Given the budget - LSD or Nitrons/Setup ?

[Mark_]

150SV , fast road and the odd bit of track......

[Tazio]

Shocks, set-up, tuition then lsd...

[Golf Juliet Tango]

Shocks first.

[anthonym]

shocks

[david2]

I went the other way round and LSD without the shocks and set up made it understeer, now with the nitrons and set up plus the tracsport LSD its very neutral and perfect for me. So i'd also go the other way round and get shocks and set up first. I did both as i was getting the tracsport gearbox at the same time and so got it all done while car was out of action anyway.

[ChrisC]

I read a few weeks ago here on blatchat a comment along the lines of "when sprinting, upgrading the shocks gave not time improvement", so I am shocked that shocks are wining at the moment.   Assuming you have good setup with your current shocks, I would go LSD first.   It transformed my 150, I hatted the spinning the unloaded wheel feeling.   

 

[anthonym]

I hazard it’s because he has put road as priority and not much track. All those bumps and pot holes.

[TomB]

With my adjustable Ohlins, being able to vary the hardness for road/track is invaluable given the state of the roads, which anecdotally seems to get worse each spring!  

[StevehS3]

Would you really swap the shocks if they weren’t worn or faulty? I would certainly spend on setup. Never had LSD so can’t comment.

[Simon.Rogers]

There is no doubt that good shocks will improve things. It's just a little bit silly to argue anything else given that race teams an OEM spend so much developing a cars handling and ride.

However in saying that you have to justify the improvement.  Unless you drove the same road back to back it's going to be extremely difficult to quantify.

I suspect that I could put regular dampers on my car and get pretty damn close to the same car on the Penske's I have.  Now they are the same damper spec as used in BTCC and many Indy Car Winners. (If not the same lengths etc).

However, I know I can repeat my times on the Penske lap after lap consistently.  I most certainly could not do that on regular dampers.  

It is the confidence in the ability of the car and dampers that actually improves the times not the damper per se.

You will also really see the difference between a good and well-specified spring and damper combination when you get things wrong.  It makes collecting an "issue" so much easier. 

Of course there is no time clock at a track day or on the road.  So how do you justify any upgrade of any performance part?

I would maintain that a road car will see a greater benefit from the higher specification dampers than the track car given the consistency of the track surface compared to the road surface.  

I am not trying to sell anyone anything here just opening up the discussion beyond the factors that may already have been mentioned.

The ride in my car on race settings is better than that of the standard damper. Far more compliant.  We don't specify overly hard springs.  Exactly the opposite actually.  As soft as possible with good damping to match.

I would disagree with the response on the speed forum but I dont want to respond to all posts with the "obvious" statement.

The biggest gains in time at a sprint or hillclimb come from the driver.  So by repeating an event you will always make significant gains. 

Imagine how long it takes to learn. 4 runs on any given day. 10 years competing only gives you 40 runs/laps.  You would do that at one track day!  Thats why the gains come so slowly on a speed event.

 

[bennetts2013]

Mostly road? Shocks. 

[SLR No.77]

Shocks AND setup every time.

With a decent set of shocks and the car well set up you'll be able to push it harder on the road without the need for an LSD ... and then if you do still think you need an LSD you probably need reminding that you're on a public road and should slow down anyway.

[DJ.]

It all depends if you want to go faster or have more fun.

My S3 has standard shocks, narrow track, and hasn't been set up apart from the post build check and I fitted an LSD (diff had to come out anyway, so why not? ).

On the road, the car is easily fast enough without an LSD and with standard shocks. My off road events have all been untimed events where having fun has been the priority, so donuts and power oversteer has been great fun. I haven't encountered understeer at all, but that's probably the way I drive.

If I was into sprinting or more serious circuit driving, then I know I would be best spending money on driving tuition, then set up, then shocks and last on an LSD.

As with all upgrades, I suspect you know in your heart what you really want, and it doesn't actually have to make much sense. After all, any sensible person wouldn't buy a Seven

Duncan

 

[p.mole1]

See if you can get a set of adjustable spring seats, that will enable you to set the car up to a reasonable level and you don't need to spend a fortune. Also check the geometry this will make a much bigger difference to the car, bump steer can be a problem sort this out first and you will find a huge improvement. You don't need an LSD unless you drive like a looney on the road and your inside wheel is loosing traction or your car is very powerful, however it will be a bonus if you intend to do track days.