Upgrading the standard coil-overs for road use.

Upgrading the standard coil-overs for road use.

Author
Discussion

Brerabit

Original Poster:

74 posts

106 months

Friday 22nd May 2015
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Is there a worthwhile, value for money, upgrade to the standard Bilstein/Einbach coilover setup for road use on a Chimaera.

Ideally, I would like an adjustable setup so that both ride height and shocks can be fine tuned over time to get the best compromise between handling and dental preservation and then leave it alone - I don’t want to be servicing no-compromise setups every couple of years. However, if the factory setup can’t be significantly improved without chasing the laws of diminishing returns, I can live with that - I just don’t want to miss the opportunity for a worthwhile upgrade.

I’ve recently acquired the car with 80k on the clock but enough slack in the price to justify lifting the current 3.9 to a 4.6L Warrior upgrade and induction package from V8 Developments and an ACT end-to-end exhaust upgrade. The chassis’s good and replacing bushes is a given, I now just need to get the very tired suspension sorted before I get it re-trimmed.

The car will never see a track day, but it will need to survive urban road surfaces before it reaches open country and once or twice a year it’ll be making trips to the Languedoc in the South of France. In other words I want to get the best out of what I think is potentially a great all round open top sports car - not develop it as a race or trackday car.

WokingWedger

1,030 posts

204 months

Friday 22nd May 2015
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I fitted adjustable 'Racing Reds' several years ago and the improvement was amazing.

However the improvement may have been just as good with new Billies. They are reckoned to be quite good when new !

mk1fan

10,507 posts

224 months

Friday 22nd May 2015
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Adjustable shocks are - as far as I am concerned - a part that requires periodic servicing. If you want to remove that then your option is the fixed units.

As for which is best. Well opinion is wide on that one. You'll find people who don't like each unit for varying reasons. Unfortunately, you'll either have to grab a test ride in different cars with different shocks or read loads and take a punt. Given the price of the units then this can be hard for some.

I would add that for road use ride height and tyre/wheel size are the primary considerations. Then there's damping, spring rates .........

Tamy looked great when I first got her. Rode and drove appaulingly though. A matching set of boots made a big improvement but the biggest improvement was Mat Smith doing a geo set up for me - Nitron Racing Reds fitted by the previous owner. The biggest change was raising the ride height.

Whereabouts are you? Can't speak too highly enough about Mat Smith. He did a spot on job on Tamy. Talks to you in a clear and understandable way. Plus allows you to stand and watch him work. Once Samy is back on the road the first visit (after the MOT station) is to Mat's to get a set of Gaz Mono's fitted. It's about a 180-mile round trip (including getting out of London) but worth it. Samy does trackdays aswell as road duties though.

Andav469

957 posts

136 months

Friday 22nd May 2015
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Why not go for a new set of Bilstein's, the latest ones for the car have uprated bushes and have 3 settings for the ride height.

I changed mine in February this year and was very surprised to find a huge difference, my old ones weren't leaking and had only covered 36k mikes

QBee

20,904 posts

143 months

Friday 22nd May 2015
quotequote all
Advice so far is good.

Where are you located? Put it on your profile please - it helps us help you.
Mat Smith is 30 miles north of Cambridge, by the way. He is excellent and will advise you without bias. 01366 386004.

Racing Reds, which were made by Nitron Racing, are no longer available. Nitrons are around £1500 a set.
The latest Bilsteins are cheaper and have received good reviews. I think they are in the region of £700 but someone will correct me.
Adjustable dampers tend to need servicing every two to three years. To be fair, Gaz refurbished mine for free.
Gaz Gold Pros are around £600, Gaz Monos are around £900. Protechs are also used by some. Not sure on price.

Brerabit

Original Poster:

74 posts

106 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
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Thanks guys, a lot of really useful info. I think taking everything into account I heading towards the Billies on the basis they should be right for the way the car will get used and also have a reasonable life. Not sure whether I need new springs. Am I correct in assuming that if they don’t look damaged and the ride height is right they should be good to go? Which brings me to the next point what is the correct ride height? I’m guessing it’s measured at the sills.

mach2

226 posts

233 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
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Had mine professionally set up by "old school" means using Dave Gallop at Track Developments near Castle Combe.
Transformed the handling of my car. He took all his measurements for ride height from the chassis as this is relevant to the wishbone / shocks / hubs / etc.
Mine is set at 130mm front and 138mm rear providing a slight rake to the set up. Best money I've spent on the car so far in terms of driveability thumbup
I'm running adjustable Protechs.

QBee

20,904 posts

143 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
quotequote all
Ride height done by the pros.....they get your rear lower wishbones absolutely horizontal, with the car up on the ramp. Then adjust the front ride height to give the car about 15-20 mm rake downwards towards the front. Usually ends up with the rear corners of the outriggers around 155mm from the floor, front corners 135-140mm from the floor

Brerabit

Original Poster:

74 posts

106 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
quotequote all
Thanks a lot for your input QBee - Having spoken to Matt I’m not only seriously impressed, I’ve moved away from the Billies and on his recommendation, I’m going for the Gaz Mono’s and I’m also going to let him sort out the entire undercarriage and setup. I just wish all these really useful people weren’t way off in East Anglia…

mk1fan

10,507 posts

224 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
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Clearly didn't read my post then getmecoat

Brerabit

Original Poster:

74 posts

106 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
quotequote all
Certainly did mk1fan and based on my stipulation for low/zero maintenance it was very sound advice and definately ‘steering’ me towards the fixed Bilsteins - and sincere apologies for not crediting you also for recommending Matt and Gaz Monos
The more I’ve thought and talked about this, nothing else on a TVR is fit and forget and it’s unrealistic to expect the vital bits that control contact with the road to not need some attention from time to time - it seems a small price to pay for getting everything optimised with the minimum of compromises and maximum grin factor.

QBee

20,904 posts

143 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
quotequote all
mk1fan said:
Clearly didn't read my post then getmecoat
Clearly did.....you told him what great service and impartial advice Mat would give. I merely added the phone number. Well done Stewart.

mk1fan

10,507 posts

224 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
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Thanks for feeding my divaesque stropping biggrin

SILICONEKID345HP

14,997 posts

230 months

Saturday 23rd May 2015
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These are my Babies cool