Following closely after wiztecys install, I had these shocks installed by Dietsch Werks today:
Lotus Elise S2 (K-Series) (02-05) NTR Race 1-Way 46mm
I am impressed. Tesla should have put these on as standard equipment.
Looks: Yeah, I know - who cares about how shocks look. But the Nitrons are a work of art. The titanium finish is not only corrosion resistant, it looks awesome. It indicates build quality. The stock Bilsteins look skinny and inadequate in comparison.
The install: I was hanging out in the shop for the last hour. John dialed in the camber at 2.1-2.4 on the rears and he did a thorough job, and with care. They treat the car with kid gloves and it shows. These guy know what they are doing.
After they were done, John test drove it and a heard a metallic clunking from the back. Rob (the owner) drove it and heard it too. It baffled everyone. They checked every bolt... It turned out to be the spare toolkit in the trunk bumping around!! Whew.
I drove it on Zanker road, over railroad tracks and some of the worst potholes in San Jose. The shocks are amazing. Stiffness without the bone shattering, frame distorting harshness of the stock Bilsteins.
I drove it back home on the highway and let it rip into the curves. The tail end now handles bumps in curves with confidence. It does not slip away and the fishy, sloppy rear end is gone.
You want to drive the car into the curve with a touch of additional power instead of gingerly backing off, as the stock shocks often forced me to.
The wobbly front end is gone too. You point the front and the car sticks to the direction. The stock shocks were so stiff that the steering would bounce around with the bumps. The Nitrons have good damping but not too much and you can play with it. My car had a mild shimmy with less than 6000 miles on it. The shimmy is gone. Maybe it was the wheel balancing.
Now the cons: the damper is reacting too quickly to wavy roads. Sections of Hwy 85 around here in Silicon Valley are particularly wavy. It feels like riding a rodeo horse. I might need to play with the damping adjustment to dial this out and slow down the damping velocity. I will probably get this tuned when I go back to Dietsch to have my rear view camera and Carbotechs installed.
Overall: IMO aside from the Carbotechs, this is probably the single most valuable upgrade to invest in. Most other upgrades are cosmetic/appearance/convenience. I can live without those. The Nitron shocks are functional and improve handling quality and safety, especially rear end stability. I can't go back to the Bilsteins.
Time will tell how well the Nitrons hold up. They come with a service record and service is recommended every 12-18K miles for street driving.
Will update this thread with a longer term report.
P.S. Rob still has one kit left at the group buy price
Lotus Elise S2 (K-Series) (02-05) NTR Race 1-Way 46mm
I am impressed. Tesla should have put these on as standard equipment.
Looks: Yeah, I know - who cares about how shocks look. But the Nitrons are a work of art. The titanium finish is not only corrosion resistant, it looks awesome. It indicates build quality. The stock Bilsteins look skinny and inadequate in comparison.
The install: I was hanging out in the shop for the last hour. John dialed in the camber at 2.1-2.4 on the rears and he did a thorough job, and with care. They treat the car with kid gloves and it shows. These guy know what they are doing.
After they were done, John test drove it and a heard a metallic clunking from the back. Rob (the owner) drove it and heard it too. It baffled everyone. They checked every bolt... It turned out to be the spare toolkit in the trunk bumping around!! Whew.
I drove it on Zanker road, over railroad tracks and some of the worst potholes in San Jose. The shocks are amazing. Stiffness without the bone shattering, frame distorting harshness of the stock Bilsteins.
I drove it back home on the highway and let it rip into the curves. The tail end now handles bumps in curves with confidence. It does not slip away and the fishy, sloppy rear end is gone.
You want to drive the car into the curve with a touch of additional power instead of gingerly backing off, as the stock shocks often forced me to.
The wobbly front end is gone too. You point the front and the car sticks to the direction. The stock shocks were so stiff that the steering would bounce around with the bumps. The Nitrons have good damping but not too much and you can play with it. My car had a mild shimmy with less than 6000 miles on it. The shimmy is gone. Maybe it was the wheel balancing.
Now the cons: the damper is reacting too quickly to wavy roads. Sections of Hwy 85 around here in Silicon Valley are particularly wavy. It feels like riding a rodeo horse. I might need to play with the damping adjustment to dial this out and slow down the damping velocity. I will probably get this tuned when I go back to Dietsch to have my rear view camera and Carbotechs installed.
Overall: IMO aside from the Carbotechs, this is probably the single most valuable upgrade to invest in. Most other upgrades are cosmetic/appearance/convenience. I can live without those. The Nitron shocks are functional and improve handling quality and safety, especially rear end stability. I can't go back to the Bilsteins.
Time will tell how well the Nitrons hold up. They come with a service record and service is recommended every 12-18K miles for street driving.
Will update this thread with a longer term report.
P.S. Rob still has one kit left at the group buy price
