Pfadt Racing announces release of Featherlite Double Adjustable Coilovers
03-15-2011, 07:45 PM
#1
Pfadt Racing announces release of Featherlite Double Adjustable Coilovers
We here at Pfadt Racing have been winning races and developing products for the Corvette for years, and all the while we've fielded requests for a no compromises bolt on coilover solution for these cars. The culmination of months of work at Pfadt Racing and years of experience on the race track. We are extremely pleased to announce the release of our FeatherLite Double Adjustable Coilovers.
We are extremely focused on Corvette performance. As such you can be assured that this package was designed to be the premiere solution for high performance C5 and C6 track day and road race cars. These pieces aren't a high performance band aid, we had design goals specifically tailored to the C5/6 in mind at every step of the way during the long development of this system. Damping rates were designed and carefully chosen to work superbly for the C5 and C6 chassis, based on our years in the Corvette racing community. From the independent rebound and compression adjustment, to the proprietary low friction upper mount system, we engineered this package to drop lap times and put more Corvettes on the podium.
Taking a closer look at the entire design process sheds some light as to what separates the FeatherLite Doubles from the pack. Gathering user feedback and applying our racing knowledge we designed key points of adjust ability into this system that will allow Corvette owners to tailor their cars to any track situation and driving style. A few of these keys include:
Independent Rebound and Compression adjustment
Ride height adjustment
Custom spring rates available
While these adjustments aren't new to the Corvette world, what is new is the Corvette specific optimization and durable material selection to reliably put distance between you and the rest of the field. Our new BOA (Ball On Axis) upper shock mount system is an example of this commitment to reliability. We engineered the BOA upper mount to smoothly articulate across a wider range of motion with minimal deflection and to minimize dead length. Extra articulation in the upper mount reduces bind along the shock shaft, and the reduction in dead length allowed us to maximize available shock stroke that would normally be encroached by a traditional Clevis style mount. Threaded shock bodies are notorious for collecting road debris and jamming spring perches, our ACME threaded shock bodies alleviate some of the stubborn lock ring syndrome that are common on traditionally cut threaded bodies. The inverted design of the shock offers lower sprung weight than it's standard counterpart, but thanks to the use of an outer dust seal and inner oil seal you can rest assured that particulates will not make their way into the shock. The entire package is capped off by a hard anodized 16mm shock shaft for low friction and extra strength, this is 3mm larger than the stock shaft.
The remote canisters not only move compression adjustment to where it can be quickly accessed without removing the wheel, but they provide extra gas volume to prevent pressure buildup in the gas volume under large shock stroke events. The increase in gas volume and the subsequent decrease of pressure in the gas volume versus a conventional designed shock means more consistent performance over the service life of the FeatherLite. Manufactured from high strength aluminum and connected to the shock via sealed braided stainless steel line, the canister itself will perform flawlessly time and time again.
As proof of the overall durability of these coilovers we have built an in-house durability testing rig that punish our completed FeatherLites to probe their limits. Below you can see video of the rig in action. As of right now we have a set of FeatherLites that have far surpassed the half million cycle mark and they are still going strong. We have implemented these testing processes to ensure that your world class suspension components will remain world class no matter how much abuse these see at the track. Oil aeration is one key component to shock failure, to combat this issue we use a proprietary synthetic oil blend. After beating on this FeatherLite for over 500,000 continuous cycles we placed it on the shock dyno with no changes in the damping curves we designed into them from cycle 1. No shock will last forever, and should these need to be serviced we will offer rebuild services
How will they perform on track? You'll have to follow McBen Motorsports, they chose the FeatherLite Double Adjustables for their effort this year in ST2 competition. From a performance standpoint they are going to see benefits from the spring rates we specifically selected for heavy duty track use, and a package that sheds in total 4 pounds of unsprung weight compared to stock. Their track testing days will also go smoother thanks to the location of the rebound and compression adjuster *****. Gone are the days of drilling holes into your rear strut tower, now the rebound adjustment is conveniently located at the bottom of the shock, and the compression is on the external canister.
Not only are we confident in these products, GM is confident in them as well. After being contacted by GM about suspension tuning for a project car, these are the same coilovers that were on the Corvette Z06X. As such you can actually purchase the entire system from your GM parts department through the GM Performance Products catalog.
We are extremely happy with how the FeatherLite Double Adjustable coilovers have turned out. The first 5 sets are actually out and on customer's cars as we speak. Full scale sales will begin in April, and we are taking preorders now. As always we are happy that our commitment to the Motorsports community has turned out such a great product.
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask! Thank you!
We are extremely focused on Corvette performance. As such you can be assured that this package was designed to be the premiere solution for high performance C5 and C6 track day and road race cars. These pieces aren't a high performance band aid, we had design goals specifically tailored to the C5/6 in mind at every step of the way during the long development of this system. Damping rates were designed and carefully chosen to work superbly for the C5 and C6 chassis, based on our years in the Corvette racing community. From the independent rebound and compression adjustment, to the proprietary low friction upper mount system, we engineered this package to drop lap times and put more Corvettes on the podium.
Taking a closer look at the entire design process sheds some light as to what separates the FeatherLite Doubles from the pack. Gathering user feedback and applying our racing knowledge we designed key points of adjust ability into this system that will allow Corvette owners to tailor their cars to any track situation and driving style. A few of these keys include:
Independent Rebound and Compression adjustment
Ride height adjustment
Custom spring rates available
While these adjustments aren't new to the Corvette world, what is new is the Corvette specific optimization and durable material selection to reliably put distance between you and the rest of the field. Our new BOA (Ball On Axis) upper shock mount system is an example of this commitment to reliability. We engineered the BOA upper mount to smoothly articulate across a wider range of motion with minimal deflection and to minimize dead length. Extra articulation in the upper mount reduces bind along the shock shaft, and the reduction in dead length allowed us to maximize available shock stroke that would normally be encroached by a traditional Clevis style mount. Threaded shock bodies are notorious for collecting road debris and jamming spring perches, our ACME threaded shock bodies alleviate some of the stubborn lock ring syndrome that are common on traditionally cut threaded bodies. The inverted design of the shock offers lower sprung weight than it's standard counterpart, but thanks to the use of an outer dust seal and inner oil seal you can rest assured that particulates will not make their way into the shock. The entire package is capped off by a hard anodized 16mm shock shaft for low friction and extra strength, this is 3mm larger than the stock shaft.
The remote canisters not only move compression adjustment to where it can be quickly accessed without removing the wheel, but they provide extra gas volume to prevent pressure buildup in the gas volume under large shock stroke events. The increase in gas volume and the subsequent decrease of pressure in the gas volume versus a conventional designed shock means more consistent performance over the service life of the FeatherLite. Manufactured from high strength aluminum and connected to the shock via sealed braided stainless steel line, the canister itself will perform flawlessly time and time again.
As proof of the overall durability of these coilovers we have built an in-house durability testing rig that punish our completed FeatherLites to probe their limits. Below you can see video of the rig in action. As of right now we have a set of FeatherLites that have far surpassed the half million cycle mark and they are still going strong. We have implemented these testing processes to ensure that your world class suspension components will remain world class no matter how much abuse these see at the track. Oil aeration is one key component to shock failure, to combat this issue we use a proprietary synthetic oil blend. After beating on this FeatherLite for over 500,000 continuous cycles we placed it on the shock dyno with no changes in the damping curves we designed into them from cycle 1. No shock will last forever, and should these need to be serviced we will offer rebuild services
How will they perform on track? You'll have to follow McBen Motorsports, they chose the FeatherLite Double Adjustables for their effort this year in ST2 competition. From a performance standpoint they are going to see benefits from the spring rates we specifically selected for heavy duty track use, and a package that sheds in total 4 pounds of unsprung weight compared to stock. Their track testing days will also go smoother thanks to the location of the rebound and compression adjuster *****. Gone are the days of drilling holes into your rear strut tower, now the rebound adjustment is conveniently located at the bottom of the shock, and the compression is on the external canister.
Not only are we confident in these products, GM is confident in them as well. After being contacted by GM about suspension tuning for a project car, these are the same coilovers that were on the Corvette Z06X. As such you can actually purchase the entire system from your GM parts department through the GM Performance Products catalog.
We are extremely happy with how the FeatherLite Double Adjustable coilovers have turned out. The first 5 sets are actually out and on customer's cars as we speak. Full scale sales will begin in April, and we are taking preorders now. As always we are happy that our commitment to the Motorsports community has turned out such a great product.
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask! Thank you!
Last edited by Pfadt Racing; 03-16-2011 at 05:30 PM.
03-15-2011, 08:29 PM
#2
Le Mans Master
Price????
03-15-2011, 09:56 PM
#4
Le Mans Master
Member Since: Sep 2002
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They look great and sound good. Without knowing the price, (which is sometimes what I use to gauge where they compete)... I'll just ask.. are these your high end CO's that would compete with say Motons?
How much?
03-16-2011, 01:37 PM
#7
All design, engineering, quality control and final assembly are done here in Salt Lake City, Utah. We have components manufactured in both the US and Europe.
Last edited by Pfadt Racing; 03-16-2011 at 01:42 PM.
03-16-2011, 02:24 PM
#8
You attached the external canister to lower control arm - this is recomended location? I feel that this location does not benefit from low unsprung weight?
Any chance to have enough room through front upper arms for installing www.ramliftpro.com?
Thank You
Vit
03-16-2011, 02:26 PM
#9
Team Owner
We are absolutely targeting the premium race shock segment with the FeatherLight Double Adjustables. What makes us different is the amount of chassis specific design we've put into these for the C5/6. We are confident that these will perform awesomely on track!
All design, engineering, quality control and final assembly are done here in Salt Lake City, Utah. We have components manufactured in both the US and Europe.
All design, engineering, quality control and final assembly are done here in Salt Lake City, Utah. We have components manufactured in both the US and Europe.
I guess price is coming when they are available for sale. What is ACME thread, sorry I am not familiar with the term?
Last edited by John Shiels; 03-16-2011 at 02:30 PM.
03-16-2011, 05:55 PM
#10
There are some pictures of Your install on Pfadt's Facebook.
You attached the external canister to lower control arm - this is recomended location? I feel that this location does not benefit from low unsprung weight?
Any chance to have enough room through front upper arms for installing www.ramliftpro.com?
Thank You
Vit
You attached the external canister to lower control arm - this is recomended location? I feel that this location does not benefit from low unsprung weight?
Any chance to have enough room through front upper arms for installing www.ramliftpro.com?
Thank You
Vit
As far as RamLift goes, we never intended these FeatherLights to employ any kind of dynamic ride height adjustment. We haven't tested this system in correlation to any suspension we've ever designed, my feeling is they're probably unnecessary and we wouldn't recommend installing this with our coilovers. The FeatherLights have enough ride height adjust ability to get your car at or close to stock ride height if your concerned about ground clearance after install.
What is ACME thread, sorry I am not familiar with the term?
Last edited by Pfadt Racing; 03-16-2011 at 06:13 PM.
03-17-2011, 11:07 AM
#12
As far as RamLift goes, we never intended these FeatherLights to employ any kind of dynamic ride height adjustment. We haven't tested this system in correlation to any suspension we've ever designed, my feeling is they're probably unnecessary and we wouldn't recommend installing this with our coilovers. The FeatherLights have enough ride height adjust ability to get your car at or close to stock ride height if your concerned about ground clearance after install.
...that system is not dynamic only enables temporarily increase ride height. I'm now about 1/2 inch below stock height, and I'm using Your inverted sport shocks. I'd like to further lower the car using drop spindles = another 1 inch lower, but this is makes me to use such a ride height adjustment system.
03-17-2011, 04:00 PM
#14
Racer
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Threaded shock bodies are notorious for collecting road debris and jamming spring perches, our ACME threaded shock bodies alleviate some of the stubborn lock ring syndrome that are common on traditionally cut threaded bodies.
03-30-2011, 07:42 AM
#15
Burning Brakes
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04-19-2011, 03:23 PM
#16
So pictures are coming to us from the McBen Motorsports install. We are excited to see these in use soon! Keep following the McBen Motorsports team for updates as their season progresses.
Mounting for the External Canister
View from the back side, good detail of their brakes and our coilovers.
Excellent picture of the upper mount articulation at full droop.
Canister routing and mounting.
We have been running these coilovers every day on our own development C6Z and are taking orders now. They will be ready to ship by the end of next week, just in time to get your cars dialed in for the upcoming race season!
Please let us know if you have any questions about this exciting new product. We cant wait to hear impressions from the initial testing group.
Mounting for the External Canister
View from the back side, good detail of their brakes and our coilovers.
Excellent picture of the upper mount articulation at full droop.
Canister routing and mounting.
We have been running these coilovers every day on our own development C6Z and are taking orders now. They will be ready to ship by the end of next week, just in time to get your cars dialed in for the upcoming race season!
Please let us know if you have any questions about this exciting new product. We cant wait to hear impressions from the initial testing group.
Last edited by Pfadt Racing; 04-27-2011 at 12:22 PM.
04-21-2011, 08:26 PM
#17
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Here is a video from this past weekend.
A great battle between a ST1 Corvette, a SU 911, and the McBen Motorsports ST2 Corvette sporting: Pfadt Feather Lite Coilovers, Pfadt Sway Bars, Pfadt Spherical Bearings, and Pfadt Carbon Fiber Driveshaft.
O yea forgot the link!!! lol
http://www.youtube.com/mcbenmotorspo.../2/opTGvrYyvm4
A great battle between a ST1 Corvette, a SU 911, and the McBen Motorsports ST2 Corvette sporting: Pfadt Feather Lite Coilovers, Pfadt Sway Bars, Pfadt Spherical Bearings, and Pfadt Carbon Fiber Driveshaft.
O yea forgot the link!!! lol
http://www.youtube.com/mcbenmotorspo.../2/opTGvrYyvm4
Last edited by McBenMotorsports; 04-22-2011 at 01:19 AM.
04-21-2011, 10:33 PM
#18
Drifting
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04-28-2011, 04:15 PM
#19
Great to see Pete and the McBen team proving what they can do out on the race track! Keep up the good work, and we will keep building quality components to put you on the podium!
05-12-2011, 06:46 PM
#20
For those of you who are looking for more information on the B.O.A. upper mount system, we've put together a post and couple videos highlighting the important pieces of the system.
B.O.A. Mount Details!
FeatherLight Doubles will be able to ship Monday! We're really excited to fulfill the preorders we've taken and get people driving faster!
B.O.A. Mount Details!
FeatherLight Doubles will be able to ship Monday! We're really excited to fulfill the preorders we've taken and get people driving faster!