A weekend with Magnaflow, Eibach and Marco Andretti (Long with pics)

[captdistraction]

Cliffs removed, but here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/captdistraction#p/a/u/0/unq9XmrYDw4

edit 7/28: Eibach's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZqVCfsj3yg&feature=related

So on facebook, Magnaflow Exhaust had posted up a need for a 2011 Mustang GT to install some products and use in a video shoot with Marco Andretti (grandson of Mario). A friend let me know about it and had me "apply" which was posting on FB, emailing in some pictures, and make some followup calls. I found that they did indeed want to use my car. A few call backs and I was ready to go. I left Sunday for Corona in the evening on short notice from Phoenix. Made it to my hotel and got some rest:

The first morning I was to go over to Eibach suspension, meet Oliver their VP of marketing (an awesome guy to talk to, total car guy with background from Porsche in Germany). Their R&D facility is pretty awesome, butted up next to Callaway's operation. There two techs took the car and removed the springs and swaybars to install their units, a set of adjustable bars and endlinks, and a set of sportline lowering springs. Very meticulously they worked and then aligned the car with perfect numbers: 1.5* camber, 0 toe with slight edge to toe-out. Pictures and videos were shot throughout the install, and I was taken to lunch with Oliver and the videographer Jon. Sushi was the genre and provided by Magnaflow. I could get used to this. We came back and I received a tour of the facility, and its neat to see that their coilover systems are custom valved and hand assembled onsite. You'd think like with most manufacturers that the building of the hardware was done outside the US.

Pics:
The facility:

my car in the air, next to oliver's blown 5.0L GT

rear suspension

new bars laid out

Coilover assembly in progress

Another shot of the Sema Car:

 

[captdistraction]

Once the car was done, we moved it over to Magnaflow's facility in Rancho Santa Margarita. There I was met by Paul, the head of marketing, and my car was again handed to a handful of techs who removed the exhaust system to install a full competition 3" catback. the catback is a work of art, featuring the simplest mandrel bends to clear, with very nice mufflers and very ornate tips with magnaflow's logo laser branded into them.

The install:

Car all wrapped up ready for test drive

Once done we took the car out for a test drive, and I was interviewed about the parts and my racing background and more video of the car was taken. Parted ways after a long day and headed back to the hotel again, not before stopping at a Panera bread (we have no such goodness in Phoenix) for some dinner.

Sunday morning started very early for me, getting up before the sun to get some breakfast and hit the roads. Little did I know, California had a curve ball up its sleeve. I left at 620 to get to the shop by 7am, and by that time I had barely made a couple miles on the 91 highway after merging from the 15.

Lovely view for most of the morning:

Half hour in, had started from the bottom right corner. FML

I made it finally by 8am, and work was continued on the car (the exhaust had to be reworked to clear the axle with the extreme lowering of the sportlines). They masterfully reworked the system, taking huge attention to detail in measuring, cutting, cleaning, precision welding, and finishwork. They spent over half an hour getting the tips aligned perfectly. Those technicians are absolute nuts when it comes to the smallest details.

on the lift again:

Added extension to the over-axle piping.

Next to Mario Andretti's Sema camaro

 

[captdistraction]

Then it was time to meet up at another location owned by magnaflow (they seem to have a good number of large buildings) and meet Marco Andretti, who was being interviewed and then was to take my car out to do an in-car interview about the suspension systems and exhaust systems. They needed a filming chase car, so the videographer Jon and I got the keys to a white AMG sedan that had very padded seats, an alcantara steering wheel, and gobs of horsepower through a tiptronic style transmission. Thats....fun. I fire it up, and do my best to keep up with Andretti, who also has a videographer and Paul in the mustang. I don't do an excellent job, even on just city roads. Even got to see a single lane U-turn, I've always wanted to try that.

We get to some country roads with lots of winding, and they have us follow and lead, shooting various cuts of the car, before leaving to head back to HQ for lunch. After hearing various awesome racing stories about the IRL, various deeds of the Andretti clan, etc, I get my racing helmet signed by Marco, and of course Magnaflow had to get that shot on video, haha. From there we go to another building, where they put Marco through a gruelling few hours of interview on camera where he has to say many of the same lines 100 different ways. I no longer feel bad about stuttering at all on an interview. After enough permutations, some of his errors were hilarious.

Now I guess I can't use this anymore:

Marco being interviewed

Finally, it was time to go, and I started on the road home.
On the road home:

A few weeks later the video surfaced on magnaflow's website and facebook pages, and their youtube channel. I can't thank them all enough for the opportunity.

UPDATE:
http://www.youtube.com/captdistraction#p/a/u/0/unq9XmrYDw4

 

[mynameismike65]

very cool

 

[Wicked GT]

Congrats Chris! that is awesome... very jealous!

 

[FalconGTHO]

Cool indeed. Who doesnt love free parts and labor.

 

[GrnBullitt08]

Very cool man.

 

[NastyStang113]

That's awesome!!

 

[captdistraction]

Eibach's longer/HD version of the video is up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZqVCfsj3yg&feature=related

I still sound like a goon, LOL

 

[lito]

Those magnaflows sound a ton better than the farting bees IRL cars.

 

[HEMI LOL]

How awesome is that!!

 

[69Mach1-409]

That's cool!

 

[Mikes5.0]

Ive have to get the sport lines on my car.

 

[jmstang66]

completely awesome experience man! I too am rocking the sportlines..I love them!

 

[Deez-67]

aaa... you suck!! lol too cool man. congrats

 

[psumustang]

pretty cool!