t350 Shock absorber upgrade.

[CSM]

Can anyone provide me with a brief summary of shock absorber upgrade options and the strength of each option. I understand Nitrons are a favorite of some. What are their advantages? Does anyone have Ohlins fitted and what was their advantage over the standard item?

If it is any help I don't do track work and would appreciate a little more compliance than the originals offer. Of course this desire of mine for more compliance may be related to Spring rates rather than dampers?

Any opinions would be welcome to enhance my understanding of the subject.

[RedSpike66]

Hi
I went for the Gaz Gold Professional set up, and its completely transformed the handling....for the better obviously! Definitely much more predictable and stable and less skittish. I have never done a track day, but drive it most days all over the country and for £600 I think its a very good value for money upgrade, and if you live near TrackVRoad, highly recommend them to do the job for you.

Personally, I can't see the value in paying perhaps double for Nitrons, or quadruple for Ohlins for this type of use, plus Gaz have been brilliant at simply swapping the entire set of shocks no questions asked and at no cost when we had the 'cracking' scare a few months back..

Cheers

[sidewayz]

I have Ohlins and although the performance is great the reliability is poor. I had to have one replaced due to leakage last year shortly after having them fitted, two more are back with Ohlins also due to leakage.The first set Ohlins claimed were due to track related damage-the car had not been tracked since they were fitted but Ohlins would not budge.
Very disapointing reliability and service for the money.

Edited by sidewayz on Friday 11th December 22:55

[stub101]

I also recently had Gaz Gold Pros fitted by TrackVRoad and after a couple of replacements due to squeaking etc.. I can honestly say that they have transformed the car and made it much more compliant for my use.

I may do a couple of track days but most of the time is spent on the road so for the price I recommend them as a worthwhile upgrade. If I was tracking the car more then I would perhaps pay for more adjustability/customisation of the shocks (Nitrons or Ohlins) but all depends on your usage really.

The Gaz's get a bit of bad press on here which IMO is a little unfair as their customer service has been impeccable, especially when you hear plenty of bad stories about Ohlins (like above) which cost 4x more!

[Targarama]

Is there a brand that doesn't need replacing? All I hear is owners talking about needing to change their aftermarket shocks for various reasons. This really puts me off. I want to fit and forget. Maybe do a bit of adjusting for track days vs road.

[900T-R]

FWIW Intrax recommends I check back in with them after 40,000 miles or so to see if everything's still OK - even then they said normally they wouldn't need a rebuild at that point if used for road/ocasional track days...

I would add to this that in my opinion, especially for road use you can't have 'too good' a shock - the more precised the valving and the less friction, the better and more consistent grip and traction will be - which is especially poignant on a lightweight car with loads of available torque and wide low profile tyres. The adjustability is of secondary importance at best for road use and the odd track day. Personally I'd either go for a set of new Bilsteins or bite the bullet and get the high end Intrax 1K2 with Black Titan antifriction coating.

[TVR_owner]

Targarama said:

Is there a brand that doesn't need replacing? All I hear is owners talking about needing to change their aftermarket shocks for various reasons. This really puts me off. I want to fit and forget. Maybe do a bit of adjusting for track days vs road.

Get some billies, no need to play with them.

The Intrax shocks may well be a good option, but I would like to know the cost - its a secret apparently..

[900T-R]

Brace yourself -

2,100 euro ex VAT for the 1K2s
2,500 euro ex dreaded with the Black Titan option.

Worth it though (but I'd say that).

[TVR_owner]

900T-R said:

Brace yourself -

2,100 euro ex VAT for the 1K2s
2,500 euro ex dreaded with the Black Titan option.

Worth it though (but I'd say that).

Toooo much money for shocks for a road car, even if it does include the springs.......all IMHO of course.

[900T-R]

Not sure I understand you 'for a road car' condition - if I lose the car on the track (Nordschleife excepted) I'll likely end up in the kitty litter instead of hitting the armco barrier with rear and front ends (if I'm lucky - someone else might be involved in my mishap, too), the conditions are far more controlled on the track and there's always the option of hitting the pitlane if conditions turn rather too rough.

The difference in stability and consistency of grip levels between top of the line suspension and the rest is erm, shocking IMO. Maybe not that much with Tamoras and Sagarii which are known to be the only TVRSs that came with decent settings from the factory (so the difference will mostly be because of component quality), but after converting the RV8 cars and Tuscan Mk1s play in a completely different league dynamically. Makes more sense to me than spending three grand on exhaust manifolds etc. because you're actually sorting the weakest aspect of the car. In temrs of VFM I've got more problems with spending 600 notes for shocks that aren't even monotubes. If you need cheap adjustable suspension for track days, yes - but for a road car?
Oh, springs are included in the Intrax prices of course...

Edited by 900T-R on Saturday 12th December 13:18

[SP6 Animal]

Theres also Racing Reds which are reccomended more than Gaz by dealers for the same money but for simplicity Bilsteins are my call.

[Targarama]

SP6 Animal said:

Just to make sure sorry problem with PH

Did you say something?

You do know about the delete button visible by any one of your posts don't you?

[TVRWazzock]

Targarama said:

Is there a brand that doesn't need replacing? All I hear is owners talking about needing to change their aftermarket shocks for various reasons. This really puts me off. I want to fit and forget. Maybe do a bit of adjusting for track days vs road.

I'm quiet happy with my Nitrons with Eibach springs. They are adjustable so can be adjusted for tracks days then readjusted for normal road use. I've yet to track my Tamora, but will do once I have paid the loan off.

[Targarama]

TVRWazzock said:

Targarama said:

Is there a brand that doesn't need replacing? All I hear is owners talking about needing to change their aftermarket shocks for various reasons. This really puts me off. I want to fit and forget. Maybe do a bit of adjusting for track days vs road.

I'm quiet happy with my Nitrons with Eibach springs. They are adjustable so can be adjusted for tracks days then readjusted for normal road use. I've yet to track my Tamora, but will do once I have paid the loan off.

So they've never needed any 'maintenance' or replacement? Good to hear for a change :-)

What's with the Wazzoock thing Ian?

[SP6 Animal]

Targarama said:

SP6 Animal said:

Just to make sure sorry problem with PH

Did you say something?

You do know about the delete button visible by any one of your posts don't you?

Of course i did what do you take me for a muppet

[Targarama]

SP6 Animal said:

Targarama said:

SP6 Animal said:

Just to make sure sorry problem with PH

Did you say something?

You do know about the delete button visible by any one of your posts don't you?

Of course i did what do you take me for a muppet

You choose which one

[TVRWazzock]

Targarama said:

TVRWazzock said:

Targarama said:

Is there a brand that doesn't need replacing? All I hear is owners talking about needing to change their aftermarket shocks for various reasons. This really puts me off. I want to fit and forget. Maybe do a bit of adjusting for track days vs road.

I'm quiet happy with my Nitrons with Eibach springs. They are adjustable so can be adjusted for tracks days then readjusted for normal road use. I've yet to track my Tamora, but will do once I have paid the loan off.

So they've never needed any 'maintenance' or replacement? Good to hear for a change :-)

What's with the Wazzoock thing Ian?

Hi Trefor

I had the Nitrons fitted at the same time as the rebuild in 2007 by Richard at Dulfords. Richard set them up and I haven't had to do anything with them since, and they have done 18000 miles.

Decided to change my user name as people were calling me Craig. For a joke decided on TVRWazzock - wazzock meaning a stupid and annoying person (also in northern terms an upright turd )

[earlyriser]

Targarama said:

Is there a brand that doesn't need replacing? All I hear is owners talking about needing to change their aftermarket shocks for various reasons. This really puts me off. I want to fit and forget. Maybe do a bit of adjusting for track days vs road.

I went for new T350 specific Eibach springs and new Bilsteins. Inexpensive, great handling (no more grounding out), no squeaks, leaks, or other grumblings. You can also fit them easily yourself for nowt'

[astonman]

Who would have these available to fit or supply for me to fit? Simon

[SP6 Animal]

TVR Power or Racing Green