Life110 AST Coilovers
Discussion
Just back from Leamington Spa and another visit to Matt at Spires, this time for fitting of Life110’s AST coilovers in Road spec.
Really pleased with the changes to the car having had a two hour journey back home and time to reflect on how the chassis now felt compared to the drive up.
Ride height, ARBs, tyres etc were all unchanged (my S sits about 14mm lower than the standard S ride height) and the work this time solely involved swapping out my Life110 springs & EOM dampers for the AST ‘Road’ spec kit and the resetting the ride height and checking the corner weights and geo.
The most immediate difference was how the car now deals with more severe road surface events such as speed bumps and pot holes. Gone is the previous ‘crashing’ of the front suspension when passing over pot holes, and instead the car now noticeably absorbs the compression in a much more controlled and smooth manner. Similarly when cornering the car rides out poor road surfaces better and has a much more sure-footed feel. There’s no hint of ‘hopping’ sideways when thrown off balance by a bump mid corner – presumably the coilovers are doing a better job of keeping the tyre in contact with the road.
On the hour+ of motorway driving home the ride felt noticeably better too. Gone was the slightly uncomfortable higher frequency vibration imparted by the concrete sections of carriageways and rough tarmac and instead the car felt a step or two further on in terms of comfort.
Overall the chassis now has a tangibly better level of sophistication to it and, in my view gives the car a great combination of the S’s body control and handling but dialled a bit towards the base car’s more compliant ride. And 9kg saved on the weight of the car too..
I don’t doubt that the R53 kit will be a step on from the AST but, as per the law of diminishing returns, my feeling is that the AST set up is a fantastic combination of cost vs performance, especially if your Alpine is mainly for the road.
Another winner from Life110!
Really pleased with the changes to the car having had a two hour journey back home and time to reflect on how the chassis now felt compared to the drive up.
Ride height, ARBs, tyres etc were all unchanged (my S sits about 14mm lower than the standard S ride height) and the work this time solely involved swapping out my Life110 springs & EOM dampers for the AST ‘Road’ spec kit and the resetting the ride height and checking the corner weights and geo.
The most immediate difference was how the car now deals with more severe road surface events such as speed bumps and pot holes. Gone is the previous ‘crashing’ of the front suspension when passing over pot holes, and instead the car now noticeably absorbs the compression in a much more controlled and smooth manner. Similarly when cornering the car rides out poor road surfaces better and has a much more sure-footed feel. There’s no hint of ‘hopping’ sideways when thrown off balance by a bump mid corner – presumably the coilovers are doing a better job of keeping the tyre in contact with the road.
On the hour+ of motorway driving home the ride felt noticeably better too. Gone was the slightly uncomfortable higher frequency vibration imparted by the concrete sections of carriageways and rough tarmac and instead the car felt a step or two further on in terms of comfort.
Overall the chassis now has a tangibly better level of sophistication to it and, in my view gives the car a great combination of the S’s body control and handling but dialled a bit towards the base car’s more compliant ride. And 9kg saved on the weight of the car too..
I don’t doubt that the R53 kit will be a step on from the AST but, as per the law of diminishing returns, my feeling is that the AST set up is a fantastic combination of cost vs performance, especially if your Alpine is mainly for the road.
Another winner from Life110!
Great to hear some feedback on the AST’s, I went Bilstein but primarily because I was in a rush for a trip and the AST’s were not available at the time. R53 development wasn’t complete either (& I don’t think still is) and they were going to be strong money.
The AST’s sound a good balance of £ vs performance.
I used to run a 275 Trophy on Ohlins R&T oem kit… sublime !!! One day I will get some buttery dampers on the Alpine
Please keep us informed on reliability, bushes wearing, seals leaking, maintenance etc.. (hopefully none of the above btw)
The AST’s sound a good balance of £ vs performance.
I used to run a 275 Trophy on Ohlins R&T oem kit… sublime !!! One day I will get some buttery dampers on the Alpine
Please keep us informed on reliability, bushes wearing, seals leaking, maintenance etc.. (hopefully none of the above btw)
This was the first time I've put coilovers onto a car (that didn't already have them) so I wasn't sure what to expect but I'm pleased to say that the difference was immediately obvious, even to my inexperienced eye. My A110S has had quite a few mods to date, ECU remap, TCU remap, springs, Milltek exhaust etc but I think if I had to recommend just one mod to someone starting with a stock car it would be coilovers and geo.
Btw Matt said the ASTs wouldn't need periodic rebuilds..
Btw Matt said the ASTs wouldn't need periodic rebuilds..
Spokeyblokey said:
Btw Matt said the ASTs wouldn't need periodic rebuilds..
That’s the norm in my experience, I have always wondered how difficult it would be to design a coilover without this requirement ? Perhaps a few g heavier, sacrificing a small % of performance for more year round road use durability, but still a significant improvement over typical OEM.Suppliers focus always seems to be on ultimate lightweight performance, I’ve got so many mates who had issues resulting in rebuilds which is quite a faff isn’t it ?
Perhaps I’m asking too much !?!?
Not a criticism of AST or Life110 by the way, more a general bugbear that I just don’t understand
Enjoy that buttery secondary ride… I’m sure they’re fab !!!
Just had mine done too. Great service from David and Matt.
I started with a GT so the result is lower for me (car looks more sporty). Just need to be more careful turning up inclines/kerbs else mudguards at front catch. Fast road geometry applied.
Comparatively I do notice bumps more but they are over quicker. No feel that the car is still bouncing and you need to back off.
Definitely feels a lot more stable at speed combined.
No images as new member and can’t post them.
I started with a GT so the result is lower for me (car looks more sporty). Just need to be more careful turning up inclines/kerbs else mudguards at front catch. Fast road geometry applied.
Comparatively I do notice bumps more but they are over quicker. No feel that the car is still bouncing and you need to back off.
Definitely feels a lot more stable at speed combined.
No images as new member and can’t post them.
garethwebber said:
Just had mine done too. Great service from David and Matt.
I started with a GT so the result is lower for me (car looks more sporty). Just need to be more careful turning up inclines/kerbs else mudguards at front catch. Fast road geometry applied.
Comparatively I do notice bumps more but they are over quicker. No feel that the car is still bouncing and you need to back off.
Definitely feels a lot more stable at speed combined.
No images as new member and can’t post them.
Did you choose to run the car lower or did you just leave the installer to it?I started with a GT so the result is lower for me (car looks more sporty). Just need to be more careful turning up inclines/kerbs else mudguards at front catch. Fast road geometry applied.
Comparatively I do notice bumps more but they are over quicker. No feel that the car is still bouncing and you need to back off.
Definitely feels a lot more stable at speed combined.
No images as new member and can’t post them.
Julian Thompson said:
garethwebber said:
Just had mine done too. Great service from David and Matt.
I started with a GT so the result is lower for me (car looks more sporty). Just need to be more careful turning up inclines/kerbs else mudguards at front catch. Fast road geometry applied.
Comparatively I do notice bumps more but they are over quicker. No feel that the car is still bouncing and you need to back off.
Definitely feels a lot more stable at speed combined.
No images as new member and can’t post them.
Did you choose to run the car lower or did you just leave the installer to it?I started with a GT so the result is lower for me (car looks more sporty). Just need to be more careful turning up inclines/kerbs else mudguards at front catch. Fast road geometry applied.
Comparatively I do notice bumps more but they are over quicker. No feel that the car is still bouncing and you need to back off.
Definitely feels a lot more stable at speed combined.
No images as new member and can’t post them.
Feels like a real luxury not to have to do this, I don’t have the AST’s so think I ended up just a nominal 5mm lower with the Bilstein’s and Life110 springs.Primarily my car is a road car.
Julian Thompson said:
Did you choose to run the car lower or did you just leave the installer to it?
I spoke to Matt and he said the default settings for the asts on road were lower: I said fine do it as I wanted them set up how life had designed them. We are talking 15-20mm. It’s only going up kerbs that I am noticing the front mud flaps.
Gareth
Edited by garethwebber on Monday 4th December 10:54
I fitted the AST coil overs (track spec) to my PE a couple of months back, they replaced the original shocks and the life 110 springs, the ride height remains the same as with the life 110 springs so i believe is around 18mm lower than stock, to me this suits the car.
I also fitted David's rear wing and front splitter, basically I have become addicted to the Nürburgring and I am uprating the car to suit the ring.
Although the ride is a little harsher at lower speeds its nowhere near as extreme as it may sound and is perfectly fine as a daily. The extra support from the suspension was quite noticeable at the ring especially with a passenger on board, The original set up simply ran out of ideas when the loads got too high. The car now feels far more planted and predictable and simply asks you to try harder.. push the tyres more.. go quicker.
Away from Germany and back in the UK I feel I am pushing the car harder. Its difficult not to press the throttle that bid more when the conditions suit and i want to take the car out more often. The car feels so much more sure footed even in wintry conditions. I drove a favourite road a few nights back on cold and damp roads and still on Cup2 tyres and the car felt great, especially under hard breaking. It occurred to me at the time, the changes were primarily for track work but the car felt so much better on technical UK roads at speed.
Although the changes may not be for everybody i simply want to drive the car more now it is 'modified' that can't be a bad thing.
I also fitted David's rear wing and front splitter, basically I have become addicted to the Nürburgring and I am uprating the car to suit the ring.
Although the ride is a little harsher at lower speeds its nowhere near as extreme as it may sound and is perfectly fine as a daily. The extra support from the suspension was quite noticeable at the ring especially with a passenger on board, The original set up simply ran out of ideas when the loads got too high. The car now feels far more planted and predictable and simply asks you to try harder.. push the tyres more.. go quicker.
Away from Germany and back in the UK I feel I am pushing the car harder. Its difficult not to press the throttle that bid more when the conditions suit and i want to take the car out more often. The car feels so much more sure footed even in wintry conditions. I drove a favourite road a few nights back on cold and damp roads and still on Cup2 tyres and the car felt great, especially under hard breaking. It occurred to me at the time, the changes were primarily for track work but the car felt so much better on technical UK roads at speed.
Although the changes may not be for everybody i simply want to drive the car more now it is 'modified' that can't be a bad thing.
Peter.R said:
I fitted the AST coil overs (track spec) to my PE a couple of months back, they replaced the original shocks and the life 110 springs, the ride height remains the same as with the life 110 springs so i believe is around 18mm lower than stock, to me this suits the car.
I also fitted David's rear wing and front splitter, basically I have become addicted to the Nürburgring and I am uprating the car to suit the ring.
Although the ride is a little harsher at lower speeds its nowhere near as extreme as it may sound and is perfectly fine as a daily. The extra support from the suspension was quite noticeable at the ring especially with a passenger on board, The original set up simply ran out of ideas when the loads got too high. The car now feels far more planted and predictable and simply asks you to try harder.. push the tyres more.. go quicker.
Away from Germany and back in the UK I feel I am pushing the car harder. Its difficult not to press the throttle that bid more when the conditions suit and i want to take the car out more often. The car feels so much more sure footed even in wintry conditions. I drove a favourite road a few nights back on cold and damp roads and still on Cup2 tyres and the car felt great, especially under hard breaking. It occurred to me at the time, the changes were primarily for track work but the car felt so much better on technical UK roads at speed.
Although the changes may not be for everybody i simply want to drive the car more now it is 'modified' that can't be a bad thing.
Thanks for this write up, how does the car handle big potholes and heavy compressions on b roads? Any grounding?I also fitted David's rear wing and front splitter, basically I have become addicted to the Nürburgring and I am uprating the car to suit the ring.
Although the ride is a little harsher at lower speeds its nowhere near as extreme as it may sound and is perfectly fine as a daily. The extra support from the suspension was quite noticeable at the ring especially with a passenger on board, The original set up simply ran out of ideas when the loads got too high. The car now feels far more planted and predictable and simply asks you to try harder.. push the tyres more.. go quicker.
Away from Germany and back in the UK I feel I am pushing the car harder. Its difficult not to press the throttle that bid more when the conditions suit and i want to take the car out more often. The car feels so much more sure footed even in wintry conditions. I drove a favourite road a few nights back on cold and damp roads and still on Cup2 tyres and the car felt great, especially under hard breaking. It occurred to me at the time, the changes were primarily for track work but the car felt so much better on technical UK roads at speed.
Although the changes may not be for everybody i simply want to drive the car more now it is 'modified' that can't be a bad thing.
Hi Julian, I have no negative issues, the suspension just works better in all situations. It certainly has better control over big impacts where the original dampers would let the body move/ bounce more. There is no doubt that the suspension works better the harder it is pushed and it does improve with speed but its not that its bad at low speeds, it just gets better when you go faster
Spokeyblokey said:
Btw Matt said the ASTs wouldn't need periodic rebuilds..
I asked David about rebuilds: “ A race damper yes, these run without what is known as a scraper seal on the piston so dirt can get into the seal, these wear and then oil leaks.The AST as road based do have scraper seals, so same technology as mainstream dampers, and should protect the seals. Of course nothing lasts forever and they can be rebuilt in future, but it isn't something to plan for.”
Gareth
Peter.R said:
Hi Julian, I have no negative issues, the suspension just works better in all situations. It certainly has better control over big impacts where the original dampers would let the body move/ bounce more. There is no doubt that the suspension works better the harder it is pushed and it does improve with speed but its not that its bad at low speeds, it just gets better when you go faster
I understand. That’s brilliant, thanks!garethwebber said:
Spokeyblokey said:
Btw Matt said the ASTs wouldn't need periodic rebuilds..
I asked David about rebuilds: “ A race damper yes, these run without what is known as a scraper seal on the piston so dirt can get into the seal, these wear and then oil leaks.The AST as road based do have scraper seals, so same technology as mainstream dampers, and should protect the seals. Of course nothing lasts forever and they can be rebuilt in future, but it isn't something to plan for.”
Gareth
Edited by Simon Owen on Wednesday 6th December 09:43
Edited by Simon Owen on Wednesday 6th December 10:54
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