Which suspension ?

[anonymous-user]

On the cars last visit to the garage they noticed one of the dampers was leaking.
I've got the standard TVR suspension on the car at the moment and thought now might be a good time to consider something else.

A bit more information
- I don't intend doing any track days (at the moment)
- Most miles are currently done on motorway
- I enjoy twisty country roads for fun (but I'm no maniac)
- Ride height, I have a VERY steep driveway and I can currently JUST reverse the car over the lip of the hill. If the car sat even 1cm lower I couldn't get it down the drive and into the garage.

So what's peoples recommendations?
I've heard Gaz are cheap and cheerful - are they much better than standard setup though?
Nitrons i know are supposed to be best, but probably too expensive given my requriements.
What other options are there? Any idea of cost?

Cheers

[dirty boy]

I've no experience to be honest, but the list i've drawn up...

racing reds
gaz golds
protechs
nitrons
ohlins
intrax

I don't know which way i'll go at the moment, as i'm not exactly a driving god to make the most of the high end stuff.

[JensenA]

I've got Gaz Golds on mine - probably a bit unfair calling them 'Cheap and Cheerful' - they're a big improvement over the standard shocks, and I'm more than happy with them. Nitrons of course are excellent, but twice the price.
If you're not a racing god (like me) then liken it to buying yourself a new 42" LCD TV to replace your old 28" 'Box in the corner' TV. What do you buy? LG, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony? - Buy according to your budget, whatever you get is going to be a lot better than what you currently have.

[spitfire4v8]

There's an argument that goes : if you're not a driving god buy the best suspension you can .. some of the cheaper end stuff is unpredictable on the limit because it's aggressive high speed piston rod resistances cause undesirable grip changes on bumpy roads .. the better quality the damper the more consistent the grip levels ... and remember you might not blast your car on track on the limit so the times when you're going to be using the capability of grip is in incident avoidance situations .. so something that helps you out there by giving you as much grip as possible is surely worth having .. ?
Ive never understood why people are willing to compromise on one of the most important parts of their car ..

[anonymous-user]

JensenA said:

I've got Gaz Golds on mine - probably a bit unfair calling them 'Cheap and Cheerful' - they're a big improvement over the standard shocks, and I'm more than happy with them. Nitrons of course are excellent, but twice the price.
If you're not a racing god (like me) then liken it to buying yourself a new 42" LCD TV to replace your old 28" 'Box in the corner' TV. What do you buy? LG, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony? - Buy according to your budget, whatever you get is going to be a lot better than what you currently have.

There seem to be a number of bad stories about Gaz Golds though:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... to all - Gaz Golds

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... Shock?

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... Gaz professional - squeaking

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... GAZ Golds - any home solution?

This slightly worries me (especially the top story!)

[anonymous-user]

spitfire4v8 said:

There's an argument that goes : if you're not a driving god buy the best suspension you can .. some of the cheaper end stuff is unpredictable on the limit because it's aggressive high speed piston rod resistances cause undesirable grip changes on bumpy roads .. the better quality the damper the more consistent the grip levels ... and remember you might not blast your car on track on the limit so the times when you're going to be using the capability of grip is in incident avoidance situations .. so something that helps you out there by giving you as much grip as possible is surely worth having .. ?
Ive never understood why people are willing to compromise on one of the most important parts of their car ..

What would you recommend Joo?

[sustech]

What have you got on yours spitfire?

I can build a set of Ohlins if you require them. With springs £2000 plus VAT.

www.gmsustech.co.uk

[spitfire4v8]

sustech said:

What have you got on yours spitfire?

I can build a set of Ohlins if you require them. With springs £2000 plus VAT.

www.gmsustech.co.uk

thanks for the offer but i would spec my own thanks

[JensenA]

Bandit said:

JensenA said:

I've got Gaz Golds on mine - probably a bit unfair calling them 'Cheap and Cheerful' - they're a big improvement over the standard shocks, and I'm more than happy with them. Nitrons of course are excellent, but twice the price.
If you're not a racing god (like me) then liken it to buying yourself a new 42" LCD TV to replace your old 28" 'Box in the corner' TV. What do you buy? LG, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony? - Buy according to your budget, whatever you get is going to be a lot better than what you currently have.

There seem to be a number of bad stories about Gaz Golds though:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... to all - Gaz Golds

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... Shock?

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... Gaz professional - squeaking

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... GAZ Golds - any home solution?

This slightly worries me (especially the top story!)

Well in fairness, I've done about 12,000 miles on my Gaz's and they are fine - but it's your choice and your money

[sustech]

spitfire4v8 said:

sustech said:

What have you got on yours spitfire?

I can build a set of Ohlins if you require them. With springs £2000 plus VAT.

www.gmsustech.co.uk

thanks for the offer but i would spec my own thanks

The first line was aimed at you spitfire, just wanted to know what you had on yours. The second line was aimed at Bandit and others.

[Mr.Cerbera]

Hi Bandit,

I replaced my standards with ProTechs at the beginning of the year.
I cannot recommend them. They have 13 positions of adjustment. The first 6 are lethal. I am now on 8 front, 10 rear and they are only just starting to act like my previous, shagged standards.

Good luck in your purchase.

Edited by Mr.Cerbera on Monday 26th October 16:17

[Gazzab]

I think its fair to say that Gaz, Racing Reds, Protechs and AVO have split opinions for a while.
Nitron hardly ever fail to impress.
So I would go for those!
The other option is to try Tuscan S dampers. These are fitted to Steve Heaths LS Cerb I think!?

[anonymous-user]

Gazzab said:

I think its fair to say that Gaz, Racing Reds, Protechs and AVO have split opinions for a while.
Nitron hardly ever fail to impress.
So I would go for those!
The other option is to try Tuscan S dampers. These are fitted to Steve Heaths LS Cerb I think!?

Nitrons - £995 +VAT (inc fitting)

[Gazzab]

Very important to get someone good to fit n set em up. A good set badly set up will be wasted. Get yourself to APM?

[Brummmie]

Luvvin my Nitrons, a few clicks for road or track, very versatile and supple.

[TT Tim]

Bandit said:

Gazzab said:

I think its fair to say that Gaz, Racing Reds, Protechs and AVO have split opinions for a while.
Nitron hardly ever fail to impress.
So I would go for those!
The other option is to try Tuscan S dampers. These are fitted to Steve Heaths LS Cerb I think!?

Nitrons - £995 +VAT (inc fitting)

But not including a full geometry set-up at that price i would guess.

Just remember, you can spend as much money as you want, but if they're not set-up properly they might as well all be the same.

talk to Jools, or APM for set-up advice, both have loads of road and track experience.

Tim

[ro_butler]

TT Tim said:

talk to Jools, or APM for set-up advice, both have loads of road and track experience.

Tim

Or TopCats racing, who spec and set up suspension for a living (not saying the others are no good) and are pretty close by.

[900T-R]

spitfire4v8 said:

There's an argument that goes : if you're not a driving god buy the best suspension you can .. some of the cheaper end stuff is unpredictable on the limit because it's aggressive high speed piston rod resistances cause undesirable grip changes on bumpy roads .. the better quality the damper the more consistent the grip levels ... and remember you might not blast your car on track on the limit so the times when you're going to be using the capability of grip is in incident avoidance situations .. so something that helps you out there by giving you as much grip as possible is surely worth having .. ?
Ive never understood why people are willing to compromise on one of the most important parts of their car ..

EXACTLY...

[gruffalo]

I would go for the standard sports set up from Nitron, they currently have an offer on at £995 + VAT inc fitting if you take the car to Witney.

[anonymous-user]

Have bitten the bullet and gone for the Nitrons with Eibach springs.
Getting them fitted at STR8SIX next week