Richard Gibson Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 I am going to need to fit new shock absorbers to my live axle Seven soon. Currently they have Spax, which are worn out....well at least one is really worn. I have only used Spax in past Lotus cars I have owned because of availabiity. Now it seem I have a choice. What brands are out there and what do you all recommend for a 160HP live axle Seven (85')? Richard Gibson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelspeed Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 I've just fitted a set of Ledas but havn't driven it yet. They look lovely, fit perfectly and seem to be pretty competitively priced compared with similar designs, ie more expensive than Spax but much cheaper than Trakspax. James Whiting has developed a kit using them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelspeed Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 I've just fitted a set of Ledas but havn't driven it yet. They look lovely, fit perfectly and seem to be pretty competitively priced compared with similar designs, ie more expensive than Spax but much cheaper than Trakspax. James Whiting has developed a kit using them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c7kjt Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 Can give the Leda's the thumbs up too, only tried them out on the road so far, huge improvement. Can't wait to try them on track. Kevin Thomas kevin.thomas@bigfoot.com www.c7kjt.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2D2 Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 Has any one tried Nitron. They look quite good but are Bl**dy expensive. Does the Leda use the original 1.9" I.D. spring of 2.25"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul D Jones Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 If the shock absorbers are the same as on a Westfeil then ring Andy at Triple S Powder Coating on 01274 562474.about £460 for a set of four including the springs 300lbs and 150lbs front/rear or your choice paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Gibson Posted February 17, 2001 Author Share Posted February 17, 2001 Thanks for the initial leads. Another question. The Spax shocks have always been more than adequate....they have an adjustment that is easy to use. On the Leda and the Nitron, are the owners of those brand shcoks knowledgeble about the comparison between the Spax and the Leda's and Nitron's. I guess what I am looking for is a forum to try to get comparisons so we can rate/compare each shock verse another so I and other people can get some good useful advice. At J. Whitings place, does the shock come with a spring and is it an adjustable shock and does it give ride height too??? That kind of information is great, Because like tires, shocks do make a great bit of improvement on your car's handling. So I want to hear from everyone about any opinion on shocks. I have also seen other sevens that have the front suspension setup with a shock with a bigger(?) diameter spring with many less coils. Anybody know the nature/purpose/brand of these?? Sorry to throw out so many questions, I just want to spend my money and get the most bang for the buck. Richard Gibson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelspeed Posted February 17, 2001 Share Posted February 17, 2001 Ledas use 2.25 inch springs. They have a single large adjustment knob which has 24 settings and adjusts bump and rebound together. It can be set by hand, is very easy to use, very positive and very easy to tell what setting you've chosen, not something that can be claimed by some others. They also have adjustable ride height as standard. The other shocks you have seen sound like Caterham's Vauxhall race Bilstein shocks which the racers used to use in the days before the Superlight race series. They're hugely expensive and are height adjustable only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Beaumont Posted February 18, 2001 Share Posted February 18, 2001 Avo also have a set for Caterhams, and about half the price of the Leda if I remember correctly. No idea whether they're any good or not. Luke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted February 18, 2001 Share Posted February 18, 2001 Dampers is an area of the seven often overlooked , I would be realy intersted to hear comments on the advantages of changing dampers . Unfortunatley I have nothing to add to the thead cos I'm running std as per superlight '97 . Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2D2 Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 The advantage claimed ny Nitron is that they use a lower gas pressure than other manufacturers and as the gas pressure tends to act as a spring it can make light cars quite stiff at low speed. The Nitron is supposed to counter this. I have seen a road test in a magazine about 6 months ago but I can't remember which one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Here's one... If money is no object. I have seen a set of Dynamic shocks installed on a factory rep's seven here in the states. Alloy bodies, adjustable for compression and rebound, remote resevoirs. Just like premium motorcycle shocks. Price? approx. $4,000 US. It never hurts to dream! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre Gillet Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 What is the price of the LEDAs kit proposed by J.Whiting? Pierre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberts Wallet Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Try Leda suspension which has the prices for springs and shocks Edited by - Gareth Harrold on 20 Feb 2001 21:55:14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bl0498 Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Richard, Caterham themselves now do a Bilstein progressive (non-adjustable) set of dampers/springs which are specifically tuned to the live axle car. I presume they will fit into your car. I fitted them to my 98 VX 1600 and it changed the handling considerably - much more predictable. I had the Spax previously. Believe they cost approx £320 for a set of 4. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StewartG Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 Maybe as well as borrowing bike engines it might be an idea to look in that direction for shox too. I suspect that in comparison Caterham Bilsteins/Spax are fairly crude although they are relatively inexpensive. It would appear that if the more exotic Spaxtrack or Leda etc options are under consideration then specially sprung and valved units by somebody like Maxton (who use Koni car shox customised on their own shock dyno) might be an alternative. In my experience there's nothing that comes close to Ohlins. They just feel better, with more wheel control together with a more supple ride than anything else. I believe Caterham have used these as development tools but didn't use them for production on cost grounds. There's not many race bikes using anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross_H Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 What do the racing teams use? I know alot of people who use Ohlins on TVR Tuscan Racecars, they are very impressive and have started to find their way onto roadgoin Griffs and Cerberas. I might phone Ohlins and see if they have a product suitable for Caterhams, as i'm having a blackbird built... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre Gillet Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 Thanks Gareth. Is there any difference between what James Whiting propose and what can be found on the LEDA web site? Cheers, Pierre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Gibson Posted February 22, 2001 Author Share Posted February 22, 2001 Many thanks for all this wonderful information to slag through. Pierre, Gareth, I am interested in what James whiting has to offer, since I met him once in my trip to the UK a month ago and found him to be right on top of things. I have researched Leda shocks and found them to be pretty good, but the prices by the time they get here in the US are obscene. Leda has a US guy ---sounds like a NASCAR racer and I doubt if I could order direct which would save me at least 300 pounds instead of going thorough him. That is why if James Whiting has a special kit he puts together...I know I can order from him. I am still in the middle of finding everything I can about these other companies. I will get back and give a rating of all the companies and my impressions when I am done. Shame I could not test all thier shocks. Someone in Low Flying should try to get some loaner shocks from these companies and do a test article. Tires are very important along with the cars design, but the shock is what keeps the tire in touch with the ground. More tire on the ground, better handling. People often overlook shock absorbers, as well as thier brakes....but that is for another day. Once again, thank you for all your input. Richard Gibson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number Six Posted February 22, 2001 Share Posted February 22, 2001 White Power on bikes have a good rep too in the States. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Carmichael Posted February 24, 2001 Share Posted February 24, 2001 I would like to have loan use of a damper dynamometer rather than just loaner dampers. Especially for adjustables. Either that or dynamometer plots supplied with each loan set. Maybe a bit of damper travel logging from PI Research as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Gibson Posted February 26, 2001 Author Share Posted February 26, 2001 I have done hours of research and gotten a whole lot of "Let me get back to you on that". Even the company whose brand of shock I am going to buy made me deal with someone with personality of a NASCAR driver (and the brains of one too). I contacted 10 companies and all, and shifted through lots of product reviews. I decided that I am going to go with Leda shocks. But only through James Whiting. Having talked to one other Leda shock owner I was close, then I talked to James and it sealed my choice. In my opinion, Buying Leda's through James Whiting is the only way to go. He has a special shock that has a rosejoint on it to deal with not only the up/down motion but the side pressure as the shock goes up and down. The geometry does not line up perfectly, but putting the rosejointed ones in will make the suspension happy. Not to mention the good service you always get at his shop anyway Richard Gibson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross_H Posted February 26, 2001 Share Posted February 26, 2001 Just ordered some 2 way adjustable ohlins. expensive, but the absoulte danglies according to anyone who's ever used them either on a bike or a race car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StewartG Posted February 26, 2001 Share Posted February 26, 2001 Go on then tell us how much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross_H Posted February 27, 2001 Share Posted February 27, 2001 3 to 400 quid each dep. on spec. I need to find out the spec for the caterham in terms of lengths, movement lengths, mounting fixings widths bolt size etc. anyone any idea where i can get this data from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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