Compliant Predictable Suspension Setup (Touring / Fast Road)

[phn]

At the moment my Chimaera 450 feels "nervous" at motorway speeds and above - it's quite twitchy and feels like it could snap into oversteer without much warning. (I have new Rainsport 3 all round).

So I am looking to refresh the (rather old) suspension to a new setup which will be:

a) Compliant and comfortable for normal road driving.
b) Confidence inspiring for twisty B roads and (very occasional) track use.
c) Compliant and predictable - hopefully more relaxing to drive than the current "twitchy" setup.

The car is totally standard at the moment, so I was wondering about if I should just replacw the old Bilsteins with new or go for an aftermarket setup. (Protech, Gaz, etc)

Any personal experiences / suggestions on which damper / spring combination to go for?

Many thanks,

Philip.

[andrew_r]

I've recently installed Gaz Mono's and I am having them set up by Mat Smith this week.

So far, I'm really happy with them, they don't feel crashy or twitchy, and that's before they're properly set up. I'm also running 18 inch RL7s all round. My Chimaera was originally specced with the optional Sports suspension which came with stiffer springs/dampers and larger roll bars from the factory. My mono's don't feel any harsher than my original set up.

Others prefer the Tuscan Spec Bilsteins, but I wanted the option to adjust the height and dampening for road and track days.

Andrew.

[magpies]

Personally I'd give Ben at Blackdown Auto a call https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/blackdownautomotive#tab...

The main distributor of Bilstein & Eibach suspension components for all TVR models from Griffith to Sagaris, selling to trade & public. We supply only top quality original equipment, retrofit & upgrade parts, developed by Bilstein & Eibach with TVR. For enquiries contact Ben Lang [phone].

He is THE person to sort out your Bilsteins.

[Aussie John]

I went for new billies but the slightly uprated ones which are very good. The billies are the only ones you can fit and forget for many years as against getting others overhauled every few years. If your car is twitchy maybe worth checking the rear toe-in.

Edited by Aussie John on Tuesday 22 February 16:23

[Belle427]

I went from Gaz Gold's I think they were to the Tuscan S spec Bilstiens and to be honest the difference wasn't night and day.
Gaz stuff gets a bad rep but I don't think it's too bad set up by someone who knows what they are doing.

[QBee]

How many miles have you done on the Rainsports? You do know they need 100 miles or so to bed in and rub off the release agent?

In my experience of running different makes of dampers, they are all fine and it really boils down to how you are using the car, especially if you want to use it on track, when you will want the suspension a lot stiffer just for that day.

[phn]

HI thanks for the replies - probably done approx 700 miles on the rainsports now so they should be OK

[FunkyGibbon]

I know it is a trek for you, but I had a great experience with Chris and Pete at Center Gravity.

My car had 10 year old Gaz Golds - which with correct set up and wheel alignment has transformed the car to one that is (IMHO) epic.

Also, IMHO, good value for money.

https://centergravity.co.uk/

[phn]

Aussie John said:

I went for new billies but the slightly uprated ones which are very good. The billies are the only ones you can fit and forget for many years as against getting others overhauled every few years. If your car is twitchy maybe worth checking the rear toe-in.

Edited by Aussie John on Tuesday 22 February 16:23

Thanks, sounds good - will get the geometry looked at and setup properly when I get the suspension done.

[bobfather]

I changed from Billies to GazGold 8 years ago. Great for track and okay for fast road. Way too harsh for touring. I got a new set of Billies last year and ditched the GGs. Much happier now although it does bottom out more with the billies on

[Classic Chim]

bobfather said:

I changed from Billies to GazGold 8 years ago. Great for track and okay for fast road. Way too harsh for touring. I got a new set of Billies last year and ditched the GGs. Much happier now although it does bottom out more with the billies on

Now that’s interesting. I’m sure Ben Lang can order springs to suit your needs.
Do you happen to know what rates were written on the Eiback springs as supplied.
If it bottoms out I’m assuming the rears will be as low as 275-320 lbs or something like that.

Edited by Classic Chim on Tuesday 22 February 17:58

[bobfather]

Classic Chim said:

Now that’s interesting. I’m sure Ben Lang can order springs to suit your needs.
Do you happen to know what rates were written on the Eiback springs as supplied.
If it bottoms out I’m assuming the rears will be as low as 275-320 lbs or something like that.

Edited by Classic Chim on Tuesday 22 February 17:58

Interesting, I've only been on one fast country road run with them and that's when they were bottoming. Normal driving is generally okay but it did worry me. I'll have a poke around to see what spring rates I've got

[TJC46]

What tyre pressures are you running with the Rainsports ?

I have Toyo's on at the moment and best for me on these is 22 front 24 rear.

[QBee]

The comments regarding 4 wheel alignment rings bells with me. My car was a killer when I bought it, but it had had a ball joint changed to get it through the MOT and no alignment after. Mat Smith aligned it for me and transformed the car for around £100 10 years ago.

[asd2001]

+1 for Bilsteins from Ben, plus 4 wheel alignment = transformed and predictable

[bobfather]

TJC46 said:

What tyre pressures are you running with the Rainsports ?

I have Toyo's on at the moment and best for me on these is 22 front 24 rear.

That does sound low for Toyos. They have softer sidewalls to the original SO2pp's on which the cold book pressures of 22/24 were set. I'd add a couple of psi all round, 24/26 is more commonly used for Toyos on the Chim/Griff range

[GR_TVR]

FunkyGibbon said:

I know it is a trek for you, but I had a great experience with Chris and Pete at Center Gravity.

My car had 10 year old Gaz Golds - which with correct set up and wheel alignment has transformed the car to one that is (IMHO) epic.

Also, IMHO, good value for money.

https://centergravity.co.uk/

I've heard good things about them in the Porsche world. What did they charge for the TVR?

[FunkyGibbon]

GR_TVR said:

I've heard good things about them in the Porsche world. What did they charge for the TVR?

Full day assessment and correction - £400. I only needed a bump stop which they created from a spare GT3 one they has lying around.

Totally transformed the car.

[GR_TVR]

FunkyGibbon said:

Full day assessment and correction - £400. I only needed a bump stop which they created from a spare GT3 one they has lying around.

Totally transformed the car.

Thanks

[phn]

Some very useful replies - thank you all!

I think I'll go for Bilsteins and wheel alignment as has been suggested here - to be honest I never thought about the alignment, but it could well be a big part of the problem.