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Old 08-07-2010
JusticePete JusticePete is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: West Olive, MI
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Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Pete Basica the President of Pedders USA, LLC. I met Jess Albright and Michale Timarac a little over a year ago. We put our collective toes in to test the waters of working together. The first tangible product of this test was the introduction of the Saleen coilovers at SEMA in 2009. As our relationship matured we expanded our business relationship. The R & D car pictured in this thread is the result of our collaboration. It is not a production car. It is an R & D car, that just happens to be very fast and handle exceptionally well

Early in our relationship we were going down parallel roads. There were going to be Saleen suspension products and Pedders suspension products for the Mustang. As we worked together it became clear that there should be only one Mustang suspension line and that should be under the Saleen brand.

A Saleen coilover is very different than the Pedders version was. The Saleen version had longer coils that are lower in rate. The dampening is less aggressive. The ride is more sophisticated. A Saleen is OE ride and control on steroids. Driving a Saleen coilover Mustang is a different experience than driving a Pedders coilover Mustang. The Pedders version was more aggressive. That is when things started to click. There should be the Saleen coilover and the Saleen TRACK version of the coilover with short coils, higher in rate and more aggressive damping. That is when we decided the Pedders brand for Mustang would give way to Saleen.

The last Pedders branded coilover was given away at Mustang week. It should be a collectors item as there are no more Pedders brand Mustang coilovers or parts -- Only Saleen. A secondary reason for this decision was to eliminate the perception that the Saleen part was a rebranded Pedders part. That was not the case with the first Saleen coilovers, but reading through the thread it certainly was the perception of some. I have learned a great deal from the people at Saleen. I hope they picked up an idea or two from me. The point is that working together we are a stronger TEAM and can deliver better product than we would separately.

The people at Saleen have a clear vision of what a Saleen should be and how it should perform. My job is to work with Saleen to create the suspension parts they need to complete their vision. If I do my job right, no one will care who I am. No one will care about Pedders role at Saleen. They will just turn the key in their Saleen, turn a corner and smile mile after mile.

So how did we pick the ride height? It had nothing to do with the look or style. It had everything to do with corner weighting and balance. You can only get this low with the TRACK version of the Saleen coilovers. The wheels were not selected for a look either. They were selected because Forgeline build some of the strongest lightest racing wheels available. Les rotating mass delivers better braking, better acceleration and better handling with a reduction in unsprung weight. We worked with Forgeline to fit 19x105" wheels front and rear. The offsets help create a balanced track and reduce understeer. The tires are the best we can but for a combination street and track car. They are Bridgestone RE-11 305/30/19 front and rear. This i a purpose built car. It is built for predictability and stability. A good driver can take a stable and predictable car and come close to performing miracles when they are confident in how the car will respond. This car inspires driver confidence.

As for the paint scheme what can I say. Black and red are Pedders trademark.





Jess, Michael, Dave and the rest of the people at Saleen build fine automobiles. I am proud to have a small part in helping them refine and build Saleens that will meet and exceed your expectations.

Last edited by JusticePete; 08-07-2010 at 02:04 AM.
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