2. Why the Street Challenge exists…

3. How was the Street Challenge different from any other track day?

• More real timing data. This year Nick Lacata and Tim Foss from Primedia recorded lap times on all vehicles in the shorter ½ 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]

Download the Track Data Here.

You will need the DatalinkII program from RacePak available Here.(opens a new window)

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 ½ 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.

Top ten autocross times

** = non-air suspension

Stock suspension VS. Air suspension

Stock suspension vs. Air suspension comparison timing data – Autocross

Stock suspension vs. Air suspension comparison timing data – Open track