SPAX Suspension
Author
Discussion

czechmichal

Original Poster:

48 posts

188 months

Wednesday 27th November 2013
quotequote all
Hello.
Does anybody have an experience with SPAX TRAK suspension?
I have 2009 Roadsport 2.0 with the basic Bilstein suspension and it seems too soft for trackdays and also i want to change 15´´ wheels for 13´´ with CR500 (OR ZZR) and the change of suspension for ajustable one was recommended due to oil sump height. Sometimes i scratch it having a passenger and with 13´´ wheels it´s gonna get about 1,5cm lower.
And is the wide track S3 the same as SV suspension?
Thank a lot, i don´t have so much experience

framerateuk

2,935 posts

213 months

Wednesday 27th November 2013
quotequote all
I can't tell you anything about SPAX suspension, but I do have the adjustable suspension on my Roadsport 140, and being able to adjust it made quite a difference.

My sump was quite low initially, so it's now setup a few cm higher with the 15s for touring, but I have some 13s for track (I haven't actually used them yet though), but with the current car height, it should have enough clearance even with the 13" wheels. It's quite easy to adjust once you've done it once and have the correct tools smile.

I can't say I've ever noticed the suspension being too soft, but then at my height settings, it's possibly compressed a bit more. Mine is also wide-track, if that makes a difference.

Red Seven

158 posts

226 months

Wednesday 27th November 2013
quotequote all
The settings of the standard bilsteins have been well chosen to suit the dynamics of the Caterham chassis.

Even with multiway adjustable dampers there is no guarantee that suitable settings can be achieved.

For each change of spring rate, similar adjustments to the damping are also required.

Most "adjustable" dampers only adjust the low speed damping, where a combination of high, low, bump, and rebound changes may be required.

I would be very wary of "upgrading" to any damper unless there was a proven evidence of their performance.

I recall a couple of years ago, a potential customer complaining that a well known damper manufacturer would not supply a set of dampers because that customer simply wanted a set of dampers for his Caterham.

The supplier wanted to know various parameters of the chassis dynamics (such as chassis mass, unsprung mass for each corner, actual spring rate, effective wheel rate, etc).

The supplier was well aware that wrongly specified (but good quality) dampers, would perform worse than an inferior, but well matched combination!


If wishing to change the springs and dampers, I would seriously consider a well proven package such as the Nitron dampers as specifically specified by Meteor Motorsport.

http://www.meteormotorsport.com/suspension/faulkne...

I have no connection with Meteor, but know several very happy customers using this set up.

BSA

98 posts

187 months

Wednesday 27th November 2013
quotequote all
I have been using the Meteor Motorsport Nitron's for the last year and they transform the handling of the car

czechmichal

Original Poster:

48 posts

188 months

Wednesday 27th November 2013
quotequote all
I know it´s not easy to choose good suspension for a car. The Nitrons are well known and proved and i wanted those from Meteor Motorsport. But they are quite expensive. So i asked about SPAX if someone have experienced them and can recommend them.
Someone is selling them now on ebay.
Those one the car don´t have the height setting and as i said, with 13´´ wheels i will have troubles with oil sump clearance.
Thanks for your opinions.
Is the widetrack on S3 the same as the SV?

Red Seven

158 posts

226 months

Wednesday 27th November 2013
quotequote all
czechmichal said:
Those one the car don´t have the height setting and as i said, with 13´´ wheels i will have troubles with oil sump clearance.
Why not add adjustable platforms to your existing dampers?
http://www.caterhamparts.co.uk/product.php?id_prod...

czechmichal said:
Is the widetrack on S3 the same as the SV?
The springs and dampers ARE the same on the SV and wide track S3.

czechmichal

Original Poster:

48 posts

188 months

Wednesday 27th November 2013
quotequote all
Red Seven said:
czechmichal said:
Those one the car don´t have the height setting and as i said, with 13´´ wheels i will have troubles with oil sump clearance.
Why not add adjustable platforms to your existing dampers?
http://www.caterhamparts.co.uk/product.php?id_prod...

czechmichal said:
Is the widetrack on S3 the same as the SV?
The springs and dampers ARE the same on the SV and wide track S3.
Thanks a lot. That can solve the problem until i got money for Nitron.

SimonRogers

146 posts

187 months

Thursday 28th November 2013
quotequote all
Hi I am Meteor Motorsport. So I'l not be advertising.

Red Seven is absolutely correct. Unless the damper is specifically matched to the car then it is likely to be worse than the well specified Billies.

I have seen most combinations on the dyno and there can be significant differences.

The adjustable platforms are the best solution for now until you can afford the phone callhttp://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/imgs/4.gif

czechmichal

Original Poster:

48 posts

188 months

Thursday 28th November 2013
quotequote all
SimonRogers said:
Hi I am Meteor Motorsport. So I'l not be advertising.

Red Seven is absolutely correct. Unless the damper is specifically matched to the car then it is likely to be worse than the well specified Billies.

I have seen most combinations on the dyno and there can be significant differences.

The adjustable platforms are the best solution for now until you can afford the phone callhttp://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/imgs/4.gif
Thank you, Simon

czechmichal

Original Poster:

48 posts

188 months

Thursday 28th November 2013
quotequote all
Simon, i didn´t get your point about phone call. I can afford a phone call of course, but now i can´t afford the suspension set. I´ll do some man-math smile