Trophy Damper settings

[PeterGinger]

I recently saw a few people on here saying that, now the weather is warmer, they have adjusted their dampers to a stiffer setting. I was puzzled by this. Well, maybe sceptical is the word. I could see that it would improve the T's handling, but I thought that it would feel harsh and be a compromise too far. How wrong I was.

I was on the way home from work on friday and had tho stop at an automated teller machine. The sun was shining and I was still in my freezer gear haha. So I thought, I'm three miles from home, why don't I try a harder setting. If I don't like it, I can just put it back the way it was (22 clicks clockwise). So I did. I put it on 30 clicks clockwise.

+The car does not lean as much in the corners. If I was on track, I might try a little more.
+I don't get cheek judder from the springs on motorways anymore. Shock horror, I do believe that the dampers are damping properly now.
+I can take speed humps quicker now without pain, discomfort or loud thumps.
+All but the very largest potholes sound much quieter now.
-There are no negatives.

I don't know what this would be like in the winter, I'll probably go back to 22 then. Usually I find tyre grip to be the issue then. I know I'm overly fussy and anal about suspension, but I'm much happier now. I know I tend to drive quite agressively sometimes. But I just feel I can get more out of the car now. And surely thats what its all about.
So come on people, I urge you to just try it. You never know, you may prefer it. I always thought that my brothers Nitron dampers were just better than the Sachs dampers, even though the Sachs are more expensive. But now I might dissagree. :mrgreen: =D>

 

[Cue]

i think the summer suggestions are more to do with the roads being dryer and less icy so more fun at higher speeds rather than the oil in the dampers being effected by the temperature, as after a drive the oil will be fairly hot the air temp would little difference i would have thought.

 

[Matt X2C]

Very good, I always ran mine firm too. Usually stuck around 28 unless on track where it would be right up near the top.

What does your brother run nitrons on?

 

[PeterGinger]

Ok. My brother has an S1 elise, standard engine tune, but done brakes, exhausts etc. He has 325lb springs front, 400lb rear. He is setting his dampers on 10 clicks front, 12 rear. I believe that is roughly halfway. He does lots of trackdays. He has been contemplating a Honda Vtec engine conversion for a while. If this were taken up, he would get Chris Randall to modify the suspension with his "special" stuff, ie Tender springs, custom valves, stiffer springs, longer damper shafts, 3 way adjusters. But, different car, different weight, etc...

 

[PeterGinger]

Oh as an extra, prob another thread really, but related to chris randall. He uses Chris Tillett for exhausts, as used in f1 I believe. I'd love to get him to do one for my T. Workmanship second to none. Would certainly be interesting. :mrgreen:

 

[Matt X2C]

Sounds like its a bit of a weapon. I run Nitrons on my Westfield, it is top stuff.

For a moment I was shocked at the spring rates, but for the last 6 months or so I have only been hearing and looking into spring rates for the seven chassis which are much lower....but obviously the Elise is a heavier car.

 

[PeterGinger]

Thats just it, I think about the weight of an s1 (720kg) compared to the T (1100kg). To get an equivalent, im going to need quite high spring rates. Oh it is. esp on 48s

 

[George K]

Thats just it, I think about the weight of an s1 (720kg) compared to the T (1100kg). To get an equivalent, im going to need quite high spring rates. Oh it is. esp on 48s

Don't forget that the Trophy 's front strut has a 1:1 installation ratio, whereas with wishbones the elise has an effective ration of roughly 2, so 350 springs on the elise are equivalent to 175 on a strut etc.