I have had to just make this choice. Nitrons in the UK have sold well due to their competitive price. They have also seen a lot of development work with race teams running Elises and Exiges. Ohlins is a larger company with greater resources to throw at development plus all the work Lotus has done with them.
Its a hard thing to measure you cant just put it on a dyno and get a result and of course horses for courses.

I have gone for a GT-spec Ohlins setup with 46mm dampers cant wait

I too am interested in this setup. I asked Plans Motorsport about their kit and this is the response I got...


Thanks for your enquiry

The dampers for the Exige S2, including the 240R are 36mm Ohlins. The valving for the 240R is slightly different from the regular S2 Exige. We can supply these kits which are the Lotus parts.

Our 46mm kit is a step up from the normal Lotus Kit. The extra size on the piston make a huge difference. The OE 36mm kit was developed from a motorcycle damper. The 46mm kit was developed from our TT46 GT race car damper and is much more robust. The influencing factor is the area of the piston as this is what determines the amount of oil flowing through the valves. This varies with the square of the diameter - so the 46mm damper moves 70% more oil.

We have dome days and days of testing on spring rates and will recommend a setting depending on what you will use the car for.

The rebuild rate is less than the 36mm kit, as they are more robust. On a race car we would recommend once a year dyno and check over. On a road car - use dependant and road salt dependant - they will last 2 years / 20,000 miles easily between rebuilds.

We supply recommended settings for road, dry track, wet track and a full user guide on how to set a car up using the dampers, and can recommend changes for extra weight - we run S2 Exige from 750kg (in UK) to 1000kg (in the far east GT series) where there is a 1000kg minimum weight.

Hope that helps


Graham Horgan
+44 1483 280036 (office)
+44 7802 177942 (cell) My Elise is used 100% on the track; I went with the single adjustable Nitrons and like them quite a bit.

I personally don't see much use for the more expensive double-adjustable shocks unless one is racing. Race shops tend to recommend double-adjustables because that is what they use for racing; to win, they need ultra-adjustability... most of us don't need such fine tuning. Crashtestdummy is correct on the Konis. They have a shock for the Elise, but it involves a new spring, not the OEM spring, which takes them out of consideration for SSCA stock classes. None are in developmwnr from Koni, either.

I need to get shock solution next year, too. I'm enjoying this thread. Crashtestdummy is correct on the Konis. They have a shock for the Elise, but it involves a new spring, not the OEM spring, which takes them out of consideration for SSCA stock classes. None are in developmwnr from Koni, either.

I need to get shock solution next year, too. I'm enjoying this thread.
I heard Koni was in the final stages of development on their 2812 series shock for the Elise/Exige. I didn't hear that different springs were required. In my case, I might be running an Exige in A/SP so a spring rate change, if necessary, is okay.

Kent Rafferty The base and sport Elise springs are barrel springs made by Eibach. The ID at each end is ~ 1 7/8 inches / 48 mm (have to dig up the actual measurement). The small ID at the final coil at either end of the springs is the tough thing to handle when using aftermarket shocks.

Some large bodied (diameter) shocks can be modded to cope with the small ID ends. In some cases the springs might be "persuaded" to fit over the large body... I'd watch out for any spring bow tendencies in that case since springs that are long compared to their diameters tend to bow as they are compressed, and some of the clearance gets eaten up by the reduced shock body to spring ID gap. That can lead to rubbing, friction, and intermittently higher spring rates.

If you don't need or want to use the stock springs, then many more options are open to you. I heard Koni was in the final stages of development on their 2812 series shock for the Elise/Exige. I didn't hear that different springs were required. In my case, I might be running an Exige in A/SP so a spring rate change, if necessary, is okay. Kent Rafferty
Hi Kent we met at that Lotus thing up at Lime Rock, you looked like you were having a blast. There are some pics of you in the Elise / Exige in the site archives - see:

Below is the specs for a basic 2812...note the body ODs. Normal springs fit fine but the Lotus springs would need some related tweaks to fit.

JRz has shocks for the elise 111r single adj. hear good things about the company from racers. 2300.00 us

Link: jrzusa.com Like many of us, I got sick of the uncertainty regarding Konis. After four different phone calls, I spoke to the head of Koni product development personally. He said they would NOT be coming out with an adjustable shock that was skinny enough to utilize the existing Eibach Lotus springs. Period. He then tried to sell me on their own shock/coilover combo, which does me absolutely no good for stock class in the SCCA. [quote=Stan]Hi Kent we met at that Lotus thing up at Lime Rock, you looked like you were having a blast. /QUOTE]

Hi Stan - good meeting you at Lime Rock. Yes, I always enjoy the Elise Ride-n-Drives - especially the Lime Rock event where we could exercise an actual Exige. I hope to have the opportunity to run a full schedule of national Solo events in an Exige in A/SP in '06 and am currently - with Sam Strano's assistance (www.stranoparts.com) - looking into shocks and related hardware for the Exige. Thanks for the Koni info!

Kent Rafferty I will let you guys know what I think of the Ohlin 46mm kit in early Jan when I will shake down the new set-up at the Top Gear track Maybe this will help you decide between Nitrons and Ohlins:

http://www.sector111.com/images/prod...comparison.pdf
The "street rating" is rated higher for the standard suspension all other choices, but all the testimonials I've seen say the ohlins ride better than anything Lotus offers. I want to upgrade my standard suspension, but it already sounds like the entire car is going to fall apart on even small potholes. I don't want to make it worse. just purchased the nitrons installing on thursday
thanks just purchased the nitrons installing on thursday
thanks
Cool. I'm looking forward to hearing about what you think. I too am interested in this setup. I asked Plans Motorsport about their kit and this is the response I got...


Thanks for your enquiry

The dampers for the Exige S2, including the 240R are 36mm Ohlins. The valving for the 240R is slightly different from the regular S2 Exige. We can supply these kits which are the Lotus parts.

Our 46mm kit is a step up from the normal Lotus Kit. The extra size on the piston make a huge difference. The OE 36mm kit was developed from a motorcycle damper. The 46mm kit was developed from our TT46 GT race car damper and is much more robust. The influencing factor is the area of the piston as this is what determines the amount of oil flowing through the valves. This varies with the square of the diameter - so the 46mm damper moves 70% more oil.

We have dome days and days of testing on spring rates and will recommend a setting depending on what you will use the car for.

The rebuild rate is less than the 36mm kit, as they are more robust. On a race car we would recommend once a year dyno and check over. On a road car - use dependant and road salt dependant - they will last 2 years / 20,000 miles easily between rebuilds.

We supply recommended settings for road, dry track, wet track and a full user guide on how to set a car up using the dampers, and can recommend changes for extra weight - we run S2 Exige from 750kg (in UK) to 1000kg (in the far east GT series) where there is a 1000kg minimum weight.

Hope that helps


Graham Horgan
+44 1483 280036 (office)
+44 7802 177942 (cell)
Does anybody offer the 46mm Ohlins in the US? What sort of cost vs. the standard 36mm kit? Also, for comparison, what's the diameter of the Nitron pistons? Does it vary among the three different models?

Offhand, the larger piston diameter seems to make sense, especially if the 36mm shocks were developed from motorcycle shocks. An Elise weighs considerably more than two normal-sized motorcycles and I would guess the loads on the shock would be correspondingly higher as well. On the downside, I assume the larger diameter shocks would add some weight as well, some of which would be considered unsprung. A set of Ohlins 46mm from Plans Motorsport is 1,990 GBP plus 120 GBP shipped to California. The price is quoted cheaper than that on its Web site because we don't need to pay UK taxes. They come in one of the four setups:

a) street
b) street & track
c) hardcore track
d) full race

Just an FYI. The info was given to me by Graham Horgan. Does anybody offer the 46mm Ohlins in the US? What sort of cost vs. the standard 36mm kit? Also, for comparison, what's the diameter of the Nitron pistons? Does it vary among the three different models? Offhand, the larger piston diameter seems to make sense, especially if the 36mm shocks were developed from motorcycle shocks. An Elise weighs considerably more than two normal-sized motorcycles and I would guess the loads on the shock would be correspondingly higher as well. On the downside, I assume the larger diameter shocks would add some weight as well, some of which would be considered unsprung.
What size do you think the base and sport pack Bilstein pistons are? I wouldn't get too hung up on that per se. The fancier Ohlins have more sophisticated construction than the normal stuff, it's not just a piston thing. Note that if you want to or need to use the stock Lotus springs, the diameter of the shock body is or may be an issue. The stock springs have an ID of around 48 mm or about 1 7/8 inches. This is a smaller diameter than most racing springs used on coilovers. The Lotus springs are a barrel spring design, so that the middle of the spring does not bow and then rub on the shock body. Rubbing creates wear and affects the damping effect.

There's a terrific chance I'll be on SCCA-compliant Ohlins in March. Fingers crossed. OK, things look good for the bonus and I'm going to order the new suspension. But I still don't know whether to go with the track Nitrons or the track Ohlins. The Nitrons appear to have much stiffer springs while the Ohlins presumably have stiffer dampers. Does anyone have any observations about one versus the other? This car is almost exclusively for the track, including driving to and from. Does anyone have any observations about one versus the other? This car is almost exclusively for the track, including driving to and from. The Nitrons are even more track focused than the Ohlins. Sounds like your car is focused for track use. If price is not an issue than I'd say the Nitrons are your answer.