Ride Height Adjustment - Nitrons

[whaleys]

yes, definitely

OK, will try to do that tomorrow.

[roadboy]

Pretty sure you'll struggle with droop travel if you raise it much above that with the old style

Maybe 5mm.

Dan

[Ferg]

If it's relevent when compared to an S1, I have the older style rods and I run 105F/115R and I get very little droop. So much so I've been thinking of lowering to increase the droop characteristics.

TBH I was a little dissapointed that I didn't know all this before getting them rebuilt so I could have got the longer rods fitted, but hey ho, next time.

[mckeann]

its quite expensive to rebuild them in the longer spec, need to change the rods and the body, onto of the revalve price. Its still cheaper than buying new ones though, and its totally worth it.

[campbell]

Graeme, if you rarely put the car on track, have to climb over road furniture a lot, and want to enjoy road runs on our now shockingly badly paved UK roads, you should seriously consider standard S2 suspension again too.

You can do the sums yourself against the tweaks, changes, rebuilds etc etc and it may well be that adapting your Nitrons is still the way to go. HOWEVER it's possible to throw a lot of money and time at this kind of thing and end up with a right Rubik's Cube of a mess

IMHO, the Lotus handling engineers got most things just right with the Elise for the majority of conditions they have to cope with, so don't rule that out completely. An important point is compliancy of suspension through the exit of road corners, where undulations can mean racetrack setups will lift wheels all over the shop and ruin traction which actually slows you down and upsets the car on the public road.

Not taking away from the various (and consistent!) tech advice here, btw...you have all you need to do it right, but just don't fall into the trap of thinking "uprated kit = better kit". It's all about fitness for your preferred purpose

Campbell
(S2 bilsteins on an S1 after running crazy Spax for a few years previous!)

[whaleys]

Thanks for the advice Campbell you are right, it's easy to get carried away or just focus on what is there rather than taking a step back a reassessing things.

I do like the look of the Elise lowered but I'm beginning to feel mine is too low. So I'm going to measure the droop so I can find out how much I can raise it and if its not possible I may look at alternatives.

Instead of going back to standard I had looked at the Nitron Street series which seems to give as much adjustment as I'd like and still give a reasonable ride height that can be lower than standard. I figure I can always sell the Nitrons I have to help fund a replacement set.

Still I'll see how things go with what I've got.

Graeme

[campbell]

Yep, all very sensible. Take your time to get it just right, everyone has different needs. Nitron Streets are good in their own way I hear, but TBH the S2 always looked "just right" on its standard setup - just a personal view though! I like the lower look of my S1, as it happens, but this is due to the brackets which are shipped by Steve Butts to adapt the S2 bilsteins correctly. A useful side effect...except on the occasional traffic "cushion"! The S1 always seemed just a little high as std.

[whaleys]

Chaps,

I have measured the droop on the suspension and though knowing very little about the process I'm guessing from the measurements it does not bode well.

The differences in the standard height and when it's jacked up are:

Rear - 35mm
Front - 45mm

If I can raise it even marginally it would help. I measured the clearance between the ground and the underside of the splitter bit/clam at the very from and it was less than 90mm which means I'm finding I just keep catching/damaging that section, even when I'm being careful.

Ta,
Graeme

[roadboy]

I would raise the front 10mm but leave the rear as it is.

Dan

[robin]

You could also consider changing the brackets to give an increased ride height whilst preserving what droop travel you have.

I don't know if Nitron have brackets they sell to achieve this; eliseparts sells a variety of brackets but I think they will all result in a lower ride height which is not what you need.

Might be worth talking to both Nitron and Eliseparts - I'm sure they'll both be able to tell you if they have brackets that would result in a rise in ride height.

Cheers,
Robin

[campbell]

And presumably a decent machine shop could make some to a supplied spec, if not?

The dimensions of the bracket may be fairly std, but if you specify where the drill holes are to be, that would seem simple on the face of it.

Would there be liability risks or concerns for such parts supply though...trying to remember who Steve Butts got to make his brackets...was it maybe Bernard Scouse?

[robin]

For the rears, you need to get the dimensions fairly accurate so that the top hat washers pinch the spherical bearing/o-rings properly - too tight and the joint will bind; too loose and the o-rings won't seal and you'll get grit in and destroy them.

The steel grade and thickness the EP ones use is on their website I think, so is just a matter of finding somebody who can bend that steel ...


For the fronts, you can just drill new mounting holes in the strut that the bracket bolts to.

Cheers,
Robin

[whaleys]

I would raise the front 10mm but leave the rear as it is.

I think I'll do that for the time being.

With regards to brackets I'm wondering if raising it 10mm isn't enough if I should think about taking Campbell's advice and reviewing the suspension all together. If that was the case and I was to sell the Nitrons currently on the car, what would the likely resale price be for them? I've properly checked and they are the Nitron NTR Sport with the springs at the time of purchase 400lb front 475lb rear.

As always I appreciate all the advice

[tut]

Dead easy, you can make them up in a little village in Switzerland.

tut

[roadboy]

I'd stick them on eBay and you'll probably get £700-£800 for them. Far more than they are realistically worth.

You can then use that money to get some spanking new NSS which will be comfortable at a ride height more suitable to your use.

Dan