The "REAL" Fat Cat Motorsports impressions thread, by "The Driver".
Hang on kids, this will be a long one...
Bit of a background. FCM Bilsteins (custom valved) with 600 lbs front springs and 375 lbs rear springs. The Springs were made by Suspension Spring Specialist, in Indiana.
The previous set up was the following: Tokico Illuminas (with about 30K miles on them), FCM bumpstops, bushings and NB tophats. The low miles springs came out of a 91 smurf blue Miata. I got those springs given to me for free by a CLASSY M.net forum member out of Sedona, AZ.
The Illumina set up was suggested by M.net forum member "Alik" and though promising, never quite delivered. The rear hanged @ 13.25 of the center, and the front; even with 1/2 inch FCM raisers was below 12''! :eek:
The rear felt and handled fine, whereas the fron needed Florida type roads. That was a problem, I left Tampa (my home, sweet home) in Sept 2010. From Sept 2010 I have lived in Denver, CO; New Orleans, LA and now Tulsa, OK.
I needed a suspension that would be sporty, yet compliant and if you may "supple". Good enough for autocrossing (2-3 events a year) and civilian duty.
I set a budget of $2K or less, as this Miata is NOT my only expense (got a woman) for that and is MOST definetely my only hobby.
After almost a year of research and inquiries to several vendors and adjustable coilovers owners, I decided that FCM was for me.
Shaik Ahmad, owner of FCM first suggested 700/400 springs. I explained to him that the roads in OK are REALLY bad, and that I'll be moving back to Denver in about two years, and the roads over there are not any better. We restle a bit with what to go with, and I almost went with 550 or 500 fronts and 250 rear. As I had never driven a car with FCM COilovers, but having owned both a 944S with M030 suspension and a 968 and having had friends who owned E-36 M-3's I told Shaik that I wanted my suspension to feel that way. Luckily I also have a neat Gen 1 Tacoma truck, so it's not like I needed the car for everyday use, so I told him to go with the 600/375 that we briefly discussed. So after agreeing to a deadline, an order was placed.
The original deadline was for me to receive my coilovers in 4/6 weeks from June 9th (when the order was placed). I communicated via e-mail/text/phone to Shaik and everything seemed to be O.K. Then On August 13, I asked about an ETA for my coilovers, as I wanted the car to be ready for Miata's @ Hallet on Sept 15th, but I also would be flying home to Tampa for vacation right before Hallet.
FCM had run into some problems that affected some staff members. I was simpathetic, but I a was MAD that I had not being told that there would be problems with the deadline that I was given and agreed upon. A couple of angry emails from me, and a VERY courteous call from Shaik, and everything got back on track. I was given a deadline to receive my coilovers by August 24th. I actually got them on Aug 21st. Way to "recover the fumble" Shaik!
Though my friend Carl (Forum member Rkitecture) and I wanted to do the install, I met a Spec-Racer that was could do the install and had the scales for corner balancing. He needed the car for two days.
We ran into a bit of a problem with the ride height. Spec Racers measure from the "jack point" were everything Miata related points to "middle of the wheel/rim". Once that translation oddity was resolved, the ride heights were set @ 12.25 front/12.75 rear. I witness how the corner balancing and height adjustments were done, and was GLAD that Carl and I didn't try to do this in his driveway...
Car was set with an "on the go" Spec Racer alignment, and I took a spin on my car...
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
It was WICKEDLY AWESOME! I took corners like I hated my car, I drove over some REALLY BAD roads, and did some not so smart things with the car. It never lost its composure, it felt PLANTED and it soaked up road bumps and irregularities like they were almost not there. You feel them, but not in a harsh way at all, it's like irregularities are "smoothed out" sort of speak.
But it is the amount of grip available at all times that is TRULY amazing. In short, I would HIGHLY recommend Shaik Ahmad and Fat Cat Motorsports for both their SERVICE and their PRODUCTS!
