Granturismo MC Stradale Suspension Retrofit
Discussion
Having recently come out of a 911 Turbo and a coil-over suspended C63 AMG before that, the one area I've found wanting on my GT-S was the suspension....whilst OK, it was never going to set any standards in body control!
Following my drive in an MC Stradale a few weeks ago, I was absolutely smitten by th dynamics that were much improved over my GT-S - it was so much more planted with no apparent trade-off in ride quality and so I set about investigating how to get that set-up on my car (the 2-seat format means the Stradale isn't an option for me).
It couldn't have been easier thanks to the fact that a family friend is the workshop manager at Graypaul Nottingham (a guy called Paul Ennis incase anyone else decides to do this and wants to speak to someone who knows what they're talking about) - he did some research and found that an officially approved MC Handling Kit was available for the GT-S but was little heard of as nobody ever appeared to spec it.
The kit was made up of all the suspension components (springs, dampers, bushes, anti-roll bars, geo set-up...the whole lot) as fitted to the MC Stradale - all were the same part numbers with the exception of the dampers. This seemed like a great solution so I went ahead and had this kit fitted last week....however, instead of going for the dampers that came with the kit, I took the risk and opted to go for the proper Stradale dampers. Now, my standard GT-S is over 100kg heavier than a Stradale so I really hoped the extra weight wouldn't destroy the great set-up as experienced on the Stradale.
Well, after picking it up last Friday having had everything fitted, I can definitely say that the weight didn't appear to affect it one bit!
How does it look?
When I picked it up, the first obvious benefit was the stance - the car now sits at the right height for this car. The standard GT-S could sometimes look too high but the Stradale set up looks just-so (and crucially, not too low)....indeed, it has 3 different ride height settings but I told them to put the same set-up as the Stradale demonstrator that I drove which meant it was put onto it's lowest setting.
How does it drive?
Driving the car and experiencing the ride quality, it initially feels quite nuggety at slow speeds so you feel the big bumps more than the standard car....but they're still dealt with in a nicely damped and quiet manner so it never feels harsh or brittle. So, the primary ride (big bumps) is a touch harder but the secondary ride (small ripples and bumps you can't really see but feel as vibrations) is hugely improved over standard. On the whole, although it initially feels stiffer, I think it's actually now a more comfortable and smoother car due to how much better the secondary ride is.
In fact, the improvement in ride is probably more obvious than the handling improvements but having said that, the way it goes round corners is best described as.....easier. Springs are 30% stiffer and anti-roll bars 20% stiffer so it just goes round with less body movement and you can push harder before big roll angles develop. Yes, it still rolls when you really push it into tight corners, but it's a great set-up for the road as it remains so compliant.
In all honesty, I was more than a little worried about fitting this suspension as whilst the cost of just under £3k (fitted!) could be seen as relatively 'cheap' for genuine Maserati parts and fitting, it was still a whack of cash to blow if it didn't have the desired effect. I'm therefore delighted that the results have been so effective and it does genuinely drive like the MC Stradale did (but I have 4 seats!).
The wheels....
The only downside is that the standard wheels are now definitely not wide enough aesthetically for a couple of reasons:
- the car sits lower so the already slightly narrow track (compared to the cars' width) is further exaggerated
- the Stradale set up puts a lot more camber on the wheels which pushes them in at the top - this gives the effect of the body overhanging the wheels
The answer is to either put spacers on or do it properly and fit a set of Stradale wheels which are an inch wider (all in the offset too so the wheels are pushed out). As it happens, I really like the design of the Stradale wheels and they're not too expensive so my wheels are going on eBay/PH for £1750 including tyres (7mm P-Zero's on the front and 5mm P-Zero's on the rear).
Here's some before and after pics of the car:
Before:
After:
The 'Ring!!
When I picked it up on Friday evening, I literally drove home to pick up my case and headed straight off to the Nurburgring. Now, I'm a fairly regular visitor over there but am far from any good on that track so enjoy the drive out there as much as anything.
The suspension continued to impress and on the motorway really does suit the Granturismo's GT status well as it quietly deals with ridges, bumps and thumps whilst staying resolutely flat and composed through fast sweepers. T
So, what about it on track? Well, I wasn't expecting any records to be set as it is still ultimately a 2-ton+ car with two people and a tank of fuel but it didn't do too bad. Amazingly, it was quicker on certain straight sections than my old e92 M3 was....on one particular section (Flugplatz) where the M3 could manage 140mph and the M6 did 160mph, the GT-S managed 155mph - quite a lot quicker and not far off the 500bhp M6! I'm sure the Porsche would have nailed the lot of them but I didn't like that car too much and sold it before I could take it out there!
The GT-S wasn't a touch on the M3 in the bends or for high speed composure but certainly didn't seem any worse than the M6. It's a bit unfair to compare it to my C63 as I had coilovers fitted to that but even so, the GT-S felt better balanced even if it didn't have the tight body control that the coilovers provided.
In addition, last year I met one of AMG's development drivers who is based at the 'ring and he's become a good friend of mine. Now, this guy is a masterclass....forget the 'ring taxi drivers as he's the kind of guy who drives the track all day, everyday. He's a race engineer by profession and knows his stuff so it was great to get some good feedback about the car....whilst he didn't like the gearbox (too slow compared to the latest DCT's), he loved the feelsome steering and the neutral balance and despite that fact the car was 4-up every time he took us out, nothing passed us on any lap except for one race-prepp'd M3. He even managed to stay with one of the M3 'ring taxi's in front despite them having semi-slicks!
The incident
What I wasn't prepared for was this years' 'incident'....we were following a Russian registered Mitsubishi Evo who wouldn't let us past. When a suitable space came to get past, said Russian wasn't happy and actually tried to close the door (but he couldn't stop the quicker Maserati getting by
)
Unfortunately, this pushed us out of line making us too close to one of the larger kerb's on a curved brow (we were at Pflanzgarten)...we went over the brow, the inside rear wheel brushed the kerb and sent the back end in the air and sideways. I thought we were in trouble and it was goodbye to the Maser but no....he had opposite lock applied before the car even landed (we're talking split seconds here!) and had it straight in a couple of flicks of his wrist. All this occurred at a little over 90mph to which he muttered 'stupid f*cking Russian...no problem'. Phew!
I hope you enjoyed the read...here's a few pics of the car going round the ring (only from inside it unfortunately - please excuse the quality which was compromised by the fact I was trying to stay in place whilst being tossed it round!)....
Following my drive in an MC Stradale a few weeks ago, I was absolutely smitten by th dynamics that were much improved over my GT-S - it was so much more planted with no apparent trade-off in ride quality and so I set about investigating how to get that set-up on my car (the 2-seat format means the Stradale isn't an option for me).
It couldn't have been easier thanks to the fact that a family friend is the workshop manager at Graypaul Nottingham (a guy called Paul Ennis incase anyone else decides to do this and wants to speak to someone who knows what they're talking about) - he did some research and found that an officially approved MC Handling Kit was available for the GT-S but was little heard of as nobody ever appeared to spec it.
The kit was made up of all the suspension components (springs, dampers, bushes, anti-roll bars, geo set-up...the whole lot) as fitted to the MC Stradale - all were the same part numbers with the exception of the dampers. This seemed like a great solution so I went ahead and had this kit fitted last week....however, instead of going for the dampers that came with the kit, I took the risk and opted to go for the proper Stradale dampers. Now, my standard GT-S is over 100kg heavier than a Stradale so I really hoped the extra weight wouldn't destroy the great set-up as experienced on the Stradale.
Well, after picking it up last Friday having had everything fitted, I can definitely say that the weight didn't appear to affect it one bit!
How does it look?
When I picked it up, the first obvious benefit was the stance - the car now sits at the right height for this car. The standard GT-S could sometimes look too high but the Stradale set up looks just-so (and crucially, not too low)....indeed, it has 3 different ride height settings but I told them to put the same set-up as the Stradale demonstrator that I drove which meant it was put onto it's lowest setting.
How does it drive?
Driving the car and experiencing the ride quality, it initially feels quite nuggety at slow speeds so you feel the big bumps more than the standard car....but they're still dealt with in a nicely damped and quiet manner so it never feels harsh or brittle. So, the primary ride (big bumps) is a touch harder but the secondary ride (small ripples and bumps you can't really see but feel as vibrations) is hugely improved over standard. On the whole, although it initially feels stiffer, I think it's actually now a more comfortable and smoother car due to how much better the secondary ride is.
In fact, the improvement in ride is probably more obvious than the handling improvements but having said that, the way it goes round corners is best described as.....easier. Springs are 30% stiffer and anti-roll bars 20% stiffer so it just goes round with less body movement and you can push harder before big roll angles develop. Yes, it still rolls when you really push it into tight corners, but it's a great set-up for the road as it remains so compliant.
In all honesty, I was more than a little worried about fitting this suspension as whilst the cost of just under £3k (fitted!) could be seen as relatively 'cheap' for genuine Maserati parts and fitting, it was still a whack of cash to blow if it didn't have the desired effect. I'm therefore delighted that the results have been so effective and it does genuinely drive like the MC Stradale did (but I have 4 seats!).
The wheels....
The only downside is that the standard wheels are now definitely not wide enough aesthetically for a couple of reasons:
- the car sits lower so the already slightly narrow track (compared to the cars' width) is further exaggerated
- the Stradale set up puts a lot more camber on the wheels which pushes them in at the top - this gives the effect of the body overhanging the wheels
The answer is to either put spacers on or do it properly and fit a set of Stradale wheels which are an inch wider (all in the offset too so the wheels are pushed out). As it happens, I really like the design of the Stradale wheels and they're not too expensive so my wheels are going on eBay/PH for £1750 including tyres (7mm P-Zero's on the front and 5mm P-Zero's on the rear).
Here's some before and after pics of the car:
Before:
After:
The 'Ring!!
When I picked it up on Friday evening, I literally drove home to pick up my case and headed straight off to the Nurburgring. Now, I'm a fairly regular visitor over there but am far from any good on that track so enjoy the drive out there as much as anything.
The suspension continued to impress and on the motorway really does suit the Granturismo's GT status well as it quietly deals with ridges, bumps and thumps whilst staying resolutely flat and composed through fast sweepers. T
So, what about it on track? Well, I wasn't expecting any records to be set as it is still ultimately a 2-ton+ car with two people and a tank of fuel but it didn't do too bad. Amazingly, it was quicker on certain straight sections than my old e92 M3 was....on one particular section (Flugplatz) where the M3 could manage 140mph and the M6 did 160mph, the GT-S managed 155mph - quite a lot quicker and not far off the 500bhp M6! I'm sure the Porsche would have nailed the lot of them but I didn't like that car too much and sold it before I could take it out there!
The GT-S wasn't a touch on the M3 in the bends or for high speed composure but certainly didn't seem any worse than the M6. It's a bit unfair to compare it to my C63 as I had coilovers fitted to that but even so, the GT-S felt better balanced even if it didn't have the tight body control that the coilovers provided.
In addition, last year I met one of AMG's development drivers who is based at the 'ring and he's become a good friend of mine. Now, this guy is a masterclass....forget the 'ring taxi drivers as he's the kind of guy who drives the track all day, everyday. He's a race engineer by profession and knows his stuff so it was great to get some good feedback about the car....whilst he didn't like the gearbox (too slow compared to the latest DCT's), he loved the feelsome steering and the neutral balance and despite that fact the car was 4-up every time he took us out, nothing passed us on any lap except for one race-prepp'd M3. He even managed to stay with one of the M3 'ring taxi's in front despite them having semi-slicks!
The incident
What I wasn't prepared for was this years' 'incident'....we were following a Russian registered Mitsubishi Evo who wouldn't let us past. When a suitable space came to get past, said Russian wasn't happy and actually tried to close the door (but he couldn't stop the quicker Maserati getting by
)Unfortunately, this pushed us out of line making us too close to one of the larger kerb's on a curved brow (we were at Pflanzgarten)...we went over the brow, the inside rear wheel brushed the kerb and sent the back end in the air and sideways. I thought we were in trouble and it was goodbye to the Maser but no....he had opposite lock applied before the car even landed (we're talking split seconds here!) and had it straight in a couple of flicks of his wrist. All this occurred at a little over 90mph to which he muttered 'stupid f*cking Russian...no problem'. Phew!
I hope you enjoyed the read...here's a few pics of the car going round the ring (only from inside it unfortunately - please excuse the quality which was compromised by the fact I was trying to stay in place whilst being tossed it round!)....
Edited by Palmball on Friday 3rd June 01:06
What an excellent post, really interesting. The ring experience must have been eye opening. Did the stiffer ARBs noticeably improve the handling balance?
Thanks for sharing!
Out of interest, did your dealer say anything about a 4 seat MC Stradale? (mine has, but is vague on dates)
PS. Use of evo term "nuggety" will in future result in dispatching andrew prince to your house with his wing fitting kit
Thanks for sharing!
Out of interest, did your dealer say anything about a 4 seat MC Stradale? (mine has, but is vague on dates)
PS. Use of evo term "nuggety" will in future result in dispatching andrew prince to your house with his wing fitting kit
AndrewD said:
What an excellent post, really interesting. The ring experience must have been eye opening. Did the stiffer ARBs noticeably improve the handling balance?
Thanks for sharing!
Out of interest, did your dealer say anything about a 4 seat MC Stradale? (mine has, but is vague on dates)
PS. Use of evo term "nuggety" will in future result in dispatching andrew prince to your house with his wing fitting kit
Lol!Thanks for sharing!
Out of interest, did your dealer say anything about a 4 seat MC Stradale? (mine has, but is vague on dates)
PS. Use of evo term "nuggety" will in future result in dispatching andrew prince to your house with his wing fitting kit
The ARB's do help the handling - it's a very heavy car so could develop a fair bit of roll in tight turns which the stiffer set-up reduces a lot. It still rolls....but does so much later and to a lesser degree. Where the car didn't roll a lot before and is now frankly exceptional is in high speed bends (motorway slip roads etc)...it's so planted which allows you to really push hard well into 3 figures round some of them!
There is a downside to this flatter stance though....they have also reduced the wet-grip capability of the car. Body roll is often the friend of roadholding and grip as the transfer of weight pushes the tyres harder onto the surface so the reduced body roll means it relinquishes it's hold on the road a little earlier on anything but a dry surface.
Last news from Graypaul on a 4-seat Stradale was.....no news
Shame, but it's only got to be a matter of time before Maserati bow to the pressure!Edited by Palmball on Saturday 4th June 00:13
Great write up.
I'd get the alignment checked on your rear wheels. I had a similar kerb incident in my previous GT and it knocked out the alignment, causing rapid uneven wear of the rear tyres (as if they don't already disappear fast enough..).
The guys at the dealers told me the GT is very sensitive to this and the alignment can be knocked out even by hitting a bad pothole at speed.
I'd get the alignment checked on your rear wheels. I had a similar kerb incident in my previous GT and it knocked out the alignment, causing rapid uneven wear of the rear tyres (as if they don't already disappear fast enough..).
The guys at the dealers told me the GT is very sensitive to this and the alignment can be knocked out even by hitting a bad pothole at speed.
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