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Lowering a vehicle can create many undesirable problems. The suspension for passenger cars is originally designed for a specific ride height and travel range. Getting out of that range can ruin the ride quality and handling characteristics. Now let’s talk about a couple of things you could do to stay in check.

Camber is easily knocked out of spec. Correcting your camber angle could be achieved with a small “Camber kit”. This would move the top of the wheel back out compensating for the new height. A better option is a full control arm replacement. We have made these for the IS300, they will take the place of the rear lower control arms. On vehicle adjustments make our arms stand out giving you faster alignments and allowing you to dial in your camber quickly.

Toe is often forgotten but will destroy tires faster than bad camber settings. Toe in will increase high speed stability at the cost of slower steering response. Toe out increases the high speed sketchiness that will keep you awake for hours on a long road trip or shoot you across several lanes with the slightest steering wheel movement. Having a fully adjustable toe arm setup like these(made for the IS300 as well) will allow toe calibration for any driving style or track condition.

We are currently producing these units in-house. Drop off your stock suspension IS300 arms and trade them out for our quick adjust versions. We are currently developing other IS300 adjustable pieces and don’t forget we can modify most vehicle front spindles for more angle. Stock spindle drop off required. If you have any questions please feel free to email us at batlground@gmail.com

After all of the fabrication work was completed on our IS300/LQ9 headers we decided to try a little something different. We gave our friends at NitroPlate a call so we could try out their “NitroPlate Bright” Aluminum Ceramic Coating.

NitroPlate Bright is a highly polished aluminum ceramic coating capable of withstanding 1300 degrees. It has excellent thermal properties. This cuts down on under hood heat, increases horsepower and helps in scavenging of the exhaust. Nitroplate Bright can also be used in areas such as intakes, rear end housings, control arms, and wheelie bars and steel wheels.

We got the headers back from NitroPlate in no time with the new coating applied. Now it’s time to install them and finish up our IS300 so we can test the new coating under some high heat conditions.
For more information on NitroPlate and their many other coatings and services please go to

There are 3 main types of roll cages: Bolt in/show, Roll bar/Drag, and Full cage/Time trials/Drift. There are other types, but these are the 3 most common that you will see. All of them have pro’s and con’s but they are all designed to keep the driver and passengers safe in the sad event of a roll over or a heavy accident. Depending on what materials are used, and how in-depth the cage is designed/built, the cage can add significant amount of weight to a vehicle. With the added weight, comes added Safety, and chassis stiffness.

First the bolt in/show cage. These cages are the least safe, most racing bodies do not allow these cages. That is because they offer little roll-over support. They can help a little, but are mainly frowned upon. Many people have the bolt-in cage painted or powder-coated before installation. They are nice since most bolt-in cages work around OEM interior, also they can be removed if necessary.

Second, is a roll bar/drag cage. These typically consist of a main hoop, rear bars and door bars, all welded directly to the chassis. The door bars can swing-out with approved kits. If you go much faster, a more in-depth cage is needed. These offer good roll-over protection, but no side impact protection. Roll bars can typically be made so that all the OEM interior will still fit. These are typically the easiest to get into and out of the vehicle.

Third, is a Full weld in cage. Commonly used in Time Attack, Drifting and most all-out race cars. These can go from a very basic 6 point design, to a more complex 10 point Design. Each sanctioning body has a little variance on the rules of what is allowed, and what is not allowed, So download the rulebook for the series that you plan on competing in before designing the cage. They offer good roll-over protection, side impact protection, and stiffen the chassis a good deal as well. A removable steering wheel is recommended to make entry and exit of the vehicle easy.

Roll cages are designed to keep you safe, but they can hurt you if you are not prepared. OEM Seat belts allow for too much give, so aftermarket harnesses are a must. Some cages are designed so that a helmet is recommended at all times. It all comes down to the position of the driver’s head in relation to any steel Bars. Hope this helps you decide what form of rollover protection is right for your vehicle. More questions? Email us at batlground@gmail.com

On vehicles with straight axles adjusting the ride height involves adjusting the track bar. For this application a custom bar had to be created. We hit up our circle track racing friends for raw materials for the job. After the welding, paint and assembly was complete we installed it and had the blue Easter egg aligned. The rear axle is now able to be positioned correctly with the new lower stance.