[henrymfisher]

Hi guys,

I own an '05 Elise with the track pack that has a few nice mods.
I drive it as often as the weather allows plus I did about 8 or 9
DE events last summer.

I want to upgrade dampeners/springs to a coilover setup.

I understand the following:

1. Yellow Bilstein OEM setup - 272lbs front and 359lbs rear

2. The Nitron "streets" are 350lbs front and 450lbs rear

3. Nitron 40mm track/street are - 425lbs front and 550lbs rear


Am I crazy to consider the 40mm track day setup for a car that is predominantly used for daily driving use?
Is the 40mm setup just so much better build quality to justify the extra $800?

Let me know what some guys are doing and your thoughts.

Thanks,

Henry
'05 Elise

 

[gstomp06]

Hi guys,

I own an '05 Elise with the track pack that has a few nice mods.
I drive it as often as the weather allows plus I did about 8 or 9
DE events last summer.

I want to upgrade dampeners/springs to a coilover setup.

I understand the following:

1. Yellow Bilstein OEM setup - 272lbs front and 359lbs rear

2. The Nitron "streets" are 350lbs front and 450lbs rear

3. Nitron 40mm track/street are - 425lbs front and 550lbs rear


Am I crazy to consider the 40mm track day setup for a car that is predominantly used for daily driving use?
Is the 40mm setup just so much better build quality to justify the extra $800?

Let me know what some guys are doing and your thoughts.

Thanks,

Henry
'05 Elise

I upgraded my base Elise setup with the Nitron Street Series. And did 3 events with them this past summer. Those were my first 3 times on a track...so I wasn't very fast. The street series performed alright...certainly better than the base setup. I find the street series more comfortable on the streets as well. It's nice to have the dampening adjustment.

I do imagine that as I get more experience and pick up the pace...I'll eventually want to upgrade for something more track focused at the sacrifice of some street comfort. The thought of street comfort went out the window when I decided to go decat.

By the way, which events or club did you go with? I've done 2 with COMSCC...they've been fun.

 

[Vantage]

It all depends on where you live and how smooth the roads. The 450/600# Nitrons ride surprisingly well and you can really dial down the shocks so that they are comfortable. However, my view is that when you dial down too much, the dampers lose control of the spring somewhat, therefore losing some of the control you are paying for.

That said, even in the ideal street settings, the Nitrons still ride better than stock, so I wouldn't worry about the 450/600 on the street. However, I cannot compare to the Street series. [email protected] is the best person to ask.

 

[shinoo]

Henry,

The Street Series are a nice solution that I tested on track as well and they are good for occasional, non-competitive track use. They work beautifully on the street.

We have just completed testing some rear swaybars that allow us to run really soft springs rates (half of what we normally do). Give me a call to discuss. (951)296-6762 x201 This might be a good alternative for you to consider.

 

[XHILR8N!]

Having hung up my track gloves and helmet, our Elise is street licensed again. I have a set of street series in the box on top of the fridge in the garage.

Still running the 46 mm with 550/700. Set up to hit the bottom of some dip at 120 etc.

In town, it is brutal. Jarring. You just do not realize how broken up the streets are until you try it in a racecar.

However, it’s surprisingly smooth on decent roads. Fun actually.

 

[oldmansan]

Shocked that nobody has said the magic word IMHO, Penske. My car had Nitrons on it when I bought it. Best mod I have ever done is to replace the Nitrons with Penske DAs. Nearly twice the spring and still more comfortable.

San

 

[mrcarcrazy]

Nitron "Street" vs. Nitron 40mm NTR Track Day

. I have a set of street series in the box on top of the fridge in the garage.

Want to ship those to Texas?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[marchetta070]

I have the Penske double adjustable shocks and they are great. Blackwatch is very helpful in terms of dialing them in. They are a little stiff for the road but you can soften them up for street vs track use. I think they are worth considering as most reviews I have read are very positive.

https://www.blackwatchracing.com/product-p/1134.htm

 

[Alex Ventura 2]

I have the 40mm Nitrons at 525F and 650R, Eibach Springs.I have them dialed down for some of the worst roads in the country(SoCal). They ride slightly better than the LSS, but the handling is on another level.

 

[me73]

I thought I'd throw out some of my thoughts on the Street Series shocks. I haven't seen much as far as a detailed review on these. My '05 is a sport and touring pack car. It has about 8000 miles on it. I didn't need to replace my shocks but thought I'd give the Nitron Street Series a try. My goal was to reduce some of the impact harshness that I experience with the LSS shocks but not loose any feel or steering response/turn-in. First, I didn't weight them, but they are definitely lighter than the smaller diameter LSS Bilsteins. I put the Bilsteins into the boxes that the Nitrons came out of and the boxes are noticeably heavier now. They are absolutely beautiful as well.

Shock installation is ridiculously easy with the car. The hardest part is replacing the front perches because you have to keep track of washers and nuts on the back side. The Nitrons are a few mm shorter than the Bilsteins, but stock ride height is achievable if desired. I have the ride height set at just about 5mm lower than stock in front and a couple mm lower in back.

The Street Series come on 350lb/in F and 450 lb/in rear springs which are 29 and 25% stiffer than stock respectively. But I can't say on the street that the difference in spring rate is noticeable. The car still has immediate responses to inputs and body roll is not noticeable, both of these things were true with the LSS shocks as well. Nothing appears to have been dulled or sharpened as far as I can tell.

As far as ride goes, with the shocks set half way between full hard and full soft, road impacts are still completely felt, as they were before, but the difference is that there is an edge taken off the impacts. They aren't as sharp and don't have the same "bang". Now they are more like a firm bump. Likewise, a textured, beat up road still relays the texture, but the car seems to absorb the texture just a little more than the LSS did, transferring less of the vibration into the chassis.

None of the personality has been changed, it's still the same light weight, communicative, darty go-cart. But the damping makes the car just a bit less jittery and fragile feeling. I like the shocks as an upgrade to the LSS, but it's a subtle upgrade. So far I haven't had the opportunity to see if the car is any less prone to turn-in understeer on bumpy roads, but I have a feeling these will improve that and the degree to which the chassis is upset by a mid-corner bump. I'm looking forward to finding out.

 

[Nessal]

I'm sure the street series is fine on the street but I would go with the bigger piston setup. I'm running Penske on mine and I'm running double the spring rate but the car no longer feels jarring when compared to the Bilstein that came on the car. I think it has to do with the bigger piston being about to control the movement more.

 

[VisualEchos]

8 or 9 DA's a year?

Nothing is going to beat the Street Series for that.

If you didn't care about the extra $800 you wouldn't be asking. IMO for 8 or 9 DA's a year you're wasting that $800 that could be spent on other things.

I've had stock (new) Blistein's, modified Bilstein's, the Nitron Streets, and now the Ohlin's valved and sprung for the A048.

Best bang for the buck? Nitron Street Series, no question.

 

[shinoo]

...As far as ride goes, with the shocks set half way between full hard and full soft, road impacts are still completely felt, as they were before, but the difference is that there is an edge taken off the impacts...

Great comments and observations. If you are happy with the balance, try to take 2 clicks out of all the shocks and you will have a kit that is more comfortable than LSS. It's fun to experiment and as long as you are keeping track of your settings, you can always reset them.

 

[me73]

Great comments and observations. If you are happy with the balance, try to take 2 clicks out of all the shocks and you will have a kit that is more comfortable than LSS. It's fun to experiment and as long as you are keeping track of your settings, you can always reset them.

Thanks for the tip. I appreciate that Niton offers a Street Series for our cars at all. Most models just get the NTR series. If I wanted to get into Nitron for my Aston Martin the entry would be over $3500!

 

[Beemerb0y]

any pics of Nitron Street Series installed? wondering what their range is to lower the Elise...

 

[Alex Ventura 2]

These are the SA's Im at 112F and 118R im running 15 fronts so that brings the height down.

 

[Beemerb0y]

These are the SA's Im at 112F and 118R im running 15 fronts so that brings the height down.

Looks realy nice! What wheels are those?

 

[oldmansan]

Looks realy nice! What wheels are those?

Team Dynamics (OEM Lotus Wheels). They come in cast and forged. https://www.blackwatchracing.com/Lotus-Wheels-s/2.htm

San

 

[me73]

any pics of Nitron Street Series installed? wondering what their range is to lower the Elise...

You could lower it down quite a bit. There are several inches of threaded shock body at stockish ride height. I suspect you'd be chewing up the liners pretty fast if you go too far as the spring rates (and associated damping rates) are on the softer side for lowered coil overs.

 

[me73]

Great comments and observations. If you are happy with the balance, try to take 2 clicks out of all the shocks and you will have a kit that is more comfortable than LSS. It's fun to experiment and as long as you are keeping track of your settings, you can always reset them.

I went a little softer on the damping but I can start to feel the steering response get just a little soft. I'm still playing though, as just 3 clicks harder from center and I'm getting some understeer. Totally controllable, but still annoying.