Rigid Collars Thoughts

[Aquineas]

I just had the rigid collars and StopTech rotors installed on my Genesis. Since the rotors and pads are brand new, I'm going easy on them for a bit, so I'll withhold judgment on those (if you absolutely want an early opinion, so far they don't feel any different than stock. Hopefully they won't warp like my stock brakes).

As for the rigid collars, you can definitely tell a difference with these installed. I drove on 71 East (really pathetic for a highway road, if that means nothing to you) out of Austin towards 130 and the car felt "crisper". Driving it on 130 ranging in speeds from 75-110 the car feels more sure-footed, like it has a lot less undesired movement. I wouldn't rate it at Cadillac CTS levels of handling, but it's definitely an improvement. If I'm rating sedan suspensions on cars I've driven, the CTS is the best I've driven, so let's call that a 10. In sport mode, I would rate my Genesis a 5 stock on that scale. The springs maybe took it to 5.5, but with the rigid collars and springs together, I'd say it's a 7.0-7.5. These are all subjective, of course.

 

[lobsenza]

It would be great to get together when you are in Austin. I am seriously thinking about rigid collars and i also would love to see your car in person.

 

[AustinTX]

If you guys are planning to meet in Austin, I'd like to join for some Genesis talk (and BBQ maybe)?

 

[glennk]

A bit of a ride, but I'd be up for a meet.

 

[Aquineas]

Actually I live in Georgetown now (haven't updated my profile yet, sorry!) Let's plan something for next week? If it's over lunch, we could maybe meet in the Carrabba's parking lot on 183 next to Rudy's. I'd do it this week but I'm taking a road-trip East on Friday and Monday and of course before vacation I always end up working twice as hard .

Let me know what works best!

 

[cane2025]

I'm up to drive to Austin. I was just there at the capital. I can't just take off one day to another but if you plan it a couple of days ahead of time I'll be there.

 

[celltech]

I agree with your take on the collars. The things I noticed the most: Hitting bumps that would have made a main hit, then a smaller 2nd event are now just 1 thump and it's over. It's like the suspension was finally able to absorb the impact on its own and nothing else ends up flexing around. The other thing I noticed is I used to have just a slight on center dead spot in the steering, but it's gone now. Still wish the back end had more spring/damping. Getting on the power while going over some humps can make it wallow around a bit.

 

[lobsenza]

Georgetown, I live in Round Rock, near Dell Diamond. We definitely need to get together. Who installed your rigid collars? Where did you buy them?

I ski on Lake Georgetown all the time in the warmer weather. Maybe we can go out together sometime....

 

[Aquineas]

I'm up to drive to Austin. I was just there at the capital. I can't just take off one day to another but if you plan it a couple of days ahead of time I'll be there.

Sounds good; let's see if we can nail down a date. How does everyone feel about Friday, Feb 24th at Noon in the Carrabbas Parking lot on 183 (right next to Rudy's)

Hitting bumps that would have made a main hit, then a smaller 2nd event are now just 1 thump and it's over. It's like the suspension was finally able to absorb the impact on its own and nothing else ends up flexing around.

Yes!! You nailed it. It's like there's less "slop", mostly because, well, there is.

Georgetown, I live in Round Rock, near Dell Diamond. We definitely need to get together. Who installed your rigid collars? Where did you buy them?

I ski on Lake Georgetown all the time in the warmer weather. Maybe we can go out together sometime....

SoulSpeed Performance did both my brake and my rigid collar install. Took about an hour for each. I ordered the collars from ATQ, and the brakes from Carid.

I'm in the DD area all the time, usually running errands though. Unfortunately I work on 360, and 360 traffic is just abysmal during rush hour. When I first moved to Austin 360 was a leisurely, scenic drive with very few stoplights. Needless to say it's evolved quite a bit from that now .

In any case, I'm definitely up for hanging out! How do you feel about the proposed meet-up date/time above?

Cheers!

 

[cane2025]

Friday, Feb 24th at Noon in the Carrabbas Parking lot on 183 (right next to Rudy's)[/B]

Saturday 25th or Sunday 26th will be much better cause the wife can't take off(Friday) and the kids will be out of school.

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[Aquineas]

Saturday would work in theory, but sometimes that Rudy's has organized car-meets on Saturdays. Also I can say for certain that the Carrabbas lot is empty during the week at lunch; I'm not so certain about on the weekends. I'll go with whatever the majority votes on in either case. Hopefully we'll get a good turnout.

 

[cane2025]

sounds good. We should have a poll to see what day will work for the majority.

 

[lobsenza]

The 24th works for me. I can probably make the 25th or 26th as well.

 

[AustinTX]

The 24th works for me. I can probably make the 25th or 26th as well.

24th works for me as well. If we are going to agree on a date, we should probably put up a general "Austin area get together" thread so more people are aware ...

 

[lobsenza]

A few questions on the rigid collars:

What was the cost of installation?

Does the V8 ultimate need 6 or 8 collars?

Do you need an alignment after the collar installation?

 

[Aquineas]

A few questions on the rigid collars:

What was the cost of installation?

$120, which I suppose is an hour's labor.

Does the V8 ultimate need 6 or 8 collars?

Honestly I don't know. The collars arrived the day I had them installed (in fact, I was late for my installation appointment waiting for the mail to arrive to get them). I put the envelope in the trunk then rushed down to have them installed. Jaime (pronounced "Hi-me") at SoulSpeed put them on for me

Do you need an alignment after the collar installation?

I needed an alignment before the installation . It's not bad though, just a slight pull to the right. Honestly I think to keep this car aligned you'd pretty much have to have it aligned every month. The last one I had was in like September. I asked SoulSpeed to perform an alignment for me but they were booked with other appointments afterwards and didn't have time. SoulSpeed are fantastic in their alighment and road-force balancing work (actually, they do a lot of racing and building-rebuilding of Porsches, BMWs, Audis, etc and a lot of high-end sports cars). If you have a wheel that needs balancing and others can't do it properly, SoulSpeed is the only company I've found that can do it (which partially explains while they're always completely booked a couple of weeks in advance). Unfortunately I won't have time to have one done before my trip East this weekend.

Also note, ATQ is a little slow on the shipping, so take that to account if/when you order from them.

- - - Updated - - -

Alright folks, the poll for an Austin meetup is up.

 

[cane2025]

looks like the 24th is wining.

 

[GenY]

Thanks for the writeup! Glad to hear that these have a positive effect. I have yet to install mine but will report back when I do.

 

[lobsenza]

I purchased a lifetime alignment which i do for all of my vehicles. That way, i can get it checked frequently. Most of the time, it is not off by much.

 

[J.F.]

I really want to try and clean up the "slop" I'm feeling as I go over bumps on the freeway. Can these ridgid collars be used on a 2016 Genesis v6 htrac? If not, what one's can I use? Does anyone have a link?