot less drama which shaved off some time. Both were fun to watch.

Play the video again and listen for the engine braking. Mark Bowler, Bowler Transmissions, made some valve body modifications to the 4L60E that permitted controlled engine braking. The car featured an electronic joystick on the console for shifting. This is the same car that was on the cover of Super Chevy last month.
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  #15  
Old 09-22-2006, 12:35 PM
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Well.....'Might as well be keeping my 'Glide. If you've got 4 speeds (ok 3+1) and you only use 2...Whats the deal?

Seriously, awesome vid! Thats major motivation. I found myself swinging and rolling my chair in front of my screen!!! Gee i wish i wasn't so far from all those events...We don't really have anything like that here. 2 Bad.

Really too cool.

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New for summer '13. My latest find!!

48k miles, 100% original, 1969 Camaro coupe. Untouched, never apart and squeaky clean!!! 327/th350, A/C car. Gold on black w/vinyl top. Only add ons; Fast ratio box and SS396 wheels.

FINALLY!!! A car without rust repairs ever!!! None before, none coming!!! Cant come to modifying it tough....

...So, '67 Camaro project with my laying around stuff out of my black 'vert. 468 BB and YSI blower, braked th400, 12 bolt/spool, 35 splines etc. Complete Calvert suspension front and rear. 30x13.5 ET Streets, caged, lightened, slammed and running low 9's "Street car"
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  #16  
Old 09-28-2006, 08:32 AM
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Default 2006 Air Ride Technologies 3rd Annual Street Challenge

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!

1. 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.

2. 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!

3. 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.

4. 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 converted 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 ˝ 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 ˝ 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.
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  #17  
Old 10-03-2006, 04:09 PM
jb@ridetech jb@ridetech is offline
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i have a few pics from the event, ill post more when i get them....
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  #18  
Old 10-03-2006, 04:42 PM
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Steve1968LS2 Steve1968LS2 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fatlife
so does this mean I can't call all the guys at the car shows with air bags posers anymore?

No.. you still can since most air-bag systems are not performance oriented. However, if you want a performance air system then contact ART

Wow.. did that sound like a commercial???? lol
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  #19  
Old 10-03-2006, 09:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jb@ridetech
i have a few pics from the event, ill post more when i get them....
The guy who is mowing the grass in our 05 Mustang is Rick Love, who runs Vintage Air. Rick...You are OUTED!!
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  #20  
Old 10-03-2006, 10:42 PM
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Where and how can I download this video? It is pretty awesome.
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