Scottish Elises

Looking to get something to replace my LSS bilsteins, and mike suggested Nitron streets. Good idea? (Car is purely for street use) If so, where's the cheapest place to get these? Have my MOT in a couple of months and reckon I'll need them for that as the fronts are almost certainly leaking, but given my wife is still on mat leave, money is super tight...

Thanks in advance

James

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Deffo a great option for new, maybe worth hunting down some used kit if funds are tight, I'm sure some folks on here will be able to help there.

What should they cost new?

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from memory they were maybe £600ish

I fitted the Nitron SS to my s1 sport 160 and got a 340r geo with 110/120 ride heights. It was sweet... That was over 1yr ago then sold the car.

Cool, sounds like a decent idea then. All I need is to get some then...

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I have no experience of them myself, but have heard that they are a bit crashy/ too firm.

Dominic wrote:I have no experience of them myself, but have heard that they are a bit crashy/ too firm.

Won't be more crashy than LSS Billies, methinks?

If coin is tight, I'd suggest getting them rebuilt for now. They aren't actually a bad road damper and I'll bet you'll notice a massive difference with a rebuild. Just done this on Elaine's rear billies and I'm expecting them back today. Was £350 for two, but that included replacing the springs and rods, so they are essentially new dampers. A straight rebuild on the 4 without springs won't be double that (springs were £60 a pop).

Where did you get them rebuilt? I was near £500 when I got the rears rebuilt last year!

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Bilstein themselves - Phone this dude, very helpful:

David Masters
Workshop Manager

ThyssenKrupp Bilstein GmbH
Unit 3 Swannington Road | Broughton Astley | Leicestershire | LE9 6TU | England
Phone:+44 1455 283407 | Fax:+44 1455 283301 |


If it cost you £500 from Bilstein themselves, perhaps there's something additional about the LSS that increases cost. I just thought they were the same damper, but revalved and with an adjustable spring seat...?

Not sure on the differences, but it was expensive enough to make me think just buy replacements

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I was £96 per damper for my S2 LSS to get refurbed a couple of months ago.

Dominic wrote:I was £96 per damper for my S2 LSS to get refurbed a couple of months ago.

Was that just a seal job? Elaine's needed rods and we just swapped out the springs as well for peace of mind. Perhaps if jimbos are proper f*cked, that accounts for the near £500 bill for two?

Just to double check, it was Bilstein direct themselves that did the rebuild for you jimbo?

Tbh I don't know, Ali at SLS organised it for me. Maybe Bilstein themselves are cheaper. They had cracked springs I remember were leaking really badly, so almost all parts were replaced. If the front just need a refurb (if...) then might be a good bit cheaper.

So would people recommend that option over buying the nitrons?

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If you're really cash-limited, investigate the cost of a refurb directly. I think everything that could be done was done on Elaine's and they were £350 inc VAT and shipping. I'd imagine Ali would put some time on to remove, ship and re-mount the dampers, he is (was?) running a business, after all.

I understand the Nitron street series are really good if you just want a full new set of dampers with a known fixed price though.