Track pack (Bilstein) vs Ohlins vs Nitrons - LotusTalk

gameson · 12-12-2006, 08:05 AM

just wondering, which one is better. it looks like the ohlins and nitrons are better since most people with track pack are swapping their bilstein with either one.

if so, why?

thanks.

MitchT · 12-12-2006, 08:12 AM

I got the nitrons single adj. easy to install and set up , the shocks transform the car it feels more planted, roll , dive are all but gone, they really make a difference, the factory or even the track pack shocks are not of the quality of the ohlins or nitrons, this comes into play where it counts on the road and track performance.

Also lowered the car to 110 mm front and 115 mm rear according to Mark Starr's reccomendations then corner balanced and cross balanced the car, made a world of difference.

gameson · 12-12-2006, 08:21 AM

i understand the regular LSS won't cut it vs ohlins vs nitrons, but not quite get it with the track pack shock/susp combo. i thought the track pack is comparable at least to either one, but it looks like the track pack is inferior with the other two.

there is one track pack susp for sale now and i m just curious if i should just spend a bit more to get at least the nitrons single adj.

what do you think? track pack vs nitron single adj?

MitchT · 12-12-2006, 08:28 AM

Alot of the track pack guys are upgrading to ohlins, the cup cars and the sport elise come with the ohlins, the euro race cars all use nitrons or ohlins, the track pack is good, I have ran with an new exige that has them, he is a Nasa instructor and he frankly was not too impressed by them, but the track pack does have a nice sway bar setup. and at 2500 installed with a harness bar is a good value but in shocks you get what you pay for, Nitrons,ohlins,-good value , penske,Leda, Motons, JRZ are all big bucks, you can pay up to 4-6k or more for a set of full race shocks, so 2k or 2.5k for ohlins or nitrons is not bad. Best upgrade to the car I think you can make.

mattwhite · 12-12-2006, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gameson

what do you think? track pack vs nitron single adj?

I've got the track pack and I'm going to upgrade soon. Far too much roll, especially now I'm running RA1s. The Nitrons will fix this because the spring rates are much higher. I'll probably go double adjustable, but the singles are great as well.

gameson · 12-12-2006, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MitchT

Alot of the track pack guys are upgrading to ohlins, the cup cars and the sport elise come with the ohlins, the euro race cars all use nitrons or ohlins, the track pack is good, I have ran with an new exige that has them, he is a Nasa instructor and he frankly was not too impressed by them, but the track pack does have a nice sway bar setup. and at 2500 installed with a harness bar is a good value but in shocks you get what you pay for, Nitrons,ohlins,-good value , penske,Leda, Motons, JRZ are all big bucks, you can pay up to 4-6k or more for a set of full race shocks, so 2k or 2.5k for ohlins or nitrons is not bad. Best upgrade to the car I think you can make.

the one for sale now is just the shock/spring, no sway bar, and for few hundreds more, i can get nitron single adj.

MitchT · 12-12-2006, 08:41 AM

I love them and they come with stiffer springs than the ohlins out of the box, the car is insane, makes a stock elise into a slot car , ie race car.

codymac · 12-12-2006, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gameson

what do you think? track pack vs nitron single adj?

Why go from one single adjustable to another? I mean, if you're paying the money to upgrade... Are you finding the Bilsteins lacking or just wanting to have fun with some upgrades?

Just curious...

Quote:

Originally Posted by MitchT

penske,Leda, Motons, JRZ are all big bucks, you can pay up to 4-6k or more for a set of full race shocks, so 2k or 2.5k for ohlins or nitrons is not bad. Best upgrade to the car I think you can make.

LOL! I haven't seen a price for the Motons for the Elise/Exige but the Esprit 4-ways are ~$9500.

Jack · 12-12-2006, 08:50 AM

Track pack shocks (Bilstein single adjustable) are excellent shocks -- it's the spring rate of the Eibachs in the package that many people find too soft. Getting a stiffer spring would work for most people, but as far as I know nobody has done the research to find a replacement spring. The Lotus handling philisophy is to provide a stiff chassis and relatively soft springs -- the result is a great handling car. It does have a significant amount of body roll, which some do not find confidence inspiring.

gameson · 12-12-2006, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by codymac

Why go from one single adjustable to another? I mean, if you're paying the money to upgrade... Are you finding the Bilsteins lacking or just wanting to have fun with some upgrades?

Just curious...

No, my current setup is LSS susp. there is one track pack for sale and i m just curious whether i should get that or just spend few more $ to get at least the nitron single adj. i have never been in a track pack car so I don't know if the bilsteins is lacking or sort, but my philosophy is if i am going to spend $, i want to do it right and once.

MitchT · 12-12-2006, 09:31 AM

good point jack, the stiffer springs do make alot of difference, and the nitrons come with higher rates than the bilstens, which are not bad shocks, but when you start getting into setting up a car, spring rates are important as are all fine adjustments. The body roll of the elise is something I did not care for but some may like it. I found the cup car Chris Wheeler just bought to corner much flatter than any stock elise or exige trackpack, I do not know what springs rates come on the cup car standard. But for track use I like the stiffer setup.

Moton's for the elise I saw for about 5k, JRZ single for 2.5k and 2-4 adj. alot more money, for the buck the nitrons with the stiff springs are a good value, plus we have to keep Mark Starr in businesss.

jim-clayton · 12-12-2006, 09:42 AM

Call Mark Star and get the Nitron Sport. One knob to adjust and nice spring rates.
Big big big big big big big improvement.

codymac · 12-12-2006, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gameson

No, my current setup is LSS susp. there is one track pack for sale and i m just curious whether i should get that or just spend few more $ to get at least the nitron single adj. i have never been in a track pack car so I don't know if the bilsteins is lacking or sort, but my philosophy is if i am going to spend $, i want to do it right and once.

Ahhhh, didn't realize - makes sense now.

Wonder what RichS thinks. IIRC he just went from LSS to Track Pack and has had his car on track in both states.

MyFutureSelfnMe · 12-12-2006, 09:48 AM

How do the Nitrons feel on the street vs. the LSS? The roads out here are punishing...

MitchT · 12-12-2006, 09:55 AM

That's the funny part the nitrons ride better than the stock lotus stuff and they have stiffer springs, turn them down to soft for road use.

raygr · 12-12-2006, 10:04 AM

I upgraded my track pack to Ohlins "track". It definitely improves handling on the track, and it rides smoother on the street too (than the either the LSS or track pack). The Ohlins spring rate is a little lower than Nitrons, but it still quells the body roll. A nice thing about double-adjustable is that you can tune things like initial turn-in understeer. I played with my rebound adjustments to find a setting I really like.

OTOH, the track pack does ride smoother on the street than the LSS, so that's an improvement.

Jack · 12-12-2006, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MitchT

I found the cup car Chris Wheeler just bought to corner much flatter than any stock elise or exige trackpack, I do not know what springs rates come on the cup car standard. But for track use I like the stiffer setup.

Cup car springs are 458/571 lbs. -- a bit stiffer than the Nitron single adj. spring rates (which are 425/550) and a bit softer than the Nitron double adj. spring rates (475/600).

gameson · 12-12-2006, 08:48 PM

I guess for the price the track pack susp is going, then i have to put more stiffer shock to reduce body roll and that would probably put it up to the nitron single adj price range. at that point, the price would be the same as nitron single adj and without hassle, so i guess i would opt for nitron single adj.

btw, Jack, what's the susp on the stock cup car? Is it bilstein, ohlins, or nitrons? do you change your susp setup on your cup car, Jack?

wcaswell · 12-12-2006, 09:16 PM

Gameson,

if you have the extra cash, I hear the ohlins are awesome. I have the track pack and think the shocks are excellent. I doubt I would spend the money to upgrade the shocks to ohlins or nitrons, but at $50-75 a spring, I would probably upgrade the spring rates if I was spending a lot of time at the track. The bilsteins at full stiff should be plenty to handle stiffer springs, but if you could start from scratch and had the cash and were going to the track, get one of the real track set-ups. I love bilsteins, they almost never fail, the feel of them as always been right for me, and they are one great company. But I still have to think that the bilstein track pack is a still a street car compromise. I guy I know that has plenty of seat time attended one of the press events and drove in back to back cars with different set-ups from stock to sport to track pack, to ohlins and said the ohlin set up inspired a lot more confidence. On the other hand, I would argue many people that get fancy adj shocks never get the settings right and might have been better off with simple one click adjustments.

Jack · 12-12-2006, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gameson

....... then i have to put more stiffer shock to reduce body roll and that would probably put it up to the nitron single adj price range. at that point, the price would be the same as nitron single adj and without hassle, so i guess i would opt for nitron single adj.

btw, Jack, what's the susp on the stock cup car? Is it bilstein, ohlins, or nitrons? do you change your susp setup on your cup car, Jack?

It's not the shock that needs to be stiffer -- the springs from Eibach are on the soft side (as specified by Lotus) and springs are relatively inexpensive. Since Eibach has a Southern California facility, maybe you could contact them and see if they would be willing to make some stiffer springs for use with the Bilstein adjustable shocks.

The Cup car uses double adjustable Ohlin shocks --spring rates are set forth in the post above.

12-12-2006, 08:05 AM	#1 (permalink)
gameson Track Addict Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,999	Track pack (Bilstein) vs Ohlins vs Nitrons just wondering, which one is better. it looks like the ohlins and nitrons are better since most people with track pack are swapping their bilstein with either one. if so, why? thanks.

12-12-2006, 08:21 AM	#3 (permalink)
gameson Track Addict Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,999	i understand the regular LSS won't cut it vs ohlins vs nitrons, but not quite get it with the track pack shock/susp combo. i thought the track pack is comparable at least to either one, but it looks like the track pack is inferior with the other two. there is one track pack susp for sale now and i m just curious if i should just spend a bit more to get at least the nitrons single adj. what do you think? track pack vs nitron single adj? Last edited by gameson : 12-12-2006 at 08:26 AM.

12-12-2006, 08:50 AM	#9 (permalink)
Jack Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 3,072	Track pack shocks (Bilstein single adjustable) are excellent shocks -- it's the spring rate of the Eibachs in the package that many people find too soft. Getting a stiffer spring would work for most people, but as far as I know nobody has done the research to find a replacement spring. The Lotus handling philisophy is to provide a stiff chassis and relatively soft springs -- the result is a great handling car. It does have a significant amount of body roll, which some do not find confidence inspiring. __________________ Jack '07 Exige Cup 255 '08 2-Eleven Track videos ... http://www.youtube.com/jackcup

12-12-2006, 10:04 AM	#16 (permalink)
raygr I have 4-Wheel OCD Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Seattle Area Posts: 371	I upgraded my track pack to Ohlins "track". It definitely improves handling on the track, and it rides smoother on the street too (than the either the LSS or track pack). The Ohlins spring rate is a little lower than Nitrons, but it still quells the body roll. A nice thing about double-adjustable is that you can tune things like initial turn-in understeer. I played with my rebound adjustments to find a setting I really like. OTOH, the track pack does ride smoother on the street than the LSS, so that's an improvement. __________________ Ray in Washington State - 06 Elise, 07 Exige S www.mentalmotoring.com

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

12-12-2006, 08:12 AM	#2 (permalink)
MitchT Registered User Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: boca raton Posts: 782	I got the nitrons single adj. easy to install and set up , the shocks transform the car it feels more planted, roll , dive are all but gone, they really make a difference, the factory or even the track pack shocks are not of the quality of the ohlins or nitrons, this comes into play where it counts on the road and track performance. Also lowered the car to 110 mm front and 115 mm rear according to Mark Starr's reccomendations then corner balanced and cross balanced the car, made a world of difference.

12-12-2006, 08:28 AM	#4 (permalink)
MitchT Registered User Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: boca raton Posts: 782	Alot of the track pack guys are upgrading to ohlins, the cup cars and the sport elise come with the ohlins, the euro race cars all use nitrons or ohlins, the track pack is good, I have ran with an new exige that has them, he is a Nasa instructor and he frankly was not too impressed by them, but the track pack does have a nice sway bar setup. and at 2500 installed with a harness bar is a good value but in shocks you get what you pay for, Nitrons,ohlins,-good value , penske,Leda, Motons, JRZ are all big bucks, you can pay up to 4-6k or more for a set of full race shocks, so 2k or 2.5k for ohlins or nitrons is not bad. Best upgrade to the car I think you can make.

12-12-2006, 08:41 AM	#7 (permalink)
MitchT Registered User Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: boca raton Posts: 782	I love them and they come with stiffer springs than the ohlins out of the box, the car is insane, makes a stock elise into a slot car , ie race car.

12-12-2006, 09:31 AM	#11 (permalink)
MitchT Registered User Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: boca raton Posts: 782	good point jack, the stiffer springs do make alot of difference, and the nitrons come with higher rates than the bilstens, which are not bad shocks, but when you start getting into setting up a car, spring rates are important as are all fine adjustments. The body roll of the elise is something I did not care for but some may like it. I found the cup car Chris Wheeler just bought to corner much flatter than any stock elise or exige trackpack, I do not know what springs rates come on the cup car standard. But for track use I like the stiffer setup. Moton's for the elise I saw for about 5k, JRZ single for 2.5k and 2-4 adj. alot more money, for the buck the nitrons with the stiff springs are a good value, plus we have to keep Mark Starr in businesss.

12-12-2006, 09:42 AM	#12 (permalink)
jim-clayton Registered User Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Fort Lauderdale Florida Posts: 1,634	Call Mark Star and get the Nitron Sport. One knob to adjust and nice spring rates. Big big big big big big big improvement.

12-12-2006, 09:48 AM	#14 (permalink)
MyFutureSelfnMe Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Buffalo, NY Posts: 1,205	How do the Nitrons feel on the street vs. the LSS? The roads out here are punishing...

12-12-2006, 09:55 AM	#15 (permalink)
MitchT Registered User Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: boca raton Posts: 782	That's the funny part the nitrons ride better than the stock lotus stuff and they have stiffer springs, turn them down to soft for road use.

12-12-2006, 08:48 PM	#18 (permalink)
gameson Track Addict Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,999	I guess for the price the track pack susp is going, then i have to put more stiffer shock to reduce body roll and that would probably put it up to the nitron single adj price range. at that point, the price would be the same as nitron single adj and without hassle, so i guess i would opt for nitron single adj. btw, Jack, what's the susp on the stock cup car? Is it bilstein, ohlins, or nitrons? do you change your susp setup on your cup car, Jack?

12-12-2006, 09:16 PM	#19 (permalink)
wcaswell Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 76	Gameson, if you have the extra cash, I hear the ohlins are awesome. I have the track pack and think the shocks are excellent. I doubt I would spend the money to upgrade the shocks to ohlins or nitrons, but at $50-75 a spring, I would probably upgrade the spring rates if I was spending a lot of time at the track. The bilsteins at full stiff should be plenty to handle stiffer springs, but if you could start from scratch and had the cash and were going to the track, get one of the real track set-ups. I love bilsteins, they almost never fail, the feel of them as always been right for me, and they are one great company. But I still have to think that the bilstein track pack is a still a street car compromise. I guy I know that has plenty of seat time attended one of the press events and drove in back to back cars with different set-ups from stock to sport to track pack, to ohlins and said the ohlin set up inspired a lot more confidence. On the other hand, I would argue many people that get fancy adj shocks never get the settings right and might have been better off with simple one click adjustments.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)