Gaz Shocks/ Lowering ride height

[Sparxy]

Hi,

I've previously posted in here about how I could lower the S2 and had a mixed bag of responses so am still unsure what my options are. From what I can tell the best method is to swap out the old shocks for adjustable height shocks but if anyone knows different I'm all ears.

If new shocks is the best route, I was looking at various options. To be honest I'm not sure I can stretch to £1k for the Nitrons and have seen the Lotus Elise Gaz coilover suspension kit on ebay for £400. Would this be a good replacement of the standard shocks for occasional track day use?

Also would the old shocks have a 2nd hand resale value? They have 20,000 miles of use.


Your feedback is much appreciated :-)

[S Works]

No and no.

If you don't fancy spending out on new Nitrons, then you're probably better off just getting replacement Bilsteins (if they need replacing) and getting lower ride height brackets and a geo to suit.

Gaz will be a step backwards from what's on there already.

[Sparxy]

Thanks for the headsup!

Right, what are these lowering brackets and where can I get my hands on them? I've seen some on elise part but they state only for S1 when putting the S2 shocks on.

[ryan-isla]

Sparxy said:

Thanks for the headsup!

Right, what are these lowering brackets and where can I get my hands on them? I've seen some on elise part but they state only for S1 when putting the S2 shocks on.

How can Gaz be a step backwards when they are adjustable ride height and adjustable damping. Sinclaire's of Romford now sell Gaz, so can't be bad. Go for the Gaz Gold Pro kit. I know of at least one Lotus using them in the Elise Trophy this year.

[chris7676]

I have not used Gaz, but I would be aware of Nitron's "quality" - my adjusters have seized just a few hours after using them (2 of them so far). Otherwise they are supposed to be one of the best dampers.

[Gooby]

Not sure what car you have but I have a set of good bilstiens from my 111r which are looking for a good home.

[Mark B]

Firstly, Gaz won't be a step backwards.... From my understanding they are offering very good budget track day dampers and will offer a lot more than the standard Bilstein/Spring set up which is too soft when on the track.

Having said this, if you really will only do the odd track day, I would go for the standard Bilstein set up, if you want the lower look go with brackets.

As with any damper/spring replacement, get the Geo or at the very least toe set up on the fornt and rear.

[Phil. S.]

I have the Gaz Golds on my Elise and am very pleased with them both on and off the track. Also if you look on SELOC you'll find that everyone who has had these fitted fairly recently (there were some problems with early ones) are perfectly happy with them too. They're rebuildable and come with a two year guarantee. But if your current Bilsteins are ok, the easiest/cheapest thing would be just to change the brackets. This was what I did initially. It was fine, but on track the springs were too soft and the wheels rubbed on the wheel arches, which was why I changed to Gaz (110/120 ride height on an S1).

[Sparxy]

Thanks for all the info.... I'm now more tempted by the Gaz...

However a couple of you have mentioned these brackets to lower the car and although I've googled them for ages, I simply can't find anyone who sells them for the S2.

I've seen them for the S1 but not S2

Any ideas?

[NWTony]

They definitely do sell them for S2 (rover engined) as a friend of mine fitted them to his. He has had no complaints as far as I know. I think he went direct to Gaz.

[NWTony]

They definitely do sell them for S2 (rover engined) as a friend of mine fitted them to his. He has had no complaints as far as I know. I think he went direct to Gaz.

[Sparxy]

NWTony

I meant the lowering brackets. I've been looking at a cost effective way of dropping the ride height by 10-20 mm for a while but can't seem to find brackets that lower the S2.

[Phil. S.]

It may be worth e-mailing eliseparts.co.uk. I assumed you could get these for S2 as well as S1 but I may be wrong. SteveB on SELOC forum also sells brackets and may be worth chatting to.

[Mark B]

Oh, for what it's worth, I would talk to Gaz directly and not necessarily get the Ebay ones. A lot of work has been done in the past 12 - 24 months on the Gaz dampers as a chap from LEDA joined the company. I have no idea if the Ebay ones are New Old Stock.

[fatwomble]

It may be worth waiting a little while until Sinclaire have had a chance to test the new GAZ, they will shortly be getting Walshy to test them on their Camel Exige.

[l7yse]

Hi there, saw your post & had to sign up to pass this on. (my first post!)

I'm considering doing the same as you, lower at a low cost.

Check this out, I think you'll appreciate it:

Lathed bilsteins, with lowered canyon red
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f91/base-suspensio...

Also, there are bilstein sleeve kits available, don't be fooled, they dont work:

Bilstein Sleve kit
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autof...

Lotus talk thread, result, above doesnt work
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f91/bilstein-coil-...

Another lathed bilstein
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f91/what-do-you-ge...

Original "lowered" thread with some links to above
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f91/help-how-do-i-...


Think that should sort you!

[Ab Shocks]

Have a look at the new Gaz kits at Autosport, you might be impressed. 3 way monotubes as well as new alloys

[Mr_C]

Bernard Scouse makes the lowering brackets that SteveB uses, you can probably contact him through the Auto-Teknix website

[TIPPER]

Ab Shocks said:

Have a look at the new Gaz kits at Autosport, you might be impressed. 3 way monotubes as well as new alloys

Sounds very interesting but most of us have enough problems with single way adjustables!!
The main argument against Gaz up till now has been that they are a twin tube design rather than the monotube Konis/Bilstein or Nitron (or Ohlins). (Do a search on Seloc to find a thread by either Randy or Steve B giving a very clear account of why monotubes are superior).
There's obviously a gap in the market for some sort of adjustable damper (not sure if the need is real or perceived!) priced below the Nitrons and with Sincs doing some work with Gaz on these it would be worth talking to Sincs. Nitrons, incidently, rock

[Sparxy]

OK here is where I'm at so far....as I learn morew this is subject to change!

Got some brackets coming from SteveB that can take the front down 25mm but will probably start at 15mm.

For the rears I'm going to have 2 new circlip grooves turned so I can reduce the height by 5 or 15 mmm. Given what I've read I will almost certainly end up not going as low as I could ;-)

Once I've got the front splitter mounted and some good positive rake I'll be happy. Then off to have the geo done!

Incidentally I am running 195's on the front already as an over size on the stock rims. I've read quite a few negative posts about this but I can honestly say I've not experienced any problems. The tyre walls do balloon a little but the front end seems as sharp on the turn in as ever. Maybe not at very low speeds but certainly at anything reasonable. The increase in grip of the R888's more than compensates for any draw backs.

At the end of the day all this is not going to cost the earth and once done it's all reversible if I hate it. I will let you all know how it goes!