Motorsport Hardware review

[Zeros and ones]

So a while back, I mean a good while back, I got some new shoes for my car. They were 313's and where they wonderful. Set them up on the car and it made a big transformation. As time went by, one of my friends started to hear a noise coming from the front of the car. I didn't make much attention to it mainly because the road was bad at that time and I didn't hear anything. I bit more time had gone by and than I started to hear more noise coming from the front of my car. It sounded like something was rubbing. So I posted on the forums a video of what was going on and had some guys offer me some suggestions. I forget how many time I lifted my car and check to see what was going but I couldn't pin point to anything solid. The only thing I could see is that I barely had any space between the inner part of the tire and the suspension. So I thought, well maybe lets get some spacers.

Talk to plenty of my friends that have done spacers and who they would recommend. I got some various answers but I had more of my friends swear by Motorsport Hardware and the owner Ryan Castro. I was hesitant at first because it was a small company and did not know what to expect, so I kept asking around on how knowledgeable he was, how he get into BMW, where is he getting his supplies, etc. I later found out the he has e36 M3 that he tracks around and the he did all the modifications to the car himself in his garage. This was a promising start, so I started to e-mail him and see if he had an actual store that I can go to and he can take a look at the car. He informed me that his warehouse is not open to the public and that it is much better to order the parts online, this way I don't waste gas. I explained to him in more detail on why I wanted spacers and the rubbing noise and he agreed to see me in Long Beach.

So the day arrives where I make the trek out to Long Beach and my expectation was that Ryan was going to look at the car, listen to the noise and recommend me the correct spacer needed, and than I would be off on my way. I not only got that but more. He was a very friendly guy. He listened to my problem and got me 5mm spacers with bolts. I had forgotten to tell him I want black bolts so the front at least matches the back. So he thought about it and said.. you know, I have a stud conversion kit with Black bolts and we can do it all around. I ask him what would be the benefit of that? he gladly explained and I agreed and we went ahead and not only get the 5mm spacers but the stud kit. At this point I thought I was going to give him the money and be on my way. But I got a nice surprise... He said why don't you pull in your car int the garage and we can go ahead and get everything install for you. I asked how much more? He said not to worry about that. So we got the car up and all the parts installed. Now was the test, did the noise go away?

Ryan and I got in the car, took a quick spin and boom, there it was. The noise was still there. Ryan asked me what I wanted to do now. I told him I am happy with everything that it done so i'm going to keep everything. He than instructed me to pull the car into the garage and he lifted it another time. he was looking around, check all possible areas where the sound was coming from. He went above and beyond what I expected and above all, what a great guy. I spent close to 2 hours with him trying to straighten out the noise come from the front of the car. I was blown away So he tells me, that he has no idea what it could be. nothing is touching, all the bolts are tight, end-links are good. He was really stumped. What he did next was even more amazing.

He calls his buddy at a shop called EF1 Motorsports. Tell him that he has a friend with a white 1 series coming in and if he can take a look at what is going on with the suspension. it was close to there closing time but the guy said sure I'll take a look. So I arrive at EF1 Motorsports about 20 minutes before closing time. The owner stops working on the car he was on and comes to me and says lets take your car for a quick spin. He conclusion at first that the back black to the brakes is what was rubbing. He pushed this back a bit and the noise was still there. Because it was close to closing time, he asked if I can come back the next day around 10 in the morning. I agreed.

The next day I dropped my car off at EF1 Motorsports again. He has my car at his shop for close to 3 hours, he couldn't find anything wrong. Nothing was touching anything, everything was tight, he even added some extra lube in the appropriate places.. NOTHING!!!! I was totally hear broken. I was so hopeful. So he tries on more think and sprays this white substance on my brakes. The own of the shop said, "if this doesn't do it, I don't know what will"
Soon as I start pulling out of the garage, once I turn the wheel we hear the noise and the shop owner has this strange look on his face. Comes really close to my car. I mean really close and says pull forward slowly. He not only hears the noise and understand where it is coming from.

He calls one of his mechanics out to get into my car and pull the car forward very slowly while the wheel it turn all the way. He tells me to but my finger where the tire is flexing and listen carefully at the noise it is producing. Gosh darn it... there it was. The darn tire is making all that noise when I go into a turn. This explains why the noise goes away when the car is washed and it start coming back when I starts getting dirty. it also explains why I get the noise when I am lock to lock or when doing a left or right turn as opposed to slightly turning the to make a wide turn.

Overall I was very please with friendly customer service and with Ryan going beyond was was required to help me out and if I need anything again for the car, I would go straight to him.

Total cost to me for all of this: $135 Yes sir... I am a happy camper.

Forgot to throw up the website in case anyone wanted to take a look on what products they have:
http://www.motorsporthardware.com/cm/