ASSIGNMENT: Turnkey development of aftermarket automotive units for DBE, Inc.

BACKGROUND: The principals of DBE were actively expanding the Dr. Boltz Motorsports' proprietary line of Volkswagen accessories, and campaigning an extensively modified New Beetle in regional and national SCCA auto races. The racing team had identified two new product needs - an effective strut tower brace for the New Beetle, and an add-on device that allows adjustment of the front suspension camber on the New Beetle. Although similar products existed for other vehicle models, no aftermarket firms offered those specific products for the New Beetle.

OUR SERVICE: Taking advantage of years of experience with automotive and aerospace/defense development, Concept Engineering Group generated initial design concepts for both new products. With minor refinements, the initial concepts were turned into working prototypes and tested for effectiveness on the Dr. Boltz race vehicle. Since the client wanted true functionality, rather than just cosmetic appearance with questionable effectiveness, the strut tower brace was designed as a three-piece assembly to allow installation in the restricted space directly between the two strut towers. Once installed in the vehicle, the brace is almost completely hidden, but effectively adds stiffness to the front vehicle structure. The camber adjustment approach was to replace the original equipment upper strut rubber bushing / bearing with an aluminum and steel assembly that incorporated a self lubricated spherical bearing. The left and right assemblies were designed to mate with the strut tower brace, creating an extremely rigid upper suspension mount. Concept Engineering Group supervised the construction of the initial prototype and installation on the race vehicle. Extensive testing by the race team concluded that the combination of the strut tower brace and the adjustable camber kit significantly improved the handling and performance of the race Beetle. Once the prototype was fully tested, Concept Engineering Group developed a final design incorporating minor design improvements and refinements. Concept Engineering Group delivered not only the full set of product component drawings to produce the tower brace and the adjustable camber kits, but also full production tooling and fixture designs, as well as collateral materials - installation instructions, packaging designs and specifications.

RESULTS: The DBE, Inc. team is extremely satisfied with the design provided by Concept Engineering Group. The racing program has benefited from the prototype units and the company is actively marketing the strut tower brace and adjustable camber kits for the New Beetle through the Dr. Boltz Motorsports line.

Copyright 2001 Concept Engineering Group LLC

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