on road (not track) improvement in upgrading suspension

[miles_stylus]

Reading some of the posts comparing olins (sic) and other suspension packages and the ability to vary the suspension of the car for track work raises a question - can this also improve the "comfort" of the car on the road.

I ask as when I borrowed a 111r I found myself having to steer around some "features" of the road surface on the back roads as the crashing was rather unpleasant - by no means enough to make me think twice about buying an Elise - however it would be nice to be able to dial out some of this harshness when you want to. Especially when my wife is complaining of massive back ache as she was getting the worst of it considering all the bad holes are on the passenger side!

Do the up-rated dampers in these sort of setups allow one to run batter springs etc? (getting rather out of my depth here) without killing off the excellent road holding that it one of the prime reasons for getting the S2?

Thanks

Miles

[StuartB]

The clever ones mean you can have various adjustments to bump and rebound settings along with choices of spring rates. You get what you pay for. Have a speak to the people at Plans Motorsport, they sell the ohlins kit and can answer any question you might have

[miles_stylus]

can you give me some details?

Thanks

Miles

[gooby]

You will always have difficulty with "raised road features" in the elise. The R has the best ride of the lot but it can still telescope your spine into the back of your head if you hit a pot hole wrong. This is because the Elise is an un compromised sports car. You cant have your cake and eat it.
Using the Ohlins, the ride height is dropped significantly so the travel is far less and you can expect some discomfort when you hit a bump. Adjustable or not.

If you drive a 'liz regularly you see pot hole as an oppertunity to use the best steering in the world.

[bogie]

the 111R has the best on road set-up of any Elise Ive driven...if you want better than that 'on road' you will struggle - most aftermarket set-ups are designed for making it better on track - even with adjustable stuff its always a compromise...if you run stiff enough springs to make a difference on track, they arent going to be suited to road use n all occasions and vice versa - everything is a compromise Im afraid.

You can spend £3k on some 'uprated' 'better quality' dampers etc but its the set-up and suitability for purpose that count...not the price...and you cant have your cake and eat it im afraid...

Only earlier Elises that std set-ups sometimes were a little naff and fitting say some Nitrons aftermarket and slightly stiffer springs *could* improve the road ride quite a lot...but now with the 111R its pretty well sorted and a great compromise for 99% of owners.

[sja]

Doess the 111s and 111r use different dampers?

[bher]

Cannot be really precise about the type of dampers but all the rear of the frame of the R has been revised to accept the Toyota engine. I mean the heavy toyota engine.

[bogie]

sja said:

Doess the 111s and 111r use different dampers?

yes

[sja]

So the 111r not as crashy over pot holes as S or are they similiar?

[gooby]

sja said:

So the 111r not as crashy over pot holes as S or are they similiar?

You will be surprised at how "un- crashy" the ride is in the 111R

[sja]

Never been in one so your prob right.. CAn the 111s suspeniosn be modified easily to "ease" the pot hole crashing?

[bogie]

111r is like a limo in comparison ...and yes - just fit Nitrons onto a 111S and youre sorted...I run Nitrons with 400/550lb springs, nearly full soft and it rides like a 111R on road, but with less roll..on track its much better