Fast Fords Roar Around Sebring At Camp Steeda

For many years, Steeda Autosports has invited its customers out to run at Sebring International Raceway. Often the company partnered with Track Guys, which had run its own event on Memorial Day Weekend. This year, however, that event was cancelled and the Steeda team had to pivot. In doing so, they joined forces with Performance Driving Group for a Father’s Day at the historic track.

While this high-performance driving event is primarily geared toward drivers enhancing their skills and learning the limits of their vehicles. For the Steeda team, however, its Camp Steeda gathering serves many purposes.

It is important for Steeda to do events like this to connect with the customer… — Dario Orlando, Steeda

“It is important for Steeda to do events like this to connect with the customer and also to check the durability of our parts and see if they are working or not working to see if we are going in the right direction with product development in terms of handling and braking,” Dario Orlando, President and CEO of Steeda Autosports, explained. “This weekend we are testing two new control arms — a front lower and a rear lower with a radial bearing. With the new front control arm you can adjust some caster and camber, but it was designed so you can return the front roll center to its original position when the car is lowered to keep the geometry in check.”

In fact, the uneven surface that Sebring International Raceway is known for is an ideal place to test both the limits of component durability but the suspension tuning as well.

httpv://youtu.be/e3QZnFxmpm0

We know when we get done with the rear suspension, it is going to be spot-on for our customers. — Dario Orlando, Steeda

“In the rear suspension, with all the different control arms we have now, we are really fine-tuning them. We are changing them and finding what stiffness works for us, be it a bearing or urethane. With the IRS, because you have a lot more going on back there, it requires a lot of work changing parts and testing to find out what works,” he explained. “The S197 was a little bit easier to get the tuning right for road racing. The S550 is a little bit more of a challenge. It’s because you have a lot more moving parts in the rear to make the car more compliant on different road surfaces, so you’ve got to be really careful as to where you appoint the control in the rear suspension. We know when we get done with the rear suspension, it is going to be spot-on for our customers.”

httpv://youtu.be/xDq6F1T9KAk

Those customers were among the many Fords lapping Sebring on Father’s Day — from the latest Shelbys to several earlier models — until the afternoon rains put a damper on everyone’s fun.

Next up Steeda will host a drag-oriented event called the Pony Wars at South Georgia Motorsports Park on October 20-21. For more information on Steeda’s products and events, you can check out the company’s official site right here.

%CODE1%