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Group Buy: Performance Sport Lowering Springs by Formula Dynamics USA

6K views 40 replies 12 participants last post by  FormulaDynamics 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Following our recent launch of our Sport Springs for the Maserati Coupe, Spyder and GranSport models and the phenomenal interest that we've received by the Maserati Community... We've decided to offer all Maserati Life Members a Group Buy on these products.

Here are attached pictures, please visit our website http://www.formuladynamics.com for more product details. FYI, there is another thread on this forum entitled "New Sport Springs Available!" with more details on the product.

Due to popular demand we will offer these springs in both Sky Blue (as pictured) or Black.

This Group Buy will begin today on Wednesday 11/08/2006 and will close on Midnight Sunday 11/19/2006. All orders will be confirmed / completed as buyers sign up for the GB. Please add your name to this GB by replying to this thread and adding your name to the list or emailing us at: info@formuladynamics.com or calling us at 1-800-351-8757.

We will accept visa, mastercard or paypal payments (paypal@formuladynamics.com) and will ship to the Confirmed billing address Only!

We will also accept personal checks (once cleared) and wire transfers and these orders can be shipped to any address.

International Buyers will be able to arrange their own shipping or we can ship them via UPS, DHL or FedEX ( whichever is cheaper ). In either case, the buyer will pay for any overseas shipping.

Pricing includes Standard Ground Shipping within the continental USA. Shipping will begin after the Group Buy is completed and the springs are produced. This is currently estimated to be: 11/25/2006. Shipping times will vary depending on your area.

So join in and help to keep the pricing low for everybody!

Additional Notes:

Technical Support will be available for installation if necessary.

Of course it's best if you have these springs installed by a seasoned local professional. Garage Mechanics CAN perform this install however it does require mechanical knowledge and tools. We are working to find a low cost package for the specialty tools required or you may be able to rent them at your local auto parts store ( i.e. Kragen, Checker, AutoZone ). These tools are a Spanner wrench for your Shock Collar, a Pickle Fork to seperate your Ball Joint and Spring Compressors to help get the preload of your stock spring off the collar for disassembly.

Feel Free to call or email with any questions!

_______________________
Formula Dynamics USA
info@formuladynamics.com
1-800-351-8757 Toll Free

Visit:FormulaDynamics.com for Performance Maserati:
ECU Chip Upgrades - Spring Kits - Brake Pads - Filters - Tires - Wheels
 

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#3 · (Edited)
International Shipping

We certainly welcome International Buyers to this Group Buy, in fact I believe we'll have about 5 UK Buyers alone. So I believe that we'll arrange to ship the sets to a single point so that these customers can share the shipping expenses. Using FedEx Alone we were quoted around $200 with 5 days shipping time. We encourage overseas buyers to get together through this group buy and help each other to further save on the shipping. Shipping is not likely to ever be less expensive than by sharing the cost with others in your area.

_______________________
Formula Dynamics USA
info@formuladynamics.com
1-800-351-8757 Toll Free

Visit:FormulaDynamics.com for Performance Maserati:
ECU Chip Upgrades - Spring Kits - Brake Pads - Filters - Tires - Wheels
 
#5 ·
Is that on the East Coast of the USA somewhere?
To us in California, anything east of the Rocky Mountains is the East Coast, and I think you must be in that direction. That or China.....
 
#6 · (Edited)
thebimbo said:
;-)

Hmmm. I'm in Zurich, Switzerland, not Zurich, UK...
FedEx quoted me the same rate to Zurich, Switzerland as Zurich, UK :D

It's just over $200...

_______________________
Formula Dynamics USA
info@formuladynamics.com
1-800-351-8757 Toll Free

Visit:FormulaDynamics.com for Performance Maserati:
ECU Chip Upgrades - Spring Kits - Brake Pads - Filters - Tires - Wheels
 
#9 ·
Are your springs exclusively for SkyHook equipped cars? I gleaned that from the prior thread, but I want to make absolutely sure.
 
#11 · (Edited)
thebimbo said:
I'm still not getting a warm fuzzy feeling on joining the group buy. The only thing I see is the price, that they are blue and that one or two folks *type* that they have them.

i second that,

i have tried to get these guys to get more into detail about there product and all i got was they are better than stock, and that i need to trust them on there claims.

as far as am concern this doesn't sound like the kind of company that inspires confidence. i keep reading about the experience that they have from racing, but i see nothing on there website to back it up. (only pictures of racing that are not from them) plus the fact that the site looks like a 15 year old designed it with $500.

as always this is MY opinion ONLY but if you are going to get into the business of aftermarket performance parts, you need to be able to back up your claims and not just say "talk to the guys that have put them on". no offence but when i buy a laptop i don't just buy one from a company that tells me its really fast and i can talked to the other buyers that are not experts to seal the deal.

when i buy something i want to know the exact specs and test results that make this product superior. the manufacturer's of the aftermarket parts are the experts the buyers.

sorry, but i will wait till someone like H&R or eibach sell something for our cars. (i hear they are already working on it) this companies will answer your questions and WILL have test results to back up there claims.

-Willie
 
#12 ·
willie said:
i second that,
i have tried to get these guys to get more into detail about there product and all i got was they are better than stock, and that i need to trust them on there claims.
Actually, we posted that they lower your car and that they are 25-30% stiffer than stock. Those are the specs.

willie said:
as always this is MY opinion ONLY but if you are going to get into the business of aftermarket performance parts, you need to be able to back up your claims and not just say "talk to the guys that have put them on"
This is a VERY unfair comment, neither Eibach nor H&R backup their product with any of the information you requested and further your requested information doesn't prove anything about the springs. Besides using a referral from real users is usually the most honest review you can get.

willie said:
sorry, but i will wait till someone like H&R or eibach sell something for our cars. (i hear they are already working on it) this companies will answer your questions and WILL have test results to back up there claims.
Again, this is just incorrect. They don't have the specs for springs. Your comments sound more like you're just attempting to bash a vendor, rather than a situation where you were ever really interested. I'm suprised that Maserati owners are so resistant to a new vendor offering quality products for less money. Perhaps this is why there are so few companies willing to develop products for this market.

Have some class here and if you don't want the product, then don't buy it. But don't bash someone and their products on the forum when you have no reason to. Some members here will appreciate the performance difference and over time you'll see that we have quality products.
 
#13 ·
Andrew said:
Running a group buy on this forum as a non-sponsor isn't exactly kosher. Please contact me in the future regarding such post so I can ensure current paying sponsors are not upset by these kinds of posts.
This is a fair comment and we don't have any problem with sponsorship. We did look through the site to see if there were restrictions on posting Group Buys and didn't find any. Feel free to contact us.
 
#14 · (Edited)
thebimbo said:
I'm still not getting a warm fuzzy feeling on joining the group buy. The only thing I see is the price, that they are blue and that one or two folks *type* that they have them. I still can't understand what is different about these to the 'standard' on my GS.
Just to be fair, he didn't just *type* that he had them, we posted pictures and he said that he liked the springs!

What's different? Guys, they're 25-30% stiffer springs ( than the GS ) and they lower your car. We've said that. This is how they are marketed, please go to Eibach's website and see for yourself!

I really don't feel that we're getting a fair shake on this at all. However it's OK, we are selling the springs and I'm sure we will continue to simply because word will get around that they are a good product and they DO improve your handling. Again, if you're not interested that's fine, it's not for everyone, but we have been straight with you guys and given you fair information. Further we've only just released the public website for these products 1 week ago! We wanted to get them out to the Maserati Community as quickly as possible for people to enjoy and you guys are bashing us for not having a expensive website? To be honest, we will not make a great deal of money marketing Sport Springs for the Maserati, it doesn't make sense to spend $10,000 on a website. Other sponsors here do not have expensive websites either and half the links do not work, yet I'm sure many of you buy from them!

We didn't have to extend better pricing for Forum customers, we chose to because so many of you wrote to us with such enthusiasm and a few of you have already purchased, so we thought it best to allow you folks to act as a group to get better pricing. We weren't trying to solicit this, it was simply a suggestion that we followed from a potential customer.

Another GS owner will be posting his pics here soon.
 
#15 ·
FormulaDynamics said:
Again, this is just incorrect. They don't have the specs for springs. Your comments sound more like you're just attempting to bash a vendor, rather than a situation where you were ever really interested. I'm suprised that Maserati owners are so resistant to a new vendor offering quality products for less money. Perhaps this is why there are so few companies willing to develop products for this market.
I am so so, but so sorry you took it personally. :rolleyes:

the point of this site is to help other users and there cars, NOT to be used as a selling tool for your products.

if i have maid some wrong assumption then i apologize for the comments, but i will say that this is my opinion and i firmly believe it. (SORRY)

regarding your comment about Maserati guys and the fact that the car has no products. Well...good luck winning customer by posting these comments.

i would have approached your ad campaign on site in a much more intelligent way.

first, i would have asked the owner and operator of the board for permission(Andrew)

second, i would have done some REAL tests, before and after. to back up the claims i posted. (not just "oh its 20-30 %") the funny thing with springs is that they use a funny thing called physics to measure there rate, now this thing called physics dictates that a spring has a certain rate or compression. i believe you said that the springs you sell are constant rate, so by the same token can then see the difference in rate from the stock. 20-30% is so such a wide range it could be a big difference. (physics deals in strait numbers not %)

third, and maybe the most important one would have been to answer all of the questions that anyone posted in a direct and truthful way. if the customer wants test result, you use the car that you have (if you have any) and you go and rent an unmodified version to test it with. (people can smell when a post comes from knowledge and not just marketing words)


and by the way, all of the tests that i asked for are affected by spring rates. a slalom course will be faster if the car has stiffer springs. even the 0-60 and braking distance is affected by an altered suspension. but hey, your the experts right...

i wish you the best in your business, and be smart and take this as a good experience and learn from your mistakes. only then will you have people wanting to pay $2000.00 for springs that probably cost $200.00 to make (like Leonardo)

good luck,

willie
 
#18 · (Edited)
willie said:
second, i would have done some REAL tests, before and after. to back up the claims i posted. (not just "oh its 20-30 %") the funny thing with springs is that they use a funny thing called physics to measure there rate, now this thing called physics dictates that a spring has a certain rate or compression. i believe you said that the springs you sell are constant rate, so by the same token can then see the difference in rate from the stock. 20-30% is so such a wide range it could be a big difference. (physics deals in strait numbers not %)

Springs manufactured by the factory or aftermarket companies are usually manufactured within a 10% tolerance of the advertised rate. People may think because they order a 380lb spring that they get 380lbs, it's not usually the case, they'll be 395lb for the left and 372 for the right. You will compensate for this by preloading the spring more of less to get the proper levels.

Our springs are actually manufactured within 3% because we feel that when performance is involved ( not just a lowering spring ) it must be very accurate. I'm sure you don't know that because you don't make springs. I'm just trying to share that with you and explain why I wrote what I did.


willie said:
third, and maybe the most important one would have been to answer all of the questions that anyone posted in a direct and truthful way. if the customer wants test result, you use the car that you have (if you have any) and you go and rent an unmodified version to test it with. (people can smell when a post comes from knowledge and not just marketing words)

I appreciate your point of view on this however I did answer the questions in a truthful and direct way. We stated that the test had not been performed and we did offer to perform this test on our next install.

The reason the test you suggest isn't going to yield the best results is mostly due to the cars having different tires and the current learning of the Adaptive suspension would be different. You MUST test the same car and we very well may do this. Although no other manufacturer does this for their springs, it's a great idea and would be a benefit to the customer.


willie said:
i wish you the best in your business, and be smart and take this as a good experience and learn from your mistakes. only then will you have people wanting to pay $2000.00 for springs that probably cost $200.00 to make (like Leonardo)

good luck,

willie

Thanks I appreciate that. I do believe that you're quite correct about us not getting Andrew involved, that was a mistake. We didn't know who operated the site and should have spoken with him. For that we do appologize and we'll attempt to make it right.

In regards to the marketing comments, I just want to say that we're not trying to get $2000 for a set of springs, we're offering a competitive product for far less money. I for one would rather spend my dollars on a product instead of paying for the company's marketing and filling their pocketbooks with high profits. You're probably quite correct that our product would be able to compete with Leo Nardo, however I'm also not sure how many sets they actually sell at $2k. We just want to make a positive difference.

_______________________
Formula Dynamics USA
info@formuladynamics.com
1-800-351-8757 Toll Free

Visit:FormulaDynamics.com for Performance Maserati:
ECU Chip Upgrades - Spring Kits - Brake Pads - Filters - Tires - Wheels
 
#19 ·
FormulaDynamics said:
This is a fair comment and we don't have any problem with sponsorship. We did look through the site to see if there were restrictions on posting Group Buys and didn't find any. Feel free to contact us.
Email sent. I think the majority here are excited about the group buy and can say that we are always interested in hearing others experiences with a Maserati, especially when it comes to technical aspects. Having said that, I hope that as you sell more springs and learn more about the quirks of our cars you will share it with the rest of us!

Cheers,

Andrew
 
#20 · (Edited)
Frankie P said:
Are your springs exclusively for SkyHook equipped cars? I gleaned that from the prior thread, but I want to make absolutely sure.
Yes, they are for Skyhook only. Again, if a standard suspension customer would like to come to Las Vegas or send us a front and rear shock from their car, we would return it in a matter of days and would be able to produce something competitive
_______________________
Formula Dynamics USA
info@formuladynamics.com
1-800-351-8757 Toll Free

Visit:FormulaDynamics.com for Performance Maserati:
ECU Chip Upgrades - Spring Kits - Brake Pads - Filters - Tires - Wheels
 
#21 ·
you know what,

i think i am going to put my money where my mouth is. i want some of these springs.

please PM or Email me the detail and lets get these poppies ordered. i figure it's not a lot of money, and i will have a first had experience with the product to see the springs at work.

i have a 2003 Coupe CC with Sky hook (of course)

please email me or call me so i can give you my CC number

willie@globaltendencies.com

310-346-8200

thanks,

willie
 
#22 · (Edited)
i talked to Jeff at FD USA and i placed my order for the springs today.

he was actually a nice guy,(one good point) but i do want to see these springs up close and test them out.

he did mention that they are more of a custom shop, and they are starting to get into the aftermarket parts business. i asked if he can make a stiffer spring for me, and the answer was YES. (that's two good point) so we are going to try and get a club track type of setup and i will post my experience.

i will be honest, they do look like they are a small firm, but some times that is a good thing. i think he genuinely want to help and he did try. well, only time and a good track session will tell. i will post before and after result plus i will use a data acquisition package with GPS (for accurate results). I'll try to be as honest as possible.

i really think that for the price you cant go wrong. so will see...

-willie

p.s. i recommend that anyone that is feeling nervous go ahead and get them, they did mention that they will work with all of us to make sure we are happy(that 3 good point):)
 
#23 · (Edited)
Willie was a great guy to talk with today and we have had at least one other request this week for an even stiffer spring that's all out performance. So we're looking for more drivers that want to step up to a true track spring to even the cost out a bit. So please let me know when you order which you'd like and please express interest in a track spring if there are others out there besides Willie.

So far we have 3 confirmed buyers and there are many of you out there that have been calling, asking questions and have stated that you're almost ready to join in on the Group Buy.

Remember that the more of you that get in on the group buy the lower the price for each of you. In fact if we break above 10 sets we may have an even lower price.

Also, I just wanted to let you all know that we have negotiated a limited time offer on IForged Wheels, with truly an amazing price. I will not be able to offer these prices again for quite some time, however they are interested in capturing the business of our Maserati customers. Please call or EMail for details and we'll post some pictures shortly.

_______________________
Formula Dynamics USA
info@formuladynamics.com
1-800-351-8757 Toll Free

Visit:FormulaDynamics.com for Performance Maserati:
ECU Chip Upgrades - Spring Kits - Brake Pads - Filters - Tires - Wheels
 
#25 · (Edited)
Sorry about that, I wasn't aware that you were looking for a direct response and I didn't want to incite any further "mud-slinging" on the forum ;) . Honestly, I wasn't trying to get personal as I'm sure you and Willie weren't either. I was just defending our position and I appologize if it became personal.

thebimbo said:
The difference is that Eibach and co. are WELL KNOWN in this area and have been for some years - they don't have to provide proof. You do.
Unfortunately we cannot currently provide more evidence than any other spring manufacturer does today. This may not be enough proof for some, however the specifications will be adequete for others. We understand that this modification may not be something that you're going to be comfortable with until you hear from more of our customers or we are able to complete futher testing.

thebimbo said:
But even then... if I buy springs from a renown manufacturer I know they have been TÜV-tested and will have a CE number. Do you have these?
We do not currently have a CE Certification for these springs as it is not required in the USA and when we spoke to the TUV representative it was explained to us that it is not a quality mark and is not issued by an EU accredited certification body, it is only a declaration of compliance by the manufacturer and no actual testing is performed by them or any other third party. If we show that there is sufficient interest in Europe, we will likely spend the money to achieve the CE or GS Mark in the future for street applications.

In regards to the warranty issue, we've already spoken with many dealers, some of which were at least interested ( but certainly have not yet committed ) to be an installation center. Their positions ranged however I think it's safe to say that they have agreed that the installation of springs would only affect associated components involved in any failure. It would not simply void the warranty of the car. Futher it was agreed that lowering your car may likely yield the same result as it is also a modification.

I believe that the fact is that if you modify your car in any way ( including simply lowering it ) you may be affecting your warranty on some components based on the discretion of the dealership. We also sell KW Coilovers which are excellent and also offer CE certification. Of course you'd be in the same situation with those as well in regards to warranty.

For your comments on insurance. I understand your thinking there, but I believe that's a stretch. We've installed many springs on many cars that have ended up in a wall, up a tree or likewise as a result of fast driving. I've never heard of any similar instance to your description. Besides we're making *black* springs also maybe they won't stand out so much. ;)

Again, this modification may not be for you. For drivers who really want to experience what their car is capable of in the corners or drivers who are outside of their warranty, it's may be just what the doctor ordered. I can attest that our customers are very happy with the springs and make very positive comments about the changes thus far.

Feel free to email or call and we may be able to have a more detailed discussion if you prefer.

_______________________
Formula Dynamics USA
info@formuladynamics.com
1-800-351-8757 Toll Free

Visit:FormulaDynamics.com for Performance Maserati:
ECU Chip Upgrades - Spring Kits - Brake Pads - Filters - Tires - Wheels
 
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