Nitron/Eibach suspension

[rip]

Dico, that’s Rip’s appraisal....soaks up the bumps better with less roll.

Should we let him off seeing as he has actually driven mine with the Nitrons a couple of times

[abmunro]

Well took my car out for a spin.

The suspension is still very comfortable, I expected it to be harsh and a bit solid.

Anyway handles very well and with the new Turbo it goes really well.

Tony

[rip]

The suspension is still very comfortable, I expected it to be harsh and a bit solid.

That's good news.
Knowing that you went for the hard setup, I expected that you may have significantly sacrificed comfort.

Your Elan sounds like a monster now!

[Elanlover]

Any further updates on these kits and feelings since installing them? Would be curious to hear how the race setup feels on the roads too.

[Nige]

Dropped my dampers off with Nitron today to have the mod/rework done. Will see about fitting them once I have them back.

[Dico]

I've hardly driven mine since.

[rip]

I've hardly driven mine since.

The old Dico is back then

[quentin]

Bob
"I have spoken to Nitron and the price will hold firm as per the group buy for the next 6 weeks after that if you want the kit it will be sold at their retail price.
If any one wants to join the list then please feel free to do so and contact Nitron direct on 01993 849449 or email them info at nitron dot co dot uk"

I contacted Nitron yesterday, and Mark Tapscot confirmed the price until year end for interested LEC members :
"The discount offered to the LEC group has unfortunately since expired. Our high quality products are made to the highest standards and we simply cannot offer our workmanship at these low prices for extended periods. However, for a limited time I am able to offer you the same great price offered to your club. In order for us to be able to give you the shocks at this price, we would need to receive your order before January 1st, when our prices and national VAT increases. I am happy for you to pass this information on to other members of your club and we will honour the same deal (must be LEC members).

The shock kit is offered to you for £1,028.50 with shipping to France at £44.50.
All prices + VAT (currently at 17.5%).
If you require any further information or you would like to place your order, please do not hesitate to contact me. If any of your club members would like to take advantage of this offer, we may be able to reduce your group shipping costs.

Hope this can help Santa Claus

[Karl Martin]

Now fitted without problems.

Driving impressions.

As mentioned before, I am running 400lbs springs at the front, 200lbs at the rear.

The car sits about 20mm lower (improves the look, as the gap between the wheel and arch is almost the same at the top as it is at the sides) and can be lowered further, but the front is already very close to the ground on leaving my drive way.

Finding a dry day or three, has been a challenge by itself over the last few weeks, but I have managed about 150 miles of mixed roads, in between the downpours!

When the shocks are set to half way in stiffness, the car feels more or less the same as the OEM at low speed i.e. quite firm but absorbs bumps without too much jarring.

At speed, however, it is a significant improvement - turn in is quicker, you can flick from corner to corner with virtually no body roll at all (in fact I couldn't detect any, but I am sure an outside photo would reveal some) and whereas before, at high (as in HIGH!) speed, the car would feel somewhat unstable and float somewhat alarmingly, now it is secure and firmly planted. You can take familiar corners at higher speeds as well, (quite a lot higher!) and with the same dated tyres and no LSD, my car simply diggs in and fires round the corners with impressive stability. Bring on the sticky tyres!

Harden the shocks futher and as you might expect, it gives you more of the same, but poor road surfaces are on the limit of what I would describe as comfortable.

On the softest setting, bumps are absorbed more easily, yet body roll is still minimal and stability uncompromised, so this will probably be the setting I will leave it on.

It wouldn't be the first upgrade I would make....that would be an alarm system! ....closely followed by replacing those unbelievably poor brakes with big calipers After that it would be Dave's short shift (with AB cables, of course!) and then the Nitrons....before any BHP increases, because a car with significantly improved brakes, handling and fast gear change, can be driven much quicker, as your confidence levels will be far higher.

If this kit was double the price, I would still buy it and once again a massive thanks to Bob, Rip and all others involved.

[bobbrown]

Karl,

Thank's for the feed back as it is always good to have, good or bad, as with out it you never know if one's efforts have been worth while.

So I take it you have found the adjustment of the dampers easy as there is no getting under the car!

Bob

[Karl Martin]

Dead easy to adjust, thanks, Bob...I have cut neat holes in the rear boot carpets to access the top and the fronts are even easier...a few clicks and your away! As its still new, I keep playing with them all the time!

[madbilly]

Sorry but I've not been able to figure this out - is the "road" Nitron setup ~the same as the original Lotus setup?
Cheers,
Will

[bobbrown]

The road setup is close to the original although the springs are slightly stiffer at 350 lbs/in on the front compared to the original 300 lbs/in and are race type springs.
There is nothing to stop you specifying 300 lbs/in front and 144 lbs/in rears but is has been found that even going to 550 lbs/in on the front with the coresponding rears the ride is not as harsh as one would be led to believe. Do not forget the original setup was for a road car for the general public that any one can drive and as always a compromise between handling and comfort.
The damper settings are adjustable so you can set them to your own preferance for road use and stiffer for track use, the dampers are of a different design to the originals as these are mono tube not twin tube and the damper adjustment is at the top of the damper so no crawling about under the car to adjust them.

There are options on the spring rates and the dampers are supplied to suit the springs ordered, these are a quaility product which is reflected in the price.

Bob

[madbilly]

Thanks Bob, I read all the threads and know how much effort you put into this, good work!

[JonT]

After Rip kindly took me out in his car at Castle Combe, I decided Nitrons were the way to go for mine. Can anyone confirm (Bob?) that the kit below is complete?

I presume top mounts are re-used? What are the 4 little sleeves/rubber washers for? There's no explicit instructions with the kit for the Elan.

thanks,

Jon

[bobbrown]

Fitment is straight forward, the top mounting rubbers are re-used and there are 4 spacers for the rear lower mount along with rubber rings to keep the dirt out of the lower damper ball.
If you need futher details let me know.
You have a choice of spring rates, anything you like really, from the original settings to over double the rate and anything in-between.
I can not say what is best as it depends on what you use the car for but it has been found that even increasing the rates to over 500 lb/in on the front with the corresponding rears does not make the road characteristics to harsh.
Rips if memory cell is working were 350 lb/in on the front with the corresponding rears.
Damper adjustment is from the top and for track use I would wind in fully soft and then increase the rate untill the car starts to feel unstable then back it off a click or two, for road use you may well want to back it off further but if you note the number of clicks it is easy to reset it for the track and no crawling under the car as the adjustment is all at the top.

[JonT]

Thanks Bob (and for the email too)

[rip]

Damper adjustment is from the top and for track use I would wind in fully soft and then increase the rate untill the car starts to feel unstable then back it off a click or two, for road use you may well want to back it off further but if you note the number of clicks it is easy to reset it for the track and no crawling under the car as the adjustment is all at the top.

Jon has already seen the damper adjustment. When we went for a drive from C Combe, we stopped so I could harden the dampers by 4 clicks to see if we could feel a difference.
This was the first time I had ever adjusted them & we were only stopped for about 2 minutes before we were on our way again.

[Dico]

And did you notice a difference Clownface?

[rip]

And did you notice a difference Clownface?

Yes. Were on country roads. Not particularly bumpy ones but bumpier than urban roads or a track. Jon & I both felt that the ride was definitely harsher.
Before I left Castle Combe, I had eased off the dampers back to their original settings.