Who has gone for a Nitron / Ohlin upgrade?

[TUS 373]

Drove a Tuscan S last week back to back with my standard 4.0 S6. My car has 15,000+ on the clock, the demo Tuscan S merely 1,000. The difference in ride quality was noticeably improved in the S. Bumps were ironed out and the car handled like a dream. The steering in the S also seemed lighter i.e. more assisted at low speed.

Now, I've spoken to a couple of experts on the subject and they tell me that the dampers used by TVR as OEM, are not brilliant. One of the difficulties for the damper is that the car is relatively light in weight. Standard units (as fitted to mine) are these 'Bilsteins' made under licence from Bilstein at a cost price of about £25 each ( TVR RRP around £150!).

So, I'm looking at Nitrons and Ohlins. The Ohlins look superb and I am sure they are - but they are more than £2K for a set plus fitting. Nitrons are arounf half the price - and in all reality nearly as good for my purposes.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has upgraded their dampers/springs to either of these products and give me an honest appraisal of the before and after experience. It looks like an important upgrade for smoother ride and road holding, as well as safety and braking. Please give me feedback.

TIA, Bryan

[TUS 373]

Anyone?

[21tvr]

Nick has had Nitrons fitted, and has sung their praises on here many times!

[andyvdg]

b11ocx had his car upgraded by Joospeed. I think the car is for sale - you could test drive it!

[Nick Elliott]

I was just reading other topics before replying to this one! I have had the Nitron dampers & Joospeed springs fitted since January this year after about 11K miles on the original Bilstein “copys”.This was after having a complete geometry alignment carried out & having Toyo Proxy tyres fitted. These two items did make improvements to the handling , but I had never been happy with the standard suspension which was far too soft and tended to bottom out very easily and the car still seemed to wander off line on bumpy or rutted roads. After the Nitrons were fitted they make the car feel totally different initially it was set up a bit too hard for my liking but with 22 way adjustable dampers I soon found the best road setting for me. Now the car feels totally planted to the road it gives you a lot more confidence in driving quick on bumpy roads ie it goes where you point it & stays there no more drifting around .I have not had the car on the track yet but am booked for Zolder next month so will see how it goes there.

Nick