Suspension - Which is best for you?
By Thorney Motorsport
So, you've landed here with the intention of changing your vehicles handling characteristics. But, you're unsure of which level you should go? With the following questions we hope to clarify your requirements.
Q. I like the standard cars ride, but would like sharper handling without ride compromise.
E92 M3 on our Geometry rig.
Stage 1
Go for the TMS enhanced geometry. We adjust the cars handling by making the cars set up more aggressive which both reduces under-steer and sharpens overall handling. The changes are made on our state of the art Hunter 4 wheel lazer alignment rig on a custom made flat floor ramp (we use the same set up for our race car set ups). Changes to the cars toe, camber front and rear can make dramatic differences to the cars grip and poise completely unaffecting the ride.
Please CONTACT US to arrange a booking.
Q. The standard cars handling is OK but I’d like the car to be a little sharper with better grip and less body roll, I also want the car to look lower.
E92 M3 on Eibach Springs.
Stage 2
Eibach Pro lowering springs and an enhanced geometry are the answer.
The M3 carries a relatively high proportion of its weight above the
door line so lowering the chassis via shorter springs helps handling by
lowering the cars centre of gravity, our race cars are pretty much
slammed on the floor. There are various spring kits available but the
Eibach Pro are by far the best choice. They lower the car (and the
centre of gravity) by 40mm which is the perfect height to cope with UK
roads and speed-humps and improving the handling dramatically. A
geometry session is essential when fitting springs to set the handling
and tyre wear correctly.
Eibach Springs from £137.00 in our Shop.
Q. I really use my car hard on the road, I’d like better grip in the wet and dry with better turn in, higher mid corner grip and much more controlled body roll. I’m also interested or do a few track days but the car is primarily a road car.
Moton Coilovers on our E92 M3
CSL Cup Safety Car at Silverstone.
Stage 3
We can literally transform the car with a full suspension upgrade.
After a long period of development (both on and off track) we have
worked with two suppliers who lead the way in the highest quality form
of upgraded suspension – mono tube. The main benefits of mono tube
suspension is that adjustments are wider in range so you can have soft
for the road and stiff enough for track and also the oil suffers less
from over heating that dual tube shocks suffer from. By working with
Nitron and Moton on the M3's and Vauxhall applications we have
developed custom road suspension kits that are perfect for the road car
driver who likes to use the car to its maximum effect as well as cope
with extensive track work. Monotube shocks offer the added benefit of a
single adjustment system where compression and rebound damping can be
adjusted softer or harder via a single knob at the top of the shock –
very easy to understand and implement. On the road run on road
settings, get to track and turn the knob to the positive (harder) and
you’ve got track settings.
Nitron 1/2/3-Way Suspension Kits from £1,175 in our Shop.
Moton 1/2/3-Way Suspension Kits from £2,625 in our Shop.
Q. I drive my car hard on the road but it also does a lot of track days and I want to extract the maximum I can out of the chassis. I also want to maximise its fun on the road.
John Thorne in our CSL Cup CSL
Running Moton Competition Setup.
Stage 4
The top specification of shocks we have developed are a derivative of
our race cars – two way adjustable mono-tube shocks. Two way adjustable
means that the adjustment of compression and rebound damping is
separate, IE you can adjust both independently. This increase in
adjustment means that the cars handling can be fine tuned to a perfect
set up. Bump can be adjusted without affecting rebound – exactly what we do on race cars.
Nitron 1/2/3-Way Suspension Kits from £1,175 in our Shop.
Moton 1/2/3-Way Suspension Kits from £2,625 in our Shop.
Q. I want to race my car, what do you recommend?
Please call us, the specification of the suspension we would advise depends on the kind of racing you want to do; the options are highly detailed. It's better to go through them on the phone or via email.
