Fitted Life Bilstien dampers
Discussion
Very interested to hear more about this. Does it make a difference to ride and directional movement only, or does it also help with motorway stability (I find the front end lacks confidence on less than smooth surfaces at high speed - the section between junctions 9-11 of the M25 makes me nervy!)
faisalosman said:
Very interested to hear more about this. Does it make a difference to ride and directional movement only, or does it also help with motorway stability (I find the front end lacks confidence on less than smooth surfaces at high speed - the section between junctions 9-11 of the M25 makes me nervy!)
Have you tried the Life110 geo settings (available from the website)? I found that made a significant improvement to the slightly twitchy feel around the straight-ahead at high-speed.Yep, there is a definite improvement with the Life geo. I also fitted the springs and the small lip spoiler too. All positive. My current thinking is that on poor road surfaces at high speed, the car loses a bit of confidence because the damping is lettering it down, i.e. there is insufficient contact with the road when undulating. That's why a change in road surface (a la M25 at J9-11) is causing grief. I may, however, be off-point, thinking that I am cleverer than I am...
Also running the Life110 springs and dampers here, the car feels very different to stock. In some ways much more like a more 'normal' good sports car set up but with many of the associated attributes of the A110 still there. When I say 'normal' I mean as opposed to the rather soft OEM Alpine settings. The differences when you really start to push on are quite dramatic in terms of composure, I absolutely drive the car quicker, whether this is a good or a bad thing is personal preference. One positive (for me) is that you can run the car at virtually OEM ride height, personally I didn't want to lower the car so that was a big positive point.
Downsides - not many really, whether you like the firmer set up is personal preference rather than right or wrong, there is some additional noise over pot holes and around town the low speed ride is a bit lumpier as you would expect. Over harsh pot holes transmission of noise through the architecture of the car is a tad more pronounced and has an ever so slight 'aftermarket' feel to it.
That said I never though the secondary ride in the stock car was as good as all the journos claim !! Damping quality is better than OEM but still not super buttery, pretty much as I expected as this kit is at the lower price point Life110 are working at. I don't know because I haven't had chance to try any but I suspect the higher quality damper options may well round off the slight harshness to the secondary ride ?
What I really like is that when you up the pace on a challenging undulating B Road the car still behaves like an A110, it still feels like you are driving a car with good amounts of suspension travel that breathes with the road rather than beating it into submission, I'm still running the soft ARB's which probably helps with this ?
Downsides - not many really, whether you like the firmer set up is personal preference rather than right or wrong, there is some additional noise over pot holes and around town the low speed ride is a bit lumpier as you would expect. Over harsh pot holes transmission of noise through the architecture of the car is a tad more pronounced and has an ever so slight 'aftermarket' feel to it.
That said I never though the secondary ride in the stock car was as good as all the journos claim !! Damping quality is better than OEM but still not super buttery, pretty much as I expected as this kit is at the lower price point Life110 are working at. I don't know because I haven't had chance to try any but I suspect the higher quality damper options may well round off the slight harshness to the secondary ride ?
What I really like is that when you up the pace on a challenging undulating B Road the car still behaves like an A110, it still feels like you are driving a car with good amounts of suspension travel that breathes with the road rather than beating it into submission, I'm still running the soft ARB's which probably helps with this ?
springfan62 said:
I am planning to do just the dampers and geo, not the springs. I like the softness but would like to improve control.
Any one done this?
Control is what I felt the car lacked whilst pushing on using our naff British B roads and unfortunately, more often than not, our motorways! These new dampers certainly improve the feel of the car over OEM, possibly the Rock-shocks on my MTB would have been an improvement.Any one done this?
I was talking to the owner of a A110 used for hill climbing, he upgraded to rose jointed dampers but its not a daily and used mainly for the hill.
springfan62 said:
I am planning to do just the dampers and geo, not the springs. I like the softness but would like to improve control.
Any one done this?
No, I haven’t done this on my Alpine, but I have with another car.Any one done this?
I’m the same as you – I like the softness, although I suspect my MY22 is not as soft as MY18 cars.
I’ve not done anything with my A110 yet - I was waiting for the Life 110 R53, & now I think I’m waiting for the AST kit instead. I’m very much hoping the road version spring rates that are offered will not be too high. Unless David Pook persuades me otherwise, I will be keeping the standard ARBs. I’m concerned David will release the AST road kit without having had the opportunity to see how it goes on cold wet roads. I don’t want the car to start snapping out in the wet.
I remember upgrading my Elise 135R (which came with a Bilstein factory upgrade) to Ohlins, & the car was more comfortable (perhaps slightly softer) than before, but I had a much better feeling for the road & more grip in all conditions. It just felt as though the dampers were reacting very quickly to every little bump in the road, whereas the Bilsteins’ response to any input was sluggish. This “Ohlins feeling” I remember, is what I want for my A110, although I suspect I won’t get it from AST, whereas I could get it if I was prepared to pay for & wait for an R53 kit.
I went on to completely ruin my Elise’s road manners with re-valved dampers & higher rate springs, because I was optimising the car for dry track days, but I won’t tell that story now.
faisalosman said:
TBH, the only way one would have a comprehensive, objective evaluation is for a three-way test with all other variables equal. I don't know if that is possible, so I would (and do) trust Dave's opinion, having been involved in the development process for each.
Virtually impossible to set this up isn't it, try before you buy with suspension is really difficult, thus you usually have to trust/rely on individuals with the necessary experience. We're very lucky that we have someone with Life110's experience working on the Alpine to guide us through the choices !!faisalosman said:
TBH, the only way one would have a comprehensive, objective evaluation is for a three-way test with all other variables equal. I don't know if that is possible, so I would (and do) trust Dave's opinion, having been involved in the development process for each.
David didn't do the work on the Bilsteins, that work was done by Mecaparts if I remember rightly. David 'signed them off' as something he's happy to sell thoughworldwidewebs said:
faisalosman said:
TBH, the only way one would have a comprehensive, objective evaluation is for a three-way test with all other variables equal. I don't know if that is possible, so I would (and do) trust Dave's opinion, having been involved in the development process for each.
David didn't do the work on the Bilsteins, that work was done by Mecaparts if I remember rightly. David 'signed them off' as something he's happy to sell though
biggles330d said:
Has anyone fitted the AST coilovers that Life110 now sell. I'm curious about the road set up v standard (non- S).
I think David only went live with these yesterday so I doubt it yet, like you very interested to hear feedback ? I’ve discussed the R53’s with David and he’s just been really busy so hasn’t finished development of them yet. These look like a sensible price point between Bilstein’s and the anticipated R53’s. Interesting that he recommends the S ARB’s with the track set up.Simon Owen said:
I think David only went live with these yesterday so I doubt it yet, like you very interested to hear feedback ? I’ve discussed the R53’s with David and he’s just been really busy so hasn’t finished development of them yet. These look like a sensible price point between Bilstein’s and the anticipated R53’s. Interesting that he recommends the S ARB’s with the track set up.
I've got the S ARBs on my Pure with Life springs. You're welcome to come for a test drive if you want to feel what they're likeworldwidewebs said:
Simon Owen said:
I think David only went live with these yesterday so I doubt it yet, like you very interested to hear feedback ? I’ve discussed the R53’s with David and he’s just been really busy so hasn’t finished development of them yet. These look like a sensible price point between Bilstein’s and the anticipated R53’s. Interesting that he recommends the S ARB’s with the track set up.
I've got the S ARBs on my Pure with Life springs. You're welcome to come for a test drive if you want to feel what they're like Likewise you can compare with the Bilstein's too. Out of interest where did you you fit them / was it time consuming ? My car is a non S with Life100 springs + the Bilstein dampers set pretty much at stock ride height. It works really well but there remains some 'roll' still, not necessarily a bad thing but I'm keen to see how the S ARB's affect things. We can do a Wales trip, leave dates with me and I will get back to you - even if there is just the two of us !!worldwidewebs said:
biggles330d said:
Has anyone fitted the AST coilovers that Life110 now sell. I'm curious about the road set up v standard (non- S).
Yes, there's a chap on the FB group that fitted them a week or so back. I'm due to get the track version fitted on the 14th if they're in stockIt would be great to see a back to back test across the various options with a respected journalist to give some objective perspective on the differences found.
The Intercooler seems to have Dan Prosser (owner) and David Twohig (Alpine Chief Engineer) and Henry Catchpole (fan) on the staff. Could be a really insightful article!
The Intercooler seems to have Dan Prosser (owner) and David Twohig (Alpine Chief Engineer) and Henry Catchpole (fan) on the staff. Could be a really insightful article!
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