S2 Exige suspension change?

[Si_man306]

Having recently bought an 06 exige S2 i've found the suspension to be extremely hard. I previously ran a bilstein/eibach dampers/springs setup albeit on a 306 rallye and it was spot on- very supportive and firm but supple when not pushing on. For pure track work/ perfect tarmac i'm sure it's great standard but has anyone changed theirs for a set up which is more suitable for road/ occasional track use? Some claim it's too soft for track use but again I can't see how that could be? As much as I absolutely love the car Marble is how I would describe the suspension...

I have only driven the car in very cold conditions (god deciding that the year I finally buy one he'll make it -11 in areas of the UK!) and it has been mentioned on here previously that suspension set ups may feel harder in the cold.

Any advice very much apreciated

[NeilC]

Is it the standard suspension? From the factory it could be unadjustable standard bilstens, 36dia ohlins or even 46dia ohlins. Aftermarket could be anything from gaz to nitron.
Sounds odd to me, try jacking it up the standard stuff will allow the front wheel to drop 6 inches otherstuff about 2.
I'm guessing you've got 36 ohlins on full stiff.

[S Works]

I found the standard setup on the S2 Exige's that I've driven to be incredibly poor. Crashy at best, overdamped and undersprung. The bigger Ohlins are pretty good, but at a price. If you don't want to go to that expense, Nitrons with springs to suit always seem to fair best on the Elise/Exige platform.

[TIPPER]

Its a bit of a trek but it would be worth either travelling to randy at Hoffmans and Mountfort in Henley and ask him to sort the suspension out. He offers his own bespoke Nitron set-ups for the Elise/Exige if he can't sort out your existing set-up.

[cyberface]

Are the supercharged cars softer? I have a bog standard Exige S (well it was completely standard when I bought it... starting to modify but so far only a removable steering wheel) and whilst the suspension is firmer than bog standard VXT, that's not saying much as the VXT is known for being a bit soft. I don't think the Exige is rock hard, by any stretch of the imagination. Well mine isn't... the damping could do with being a bit more controlled, since there is a bit of 'crash' on very poor road surfaces, but the car isn't a ragged mess like you'd expect from some of the criticisms of the standard suspension, in my opinion (which doesn't count for much, I know, but just adding a counterpoint)...

I'm sure my car would be super-ace with Ohlins, but I don't think the spring rates are too heavy (thus causing very hard suspension). I'm happy enough with the standard that I'm not going to bother going for cheaper or half-way solutions (having been told that Nitrons have a habit of leaking, there's conflicting information everywhere), I'll wait until I either have the spare money or my track driving skill has improved to the point where I *need* top-quality suspension (ha, can't see *that* happening) and then get Ohlins. They are the best quality after all, messing about with suspension isn't my idea of fun on trackdays (I'd rather have it set up well and then learn how to drive it than constantly moving the goalposts) and any cheaper dampers that require maintenance or regular rebuilds / leak tests sound like more aggro than benefit.

Are you sure you've got standard suspension on that Exige? It shouldn't be teeth-rattlingly solid, unless someone's messed with it or it came from the factory with trick dampers / higher rate springs (which I haven't heard much about, so assuming isn't common - any experts here know whether changing spring rates is a common Exige suspension mod??)....

[Si_man306]

Thanks guys, when I posted I was aware that people may suggest after-market modded suspension. It was bought from bell&collvill and was billed as standard- I assume uprated would have been a selling point they'd have been keen to point out.

I will get it checked though- interesting that there were several 'standard' set ups from the factory. The dampers were yellow- which suggests ohlins doesn't it as the billies are green I think?

What do you mean by 36dia ohlins on full stiff? Are you suggesting that there were some adjustable coilovers on some standard set ups (or I suppose optional from new frmo the factory). B&C have been near-awful to be honest, rare it seems I know. I might try sinclaires who are nearby or perhaps the others suggested here to take a look.

[NeilC]

I think the spring rates are the same for the n.a. and the S even though ones a bit heavier.
I found my standard stuff fine on the road TBH. I run Randy's nitrons now which are the best of both worlds for me. You run around on the road using the softer helper springs to take out any bumps with the main stiffer springs only coming in to play on track.

[nsm3]

My 06 Exige S has yellow dampers but they are bilsteins.

[Mark Benson]

Also factor in that the A048 tyres will be hard as rock in this weather.

I changed mine for Continental Sport Contacts for the winter and it's made a world of difference to the ride quality in the cold. Though at -6 the other day, they weren't a huge amount better, from freezing up to 5 or so degrees they're a world away on the potholed country lanes round here.

A048s go back on when the weather can be trusted to stick above about 3 degrees, which seem to be when they turn to stone, or the next trackday, whichever is first.

[Sparxy]

Has anyone got any experience of Gaz replacment shocks for the S2?

[S Works]

Sparxy said:

Has anyone got any experience of Gaz replacment shocks for the S2?

Generally not favoured in any Elise/Exige application. There have been some twin-tube vs. monotube damper explanations previously if you search you should find some banter. Generally the 2 schools are Nitron or Ohlins, depending on application. For more track biased people tend to favour Nitrons or the larger Ohlins, for road bias with occasional track people tend to favour the 1-way smaller Ohlins. IIRC, the Nitrons are a racing damper adapted for other applications, the Ohlins a motorbike damper adapted for car use.

[TIPPER]

Worth talking to Sinclairs about Gaz. I think they are working with Gaz to develop the Gazgolds as a cost effective alternative to Nitron/Ohlins options for the Elise/Exige.