H-Sport Opens The Doors Of Its Suspension Shop To Mini Enthusiasts.
Saturday January 21, 7:00am: Many SoCal Mini Maniac members are spotted cruising the street in front of Hotchkis Automotive Group, home of H-Sport Performance Suspension.
By 8am, twenty Minis are neatly slotted into parking spaces, and the event hasn't even started yet.
At nine o'clock the activities commence and over 40 magnificent Minis and 50 Mini Maniac club members and friends are in attendance at the first annual H-Sport Mini Tech Day and Open House.
After an hour socializing, admiring the Minis and talking about spirited driving, the Mini Maniacs proceed into the R&D shop where John Hotchkis and the H-Sport team talk about sway bar design, spring rates, camber curves, roll stiffness and more. They place special emphasis on the engineering and testing effort expended by the H-Sport team in their quest to achieve the ultimate handling, balance and ride comfort on the street or the track. As a grand finale, the H-Sport team unveiled a brand new Mini camber plate kit that's ready for shipping.
Later that day, Aaron Ogawa (H-Sport product engineer) and Henry Hancock (H-Sport team driver), who actively compete in their 2005 Minis, enthralled the crowd with their tales of competition experiences. Henry's extensively modified car was elevated onto the H-Sport lift so club members could check out every detail of H-Sport's TVS performance suspension package and other racing modifications.
Next, the Maniacs were treated to a discussion about Yokohama's Advan tires and their latest go-fast rubber, the Advan Neova. The crew from StopTech Brakes also highlighted their ability to haul the Mini down from speed.
As the BBQ aroma of burgers prepared by the H-Sport gang wafted through the shop, the owners adjourned for lunch, where they ate well and continued talking Mini. Afterwards they returned to the R&D shop for the prize raffle and grand prize drawing, with H-Sport, Yokohama and StopTech swag up for grabs.
In what seemed like a blink of an eye, the event was over. A diehard group of owners had stayed well after the end and continued talking Mini but we'd already hit the highway and were looking forward to next year's event.
Go to www.h-sport.com for more information.