jp7 Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 Hi all, got the old girl out for a blat today and noticed that one of the front dampers had 'let go' its fluid all over the garage floor, i suspect it was cadwell 2 weeks ago that finished it off. I dont have any adjustable platforms, and so now seems like a perfect time to replace the lot with uprated springs/platforms. Has anyone had experience of the aluminum freestyle dampers or am i better to stick with the caterham bilsteins. Car is 95 dedion, pre-widetrack. cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 Freestyle completely unbiased opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 I stuck the Freestyle ali dampers on the rears. 1Kg each lighter than the Bilsteins I took off. Only done 1hr, 15 mins track time and a couple of runs on the road with them. Nice to be able to adjust them between the two apps. So far so good. My racing pics, 7 DIY, race prep. Updated often here Photo's of the year here Hants (North) and Berkshire Area club site here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordy Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 I went for the freestyle lightweight ali dampers and springs. No idea about longevity, only done about 1500 miles and 1.5 trackdays do far. I think they are superb, light, easy to fit, adjustable to your own preference. Basically it has allowed be to get a nice handling balance which suits me. Good service from Len and top VFM in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Adderley Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 By strange coincidence, the front dampers on my '94 1400S/S have also developed a leak ( ☹️)and I was wondering about replacements other than the std Bilsteins, so this is a very useful thread! Any suggestions as to where I can get some at a decent price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donkey kong Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 I'm with len on this!!!,also totally unbiased towards freestyle,they are purely doing what caterham should be doing namely ,taking the product forward,you don't think so? then check out freestylemotorsport.com for some answers. my reason for being a little vindictive is my car was picked up week ending 18th april without my 13in mag wheels, and guess what!! i've been told they may be in tomorow the...18th may Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julians Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 Just had a quick look on the freestyle site, does anyone know what the difference between the road/trackday spring and damper kit at £395 and the sprint/racewinning spring damper kits at £465. I guess it must be more than a different set of springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 My guess is the difference is ali. My racing pics, 7 DIY, race prep. Updated often here Photo's of the year here Hants (North) and Berkshire Area club site here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp7 Posted May 18, 2003 Author Share Posted May 18, 2003 i thought the difference in price was down to spring ratings, higher for the race ones, however i'm probably wrong. Sounds like i should give len a call. cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiddy1 Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 well I went with the AVO/Freestyle dampers on my car and the rears lasted 6 months and about 1500 miles before they blew all teh oil out of the top seals, AVO did repair them under warrenty (damn right too) but when I asked why they had failed ( I design hydraulic actuators for a living) they told me I had got dirt into the seals an I should be more careful next time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 SO they work well but just don't expect to get more than 1500 miles out of them before they need a re-build. ok, give them the benifit of the dowt, and these two were a bad batch, but if my fronts go then I will be returning all four under the ' not fit for purpose' lable Either they have the right seals designed in for dirt exclusion or not! Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp7 Posted May 19, 2003 Author Share Posted May 19, 2003 What about the Leda kit that James Whiting sells, any thoughts on that? Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 Jason B has had the road ones on his car since last August. His car is, how shall I put it, not the most cleaned 7 around and is used everyday come rain or shine or salt. He does 1000 miles a month. His are fine. I looked them over on Saturday while fitting a rear wing for him. My racing pics, 7 DIY, race prep. Updated often here Photo's of the year here Hants (North) and Berkshire Area club site here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 Tiddy can you give me a ring 01892 540828 07946 634021. I can get back to Avo and see what the problem was, and if the seal has been altered. We did have another damper go but this was due to the top seal not being locked. The difference in cost is the springs standard sets fully adjustable with springs £395, alloy +120 per set, speherical joints and spacers +£100 per set. Hope this is not advertising but the question was asked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 Tiddy I have just checked for your phone number, did you buy the dampers from us? As I cant trace an invoice or were they the standard AVO’s? I would like to hear from you even if we did not supply them as every bit of information helps us to develop the product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Williams Posted May 20, 2003 Share Posted May 20, 2003 I have the Leada's from James Whitting and I'm delighted with them. More money than the AVO's but much better finish etc. Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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