Nitrons- Spring choices?
Discussion
Hi, my mk1 is so harsh on the already fitted Gaz suspension, I'm looking to replace them with Nitrons, due to the praise from PH members!
Question is, from Powers Performance at least they offer 3 options, I think one is race, one is all Nitron and the other have Eibach springs. The Eibach options are slightly dearer, are they known to be better, it's only used on the road but the roads round our way are pretty rough..!
Cheers,
TC
Question is, from Powers Performance at least they offer 3 options, I think one is race, one is all Nitron and the other have Eibach springs. The Eibach options are slightly dearer, are they known to be better, it's only used on the road but the roads round our way are pretty rough..!
Cheers,
TC
I'd give Nitron a call direct and see what they can do.
I wanted something that was road biased and not crashy and I ended up with 375front and 325rear springs but they can also offer different valving options to help. I opted for slightly softer road biased valving as well and on normal crap roads I have the adjustment around 60% towards the firmer side of things.
Quite a few people I know have fitted the standard off the shelf settings and are happy with them but only once they soften the damper so it's 90% towards the softest setting, leaving little room for further adjustment.
Happy to be corrected but many of the suppliers/dealers will offer different spring rates but not all of them order the dampers individually so you don't always get a choice of the valving too.
My springs are the Nitron ones so can't comment on what effect using eibachs would have. Not a lot I guess if the spring rates are the same although the eibachs I had on my 205gti were very high quality and the ride was very smooth.
I wanted something that was road biased and not crashy and I ended up with 375front and 325rear springs but they can also offer different valving options to help. I opted for slightly softer road biased valving as well and on normal crap roads I have the adjustment around 60% towards the firmer side of things.
Quite a few people I know have fitted the standard off the shelf settings and are happy with them but only once they soften the damper so it's 90% towards the softest setting, leaving little room for further adjustment.
Happy to be corrected but many of the suppliers/dealers will offer different spring rates but not all of them order the dampers individually so you don't always get a choice of the valving too.
My springs are the Nitron ones so can't comment on what effect using eibachs would have. Not a lot I guess if the spring rates are the same although the eibachs I had on my 205gti were very high quality and the ride was very smooth.
Thanks, I just spoke to Nitron and they said typical spring rates would be 400 front 325 rear, and they can change them in 25lb increments, and they can also re-valve the dampers for no extra cost to bias softer or harder. All very good but I still don't know exactly what to order, as they will simply do as I ask!
Still not sure whether the Eibach springs are worth extra, never heard anything bad about them, but I doubt there are many people who have replaced one with the other to give a direct comparison!
Still not sure whether the Eibach springs are worth extra, never heard anything bad about them, but I doubt there are many people who have replaced one with the other to give a direct comparison!
I did a lot of work with nitron back in the day and used to sort out poor riding cars for other garages. One thing i'd say is don't bother with the eibach springs. You might get a slightly lighter spring for a given strength and length (thinner wire for a given strength) , but in the grand scheme stay with the normal spring offered unless you're a must-have kind of guy.
Ta, I think I'll go with the Nitron package direct from them, with slightly softer front springs at 375lb.
Valves- will probably stay with standard ones, if I find I am running them as soft as they will go then I could get them changed, but given most people seem to run in the mid region I can't see this being the case!
Valves- will probably stay with standard ones, if I find I am running them as soft as they will go then I could get them changed, but given most people seem to run in the mid region I can't see this being the case!
Because I don't intend on racing at all, and the roads around our way are so bumpy (uneven and poorly repaired, potholes not so bad) so I'd like to get rid of the bang-crash nature of the front of the car riding over the harsh surfaces.
I really notice it as it is, the car has very little give in the springs even though the dampers are on full soft setting. I figure once I can get it to ride nicely over rough tarmac then I can tweak the damper adjustment to handle nicely. As someone else has good experience of 375lb front springs I also figured that it is not a wild shot!
I do appreciate the input in this thread
I really notice it as it is, the car has very little give in the springs even though the dampers are on full soft setting. I figure once I can get it to ride nicely over rough tarmac then I can tweak the damper adjustment to handle nicely. As someone else has good experience of 375lb front springs I also figured that it is not a wild shot!
I do appreciate the input in this thread
Mr Chips I'm most likely going to order the 375lb front springs, would you recommend the softer valves as well or stick with usual? So long as not out of adjustment I imagine the standard ones will be fine, giving scope for a firmer ride should the council decide to make our roads smooth as silk.... hahaha
I've just dug out my old emails and I went for 375front and 300rear springs so it looks like I softened the rears as well, and definitely went for the road biased valving.
With the damping around 60% towards the firm setting, it's now very similar to the original softness of the bilsteins.
If the roads are bad then I would say this is a good set up that could still be stiffened up quite a bit as there's enough adjustment.
With the damping around 60% towards the firm setting, it's now very similar to the original softness of the bilsteins.
If the roads are bad then I would say this is a good set up that could still be stiffened up quite a bit as there's enough adjustment.
I had lowered the car by 20mm compared to the std setting and the rear did bottom out on some very bumpy roads so have now set the ride height a bit higher (still lower than factory) and haven't had any issues.
It is difficult as everyone is different and their perception of ride quality could be different. I would think just lowering the spring rate, and keeping the harder valving could be a good choice too, plus loads of people are happy with the std spring rates and harder valving!
Even with my settings, it is still stiffer than a normal car!
Where are you based? I'm in Berkshire and you're welcome to come out for a spin :-)
It is difficult as everyone is different and their perception of ride quality could be different. I would think just lowering the spring rate, and keeping the harder valving could be a good choice too, plus loads of people are happy with the std spring rates and harder valving!
Even with my settings, it is still stiffer than a normal car!
Where are you based? I'm in Berkshire and you're welcome to come out for a spin :-)
I'm on the Essex Suffolk border, and thanks for the offer! I'm heading away on Sunday for a couple of weeks, and will hopefully get a few more miles on the Tuscan afterwards before ordering the Nitrons. I'd also like to test the springs I already have to see how strong they are, which would help me decide what to order (as I wound the dampers right down already and still harsh!)
Guess no point in rushing it as was going to order them before I go, but I have a good idea of what I'll be doing now.
Guess no point in rushing it as was going to order them before I go, but I have a good idea of what I'll be doing now.
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