virden Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Hi All, I am aiming to fix the sump grinding ground clearance on my 96 S3 live axle by replacing the SPAX coilovers with stiffer springs. Trawling through TechTalk I see mention of AVO and Gaz units. Both provide a variety of spring rates & adjustable shocks/platforms. Any recommendations as to which would be best for raod use? I and my passenger are heavy and the roads around here are very bumpy. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 You get what you pay for... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Englishmaninwales Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 I've been disappointed with AVO as their service life is short, and need to be refurbished frequently as they start to leak.... ☹️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philwaters Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Same here - I was very disappointed by my rear AVO's - they were damped so hard that the softest setting was actually harder than my old Spax on full hard! I would give the guys at ProTecha call - I got some replacement rears that are just great, better than the Spax and with plenty of adjustment - i.e. I'm not just running them at full soft or full hard, but actually in the middle so I have room to play with them. Phil Waters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaseb Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 I bought Pro-tech too, much impressed, especially as they are priced very competitively with alloy bodies as standard and a decent adjusterb mechanism BTW Pro-tech is owned and run by Rod Avon who was Mr 'Avo' and set Gaz's Factory up, to me that means the 'unknown' comany has provenance, I had a good chat with him and a wander round the premises when I picked my dampers up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstark Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Very happy with my GAZ setup on all corners... Bob Stark Supersprinter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen Payne Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 I'm very happy with the Avo's & springs from Freestyle (Gary May) - compliant enough for the road and fine on track as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virden Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 Thanks for the advice guys. Together with direct emails, I have a 50:50 split in opinion. I shall do some more research before handing over my ever decreasing dosh. Incidentally both AVO and Gaz were coming in at the same price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiddy1 Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 I have been running with AVO's for a few years and they are ok when they work, however the first set only lasted 1500 miles before the rear seals failed. these were re-built and lasted about 10K miles. I bought another set (well they are cheap) and the valving seems different and I really can't get to grips with them will definitly try somthing different next time...nitron......... Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petrolhead Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Neither, go Pro-tech R5 no more ☹️ Welcome CSR My site Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaseb Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 I'd advise that before you finally commit cash you have a chat with Protech and get a quote, my ali body dampers were circa 300 quid for 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grim Reaper Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 Having had to change out my Pro Tech shocks on my mini after 3 years because they have seized up solid, I would have to say go Nitron, it will be worth it in the long run. In my experience Spax had got a bad rep over the last few years but I hear they are coming good again, Gaz had a good rep but seem to have gone off, Avo's I have no experience of. Nitron have been as good as they could be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virden Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 Thanks All. I shall give Pro tech and Nitron a go and repot back. Keep the faith! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ged Posted December 15, 2008 Share Posted December 15, 2008 I've always considered Bilsteins a higher quality alternative to any of those mentioned, with the exception of Nitron. CC do a Bilstein conversion kit for the live axle cars, so would expect the valving and spring rates to be pretty well sorted, and they're less than ½ the price of Nitrons. Maybe add a set of adjustable platforms and have the car set up to suit carrying a passenger. Should be spot on for road use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petrolhead Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 I would agree with Grim, if you can afford Nitrons, get them. Their customer service is excellent R5 no more ☹️ Welcome CSR My site Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil_K Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 What's the approx difference in price between Pro-tech shock & spring and a Nitron shock & spring? Where am I? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petrolhead Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 I would say double the price R5 no more ☹️ Welcome CSR My site Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiddy1 Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Nitrons are £1200 inc VAT and springs for a set Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil_K Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 So Pro-tech's about £600? Seems cheap to me. Where am I? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
u01rsb Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Bit of a hijack, but..... What other options are there to the Nitrons? I'm thinking of upgrading from Avos, but the Nitrons have been around for a while, do we have any new flavours that are worth looking at? Thanks, Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Support Team Shaun_E Posted December 16, 2008 Support Team Share Posted December 16, 2008 Our Class 5 speed championship winner uses Ohlins 2 way adjustables. Nitron do 2 and 3 way adjustables as well, depending on how deep your pockets are. Penske are also well regarded but expensive. The important things for adjustable dampers is that they have repeatable settings and that pairs of dampers actually match. This is where Nitron (and I guess the other more expensive brands) beat the cheaper units. I have heard some horror stories about AVO dampers which is the main reason I chose Nitron. Yellow SL #32 - member of Drowned Rat Racing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StressedDave Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 You do get the same problem with Protech to a degree... I developed a suspension kit for the MX-5 using their parts. The problem we had was that the adjusters were never in the same position twice, so effectively every damper had to be built twice before it could be sold on and fitted. In the end, we've decided to ditch Protech and manufacture our own. As I work with a Se7en owner, I'm doing a version of them for him. If you don't mind the lurid colours, the front damper is here. I own the 1/12th scale Tamiya model - does that count? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie. Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Dave...the springs are rusty 😬 Will these be available to Caterham owners, and in Caterham suitable open/closed lengths? Any idea of cost, and are the 2way adjustable? Willie p.s. Nice pic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StressedDave Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Don't start... 😬 I don't see why they won't be available to Caterham owners. The whole design is modular, so the only difference between variants is a different body and piston rod. I've been and measured the geometry of a standard narrow track ex-Academy car so as to work out spring and damper rates, so the plan is, once the Mazda kit is on stream, to deliver the Caterham variant. The only remote adjustment is to high speed rebound at the moment (that's deliberate on my part, as unless you've got lots of data logging to help you work out what adjustments need to be made, you're just fiddling with knobs to no great effect), but things like the low speed bump and rebound are via small screw-in bleeds, and it's a simple job to depressurise the damper, unscrew the top and change the bleeds. We're still working on pricing, but seeing as we were selling the Mazda kit for around 500 GBP including springs, I can't see any reason why a Caterham version would be any dearer. I own the 1/12th scale Tamiya model - does that count? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petrolhead Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Not forgetting the group discount R5 no more ☹️ Welcome CSR My site Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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