M-Factory suspension - test mule wanted
23 August 2016, 09:54 AM
#1
M-Factory suspension - test mule wanted
Hi everyone. Due to an impending house move, I recently sold my Widetrack Spec C 
Prior to selling, I had planned to fit some newly developed M-Factory suspension. As some of you might be aware, M-Factory is a world-leading manufacturer of drivetrain components for motorsport (http://www.teammfactory.com/). More recently however, M-Factory has decided to develop suspension packages.
In conjunction with the UK M-Factory distributor (Grinspeed Motorsport near Preston), my car was going to be used as a mule - for a greatly reduced price (£770 as opposed to the retail of £1280). Obviously, having sold my Spec C, I can't take up this offer so I'm throwing out the option to other widetrack owners. Ideally, this would be better for those living in or within access to the Northwest of England as the installation and adjustments will be carried out at Grinspeed (http://www.grinspeed.co.uk/) by Stephen Brindle. Although not widely known in the Subaru community, Stephen is hugely respected; trained as a WRC mechanic, he still freelances on the WRC circuit where his skills are in demand!
If you are interested, please PM me or get in touch directly with Stephen at Grinspeed. For those who would like to know more about these dampers, the info below (from M-Factory USA in December last year) should answer most questions:
There are a lot of generic setups available on the market at the moment, however, they are basically all the same/similar setup (i.e generic) and have not changed over the past 15 years, with prices ranging from $1000-2000; the more expensive only being due to the "brand" and the "assembled in XXX label" rather than the design features (the components are all still manufactured in China, Taiwan or Korea)
Of course, rather than reinventing the book, it is best to stick to tried-and-tested designs (especially for the street car) hence why all the current setups available are similar.
Because of this "gap", we at MFactory have decided to do what we do best, and this is to provide you guys with a quality solution that meets our #1 priority; Value for Money. Whilst this new project is still in it's infancy, we want to take this opportunity to design, manufacture and offer our solution based on your feedback and not just what the "marketing folks" think you want!
So our project as it stands today:
YCW Reference Series Coilovers
- Spec'd for Superior Performance
- Priced for Affordability
- Over-Engineered for Comfort & Safety
FEATURES:
Forged 6061-T6 Hard Anodised Aluminium Front Upper Mounts
- Strong and Lightweight, our Forged Upper Mounts are Hard Anodised for superior Corrosion Resistance
Forged 6061-T6 Hard Anodised Aluminium Rear Upper Mounts (Where Applicable)
- Strong and Lightweight, our Forged Upper Mounts are Hard Anodised for superior Corrosion Resistance
High-Tensile Carbon Steel Front Camber & Caster Plate with Anti-Slip Coating (MacPherson)
- CNC-Machined High-Tensile Carbon Steel supports more load than lesser-quality mounts
- Camber Angles can be adjusted precisely to your driving needs
- Where space permits (Application Dependent), Caster Angles can also be fine tuned
Oversized PTFE-Lined Japanese Spherical Upper Mount Bushing
- Increases shock articulation and prevents coil-bowing
- Higher load rating for increased durability
- Minimises knocking noise associated with lesser-quality bearings
Forged 6061-T6 Hard Anodised Aluminium Upper Spring Perch with Sealed Japanese Radial Bearing
- Strong and Lightweight, our Forged Upper Spring Perches are Hard Anodised for superior Corrosion Resistance
- High Quality Sealed Japanese Radial Bearing removes rotational stress from the upper mount and is sealed from the elements
62mm ID Cold-Wound Japanese SAE 9254V Chrome-Silicon-Vanadium Steel Linear Springs
- Custom-made for us in Japan from the highest quality Japanese-grade spring steel, using proprietary manufacturing processes
- Not all springs are manufactured the same. Lesser-quality, Taiwanese-manufactured springs offer inferior performance and durability
- Although more expensive, we believe the increase in performance more than offsets the marginal increase in manufacturing costs
OEM-Balanced Spring Rates
- The majority of budget coilovers currently on the market offer default spring rates that deviate from the oem-balanced spring rates
- By not accounting for Motion Ratio Calculations and just replicating race-car setups, this results in a very unbalanced and uncomfortable ride on a Street Car
- All Reference Series Coilovers are supplied with oem-balanced spring rates, offering you increased performance without sacrificing ride comfort
62mm ID Cold-Wound Japanese SAE 9254 Chrome-Silicon Steel Helper Springs (Application Dependent)
- Optional Helper Springs can be used to increase droop travel
52mm OD Cold-Drawn Japanese SAE 1020 Seamless Carbon Steel Shock Body
- Offers superior physical properties and strength-to-weight ratio over lesser manufacturing processes
Black-Zinc Plated Fully-Threaded Shock Body with 250hrs of Salt-Spray Testing
- Offers superior corrosion-resistance
14mm OD or 20mm OD (MacPherson) Forged SAE 4140 Chromoly Steel Piston Rod
- Monotube shocks, although offering increased performance over Twintube shocks, have an inherent weakness; a load-bearing Piston Rod
- Although Inverted Monotube Shocks are touted as the solution, these come with their own set of problems, not least the substantially increased cost of manufacture
- Our over-engineered solution to the problem, with only a marginal increase in manufacturing costs, is our proprietary Chromoly Steel Piston Rod
- Offering a substantial increase in tensile strength over lesser-quality rods, not only does this keep costs down, it significantly increases product safet
Oversized Piston Rod Guide
- A common issue with the majority of budget coilovers currently on the market is performance-sapping deflection and shaft-play, even after only limited usage
- Through the use of our proprietary Piston Rod Guide, this minimises deflection and shaft-play, allowing you to reap the performance benefits for a longer period of time
7-Level Rebound Adjustment
- Our Reference Series Coilovers allow 7 levels of Rebound Adjustments, allowing you to fine-tune your vehicle comfort and handling
- Unlike the majority of budget coilovers currently on the market, with their 30+ Level Adjustments, you can physically feel the difference between each adjustment
- In this particular case, more is not better; it's simply an inconvenience and setup-nightmare
10cm/15cm/20cm Length Adjustment Extenders (Optional)
- Designed for vehicle applications with limited access to their upper strut mounts
44mm OD Forged 7075-T6 Hard Anodised Aluminium Digressive-Blow-Off DBO Piston™
- Over-engineered for superior strength, with anti-stiction and anti-friction properties
- At lower shock speeds (Cornering), our DBO Piston™ maintains a higher damping force, offering increased responsiveness and stability
- At higher shock speeds (Bumps), our DBO Piston™ maintains a lower damping force, offering increased comfort and control
Performance Synthetic Damper Oil with High Viscosity Index and Proprietary Additives
- A proprietary formula providing consistent damping over a wide temperature range and superior anti-stiction/anti-friction properties
Viton Performance O-Rings
- Upgraded O-Rings offering better performance and durability than lesser-quality Rubber O-Rings
Forged 6061-T6 Hard Anodised Lower Spring Perch Locking Collar
- Strong and Lightweight, our Forged Locking Collars are Hard Anodised for superior Corrosion Resistance
- 1pc Locking Collars, providing secure and hassle-free adjustments
Fully-Threaded Forged 6061-T6 Hard Anodised or High-Tensile Carbon Steel Lower Mount
- Threaded Lower Mounts allows us to use a longer shock body for increased performance
- Shock Stroke is unaffected by Ride Height changes
- Allows an increased Height Adjustment range
PTFE-Lined Japanese Spherical Lower Mount Bushing (Eyelet Type. Optional)
- Increases shock articulation and prevents deflection
- Higher load rating for increased durability
- Minimises knocking noise associated with lesser-quality bearings
Silicone Lower Mount End Caps (MacPherson)
- High Quality Weather-Proof End Caps for MacPherson lower mounts, preventing water and dirt from entering the the lower shock body
Weather-proof Neoprene Shock Covers
- High Quality Weather-Proof Shock Covers, preventing water and dirt from clogging up the shock assembly
Fully Rebuildable
- Our Reference Series Coilovers are fully rebuildable, with spare parts always in stock and available for purchase
Limited Lifetime Warranty on Hard Parts
- Warrantied against Manufacturers Defects
- Non-Transferable. Registration and Proof-of-Purchase Required
- Hard Parts include: Upper/Lower Mounts, Spring Perches, Locking Collars, Shock Body and Piston Rod
Limited 1 Year Warranty on Wear Parts
- Warrantied against Manufacturers Defects
- Non-Transferable. Registration and Proof-of-Purchase Required
- Wear Parts include: Bearings, Springs, Seals and Shock Internals
Local Service Facilities
- North America: San Dimas, USA. Warranty Claims and Rebuild Services available
- Europe: Leyland, United Kingdom. Warranty Claims, Rebuild Services and Revalving Services available
Prior to selling, I had planned to fit some newly developed M-Factory suspension. As some of you might be aware, M-Factory is a world-leading manufacturer of drivetrain components for motorsport (http://www.teammfactory.com/). More recently however, M-Factory has decided to develop suspension packages. In conjunction with the UK M-Factory distributor (Grinspeed Motorsport near Preston), my car was going to be used as a mule - for a greatly reduced price (£770 as opposed to the retail of £1280). Obviously, having sold my Spec C, I can't take up this offer so I'm throwing out the option to other widetrack owners. Ideally, this would be better for those living in or within access to the Northwest of England as the installation and adjustments will be carried out at Grinspeed (http://www.grinspeed.co.uk/) by Stephen Brindle. Although not widely known in the Subaru community, Stephen is hugely respected; trained as a WRC mechanic, he still freelances on the WRC circuit where his skills are in demand!
If you are interested, please PM me or get in touch directly with Stephen at Grinspeed. For those who would like to know more about these dampers, the info below (from M-Factory USA in December last year) should answer most questions:
There are a lot of generic setups available on the market at the moment, however, they are basically all the same/similar setup (i.e generic) and have not changed over the past 15 years, with prices ranging from $1000-2000; the more expensive only being due to the "brand" and the "assembled in XXX label" rather than the design features (the components are all still manufactured in China, Taiwan or Korea)
Of course, rather than reinventing the book, it is best to stick to tried-and-tested designs (especially for the street car) hence why all the current setups available are similar.
Because of this "gap", we at MFactory have decided to do what we do best, and this is to provide you guys with a quality solution that meets our #1 priority; Value for Money. Whilst this new project is still in it's infancy, we want to take this opportunity to design, manufacture and offer our solution based on your feedback and not just what the "marketing folks" think you want!
So our project as it stands today:
YCW Reference Series Coilovers
- Spec'd for Superior Performance
- Priced for Affordability
- Over-Engineered for Comfort & Safety
FEATURES:
Forged 6061-T6 Hard Anodised Aluminium Front Upper Mounts
- Strong and Lightweight, our Forged Upper Mounts are Hard Anodised for superior Corrosion Resistance
Forged 6061-T6 Hard Anodised Aluminium Rear Upper Mounts (Where Applicable)
- Strong and Lightweight, our Forged Upper Mounts are Hard Anodised for superior Corrosion Resistance
High-Tensile Carbon Steel Front Camber & Caster Plate with Anti-Slip Coating (MacPherson)
- CNC-Machined High-Tensile Carbon Steel supports more load than lesser-quality mounts
- Camber Angles can be adjusted precisely to your driving needs
- Where space permits (Application Dependent), Caster Angles can also be fine tuned
Oversized PTFE-Lined Japanese Spherical Upper Mount Bushing
- Increases shock articulation and prevents coil-bowing
- Higher load rating for increased durability
- Minimises knocking noise associated with lesser-quality bearings
Forged 6061-T6 Hard Anodised Aluminium Upper Spring Perch with Sealed Japanese Radial Bearing
- Strong and Lightweight, our Forged Upper Spring Perches are Hard Anodised for superior Corrosion Resistance
- High Quality Sealed Japanese Radial Bearing removes rotational stress from the upper mount and is sealed from the elements
62mm ID Cold-Wound Japanese SAE 9254V Chrome-Silicon-Vanadium Steel Linear Springs
- Custom-made for us in Japan from the highest quality Japanese-grade spring steel, using proprietary manufacturing processes
- Not all springs are manufactured the same. Lesser-quality, Taiwanese-manufactured springs offer inferior performance and durability
- Although more expensive, we believe the increase in performance more than offsets the marginal increase in manufacturing costs
OEM-Balanced Spring Rates
- The majority of budget coilovers currently on the market offer default spring rates that deviate from the oem-balanced spring rates
- By not accounting for Motion Ratio Calculations and just replicating race-car setups, this results in a very unbalanced and uncomfortable ride on a Street Car
- All Reference Series Coilovers are supplied with oem-balanced spring rates, offering you increased performance without sacrificing ride comfort
62mm ID Cold-Wound Japanese SAE 9254 Chrome-Silicon Steel Helper Springs (Application Dependent)
- Optional Helper Springs can be used to increase droop travel
52mm OD Cold-Drawn Japanese SAE 1020 Seamless Carbon Steel Shock Body
- Offers superior physical properties and strength-to-weight ratio over lesser manufacturing processes
Black-Zinc Plated Fully-Threaded Shock Body with 250hrs of Salt-Spray Testing
- Offers superior corrosion-resistance
14mm OD or 20mm OD (MacPherson) Forged SAE 4140 Chromoly Steel Piston Rod
- Monotube shocks, although offering increased performance over Twintube shocks, have an inherent weakness; a load-bearing Piston Rod
- Although Inverted Monotube Shocks are touted as the solution, these come with their own set of problems, not least the substantially increased cost of manufacture
- Our over-engineered solution to the problem, with only a marginal increase in manufacturing costs, is our proprietary Chromoly Steel Piston Rod
- Offering a substantial increase in tensile strength over lesser-quality rods, not only does this keep costs down, it significantly increases product safet
Oversized Piston Rod Guide
- A common issue with the majority of budget coilovers currently on the market is performance-sapping deflection and shaft-play, even after only limited usage
- Through the use of our proprietary Piston Rod Guide, this minimises deflection and shaft-play, allowing you to reap the performance benefits for a longer period of time
7-Level Rebound Adjustment
- Our Reference Series Coilovers allow 7 levels of Rebound Adjustments, allowing you to fine-tune your vehicle comfort and handling
- Unlike the majority of budget coilovers currently on the market, with their 30+ Level Adjustments, you can physically feel the difference between each adjustment
- In this particular case, more is not better; it's simply an inconvenience and setup-nightmare
10cm/15cm/20cm Length Adjustment Extenders (Optional)
- Designed for vehicle applications with limited access to their upper strut mounts
44mm OD Forged 7075-T6 Hard Anodised Aluminium Digressive-Blow-Off DBO Piston™
- Over-engineered for superior strength, with anti-stiction and anti-friction properties
- At lower shock speeds (Cornering), our DBO Piston™ maintains a higher damping force, offering increased responsiveness and stability
- At higher shock speeds (Bumps), our DBO Piston™ maintains a lower damping force, offering increased comfort and control
Performance Synthetic Damper Oil with High Viscosity Index and Proprietary Additives
- A proprietary formula providing consistent damping over a wide temperature range and superior anti-stiction/anti-friction properties
Viton Performance O-Rings
- Upgraded O-Rings offering better performance and durability than lesser-quality Rubber O-Rings
Forged 6061-T6 Hard Anodised Lower Spring Perch Locking Collar
- Strong and Lightweight, our Forged Locking Collars are Hard Anodised for superior Corrosion Resistance
- 1pc Locking Collars, providing secure and hassle-free adjustments
Fully-Threaded Forged 6061-T6 Hard Anodised or High-Tensile Carbon Steel Lower Mount
- Threaded Lower Mounts allows us to use a longer shock body for increased performance
- Shock Stroke is unaffected by Ride Height changes
- Allows an increased Height Adjustment range
PTFE-Lined Japanese Spherical Lower Mount Bushing (Eyelet Type. Optional)
- Increases shock articulation and prevents deflection
- Higher load rating for increased durability
- Minimises knocking noise associated with lesser-quality bearings
Silicone Lower Mount End Caps (MacPherson)
- High Quality Weather-Proof End Caps for MacPherson lower mounts, preventing water and dirt from entering the the lower shock body
Weather-proof Neoprene Shock Covers
- High Quality Weather-Proof Shock Covers, preventing water and dirt from clogging up the shock assembly
Fully Rebuildable
- Our Reference Series Coilovers are fully rebuildable, with spare parts always in stock and available for purchase
Limited Lifetime Warranty on Hard Parts
- Warrantied against Manufacturers Defects
- Non-Transferable. Registration and Proof-of-Purchase Required
- Hard Parts include: Upper/Lower Mounts, Spring Perches, Locking Collars, Shock Body and Piston Rod
Limited 1 Year Warranty on Wear Parts
- Warrantied against Manufacturers Defects
- Non-Transferable. Registration and Proof-of-Purchase Required
- Wear Parts include: Bearings, Springs, Seals and Shock Internals
Local Service Facilities
- North America: San Dimas, USA. Warranty Claims and Rebuild Services available
- Europe: Leyland, United Kingdom. Warranty Claims, Rebuild Services and Revalving Services available
