It’s almost 2020 and one would think that we would be in the Jetson’s era and talking robot maids and flying cars, and jetpacks would be the norm these days. While we’re still waiting on these luxuries, there is plenty of advancement of technology in the automotive aftermarket. ECU’s are getting more advanced along with the displays, electronics, and many other items. What we didn’t expect to see was unveiled at the Hotchkis Sport Suspension booth.
Hotchkis, a leading supplier of performance aftermarket suspension components, had a new product on display that could be a game-changer for just about any car. The new Falcon coilover shocks are controlled by Bluetooth. According to John Hotchkis, “You can now control your shock right from your phone, adding “this technology will allow you to tune your suspension from time and course.” For instance, if you want to change the tuning for the shock when your car hits .5 G’s in a corner, the dampening will adjust for a more aggressive setting. The system will even notice if you are hard on the brakes entering a turn and change the suspension for more effective braking. The Falcon system is infinitely adjustable and from your phone, no less.
The Falcon coilover system has a box that the shock will plug into, and it acts as the brains of the system. This box will see positive and negative G’s along with any lateral movement and sends a signal to the coilovers depending on how you have the system set up. The coilovers have motors built into the body of the shock that will change the dampening depending on the input. This will allow you to have an excellent ride day to day and aggressive dampening will only take place when it is needed.
While we don’t have flying cars yet, this suspension system is cutting edge technology for both street cars and racecars. We’re looking forward to seeing more about the Falcon setup from Hotchkis as it becomes available.