Anyone using AST suspension on their Trophies ??

[neilc]

Hi guys , I had thought that I would go for the Nitron Damper setup that K-Tec are developing for the Trophy but have read great things about AST.

And I just wondered if anyone on here has them fitted and what they think ?

Cheers

Neil

 

[Badgerman85]

SirDave had the H&Rs fitted and rated them quite highly! Not heard of anyone using ASTs as a replacement for the Sachs, no luck tracking down a set of Sachs front units ??

 

[neilc]

Yes I had read about the H&R , K-Tec say to wait for the Nitron dampers they are developing if not they say that the Spax RSX setup is excellent as well.

The reason for asking about AST is I note that a lot of race Clio's have these fitted so they must be pretty damn good.

Decided to go for fully adjustable setup instead of sourcing Sachs fronts now , will be better suited to the track.

 

[Trouser]

AST are good and will be better suited to the track as thier experience with the racecars helps with valving them properly as you say. Although they are very expensive and can be a pain in the arse to contact if you need to.

I would await a price on the nitrons. I had a set of Gaz golds on my old cerbera, and I had a drive in another one which had the nitrons fitted and I was blown away. Its amazing the difference a good set up makes. Not saying on a clio it will be the same etc, but I would certainly wait to see what they come up with and if the price is realistic.

 

[Kelv]

Only a quick response as I'm just leaving work to head home, I'll add a little more input later but i have AST's on mine.

 

[neilc]

Hi Kelv , ahhhh that would be great , look forward to reading your views on them.

Cheers

 

[Jibber_Monkey]

AST are great equipment, we run them on a couple of race cars (not Clios) BUT the service is simply atrocious. Parts never turn up when they are promised and it's almost impossible to get hold of anyone in service. We're seriously considering moving to Avo or Ohlins despite all the additional cost and set up time it's going to cost us.

 

[neilc]

Hmm , thats a shame about the service when it's such a great piece of equipment. Although for me it will be a one off fitment so hopefully should be ok.

 

[hoolio]

Although for me it will be a one off fitment so hopefully should be ok.

Well that is not exactly the case though. People get irritated that the Sachs need servicing and then bang on about fitting coilovers or other performance damping as though they are fit and leave, to keep in tip top condition they still need to be serviced, though perhaps not to the same extent.
It's a well known fact that the AST after service is a running joke except it is not very funny, it totally escapes me as to how a company can keep behaving/trading with such a poor attitude.

 

[Kelv]

I think with anything to the level of the AST's, you will need to factor in a routine service for them.
i recently had mine 'overhauled' by AST UK, Curtis bent over backwards to get them back to me a few days before my ring trip, to the point that he actually drove them halfway to mine on a Saturday evening.

i had a couple of bushes replaced and the fluid refreshed and a once over on them to make sure they were in good shape.
from my one and only encounter with the company, I can not fault them atall.


As for the units themselves, they are firm, they do exactly what they need to do for my application.
for road use I think they may be a little extreme, dependant on spring rates you spec them with.
mine is purely for a track car, if it gets used on the road it will be minimal as it will 9/10 come out of the garage and straight onto a trailer to go to its track session.

 

[shiftspark]

I think Cooksport is now the sole UK dealer for them.

 

[neilc]

I think with anything to the level of the AST's, you will need to factor in a routine service for them.
i recently had mine 'overhauled' by AST UK, Curtis bent over backwards to get them back to me a few days before my ring trip, to the point that he actually drove them halfway to mine on a Saturday evening.

i had a couple of bushes replaced and the fluid refreshed and a once over on them to make sure they were in good shape.
from my one and only encounter with the company, I can not fault them atall.


As for the units themselves, they are firm, they do exactly what they need to do for my application.
for road use I think they may be a little extreme, dependant on spring rates you spec them with.
mine is purely for a track car, if it gets used on the road it will be minimal as it will 9/10 come out of the garage and straight onto a trailer to go to its track session.

Thanks Kelv for the info on the AST's , I spoke to Curtis today and got a quote for them and I suppose they were the price I imagined but they are twice the price of a set of Spax RSX or KW variant 2's for instance and I am going to have to think long and hard whether thats a wise investment because I could get a set of the above coilovers , Yoko AD08 tyres and a whiteline ARB for the same money as the AST's

 

[Kelv]

Neil, I can understand your view.
i think you need to sit back for a few days and really work out what you want from the car long term and try to stick to that goal.
work out a maximum budget for everything you want to achieve and then factor in the best you can achieve within that budget, if it means you can something better by holding off until te following month then maybe that's best to do.

for me, I class the AST's as a bit to firm for daily road use, so that would depend on how often you use the car.

Same as you, the extra items I looked at aswell but was lucky enough to snap up a few deals at the right time when needed, so my Trophy now sports the AST's, the Pure Motorsport top mounts and brace, a set of 2118's on 888 rubber, wilwood 4 pots, whiteline ARB, carbon door cards, pair of buckets, flocked dash and also stripped of anything it will ever need, and so far I've only owned the car 7 - 8 weeks, so it depends on how quickly you want to achieve your targets.

just don't get carried away with the Internet becoming a candy shop

 

[neilc]

lol , thanks Kelv. Well I bought the Trophy for track use and do around 6-8 trackdays a year. My original idea was to spend up to £2000-2500 max on the required mods and have so far fitted the K-Tec Sports exhaust and induction , had a new cambelt kit , Aux tensioner and belt and had a service.

So in reality my budget will be well and truly smashed if I go for the AST's !!

Like you say I am going to sit back and think about it for a few weeks then decide.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Kelv]

I'm the same as you Neil, I only bought ours for it to be a track car, I have no intention of it ever being MOT'd or used on the road again now.
ive even been attacking the car with a plasma and hole cutter removing anything not needed to save weight, lol.

will you be at the Bedford trackday in a few weeks time?

 

[neilc]

Cutting holes in it , wow that's dedication Well I aim to have it ready by March ideally as obviously need to make mu mind up which setup to go for yet.

 

[PeterGinger]

Hi kelv, i went in a car that had AST's and was very inmpressed. I just wondered what spring rates you have, front and rear, and what options are available.