Auto shop in Frederick for suspension work?

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AndrewD
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Auto shop in Frederick for suspension work?

Post by AndrewD »

Hey all. I live down in Lexington Park, MD (basically the middle of nowhere), where there aren't any performance tuning shops. Can anyone recommend places in/around Frederick for suspension work? I installed some coilovers a few months back but I need to get proper height and damping adjustment as well as a good alignment.

Thanks!
2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0T R-Spec
2009 Yamaha FZ6R
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echan
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Re: Auto shop in Frederick for suspension work?

Post by echan »

The closest place I can recommend is AndrewTech in Gaithersburg. Plus they are a CDC Sponsor! If you mention that your a CDC member, they might give you a break.
v10climber
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Re: Auto shop in Frederick for suspension work?

Post by v10climber »

AndrewD wrote:Hey all. I live down in Lexington Park, MD (basically the middle of nowhere), where there aren't any performance tuning shops. Can anyone recommend places in/around Frederick for suspension work? I installed some coilovers a few months back but I need to get proper height and damping adjustment as well as a good alignment.

Thanks!
I don't envy you living down in Lexington Park. I drove down there this weekend to check out an E30 and it was an hour and 45 minutes from my house. You're hardcore if you drive all the way to Frederick from there!

Andrewtech are great guys but they don't have scales anymore so they can't do corner balancing. Although corner balancing will probably the last thing you end up doing since you'll want to get your ride height/alignment/etc. fairly sorted before you corner balance it. If you have a garage or a flat space to work it's not hard to do your own alignment. Time consuming yes but way cheaper than having a shop do it each time. As we were setting up the Mini I bet we had 6-7 different alignments on it before we found one we liked. All done in the garage with string, jack stands, a level, and a caliper.

It sounds like you need a co-driver that knows how to set up a car rather than an alignment shop. Ride height will change the handling characteristics of the car. Have you researched toe/camber curves to know where your ride height should be set at for a start? I know the STI doesn't take kindly to be lowererd much more than stock. I would call up whoever manufactured your coilovers or a reputable genesis tuning shop and ask them what they recommend for a ride height starting point. From there you'll tune front/rear weight bias with the ride height until you get it how you like it.

The rebound settings are the same way. Just takes time fiddling with it till you find something that works. Rebound you'll tune with understeer/oversteer feedback. If it understeers too much soften the front or stiffen the rear. Opposite for oversteer. Oh and don't forget tire pressures. That can make a huge difference in how the car handles.

Caitlin mentioned you have a big rear bar. I would ditch it and go back to stock. All the VW/Mini owners will probably get up in arms over that statement because they love their big rear bars but I feel like it makes the car prone to snap-oversteer.

Basically if you want a set it and forget it setup then ask around on the forums or ask a tuning shop what they recommend and go with that and don't touch it. Setting up a car with coilovers takes a LOT of time and constant tweaking. I would bet it took Caitlin and I 8-10 events before we got close with the alignment/ride height/tire pressures. Then the shocks broke and we still wanted to try lowering the front a little and were still tweaking tire pressures. Let me know if you have any questions.
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konkilr
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Re: Auto shop in Frederick for suspension work?

Post by konkilr »

Andrewtech does have scales. I saw them there yesterday. Unless they are broken. They never mentioned to me that they can't do corner balancing.

jake
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CaitieD
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Re: Auto shop in Frederick for suspension work?

Post by CaitieD »

About six months ago I had an appointment to get the MINI corner balanced and aligned. They cancelled it because their scales broke. Apparently this was a regular occurance and they were considering not sending the scales back for repair because it cost so much money and they just didn't use them that often. They may have gotten the scales fixed and given it another shot since then. It's probably best to just call and find out what the current state of their scales are if you're thinking about going.
Caitlin
earl998
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Re: Auto shop in Frederick for suspension work?

Post by earl998 »

I recommend York Automotive in Mt. Airy. They are racer's and do great work. Ph.# 301-831-7337
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AndrewD
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Re: Auto shop in Frederick for suspension work?

Post by AndrewD »

Hopefully I'll have a 3 day weekend coming up soon and can get everything sorted out. Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! :)
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vettegirl
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Re: Auto shop in Frederick for suspension work?

Post by vettegirl »

I second the recommendation for York - Ed's done an awesome job helping us fine-tune our little project Miata (FTD-indexed last two autocrosses - without me driving of course). He's done our corner balancing, alignment and some tuning and mechanical work for us and has also made some great recommendations for improvements that have been spot on.
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ericw
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Re: Auto shop in Frederick for suspension work?

Post by ericw »

I like Chris Windsor. His shop is in Thurmont pretty close to Frederick. He did some work for me, including corner-balance, and I win sometimes.

http://www.windsorcustoms.com/
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