Dampers query

[Andy wright]

As an upgrade , the usual suspects seem to be Nitron, Quantum, GAZ Gold and, if you can find them, Ohlins. But  does anyone have any knowledge or experience of the option from Penske? Quite a lot of info on Lotustalk , as they are a popular high end suspension upgrade for the S2/3 that the Americans have . ? I ask having now done a few hundred miles on my Bilsteins , I am not convinced that they control the unsprung weight well. An upgrade is the next obvious step but I have experienced before the difference between ‘ mid range ‘ and ‘ high end’ , and in my view there is one . Any thoughts appreciated . 

[DeanB]

I have never tried Penske. A friend of mine used to use Penske shocks on Renault Spiders and he really rated them - they are a quality product. 

I have Nitron NTR which are very good. In my opinion the spring rates they usually supply fot their fast road kits are way too stiff for use on wet and/or bumpy roads (good on track though). The good news is Nitron will spec their damper kits with whatever spring rates you want - if I was buying again I'd go a fair bit softer. I think a softer spring (relatively speaking, I'm still thinking harder than oem) and firmer damper (which is, of course, adjustable on the Nitrons) is the sweet spot.

3 way adjustable Nitrons would be really really nice, to try and get the low speed ride really nice and still have good body control at higher speeds. One day maybe!

By the way, you are welcome to have a ride in mine to get an idea.

[Andy wright]

Thanks for your reply. Glad to take you up on that offer. Two way adjustment is really nice ( I had two way MOTONs on my Golf R32 ) . Being able to control compression and rebound damping independently is a real advantage  , but one does pay for it . Being able to ask Nitron to back off on the springs rates is a nice option, as I agree with you about their rate selection. Sweet on the track but a bit of a handful on the road. My R32 only had 440lb/ in on the front, and that’s with over 900kg on the front axle ( though the motion ratio is 0.95 so much higher than the Lotus so the comparison isn’t quite what it seems. ) 

[winthattt]

Like Dean, I have Nitron NTR, purchased them second hand but they needed a rebuild so I did not save much.  I can’t compare with other but I find them very good, I also agree with going soft. I think that works on our terrible roads and on track where the car “sits” when you hit full gas and gets plenty of traction.

[Andy wright]

Thanks for that. Another vote for Nitrons but easy on the spring rate . Said really quickly, £1800 doesn’t sound too bad………..

[mattb130]

I’ve got the factory adjustable bilsteins. For me they are comfortable enough on the road to be able to do long journeys but at a couple of clicks be sporty for that evening b road blast. 
 

Occasionally sets do come up but watch out for the Tesla sets which people try and convince you are correct.