Cape's Stanced on the Greens a family affair

Published Dec 22, 2017

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Cape Town - If there is one element that stance has emphasised on the Cape car scene it’s that being a petrolhead is a way of life.

Ramzy Baker, who won best air at the recent Stanced on the Greens show in Vasco da Gama, described this community aspect of stance some years ago, telling the story of the dropped cabbie and the oversized speedbump.

The thing about having a dropped car, he said, is that when you’re cruising slow up the street and you come to a speedbump, well, the people will come out of their yards and help you negotiate your way over said obstacle. Everybody gets involved - how’s that for community spirit?!

Stanced on the Greens was a real family affair, organised by Hayden Isaacs, his sons Jade and Shad, and Brad Pick. The atmosphere was festive, with plenty of slammed rides to admire and DJs on the decks all day. The organisers even hosted an afterparty from 7pm when the main event closed.

The BMW Squad were out in full force at Stance on the Greens.

According the Shahiem Bell, the organisers planned the layout carefully, said Shahiem Bell, keeping the surrounding boundaries as minimal as possible "to keep the atmosphere socially intimate”.

“This was something I liked and found it to be interesting," he added, "as they could expand the boundary as more cars arrived.”

With food, bar, hookah lounge, live performances, DJs and the ubiquitous jumping castle the guys made sure that they could keep the whole family entertained.

Layla, Nazeema and Muraad Bell on the jumping castle.

Slammed Ballade

Now Ramzy Baker’s Ballade is a well known machine. Having had several makeovers over the years, its latest incarnation includes a well appointed air system to provide the camber and drop so admired by the stance crowd.

Here’s how he describes his setup: “My air system has four black Tec airbags as well as the Skunk2 camber kit in the front and back to adjust the angle of the wheels to positive camber or negative camber, which makes the wheels tilt when I slam my ride.”

There's a common misperception that stance is simply about dropping the car as low as possible. Although the drop is an important starting point, more subtle aspects then come into play, such as proper wheel fitment, the width and offset of wheels, camber and rake (whether the front is lower tjhan or level with the rear).

Sure, it can get rather technical, which tends to exclude the less knowledgeable from the more intense conversations but hey, this is Cape Town and we’re friendly.

Ruben Petersen's immaculate Datsun 160Z showed just how important attention to detail is.

Camber control is vital because if you go for the holy grail of stance, the infinty look where the rim is neatly tucked into the wheel arch, you'll need fine adjustment of camber control, so it can just sit there without touching the body and the car can still be driven, albeit with a restricted tuning circle.

Baker added: “My air system is a basic setup with normal ball valves that open and close. When you open the car lifts and when you close and release the car lowers. I also have a 20-litre tank to store enough air to lift and a 444cc air compressor to fill the tank up.”

Just take one look at Ramzy’s Ballade in full stance mode and you can see why the judges chose this car as the best bagged for the day.

Daily Voice

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