Aftermarket parts - what works and what is a waste of cash?

[TrackDay]

Another lap timer to the party. I need to read more about it and the others. But seems like a good unit. The price is a bit less than some of the others also. Garmin Catalyst. Good review and demo by Winding Road.

https://www.windingroad.com/article...atalyst-driving-performance-optimizer-part-1/

Yes, the Catalyst has been out for a few months now. There are a lot of videos on how it works. I think it's a good choice for someone who is willing to pay $1K for it and primarily wants an automated helper out there on the track telling you to brake later, etc. It also has summaries after a session where you can see video of where you drove vs. what it considers an optimal line. The reviews describe it as very effective in dropping lap time quickly.
I have the AIM Solo 2 DL and like it, but it's not as conducive to quick analysis after a session and certainly doesn't give feedback corner by corner where you can improve during a session.
I'd like to pair my AIM with an Apex Pro as I really like the simple red and green lights in each corner letting me know if I'm going as fast as I can. They stopped Android development over a year ago though, and I'm not an Apple person.

 

[TrackDay]

Just was at the AAD Website, they have themselves an interesting piece for all of us. Lightweight new front cradle! Looks like it is being tested now, maybe available soon. That is good for both us road race guys and also the drag crowd to reduce weight up front. Hope it has substantial savings!

https://aadperformance.com/

I'm pretty sure Johnee Brown is testing it on his autox Scat Pack. He's down to about 3450 without driver now last I heard.

 

[TrackDay]

If you want to talk about some new developments, I was recently made aware of this:
DSC Shock Controller - Hellcat

"Now introducing fully dynamic suspension for the SRT Hellcat platform! The DSC Sport V3 controller features all the same great technology and tuning capabilities as the V3 9×1 controller.
The easiest, fastest, and best Plug-N-Play suspension upgrade for your SRT Hellcat! The controller comes fully pre-programmed ready to use! Intended to replace the factory suspension controller to work with the OEM shocks as well as Tractive shocks and other aftermarket electronic suspension options.
All Hellcat models are Velocity compatible, made possible by the factory four wheel ride height sensors now equipped on all models. Velocity tuning allows adjustment based on the velocity of the piston rod movement, more accurately tuning the chassis to road surface changes. This feature provides a new dimension of tuning that maximizes both performance and comfort."

They get great reviews for Porsche and Chevy cars and many others that have been out longer. I can't find anyone who has tried this for our cars yet. It should come with programmed shock damping settings but can also be adjusted by the user for each drive mode. There are some good YouTube videos explaining how this can be done. I have hope for this allowing us to use some stiffer springs with our shocks without giving up so much convenience on the street.

 

[DGatzby]

If you want to talk about some new developments, I was recently made aware of this:
DSC Shock Controller - Hellcat

"Now introducing fully dynamic suspension for the SRT Hellcat platform! The DSC Sport V3 controller features all the same great technology and tuning capabilities as the V3 9×1 controller.
The easiest, fastest, and best Plug-N-Play suspension upgrade for your SRT Hellcat! The controller comes fully pre-programmed ready to use! Intended to replace the factory suspension controller to work with the OEM shocks as well as Tractive shocks and other aftermarket electronic suspension options.
All Hellcat models are Velocity compatible, made possible by the factory four wheel ride height sensors now equipped on all models. Velocity tuning allows adjustment based on the velocity of the piston rod movement, more accurately tuning the chassis to road surface changes. This feature provides a new dimension of tuning that maximizes both performance and comfort."

They get great reviews for Porsche and Chevy cars and many others that have been out longer. I can't find anyone who has tried this for our cars yet. It should come with programmed shock damping settings but can also be adjusted by the user for each drive mode. There are some good YouTube videos explaining how this can be done. I have hope for this allowing us to use some stiffer springs with our shocks without giving up so much convenience on the street.

I like it,

 

[DGatzby]

This is over the top IMO, but several are going ga-ga at the other place about 13.5” wide wheels! I love this Forum because we can say what we really think. It looks about like shit.



I think they are confusing their cars with these....

 

[sad]

Yeah. I think that’s pretty dumb looking.

When I did the specs for the custom wheels on the Vette, used a plumb-bob to make dang sure I used up all the space and not a bit more.

 

[DGatzby]

Yeah. I think that’s pretty dumb looking.

When I did the specs for the custom wheels on the Vette, used a plumb-bob to make dang sure I used up all the space and not a bit more.

Both of my 12” wide wheels, made by two different manufacturers are right on the edge. They are done well. The staggered set is right on the front edge, and Triumph’s 12” wide are on the money also. It looks to me 12” wide is easy, just add it to the outside of the OEM spec wheel. I don’t know where a guy can find and 1.5”! That is why it hangs out I guess.

Where/when are we racing early this year @sad?

 

[sad]

.....Where/when are we racing early this year @sad?

usually first trip is Texas (cresson) with PCA 3rd weekend of Feb. But most schedules are not published. I’ll check the private day schedules and get back to you. I think 2021 is going to be a great track day year.

Did you see we’re getting a new track in Missouri?

 

[TrackDay]

usually first trip is Texas (cresson) with PCA 3rd weekend of Feb. But most schedules are not published. I’ll check the private day schedules and get back to you. I think 2021 is going to be a great track day year.

Did you see we’re getting a new track in Missouri?

The Ozark track is making a lot of news. It's longer than Road America IIRC.
My 2021 is looking like Brainerd and Road America and Autobahn and likely going somewhere to get my MSF Level 2.

 

[DGatzby]

Wow, good news for MO. That could work for late season next year. Cresson could happen, but before I can talk my buddy in Dallas into it, we all need shots. I’ll need to also visit his 95 yr old Dad if I come that way. That may be too soon. Everything hopefully will bust loose when we are all protected.

TD, I want to do the MVP RA weekend again, unless you know of a better one? The Vette club will do a short and a long day at BIR in ‘21. I’ll do the long. I hope to do some other stuff, looking for ideas.

 

[Finface]

I saw a depiction of the new Ozark road course - over 4 miles long with vertical elevations. Should be pretty awesome.

DGatbzy mentioned how good his custom wheels look. When I saw them in pictures of his car - how well they lined up with the fender wells - and heard how they could be made as simple bolt-on's with no need for spacers I wanted some too. I received my triumpforged.com set of wheels a couple of weeks ago - slightly different design than DGatzby's but also strengthened to withstand forces exerted on road courses. Shipped from Los Angeles to Northern Kentucky they arrived well-protected and unblemished - functional things of beauty. Working with Bismarck Alvarado at triumphforged was a pleasure. Here's what they look like. The cute doggie sheet courtesy of my wife.



I also have installed aadperformance.com's adjustable front upper control arms, adjustable rear upper control arms, lower rear trailing arms, and adjustable rear toe-link arms. I wasn't up to the job of installing them (my rear cradle bushings were upgraded to whiteline.com's polyethylene bushings at the same time, but even if not...) so my dealership did it. Once installed, and with a little encouragement, I learned to change out tabs. It took some trial and error exchanging of the tabs that determine the length of these adjustable arms to obtain the front and rear camber and rear toe alignment values I wanted. I got a lot of patient advice from DGatzby, who pioneered using these same AAD tabs for road course this past summer, as well as help from him and the AAD guys this fall after I got my parts. My thanks to everyone who helped me understand how suspensions work. I started from scratch in my knowledge.

We had a ceremony in my garage where my wife solemnly conferred upon me the rank of "Hellcat Home Wrenchman Third Class". A humble, yet gratifying promotion considering I started my climb up the DIY ladder when I bought the car last year as "Hellcat Home Wrenchman Recruit".

I'll have to wait until next spring to track test the car. Before then I should have some nice rubber on these wheels.

 

[vortecd]

Just was at the AAD Website, they have themselves an interesting piece for all of us. Lightweight new front cradle! Looks like it is being tested now, maybe available soon. That is good for both us road race guys and also the drag crowd to reduce weight up front. Hope it has substantial savings!

https://aadperformance.com/

our heavy cars should have plenty of weight to be easily removed but that just seem to be the case. The other company that sells one is claiming 20 lbs which isn't much for $1000. The stock piece only weighs 36 lbs so there isn't a lot to trim away. The also have aluminum bumpers which save 20 lbs each.
Once you get past wheels and seats it is hard to get the weight of these cars
I do think AAD piece will be nice and strong for the road coarse

 

[Finface]

I've heard it said that the first thing to improve lap times is to do the Driver Mod.

So I'm going to lose 30 pounds.

 

[DGatzby]

Yes, the Catalyst has been out for a few months now. There are a lot of videos on how it works. I think it's a good choice for someone who is willing to pay $1K for it and primarily wants an automated helper out there on the track telling you to brake later, etc. It also has summaries after a session where you can see video of where you drove vs. what it considers an optimal line. The reviews describe it as very effective in dropping lap time quickly.
I have the AIM Solo 2 DL and like it, but it's not as conducive to quick analysis after a session and certainly doesn't give feedback corner by corner where you can improve during a session.
I'd like to pair my AIM with an Apex Pro as I really like the simple red and green lights in each corner letting me know if I'm going as fast as I can. They stopped Android development over a year ago though, and I'm not an Apple person.

Confused. On Winding Road, AIM Solo 2 DL is $800, the Garmin is a couple hundred more. The Apex Pro is another $600. It tells you if you need to corner faster, just does in a different way. I don’t see where the AIM product is such a comparatively modest option? Or better, or worse? Seems like the “more new” Garmin has updated and more useful features. Your $1k comment made it seem like it was reserved for elite people or something. Seems like the $1k all in Garmin has more options (audible feedback which allows no need to look at an array of lights) and it is less expensive?

 

[DGatzby]

I've heard it said that the first thing to improve lap times is to do the Driver Mod.

So I'm going to lose 30 pounds.

That is true. I have achieved nearly 15 seconds in 120 on my favorite course now. These products help us to fine tune the little driver mod along quicker for those last few seconds and to maintain consistent lap times. Otherwise how can we know we have optimized our laps?

 

[TrackDay]

Confused. On Winding Road, AIM Solo 2 DL is $800, the Garmin is a couple hundred more. The Apex Pro is another $600. It tells you if you need to corner faster, just does in a different way. I don’t see where the AIM product is such a comparatively modest option? Or better, or worse? Seems like the “more new” Garmin has updated and more useful features. Your $1k comment made it seem like it was reserved for elite people or something. Seems like the $1k all in Garmin has more options (audible feedback which allows no need to look at an array of lights) and it is less expensive?

I got my AIM DL for about $600 in 2019 for Black Friday. I thought it used to be $700 normally. I also thought the Apex Pro was closer to $500. Maybe things are slowly creeping up.
If I was buying it again I might not get the AIM DL, but instead just leave off the OBD channels and save a few hundred $$. For Dodge it can't capture many anyway, not even as much as my OBDLink LX that I used with Track Addict. Of course it made me realize I don't need many CAN channels to understand where I'm slow and why 1 lap is faster than another, etc.
The problem I have with the Garmin is it's hard or maybe impossible to really look at your laps and driving and understand why it's telling you to change something. I'm still in the "why" stage and want to learn how not to do something wrong again the next time. For what I've read the Garmin just tells you how to go faster, but not why it's faster. And, it's also a set of Hawk DTC80 front pads more expensive than what I paid for the AIM DL.
The Apex Pro also has some good data analysis tools, not quite as thorough as AIM, but with a more graphical feedback display while you're driving, Downside is no visible lap times.

 

[DGatzby]

I got my AIM DL for about $600 in 2019 for Black Friday. I thought it used to be $700 normally. I also thought the Apex Pro was closer to $500. Maybe things are slowly creeping up.
If I was buying it again I might not get the AIM DL, but instead just leave off the OBD channels and save a few hundred $$. For Dodge it can't capture many anyway, not even as much as my OBDLink LX that I used with Track Addict. Of course it made me realize I don't need many CAN channels to understand where I'm slow and why 1 lap is faster than another, etc.
The problem I have with the Garmin is it's hard or maybe impossible to really look at your laps and driving and understand why it's telling you to change something. I'm still in the "why" stage and want to learn how not to do something wrong again the next time. For what I've read the Garmin just tells you how to go faster, but not why it's faster. And, it's also a set of Hawk DTC80 front pads more expensive than what I paid for the AIM DL.
The Apex Pro also has some good data analysis tools, not quite as thorough as AIM, but with a more graphical feedback display while you're driving, Downside is no visible lap times.

Darn, come on TD, seems like there is not a clear good one? I look to you for opinions on these things! I know I can’t stand the ignorance of the Harry’s App. I think I really want the phone out of the lap timing business. That thing wants to start laps anytime the car is even near a starting line. I get lap times from five seconds to several minutes. Then when I try to clean it up, it says I can’t because it is timing a lap! Worse, at BIR in September, it made my phone dial emergency numbers because the car thought I was in a wreck! I had to pull out and stop it from pulling that off. I have to wait and see a tax doctor and get bids on a darn “yard remodel” project before I think about it. Let me keep reading. I will hopefully show up with something when the snow melts.

 

[DGatzby]

Tonight I needed to make sure these parts have not been covered YET. Got a example of something that DON’T WORK, and of course I show what works!

Saw some parts cheap a year ago at Thanksgiving and really did not understand the fundamental difference in a brand XXX Lower Trailing Arms and the real AAD Lower Trailing Arm. I installed the Brand XXX items prior to paying for my cradle removal and install of the other control arms from AAD (not including their Trailing Arms), last spring.

The good tech showed me the interference shown in this picture after removing my cradle and looking at things.



Why does it do that? I had the new AAD Arms to install for a while in my garage. What I hated was the eternal click caused by the interference. But, we have not driven it since October. Not to mention a bit of a squeak caused by the old time bushing that is really a garage project. Someone cuts pipe segments to put inside of the bushings, and call it good.

Today, while between putting in the new set (all arms on my car are AAD now), I compared the two.

What pisses a guy off a guy like me? When I called Brand XXX to ask why this happens last spring, I was told I must have tightened the connection too tight! Or that my new Redeye was indeed a stupid unicorn and had some real special cradle connections. Not that they knew their cross section was rotated 90 degrees wrong! That arm on the bottom has a connection neck that is flat TOO BIG AND WRONG.

Also those Spheriflex bushings -barely visible - are the shit! Smooth, quiet and precision machined. Just the way this set fit VS Brand XXX was more smooth.



Picture of a AAD Arm installed and all the appropriate space around it.

 

[TrackDay]

I think it's been shown over and over again AAD is the best single purchase. Don't try something cheaper to save a few bucks.

 

[Bowtie Guy]

I hear Edelbrock is closing its California plant & moving to Mexico

Not sure all the details but since California sucks I can see why LOLOLOLOL

I m kidding about the sucks part since I ve never been there

Maybe