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Exige Suspension


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#1 toreide

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Posted 04 February 2007 - 07:28 PM

I finally got to fit the Exige suspension to my NA. I found a the set on sale on ebay. It was taken off a brand new Exige that was treated with Ohlins. Total price including postage to Norway was 180£ + 80£ =260£.

Fitting was very easy and straight forward.

Rideheight is appr. 5mm higher than before. That means it still looks a bit like an offroader :) I knew this from other threads on this fantastic forum, so no suprises there.

I was more concerned how it would actually feel on the road. I drove the car to a very punishing backroad (50 kmh limit or appr. 30 mph) with a lot of bumps and crests. From experience I know that very stiff cars on lowered suspension feels very twitchy here. The Speedster on it's original suspension was very good here, keeping all 4 tires on the road at all times.

Doing this stretch at about 100 km/h on the Exige suspension proved how good it is. At no time did it feel crashy. It was as good as the original, but with better damping characteristics. Car feels more alert and responsive to every input.

Comfort is as good as before. The spring rates are increased by 13% and 35% front and rear respectively. In reality it doesn't feel like a lot, but very good for road driving.

As the conditions was wet and greasy I couldn't lean on the suspension as much as would like to. Final conclusions will have to wait until Scared Stiff has done the geo and warmer weather arrives :)

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#2 Mutt & Jeff

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Posted 05 February 2007 - 12:59 AM

I have this mod on my car. My impressions are that compared to an Exige S2 which seems to have a smoother ride than a standard NA, the Exige susp. on my NA seems firmer.....IMO firmer than the orig. However, the plus point is better damping & control....very good over large undulations! thumbsup

#3 VXJON

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Posted 12 April 2007 - 09:22 PM

Any 2nd impressions? :poke: Ive just picked up a set for my N/a :tt:

#4 Astranomical102

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Posted 12 April 2007 - 09:34 PM

Any 2nd impressions? :poke:


Ive just picked up a set for my N/a :tt:


Bring them to mine and i will help you fit them! Bring my exhaust too :poke: :lol:

#5 VXJON

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Posted 12 April 2007 - 09:47 PM


Any 2nd impressions? :poke:


Ive just picked up a set for my N/a :tt:


Bring them to mine and i will help you fit them! Bring my exhaust too :poke: :lol:


Super Tommys fitting them today :D The exhaust is still in its bag but i will chase it up tomorrow :(

#6 toreide

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Posted 12 April 2007 - 11:02 PM

Sorry for not writing any further comments. Have been to busy. I have now fitted the R888's (last tuesday) and the car is awesome compared to what it used to be. Unfortunately my broken radiator have prevented me from driving it the last week. Hopefully I'll be sorted tomorrow. I'll be back with a report :)

#7 VXJON

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Posted 14 April 2007 - 11:47 AM

My 1st impression thumbsup Had a little blast in the car on the way home from the garage and was quite impressed by the new setup. Overall the car feels more planted on the road and the frimer ride inspires more confidence while cornering thumbsup As to the ride height being slightly higher its not noticable I will post a proper write up after sundays run :)

#8 VXJON

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Posted 16 April 2007 - 12:17 AM

2nd Impressions



So so much better than the std setup Imnotworthy Gave the car a lot of abuse today everything from awful surfaced B-roads to perfectly maintained track. At all times the exige setup seemed to be much more balanced than the guys running std shocks. On a badly surfaced b road which we use for a lot of runs i seemed to be cornering about 10 -15 tuts more than usual, without all the crashing from the dampers which can be quite painful to hear. After a couple of hours driving mine, Astranomical and i swapped cars for a little test. Craigs car is a very good example of a well put together vx but after mine it felt rather soggy while cornering at speed, lots of body roll and the awful crash of the dampers didnt help matters. :o

Next up was the Forrestburn speed hillclimb track where the car seemed to be almost glued to the track (well apart from some basic driver errors thumbsdown ) This was my first time on any motorsport track and to TBH it perhaps wasnt the best place to start, no run off at any of the tight corners and dry stone walls everywhere else. Next up is fitting some proper tyres and having the geo setup hopefully this will improve the handling even further B) Since i wont be doing many track days i couldnt justify paying over £1k for a set of nitrons, which leaves the exige setup is a very good balance between track and road settings thumbsup


Was planning on posting a little video of the car at forrestburn but unfortunately Lazydonkey cant use a camera phone :poke:

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Edited by VXJON, 16 April 2007 - 12:21 AM.


#9 wil_scotland

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Posted 16 April 2007 - 12:27 AM

2nd Impressions



So so much better than the std setup Imnotworthy Gave the car a lot of abuse today everything from awful surfaced B-roads to perfectly maintained track. At all times the exige setup seemed to be much more balanced than the guys running std shocks. On a badly surfaced b road which we use for a lot of runs i seemed to be cornering about 10 -15 tuts more than usual, without all the crashing from the dampers which can be quite painful to hear. After a couple of hours driving mine, Astranomical and i swapped cars for a little test. Craigs car is a very good example of a well put together vx but after mine it felt rather soggy while cornering at speed, lots of body roll and the awful crash of the dampers didnt help matters. :o

Next up was the Forrestburn speed hillclimb track where the car seemed to be almost glued to the track (well apart from some basic driver errors thumbsdown ) This was my first time on any motorsport track and to TBH it perhaps wasnt the best place to start, no run off at any of the tight corners and dry stone walls everywhere else. Next up is fitting some proper tyres and having the geo setup hopefully this will improve the handling even further B) Since i wont be doing many track days i couldnt justify paying over £1k for a set of nitrons, which leaves the exige setup is a very good balance between track and road settings thumbsup


Was planning on posting a little video of the car at forrestburn but unfortunately Lazydonkey cant use a camera phone :poke:

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Leave Lazy alone it is not as if he works in IT.






Oh wait a min he does :lol:

One thing I would add to Jon's comments is that I wondered how high the VX would sit on the s2 exige set-up, which had put me off of them previously. However I can confirm there must be about 2mm in it, which is very hard to notice even next to a standard VX.

#10 toreide

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Posted 16 April 2007 - 08:46 PM

Finally got my car ready for some serious driving. As my radiator started to leak on the easter weekend, I have been very busy getting a new one installed :) I really hope the new Pro Alloy one from Courtenay will last forever. The job was a real pain :)

I also fitted:

- abs cut-off switch
- manual radiator fan switch
- TAT diffusor

The Exige suspension in combination with the 888's is incredible. Compared to standard and std wheels the car is now close to perfect on the road. Frontend grip is vastly improved. I had Scared Stiff do the geo, and the chassis is very neutral, but my right foot can order oversteer and understeer on demand.

The problem I have now is with the abs. It will give the hard pedal from time to time, not good. I have installed an abs-off switch as a solution for dry roads. I am investigating options for upgrading the brakes. Thorney's AP kit looks good, but so do some offering found on the German forum.

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#11 toreide

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Posted 16 April 2007 - 10:03 PM

2 more pics. Not from my mobile phone this time :)

Shows the gap on the front. It is not as pronounced with the std wheels. Ideally I would like to fit Öhlins and lower her about 30mm, but the way the car works now I don't know if I will bother.

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#12 VXJON

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Posted 16 April 2007 - 10:16 PM

That does look a bit high :( Might need to reconsider getting a 16/17 set :(

#13 toreide

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Posted 17 April 2007 - 12:15 AM

That does look a bit high :( Might need to reconsider getting a 16/17 set :(


A 16" front would not make it significantly better. Only solution is to fit adjustable suspension. Anyways, I'm more concerned about how it works than how it looks :D

#14 johnboy_78

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Posted 19 April 2007 - 06:03 PM

That does look a bit high :( Might need to reconsider getting a 16/17 set :(

Jon

Where did you get the Exige dampers/springs and what sort of money do they fetch?

John thumbsup

#15 VXJON

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Posted 19 April 2007 - 08:44 PM


That does look a bit high :( Might need to reconsider getting a 16/17 set :(

Jon

Where did you get the Exige dampers/springs and what sort of money do they fetch?

John thumbsup



Ebay :lol: anywhere around £200 seems to be the going rate thumbsup


I made the huge mistake of bidding on a set and buying a set from one of the SE guys now ive got two poof

Not to worry Lazydonkey is going to take the spare set :poke:

#16 johnboy_78

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Posted 20 April 2007 - 02:10 PM

Ebay :lol: anywhere around £200 seems to be the going rate thumbsup


I made the huge mistake of bidding on a set and buying a set from one of the SE guys now ive got two poof

Not to worry Lazydonkey is going to take the spare set :poke:

:lol: :lol:

Sounds like an affordable and worthwhile way to upgrade - short of blowing £1k on Nitrons. You got any before and after pics of the car showing the change in ride height? thumbsup

#17 LazyDonkey

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Posted 20 April 2007 - 05:37 PM

Yeah after a wee drive yesterday i was well impressed - glad Jon was an idiot and bought two sets :D I couldnt really spot the ride height difference without putting both cars side by side but I really noticed a lot less brake "dive" and the car just feels so much more planted. thumbsup B) Trim noise a plenty tho :( (oh and im normally pretty good with IT - just not with Nokias!)

#18 toreide

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Posted 20 April 2007 - 06:37 PM


Ebay :lol: anywhere around £200 seems to be the going rate thumbsup


I made the huge mistake of bidding on a set and buying a set from one of the SE guys now ive got two poof

Not to worry Lazydonkey is going to take the spare set :poke:

:lol: :lol:

Sounds like an affordable and worthwhile way to upgrade - short of blowing £1k on Nitrons. You got any before and after pics of the car showing the change in ride height? thumbsup


This is mine before/after. Unfortunately not the same angle in the pic, and different tires.

Standard suspension:
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Lotus Exige suspension:
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#19 LazyDonkey

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Posted 27 April 2007 - 03:50 AM

Suspension is on. F*cking Hell. Tis very good. thumbsup Imnotworthy Big thanks to gay jon for sourcing and then fitting it while i washed my wheels poof

#20 Stevoraith

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Posted 27 April 2007 - 01:30 PM

Suspension is on.

F*cking Hell.

Tis very good. thumbsup Imnotworthy

Big thanks to gay jon for sourcing and then fitting it while i washed my wheels poof


Is it easy to change the suspension? I'm pretty sure that the Spax are coming off mine and I'm going to put the standard stuff back on.

Just wondered if there were any special tools needed or any tricks you need to know? How long did it take you Jon?




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