Greetings once again, M3 forum friends!
I do indeed feel like Gandalf who fought the Balrog and while victorious, also expired. Yet, it was not his time and he was sent back.
I nearly died July 5th, 2025. Through God's Grace and the wonderful intervention of the medical staff around me, I've been given a second chance - and I intend to make the most of my life moving forward. The past three weeks have been some of the most productive I've had since before covid beset all of us.
The details of what happened to me are not relevant to post here (if you're curious, I can share more via phone if / when you decide to engage with my Summer Special offer / at some later date). What matters is the clarity and direction I feel now. FCM is finally moving out of the Bay Area (where the cost of living and opportunities are no longer optimal) to Birmingham, AL.
I'm offering a Summer Special to give a nice boost to those who want to Join the Elite: pay for an FCM Elite Stage 2 ($2800) and get upgraded to the FCM Elite Stage 3 Ultimate ($5000 value and really worth more since it's superior to anything MCS / Ohlins / etc. have to offer).
Please watch this video and feel free to email (don't PM me here unless you're international: call or text my cell: 408-221-8247). To some extent, time is of the essence as I have to decide in the next week whether I take my mill and lathe, or leave one or both behind, along with other essential equipment which I must ship such as the shock dyno and shock assembly machine. After 15 years in one location, I've acquired a good bit of 'stuff' and am slowly but surely doing triage on what needs to come and what doesn't.
UPDATE: 8/3/2025 - Due to factors I have no control over, my move date has been pushed out about 1.5-2 months. I'm honestly relieved as I can finish existing work, meet with more local BMW owners (like tlow98 and heinzboehmer, and just pace myself. Might even do another / final track day at Laguna or Sonoma or Thunderhill before I head East.
I still appreciate your willingness to take advantage of the Stage 2 -> Stage 3 Ultimate offer and put at least a 25% deposit ($700) to help build up savings and pay my exorbitant SF Bay Area rent another month or two! Thankfully, my customer 'Farkle' (Drew) after driving Christina decided to upgrade his F31 wagon from Stage 3 to Stage 3 Ultimate so now I've paid August rent on time - WOOT WOOT!
I've had a couple people already make partial deposits and my intention is to engage in those builds PRIOR to leaving for Birmingham. No hard ship dates, but it's certainly possible and because I know our E46 platform so well, the process is more efficient than on a brand-new vehicle (like a Saab 9-3 which someone is expressing interest in having me work on...).
I'm also selling our Fat Cat Motorsports prior flagship / demo car, 'Senna', a 1995 Miata M-Edition with ABS (rare and valuable!), Blackbird Fabworx 12-pt street cage, FCM Elite Stage 3 suspension (450/375, very streetable and still good for performance), lots of detail work to bump steer correction, ISC upper offset control arm bushings for up to -4.5 deg front camber, fenders rolled and tubbed (rear) to fit 275 Hoosiers (grip monster!). The dual-element rear wing from Ciro Design Racing is now included in the $7400 price.
Senna was designed to be a streetable track car as I didn't have a tow vehicle and also wanted to enjoy him on the street. He has a catalytic converter and was intended to pass CA emissions while being nearly a fully-prepped track car). Asking $7400 firm. There are several PDFs on the website (linked in the CL ad) indicating all the work that's been done to him and how special he is as a track / autocross car.
UPDATE on Senna: I've got him at Edge Motorworks and aiming to get him road-worthy so I can sell a runner instead of a 'bring a trailer.' Might turn out I won't want to sell him when he is running again, but if you or someone you know are interested, send them my way. If I can't sell him, I'll take him to 'Bama with me and turn him into a TTOD contender as before
===
Now, to the technical aspects of my share. End of last year, I felt a strong prompting to create a series of videos that could be largely 'standalone' to explain what a factory suspension is probably doing, compare and contrast to the typical aftermarket suspension, and then indicate how the FCM approach using Ride Harmony and Race Synergy are able to get superior results. I used some Porsche Boxster components to help illustrate just how close most front bump stops are to engaging, and how HUGELY that interaction affects the car's ride frequencies and handling balance.
Getting Ride Harmony is not 'magic' but you do need to understand what to change and why, in the correct order. By utilizing the correct principles applied at the optimal point in the design process we can achieve a smooth ride settling response (via Flat Ride or 'Fast Settling' as I also like to call it) along with a natural, fluid 'rear-driven' handling response (where a rear-wheel drive or all-wheel-drive car actually WANTS to rotate from the rear wheels!).
I would strongly recommend you watch the first 3 videos, taking whatever time you need*. I promise you will learn something new, even if you're already familiar with my work.
The end result of understanding the Crucial Ride Harmony series is to provide you with necessary questions to 'Qualify Your Vendor' (a 2-video series). Once you know what the factory intended, and have a sense of how the aftermarket may differ from factory, then based on your goals you can ask some very pointed questions of a vendor to determine whether they deserve your business or if you should:
I've had numerous conversations with customers going over these various Crucial Ride Harmony concepts and as much as I enjoy the conversations, I get tired of repeating myself So I made the videos with a classroom-setting mindset including props and visuals which I find superior to just having a phone chat. I am happy to engage and answer basic questions, but if you need more information about my methods, I'm going to refer you to the Crucial Ride Harmony series or I will charge you $300 / hour (my current consulting rate). It's your choice! All those who take part in the Summer Special get the 30 min ($150) consult for free so you only need to pay the Stage 2 price ($2800) plus shipping / handling / insurance to get the dampers back to you. Some assembly required, we'll go over the full parts list based on what you have and what you need to buy. That would include items like camber / caster plates, a bigger front bar of some type (I prefer the GC Race bar), rear weight jacker, and then the springs themselves.
===
Thanks for reading, and I'm eager to see what comes of this offer and your interest in Joining the Elite with a very special promotion at a transformative time in my personal and business life!
Jalal (full name is Shaikh Jalal Ahmad although I prefer my middle name these days, which is what all my family and close friends have always called me. 'Shaikh' is more a title which I identify with less these days than Jalal, which incidentally means 'of spiritual value' or 'sublime'. I seek to live up to my middle name even more, both in service to others and to Truth!
===
*By the way, I included Personal Reflections in the playlist because given my brush with death and rebirth, I wanted an interested viewer to know more about what makes me tick, Why I've been so compelled to learn and share and educate others about optimal suspension tuning methods (yes, sometimes you CAN say 'this is better, this is worse!' it's not always subjective!).
The
I do indeed feel like Gandalf who fought the Balrog and while victorious, also expired. Yet, it was not his time and he was sent back.
I nearly died July 5th, 2025. Through God's Grace and the wonderful intervention of the medical staff around me, I've been given a second chance - and I intend to make the most of my life moving forward. The past three weeks have been some of the most productive I've had since before covid beset all of us.
The details of what happened to me are not relevant to post here (if you're curious, I can share more via phone if / when you decide to engage with my Summer Special offer / at some later date). What matters is the clarity and direction I feel now. FCM is finally moving out of the Bay Area (where the cost of living and opportunities are no longer optimal) to Birmingham, AL.
I'm offering a Summer Special to give a nice boost to those who want to Join the Elite: pay for an FCM Elite Stage 2 ($2800) and get upgraded to the FCM Elite Stage 3 Ultimate ($5000 value and really worth more since it's superior to anything MCS / Ohlins / etc. have to offer).
Please watch this video and feel free to email (don't PM me here unless you're international: call or text my cell: 408-221-8247). To some extent, time is of the essence as I have to decide in the next week whether I take my mill and lathe, or leave one or both behind, along with other essential equipment which I must ship such as the shock dyno and shock assembly machine. After 15 years in one location, I've acquired a good bit of 'stuff' and am slowly but surely doing triage on what needs to come and what doesn't.
UPDATE: 8/3/2025 - Due to factors I have no control over, my move date has been pushed out about 1.5-2 months. I'm honestly relieved as I can finish existing work, meet with more local BMW owners (like tlow98 and heinzboehmer, and just pace myself. Might even do another / final track day at Laguna or Sonoma or Thunderhill before I head East.
I still appreciate your willingness to take advantage of the Stage 2 -> Stage 3 Ultimate offer and put at least a 25% deposit ($700) to help build up savings and pay my exorbitant SF Bay Area rent another month or two! Thankfully, my customer 'Farkle' (Drew) after driving Christina decided to upgrade his F31 wagon from Stage 3 to Stage 3 Ultimate so now I've paid August rent on time - WOOT WOOT!
I've had a couple people already make partial deposits and my intention is to engage in those builds PRIOR to leaving for Birmingham. No hard ship dates, but it's certainly possible and because I know our E46 platform so well, the process is more efficient than on a brand-new vehicle (like a Saab 9-3 which someone is expressing interest in having me work on...).
I'm also selling our Fat Cat Motorsports prior flagship / demo car, 'Senna', a 1995 Miata M-Edition with ABS (rare and valuable!), Blackbird Fabworx 12-pt street cage, FCM Elite Stage 3 suspension (450/375, very streetable and still good for performance), lots of detail work to bump steer correction, ISC upper offset control arm bushings for up to -4.5 deg front camber, fenders rolled and tubbed (rear) to fit 275 Hoosiers (grip monster!). The dual-element rear wing from Ciro Design Racing is now included in the $7400 price.
Senna was designed to be a streetable track car as I didn't have a tow vehicle and also wanted to enjoy him on the street. He has a catalytic converter and was intended to pass CA emissions while being nearly a fully-prepped track car). Asking $7400 firm. There are several PDFs on the website (linked in the CL ad) indicating all the work that's been done to him and how special he is as a track / autocross car.
UPDATE on Senna: I've got him at Edge Motorworks and aiming to get him road-worthy so I can sell a runner instead of a 'bring a trailer.' Might turn out I won't want to sell him when he is running again, but if you or someone you know are interested, send them my way. If I can't sell him, I'll take him to 'Bama with me and turn him into a TTOD contender as before
===
Now, to the technical aspects of my share. End of last year, I felt a strong prompting to create a series of videos that could be largely 'standalone' to explain what a factory suspension is probably doing, compare and contrast to the typical aftermarket suspension, and then indicate how the FCM approach using Ride Harmony and Race Synergy are able to get superior results. I used some Porsche Boxster components to help illustrate just how close most front bump stops are to engaging, and how HUGELY that interaction affects the car's ride frequencies and handling balance.
Getting Ride Harmony is not 'magic' but you do need to understand what to change and why, in the correct order. By utilizing the correct principles applied at the optimal point in the design process we can achieve a smooth ride settling response (via Flat Ride or 'Fast Settling' as I also like to call it) along with a natural, fluid 'rear-driven' handling response (where a rear-wheel drive or all-wheel-drive car actually WANTS to rotate from the rear wheels!).
I would strongly recommend you watch the first 3 videos, taking whatever time you need*. I promise you will learn something new, even if you're already familiar with my work.
The end result of understanding the Crucial Ride Harmony series is to provide you with necessary questions to 'Qualify Your Vendor' (a 2-video series). Once you know what the factory intended, and have a sense of how the aftermarket may differ from factory, then based on your goals you can ask some very pointed questions of a vendor to determine whether they deserve your business or if you should:
I've had numerous conversations with customers going over these various Crucial Ride Harmony concepts and as much as I enjoy the conversations, I get tired of repeating myself
So I made the videos with a classroom-setting mindset including props and visuals which I find superior to just having a phone chat. I am happy to engage and answer basic questions, but if you need more information about my methods, I'm going to refer you to the Crucial Ride Harmony series or I will charge you $300 / hour (my current consulting rate). It's your choice! All those who take part in the Summer Special get the 30 min ($150) consult for free so you only need to pay the Stage 2 price ($2800) plus shipping / handling / insurance to get the dampers back to you. Some assembly required, we'll go over the full parts list based on what you have and what you need to buy. That would include items like camber / caster plates, a bigger front bar of some type (I prefer the GC Race bar), rear weight jacker, and then the springs themselves.===
Thanks for reading, and I'm eager to see what comes of this offer and your interest in Joining the Elite with a very special promotion at a transformative time in my personal and business life!
Jalal (full name is Shaikh Jalal Ahmad although I prefer my middle name these days, which is what all my family and close friends have always called me. 'Shaikh' is more a title which I identify with less these days than Jalal, which incidentally means 'of spiritual value' or 'sublime'. I seek to live up to my middle name even more, both in service to others and to Truth!
===
*By the way, I included Personal Reflections in the playlist because given my brush with death and rebirth, I wanted an interested viewer to know more about what makes me tick, Why I've been so compelled to learn and share and educate others about optimal suspension tuning methods (yes, sometimes you CAN say 'this is better, this is worse!' it's not always subjective!).
The
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