Firstly I'd like to point out I've had permission from the moderators for this post as it could be viewed as an 'advert'
Some background: at some stage, and 'when' will depend on many factors, the dampers will need replacing/rebuilding. The replace cost is prohibative and there's also some worry over how many sets are available, so the route for most of us will be to have them rebuilt. I started to look into this last year as I plan on keeping the car for a long time, it also gets tracked 'a lot' (there goes my resale values) and I expect I'll need it doing earlier than others.
I contacted Renault, not very helpful I'm afraid, renaultsport - no help, and Sachs themselves. The problem is that Sachs don't have a motorsport presence in the UK and I wasn't having much success in persuading them to help.
Last month I managed to have a meeting with Sachs at the Autosport show, they supply most F1 teams with their carbon clutches as well as quite a few rally teams with damper technology, and spoke to their damper tech. They've agreed to rebuild the dampers, and this can now be done in the UK. In addition to this it might be possible ( and I stress might at this stage) to get the pin removed to make the fronts adjustable. They have a combined rebound and bump adjustment (its the red dial on the remote reservoir if you've ever had a look). This could be useful for those doing trackdays, but care and some testing will be required as the rears have a fixed damping.
This is the advert bit...
I spend half my life working for the NHS and the other half sorting people's race/trackday cars. I'll be able to offer this as a service. The dampers will be sent to Sachs, they will disassemble them and replace all the seals, o rings and oil and run them on their damper dyno. They will effectively perform as new. This will take in the order of a week. The dampers will then be refitted with the standard geometery or a more agressive set up if required.
So the good news is - we can get the dampers sorted when needed
The bad news is - it's going to cost £500 for the pair. This is a lot of anyones money. The rebuild costs are more than you would expect from Avo, Spax, Nitron but the same ballpark as Ohlins or Penske. If the damper is damaged in anyway, for example if the piston is pitted and needs replacing then the cost will be higher.
I'm based in the SE, I don't expect many people from the North to travel down so have spoken to Blink Motorsport based at Oulton Park who will be able to offer the same service.
I don't expect anyone to need this doing yet. My car has done 18,000 miles and the dampers are fine but now you know that they can be rebuilt and how much its going to cost. I'll let you know when I get mine done if nobody has had any problems with them before that.
www.racecardoctor.com
www.blinkmotorsport.com
Some background: at some stage, and 'when' will depend on many factors, the dampers will need replacing/rebuilding. The replace cost is prohibative and there's also some worry over how many sets are available, so the route for most of us will be to have them rebuilt. I started to look into this last year as I plan on keeping the car for a long time, it also gets tracked 'a lot' (there goes my resale values) and I expect I'll need it doing earlier than others.
I contacted Renault, not very helpful I'm afraid, renaultsport - no help, and Sachs themselves. The problem is that Sachs don't have a motorsport presence in the UK and I wasn't having much success in persuading them to help.
Last month I managed to have a meeting with Sachs at the Autosport show, they supply most F1 teams with their carbon clutches as well as quite a few rally teams with damper technology, and spoke to their damper tech. They've agreed to rebuild the dampers, and this can now be done in the UK. In addition to this it might be possible ( and I stress might at this stage) to get the pin removed to make the fronts adjustable. They have a combined rebound and bump adjustment (its the red dial on the remote reservoir if you've ever had a look). This could be useful for those doing trackdays, but care and some testing will be required as the rears have a fixed damping.
This is the advert bit...
I spend half my life working for the NHS and the other half sorting people's race/trackday cars. I'll be able to offer this as a service. The dampers will be sent to Sachs, they will disassemble them and replace all the seals, o rings and oil and run them on their damper dyno. They will effectively perform as new. This will take in the order of a week. The dampers will then be refitted with the standard geometery or a more agressive set up if required.
So the good news is - we can get the dampers sorted when needed
The bad news is - it's going to cost £500 for the pair. This is a lot of anyones money. The rebuild costs are more than you would expect from Avo, Spax, Nitron but the same ballpark as Ohlins or Penske. If the damper is damaged in anyway, for example if the piston is pitted and needs replacing then the cost will be higher.
I'm based in the SE, I don't expect many people from the North to travel down so have spoken to Blink Motorsport based at Oulton Park who will be able to offer the same service.
I don't expect anyone to need this doing yet. My car has done 18,000 miles and the dampers are fine but now you know that they can be rebuilt and how much its going to cost. I'll let you know when I get mine done if nobody has had any problems with them before that.
www.racecardoctor.com
www.blinkmotorsport.com
