FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can't find the answer to your question elsewhere on our website? Then hopefully you'll find what you're looking for on this page.

- When do I need helper springs?

- Will my car feel hard and 'crashy' with Nitrons?

- Should I have my geometry checked after fitting?

- How much should I lower my car?

- What is a remote reservoir for?

















































- When do I need helper springs?

Take a car with very stiff springs, a race car perhaps, now imagine the car being placed onto the ground, the springs do not compress much meaning the car sits at a relatively high ride height. The only way to lower the car then is to wind the spring platforms so that the springs rattle loose at full droop. Now imagine the car on the circuit, when the car rolls in a corner the springs on the inside wheels will be loose and so the wheels will not be pushed onto the tarmac, and hence will be generating no grip. This is of particular importance to the driven wheels as they will then be inclined to spin up, and so not propelling the car. The effect is compounded further if the car is not fitted with a limited slip differential, the spinning inside wheel taking all the drive from the loaded outside wheel.

So to keep inside wheels in contact with the tarmac and therefore contributing to the overall cornering force sometimes we fit helper springs. These go in series with the main spring and are kept aligned using a connector collet. So now when the car is placed down the helpers compress fully so at ride height the car still experiences the rates from the main springs. But whereas before the inside wheel would be out of control, now it is gently pressed onto the tarmac at all times.

So at what point should you fit helper springs? If you are experiencing some of the aforementioned problems then you might want to consider them. It could be that you only need to fit them to the driven wheels because sometimes having little droop travel is not a problem at the other end, this is true of the Lotus Elise with its mid-engined layout.

It should be said that sometimes it is okay for the springs to rattle a bit, if the car corners very flat then the springs may still be under compression at all times. Having springs that rattle loose is an MOT fail however!


- Will my car feel hard and 'crashy' with Nitrons?

Not at all. Unlike many aftermarket suspension products a Nitron kit will not leave you with a ride quality that is unbearable on anything other than Silverstone race circuit. Yes the spring rates and overall damping rates will typically be stiffer than standard, but due to the ultra low friction properties of the dampers the ride can still be forgiving. The result is reduced roll and outstanding body control in transient manoeuvres, and yet a ride with good compliance and suppleness.


- Should I have my geometry checked after fitting?

Although in most cases it is possible to retain the stock ride height after a Nitron kit has been fitted, most customers will choose to lower their car by a certain amount. In this case we would advise that a full geometry check be performed.

When cars are lowered from their standard ride height, the geometry (wheel alignment) settings will be altered.  Just fitting a suspension kit and not carrying out a full geometry afterwards may result in a car that feels worse to drive than before the kit was fitted.  So re-aligning the wheels is an important part of fitting a suspension kit if you want to get the best from the kit.  The geometry settings can also be tuned-in to settings which favour fast road or track use, thereby optimising your car for faster driving (which may come at the expense of tyre wear!).  Nitron recommend that every suspension kit is fitted in conjunction with a full four wheel alignment check, this can all be done at Nitron's Oxfordshire workshop, click here for details.


- How much should I lower my car?

By lowering the ride height of the car, you lower the car’s centre of mass (weight), this generally has the effect of reducing body roll. This in turn reduces lateral weight transfer, meaning that the tyres are more evenly loaded, so you ultimately get more grip. Less roll has many other good side effects including the following: more ability to apply power, better wheel geometry constraints and more stable underbody gap for aero work (if relevant). If you go too low, however, the roll centre geometry will start to work against you, overcoming all the benefits mentioned above.


- What is a remote reservoir for?

All dampers require something to compress internally to allow the rod to enter the body, in the case of a gas monotube this is achieved using a floating piston and a compressible volume of nitrogen.

A damper with a remote reservoir either on a hose or piggybacked onto the side of the shock allows the length of the main shock absorber to be reduced by moving the floating piston assembly to the side, and a much larger volume of nitrogen may be used which has a more consistent pressure during the rod stroke.

As the piston rod is pushed into the top of the body tube, an identical volume of oil is displaced into the remote reservoir. Placing valves in the head of the remote reservoir canister allows us to vary the damping rate in compression as oil is passed through it during the compression stroke. An additional benefit is the ability to cool the nitrogen by mounting the reservoir where there is cooling airflow and away from sources of heat, this will keep the nitrogen at a more constant pressure and help with consistent damping. Remote reservoirs also allow us easier access to the compression valve adjustment knobs.


Still have a question? info@nitron.co.uk