80 replies to this topic

[Retset]

OK, so having decided to do some minor mods to the car (suspension, TDs, R888s, harness) I have to decide which suspension! I have been offered some low mileage Exige suspension which will be approx £200. Let's say £400 after fitting and geo. Alternatively there's Nitron 1 ways at about £1500 fitted and geo'd. There's obviously all the Gaz/Sachs/Spax options which are in between the two financially. My main aim is to firm up the car so I can stop rubbing the liners (at least, I think that's what the noise is!) when encountering mid corner bumps whilst going very quickly and to try to give it even more of that 'go kart' feel that the new geo has given it. I don't want the road ride quality ruined however as this is not a pure track car; 6 or 8 track days a year. I've searched everything on Nitron and Exige. The Nitrons obviously have height adjustment so I can make my car look good with black TD's and are, I guess, about the ultimate for the price. The Exige stuff will not help in the looks department but what will it be like on the track? Opinions from those who have moved from standard stuff to anything would be much appreciated - both road and track comments please.

[techieboy]

Can't fault the Nitron single adjustables I've got on my car. A big improvement in on the road manners (and comfort) and transformation from standard on the track. But, it's a big step in cost from the secondhand Exige stuff up to the Nitrons..... How about getting the Exige stuff and giving it a try to see whether you get on with it? I guess you'd know if it was for you after 1 or 2 trackdays and whether you could live with the slightly increased ride height. Will presumably still be worth what you pay for it, if you decide it's not for you.

[ratboiler]

I have two way Nitrons fitted on a VXR for the past year. Massive improvement over the old system plus the height adjustment makes the car just that much lower which is all in keeping with the looks. Big plus the guys at Nitrons are more than willing to talk any problems through. When fitting the rear resevoirs make sure that when they/you mount in the boot, the holes are not drilled under the drains from the boot lid or you will flood out the boot.

[siztenboots]

Go for the exige stuff. You can fit it yourself its easy. I doubt you will need to get a geo, unless the ride height is changed a lot, even then just a simple toe alignment tweak.

[slindborg]

ok my geo is all to buggery but you are more than welcome to have a drive of mine with GAZ's on (assuming I make it back from Germany this weekend lol) Techieboys was the first car I drove on Nitrons and have to say it was well mannered on the road (esp as it was a rather bumpy road we drove), but as far as ROAD only goes I think you'd be hard pushed to tell the difference between any of the aftermarket dampers IMHO. I'm sure the car would be transformed with brand new STD stuff (but thats nearly the cost of Nitrons lol) since the ones I took off were fuggerd so anything is a gain on that.

[LazyDonkey]

No brainer - buy the exige stuff. You'll get £200 all day long if you ever wanted to sell. How is it on track? Well Lotus chose it as OEM for both the NA Exige and the Exige S and no-one says they are too shabby do they? You will hit your limits LONG before the suspension gives up the ghost. Absolutely awesome suspension.

[Duncan VXR]

You could always convert the dampers to coilovers - not that much work involved but you would need to buy new springs etc Suspect all in you would not be paying more than £500 inc buying the exige stuff

[slindborg]

You could always convert the dampers to coilovers - not that much work involved but you would need to buy new springs etc

Suspect all in you would not be paying more than £500 inc buying the exige stuff

std stuff is already coilover..... or do you mean make them height adjustable with those naff kits? Then you cant alter the damping unless they are opened up and the piston is modded.

[Phil T]

You buys mite think am talking rubbish but I think my standard N/A handles better than the exige s

[Retset]

Interesting reading the responses thus far. My one worry with the Exige stuff is the fractionally raised front ride height: If I fit 16" fronts it is going to be a bit tractor looking. Ideally I'd like to lower the whole car a little way - not too far though as I don't want a speedbump nightmare like I had in my old Westfield ... Could I fit lowering springs to Exige stuff or have I then missed the whole point of putting on Exige stuff in the first place?

[VXJON]

Interesting reading the responses thus far. My one worry with the Exige stuff is the fractionally raised front ride height: If I fit 16" fronts it is going to be a bit tractor looking. Ideally I'd like to lower the whole car a little way - not too far though as I don't want a speedbump nightmare like I had in my old Westfield ...

Could I fit lowering springs to Exige stuff or have I then missed the whole point of putting on Exige stuff in the first place?

Loved the exige setup on my car, it did look a little high at the frnt but handled beautifully

On exige suspension at KH

[Duncan VXR]

You could always convert the dampers to coilovers - not that much work involved but you would need to buy new springs etc

Suspect all in you would not be paying more than £500 inc buying the exige stuff

std stuff is already coilover..... or do you mean make them height adjustable with those naff kits? Then you cant alter the damping unless they are opened up and the piston is modded.

Sorry meant make them height adjustable - not sure if you need to change the spring size when doing this? I have seen the naff kits I used koni to do mine on my old 5 and were fine. True you still cant adjust damping

[barrybethel]

Nitrons will be quite a lot better than even the exige suspension on track. The adjustability means you can stiffen them up even more and is something extra to play about with which adds to the appeal imo. Plus you can lower the car which dramatically improves grip - you would probably also set up the corner weights and put some rake on the car (have it lower at the front than the back which also helps handling) which you can't do with exige suspension. The exige suspension will almost certainly be better on the road though - a bit more compliant. But remember the exige dampers you are looking at aren't new - they could be a bit tired. Plus - and I know this is stupid - Nitrons look really, really proper. All motorsporty and nice. When you hold them in your hands you will know it's money well spent! Probably. If you can, have a drive or ride in cars equipped with both. Lots of people would oblige at the National I'm sure.

[Retset]

I have to say that in the yellow car above, the arch gap is not anything like as big as I'd expected I have now also been offered another alternative which appeals - VXR springs and dampers from a forum member (thanks for the offer ). These should lower the car a little as well. I know they will not be as good as Nitrons but would resale easily enough after a thousand miles or so if I decide to go 'all the way'. Thoughts on this? My only immediate one is it would have fractionally harder rear springs versus an 'NA VXR set' (I know there's no such thing )

[VXJON]

I have now also been offered another alternative which appeals - VXR springs and dampers from a forum member (thanks for the offer ).

IIRC the vxr springs/dampers are the same as the exige ones so will lift the car not lower it

[Exmantaa]

Interesting reading the responses thus far. My one worry with the Exige stuff is the fractionally raised front ride height: If I fit 16" fronts it is going to be a bit tractor looking. Ideally I'd like to lower the whole car a little way - not too far though as I don't want a speedbump nightmare like I had in my old Westfield ...

Could I fit lowering springs to Exige stuff or have I then missed the whole point of putting on Exige stuff in the first place?

You can lower the front suspension easily by mounting the Elise/Exige shock bracket set from Elise-shop.
The front ones will fit the VX and lowers the front approx. 15mm. Only worry is that you have to fab a mounting bracket for the ABS unit. Easy...

If this is not low enough, you can always modify the dampers by adding an extra groove for the circlip. As this holds the upper spring platform in place, make it sit higher will lower your ride height. (Or modify them with a thread kit to get an adjustable system...) Will look for some pics.

[LazyDonkey]

You buys mite think am talking rubbish but I think my standard N/A handles better than the exige s

Could be the wheels, the geo, the tyres - or a combination thereof.

On the NA going from 30k old standard to exige was a revelation - no more crashiness (sp?) much less dive and squat under braking and accelarating and much less roll in the corners.

Comfort seemed hardly affected and you can't notice the slight increase in ride height - if you do a search you'll see pics of my car next to caleebras and you can't tell the difference.

I'm with Jon on the VXR set up - it's the same springs and dampers IIRC

[Retset]

So, in summary, if I buy the low mileage VXR units kindly offered and bolt them on I should have much less pitch and roll on the track (and empty roundabouts, lol) whilst retaining a fairly road friendly setup? In essence, it will be like bolting Exige stuff on? If so, I'm highly tempted by this and there's nothing to stop a further upgrade in the future. I don't actually want it lowered particularly much as I like to be able to treat it like a normal car for sudden slope changes, speedbumps etc. so I think I'd rather live with a bit of a gap. That said, one of the above mods would help rake the front if necessary. I'm getting very excited

Edited by Retset, 10 July 2008 - 09:04 AM.

[Jase_MK]

I don't actually want it lowered particularly much as I like to be able to treat it like a normal car for sudden slope changes, speedbumps etc. so I think I'd rather live with a bit of a gap. That said, one of the above mods would help rake the front if necessary.

I'm not a fan of massively lowering the car either, although when I introduced about 10mm of rake on my last VX with adjustable suspension, it really improved high speed stability. The VX has a tendancy to wander a little at three figure speeds. The VXT splitters at the front help a little with this (and are dirt cheap) but lowering the front also helped stabilise the front.

Knowing my luck my standard Bilsteins will probably fall to bits in the next year or so, so this is something I'm looking at too. The only thing putting me off going for VXR/Exige shocks is that it's a missed opportunity to tie down the front a little. It's also nice to be able to wind 'em up for a bit of blasting and soften them off for a long weekend away with the missus...

[barrybethel]

It's worth bearing in mind that, all other things being equal, putting 16 inch wheels on the front adds a bit of rake to the car anyway