Advice please - Best replacement shocks for a daily driver

[taylormj4]

Hi all,
Following from my other thread about how to test shocks (I now know the rear NS is shot), I would like your opinions on what are the best shocks to replace them with.
Importantly, its a daily driver so I need some softness with enough firmness to be able to press on on windy A/B roads.

I've looked at:
Nitrons
Avos
Protech
Bilstein/Eibach springs

I know Nitrons are great but don't think I will get my money's worth out of them on the street
I like the adjustability of the Protechs but have heard of some problems and that they may need regular rebuilds
Found a thread with an unbelievably bad response to a PHer from Avo, which put me off those
So at the moment it's looking like Bilsteins, just a shame that I won't be able to play with settings.

What I could really do with is opinion from PHers who have replaced their shocks on street-driven TVRs.
Any help greatly appreciated.

Matt

[phillpot]

You need a Chimaera one of these.

[Grey Ghost]

I had my original Bilstein's taken off about 3 years ago now as one was leaking and the others were going to quite soon. Replaced them with Gaz Gold Pro's and had the car set up for "fast road use" by TVR Power. Car was transformed into a great handling toy that I still really enjoy driving. I can also stiffen the settings very easily for track days and return to normal setting for the journey home if I want to.

There are always going to be positive and negative responses to this sort of thread and I read a few on here before parting with my money. Bottom line to me was return on investment. The Nitrons and their ilk are excellent but very expensive and I felt I wouldn't get value for money given my car is a weekend toy. As a daily driver you may feel different and benefit from these given their price bracket.

I still have the Bilstein's in boxes in my garage if I ever want to get them refurbished and put back on the car to make it more standard again.

[sascha]

phillpot said:

You need a Chimaera one of these.

hi, is there also a "suspension-wiki" for tam/t350/sag ?

thanks.

[taylormj4]

phillpot said:

You need a Chimaera one of these.

Ha ha, so you're suggesting I buy a set of all of them, try them each for a few weeks and produce a table of results like that are you ? That would be fun....but expensive.

[Trevor450]

The latest generation Bilsteins are a lot better than the originals and are fine for the road. They aren't disgraced on track either. This is the option I went with.

[billynobrakes]

I have AST shocks on my Griff and it drives very good, all who drive her are impressed

On my T350 Gaz Monotubes and they are vey good

Hope that helps

[taylormj4]

Trevor450 said:

The latest generation Bilsteins are a lot better than the originals and are fine for the road. They aren't disgraced on track either. This is the option I went with.

I've been told there wasn't much difference in the actual damper construction of the latest ones, just that the bushings were better.

[Trevor450]

The latest ones are four generations on in terms of construction apparently and I think the rates have been tweaked over that evolution to get the best out of them.

There is an ex-TVR suspension engineer selling sets on eBay for reasonable money. The opinion of the specialist that I use is that they are better than GAZ in terms of quality and are best for road use.

I had a shock blow and leak everywhere which wasn't pleasent on a twisty road and changed the springs and socks for the latest Eibach/Bilsteins and I am very happy with them. They give a nice ride and I really didn't want anything firmer.

One thing I would add is that regardless of suspension options, these cars are very sensitive to geometry and having them set up properly is the most important thing.

[Andav469]

Trevor450 said:

The latest generation Bilsteins are a lot better than the originals and are fine for the road. They aren't disgraced on track either. This is the option I went with.

I have just replaced mine with the latest generation Bilstein's, also with the latest bushes and ride height adjustable.

The original ones have lasted for 16 years/36k miles and still not leaking

[taylormj4]

Trevor450 said:

There is an ex-TVR suspension engineer selling sets on eBay for reasonable money. The opinion of the specialist that I use is that they are better than GAZ in terms of quality and are best for road use.

Yes, I've spoken to Ben. He was very informative and helpful.

Ben advised that you can either replace with original spec Chimaera Bilsteins or you can return your originals for reconditioning and have them tweaked to work with the Tuscan 2 springs, which would give a slightly firmer ride for slightly less money. Although it is only a mechanical overhaul, not cosmetic. He has one customer who has been pleased with this set up.