Geometry set up and maybe Nitrons

[snmvaio]

I have got until Thursday to decide weather to go for Nitrons or not, the car is a little twitchy at high speeds so the boys at racing green are going to check the Geometry etc to see if it can be improved if not then is is on with the Nitrons, they are going to sort out some other little niggles including a new battery.

What is your opinion on the Nitrons will i really tell the difference, is there a better shock for the money and do i go for the adjustable ones, bearing mind this is my everyday car(driving in snow today was fun) with the occasional track day maybe 5 a year.

Any advice would be helpful

S

Edited by snmvaio on Monday 5th January 16:43

[icraigmy]

Stephen, I have Nitrons on my Tamora, so pop round at the weekend if you want a demo.

Why are you going with RG. Give Richard a call at Dulfords.

[Barry Ashcroft]

I'm going for Nitrons had them on my Westfield ok not cheap but very good.
Hopefully get some deal at Autosport this weekend.

[thainy77]

I've had Nitrons fitted a few weeks now and the transformation is more than i could have hoped for. The car is so much easier to drive on all types of road and then can easily be stiffened up for track.

Definately worth it IMHO.

[justin220]

I thought about getting Nitrons for my T350, but not sure I can justify it. So think I am going to get the new Gaz Professionals. My car doesnt do a lot of track work so I'm sure they will be fine

[snmvaio]

Thanks Ian for the offer, but i need to make a decision before thursday and the way this weather is looking i wouldnt want to risk driving anothers car, thanks any way, as far as why Racing Green and not dulfords, I dont know them, plus Racing green have got alot of specialist equipment to set the geometry up just right.
Thanks
S

[Targarama]

It may well be that the twitchiness you feel can be dialled out with some toe and camber changes. This may not be down to the shocks/springs.

[tail slide]

Nitrons are the dogs' & very good value IMO. With dampers you do seem to get what you pay for, and race-winning performance is a good indication - Nitrons have become very successful in the last 5 years, I've used them on 3 different cars.

My T350 was the first to use their single-adjustables a few years ago, which were a noticeable improvement on the standard very poor quality dampers. Last year Guy supplied their advanced 3-way adjustables, which are even better as they allow you to tailor your car's handling into and out of corners separately to how it rides bumps, and adjust the balance front & rear. The higher spring rates similar to those used on the Sag are now recommended by Nitron and work well on road & track, while being only a little firmer riding. You do of course also need the ride height and geometry to be set correctly, with the rear as low as you can get away with over bumps to minimise lift-off oversteer.

Edited by tail slide on Monday 5th January 23:26

[J_S_G]

snmvaio said:

I have got until Thursday to decide weather to go for Nitrons or not, the car is a little twitchy at high speeds so the boys at racing green are going to check the Geometry etc to see if it can be improved if not then is is on with the Nitrons, they are going to sort out some other little niggles including a new battery.

What is your opinion on the Nitrons will i really tell the difference, is there a better shock for the money and do i go for the adjustable ones, bearing mind this is my everyday car(driving in snow today was fun) with the occasional track day maybe 5 a year.

Any advice would be helpful

S

Edited by snmvaio on Monday 5th January 16:43

Had standard shocks switched for adjustable Nitrons on two of my Tivs, and loved them on both. However... whilst on the Cerb the car was just phenomenally planted, on the Tuscan, they really didn't solve the twitchyness I had... part of that was down to the geometry (some so called geometry specialists were utterly useless), and part of that was down to the tyres.

Reason for saying all that ^^^ ? That I'd definitely get the geometry sorted first. If you've hit any substantial-ish potholes, they're probably out and need doing anyway. Also, what tyres are you running? It's a very personal thing, but whilst I really rate Toyos on the Tivs, and Eagle F1s, and Bridgestone S02s... I utterly abhor S03s - worst tyres I've *ever* put on a performance car. Or, rather, worst tyres I've ever put on the FRONT of a performance car. Put them on the back and some F1s/T1Rs on the front, and it was fine. Again - a very personal thing - but those Bridgestones on the front turned it into a hedge-seeking-missile.

Whilst you're at it - make sure the tyre pressures are spot on (at the right temperature). And that the tread's good on them - can make a noticeable difference. And that the wheels aren't in any way buckled (easy 5 minute check - if that - for the garage)

Oh, and finally... factory shocks on Tivs probably have a lifespan of about 5 years/20,000 miles or so (VERY rough numbers). So if you're coming up on that, you'll probably need to be spending some money on the suspension at some point, anyway, so the upgrade isn't REALLY costing you as much as it might seem if you keep the car for a bit.

OK, this IS finally... If you rarely do a track day, once the Nitrons are set up well, you're unlikely to need to go fiddling with them. Half of the effort if you're serious about getting the characteristics right for *you* is in the spring rates (I went through trying plenty of these in the past!), and they're never going to be "adjustable" as such.

Hope that helps...

[icraigmy]

snmvaio said:

Thanks Ian for the offer, but i need to make a decision before thursday and the way this weather is looking i wouldnt want to risk driving anothers car, thanks any way, as far as why Racing Green and not dulfords, I dont know them, plus Racing green have got alot of specialist equipment to set the geometry up just right.
Thanks
S

No problem.

I would certainly reccomend Nitrons with Eibach springs.

[snmvaio]

Thanks for all your advice, so it looks like a set of nitrons are in order if the geo is not the issue, will let you know once i get my car back

S

[SteveO...]

Coincidentally my T350 is in Racing Green this week, having some work done on its half time bearing. It's also having its Geo' done in lieu of getting Nitrons fitted (the HTB work is likely to eat the Nitron budget).

If you do decide to go for the Nitrons, it would good if you could post up how you get on.

SteveO...

[J_S_G]

snmvaio said:

Thanks for all your advice, so it looks like a set of nitrons are in order if the geo is not the issue, will let you know once i get my car back

S

You never mentioned what you counted as the "high speeds" the car gets twitchy at, by the way... Anything up to *well* past 100 it should be spot on without any need for new dampers. If we're talking, say, sub-120mph, I'd look elsewhere for the fix before Nitrons. Would still recommend them highly, though.

[snmvaio]

It gets twitchy at a round 80 on Motorways and lower speeds on country lanes, it does not fill me with confidence like a Porsche or ferrari, yet when raced against these cars the t350 has stomped all over them, admitedley not my t350 which is why i think it is the set up as my car does feel less stable than the other one i drove with any anger, or it is purely down to buggered shocks.

S

[PYNEY]

hi,
my tam was twitchy in country lanes , had the geometry done but it made no difference
it turned out that one of the front shocks had a leak so changed the fronts to "racing reds"
and "wow" what a change to the cars handling no more bouncing around ,i dont do track days so went for the cheaper option
and i'm very pleased great for general road use, going to have the rears done now !

ps had a problem at high speed also ! it turned out to be a vibration from the rear of the car
which was caused by two buckled wheel rims so racing green changed these for me used there
wheel balancing system which cured all my problems great service

cheers keith

Edited by PYNEY on Wednesday 7th January 09:44

[Targarama]

snmvaio said:

It gets twitchy at a round 80 on Motorways and lower speeds on country lanes, it does not fill me with confidence like a Porsche or ferrari, yet when raced against these cars the t350 has stomped all over them, admitedley not my t350 which is why i think it is the set up as my car does feel less stable than the other one i drove with any anger, or it is purely down to buggered shocks.

S

Then you either have faulty shock(s)/springs/bushes or the geo is way out.

[J_S_G]

Targarama said:

snmvaio said:

It gets twitchy at a round 80 on Motorways and lower speeds on country lanes, it does not fill me with confidence like a Porsche or ferrari, yet when raced against these cars the t350 has stomped all over them, admitedley not my t350 which is why i think it is the set up as my car does feel less stable than the other one i drove with any anger, or it is purely down to buggered shocks.

S

Then you either have faulty shock(s)/springs/bushes or the geo is way out.

But if by "twitchy" you're justs talking tramlining on the inside lanes of motorways, then that's to be expected... to a degree.

[snmvaio]

By twitchy i mean the slightest bump the car jumps around, so on corners in speed it can jump across the road by several inches and makes for a very exhausting journey

[Ryder35]

snmvaio said:

By twitchy i mean the slightest bump the car jumps around, so on corners in speed it can jump across the road by several inches and makes for a very exhausting journey

Mine seems the same to me, especially compared to other cars including my old S1 Elise. Geo was done 1500 miles before I got the car. Speaking to a couple of dealers they both implied that it is a characteristic that you need to get used to but that upgrading the shocks would cure it. Do people agree with this sentiment?

[tail slide]

snmvaio said:

By twitchy i mean the slightest bump the car jumps around, so on corners in speed it can jump across the road by several inches and makes for a very exhausting journey

Definitely very wrong! Agree with Targa geo long way out, or one or more dampers performing very differently to rest.

For info I had similar result when experimenting with settings few months back, seeing what happens at far ends of adjustment; so set rear Nitrons to stiff bump & rebound and left the fronts soft.....

the rear wanted to overtake at any opportunity despite steady throttle