Track Surface Differences - Choosing the Right Suspension

I am amazed at how smooth the tracks (and roads) are in England. My last track day at Bedford Autodrome along with a previous visit to Brands Hatch and Donnington confirmed that conditions are much better than what we experience at many tracks and roads here in the US. I have also been to Fuji and driven on Twin Ring Motegi in Japan so know that they also enjoy smoother conditions.

Why is this important? Suspension set up. With the bumpy conditions found on various tracks and roads we run, a compliant suspension is key. Too high a spring rate will create a car that does not soak up the irregularities. Good rebound and compression adjustment becomes key as well.

To that end, we have kicked off three new spring rate packages that you can select when ordering your Nitrons. Our experience has also shown that aero plays a significant role in spring choice. Early this year, while testing Nitrons with 525/650lb springs - it became apparent that the high downforce ReVerie kit on our Exige could use some more spring. We installed 550/700 and the car ran like a dream - it sucked up the bumps and ran the curbs like never before. Nothing seemed to upset it, even on our bumpy tracks (Willow & Buttonwillow in this case).

Rebuilding shocks last week at Nitron showed me the amount of options that exist in tailoring a suspension system INSIDE the shock! Choosing the correct valving to match your spring rates is a critical part of a sorted kit. Working with Ralph@V2, some select Lotus Challenge racers and of course, Nitron UK, we will be working to refine our kits to meet our US needs. And since Nitrons can be rebuilt/revalved by us, we will be able to tweak your kits to meet your specific needs.