So guys i have a 2005 Exige that has been turbocharged and i would like to upgrade the suspension system. I do not track the car, only fast road use and I want to get it a bit lower to the ground. The oem shocks on the car are the normal bilstein/eibach combo ( not adjustable ).
I really like the Nitron Fast road ( The price and the fact that Nitron makes em )
http://www.seriouslylotus.com/index.php/nitron-street-series.html
Are this shocks an upgrade over the oem or at least as good?
I think the Street series Nitron’s are quite new so doubtful that you’ll get much feedback either way.
My 2penneth worth as follows
The Nitron stuff appears to be top quality based on comments on here and SELOC - I’ll let you know as I’m getting my Nitrons fitted this week. The standard billies are pretty crap for track use and Okish for the road. Anything is going to be better than the ones you take off.
My advice would be to buy the best shocks you can afford. The difference between the new SS and the NTR’s is around �500 which is probably well worth the extra.
Have a look at the Nitron site and if need be give them a call - Guy’s the MD and very helpful.
Well I’ll chuck my 2p in, for road only use the standard billys are the best you can buy.
I have driven on nearly all of the different set ups and for fast road you cannot beat the lotus oem set up.
I have the NTR’s which were bespoke to my car but they are pretty close to the fast road set up, IMHO they are neck and neck with the billys on the road but better on the track.
However for road only use there would be no point spending the money as the billys are perfect, I have driven on NSS and as good as they are they are more crashy than billys on the road.
[quote=Boothy]Well I’ll chuck my 2p in, for road only use the standard billys are the best you can buy.
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The 2 way lotus sport ohlins are head and shoulders better than the standard billys for road driving, they are much more compliant yet can be set up (bump and rebound adjustment) for the odd trackday. Of all the mods to my car, engine included, replacing the standard suspension has been the best performance mod I’ve made yet, and that’s solely for fast road use.
Never driven on the ohlins but forgetting the fact they are adjustable I can only take your word for the compliance.
However I have a test road near me that I benchmark all of my fast road shocks on and my nitrons feel more complient than my billys but are no quicker over that road, in fact the best fast road set up for that sort of road is actually elise billys but I digress…
So as I said if its road only use you can pay �500 for billys but if you want anything as good it will either be �1300 for NTR’s or �2k for ohlins…
It’s your cash but for road only use unless you want to tell the guys down the pub or on a forum how much you spent on shocks I know where my money would be.
I thought my standard billeys were worse than my S1 suspension on the road so crashy and under damped. Got a set of one way nitrons and they are so much more compliant on the road, I’m am sure what ever you buy you will not be disappointed. My only advice is to get it properly set up by someone who knows what they are doing, that will make so much difference
As you’re not looking to replace your OEM billys with another set of the same, I’d say based on my own experience of replacing them with Ohlins (and from what most others have said about Nitron’s) you will definately get the lowered look AND a more compliant ride by changing shocks.
I was in exactly the same position as you and specifically chose the Ohlins after speaking to JSR Racing (and others) about which brand (Ohlin or Nitron) would suit my fast road driving (and get rid of the dreaded crash/bang/wallop over every bump) and reduce the ride height. Also I bought my set brand new from Junks for a shade under �1k - keep checking the parts for sale section or PM him.
For road I definitely prefer the Ohlins. They’re amazingly compliant and smooth giving total confidence even on B roads. I have driven them back to back with the bilsteins on the same day/road and they transform the handling.
[quote=wesj111]For road I definitely prefer the Ohlins. They’re amazingly compliant and smooth giving total confidence even on B roads. I have driven them back to back with the bilsteins on the same day/road and they transform the handling.
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In fairness as I said I have never used ohlins, my nitrons are are better than the billys on the road and track but they are �1400, the Ohlins are �2k and the OP is asking about �600 dampers IMHO at that price point they are a compromise and are not as good as the billys as a pure road damper.
I have been emailing Guy Evans (MD of Nitron) about street series and how they compare to bilsteins etc,
Below is an extract from one of his reply’s regarding the development and quality of the Nitron street series.
When looking for a replacement for the worn out standard dampers, why buy twin-tube production based shocks from other manufacturers when you can have a genuine gas monotube for around the same money? And�these are proven shocks, how many times do you hear on the forums of unhappy street series customers considering how many have been sold? Consider too that shocks are subjective, not everyone likes the same thing, so lack of unhappy customers is even more interesting. Not intending to start a war chaps, just interesting info…
Here is the content from Guy
�I have read with interest the many comments regarding our Street Series range of shocks and feel that a post by me is required to set the record straight. Nitron Street Series have actually been developed over a long period of time. They were first tested (under another brand name) during 2007, we started selling them in 2008 and we have been selling and fitting these to other cars since then. Any initial teething problems have all been sorted out. We now have a total of over 2,300 of these series of shocks in the market both here in the UK and abroad. They share some common parts with the NTR shocks, most importantly the end bearings and the sealing system. They are made entirely to our design and specification. In Sep �09 we free issued 14 kits to the market for long term testing on the Lotus chassis platform and it�s derivatives. This included a test through a very harsh winter. Following on from the testing we then sold a first batch of 200 shocks, followed by a second batch of 400 shocks. We did not predict the rapid take-up on them which is why we ran out of stock so quickly. We have sold out of the second batch and the third batch of 400 shocks arrives in 10 days time and we will need a few days to test them (they are all tested here by us before despatch) then we can ship them out. They have been remarkably reliable and we have not had any back with faults except for 1 noisy shock. Although they are meant to be a replacement for road use, they do have the benefit of adjustable ride height and adjustable damping. Many customers have taken them to the �Ring, Spa etc, used them on track days and even though we didn�t intend this kind of use, they have performed very well. We have a lot of customers commenting on how they feel much more composed and smoother than their original Bilsteins, and these are not always of worn out old ones, many kits get fitted to nearly new cars with low mileages. There are other damper available in this price region, but considering you get a full inverted gas monotube (as Lotus designed it), we feel the Street Series represent remarkable value. The Street Series now has a proven and tested history and is no longer a �new� damper. They are fully rebuildable and serviceable by us here in our premises. As with all Nitron customers, we continue to make sure they are satisfied at all times, and Street Series shock customers benefit from this too.�
Would the NTR 46mm 1ways be even smoother on the road than the street ones ?
Yes. My mate has NSS and as I say while they are very good they are not as good as my NTR’s on the road.
I have the NTR’s with what I considered would be stiff spring’s at 550F / 700R and they are actually even ‘smoother’ on the road that the standard Billies!!! I was just astonished how they shrug off bumps… ever mid corner the car just holds the chosen line without any drama!!!
The 46mm NTR’s will be better still as the larger cross setional area, damper volume and oil quantity allows more precise metering of the oil during shock movement… so they would not only offer even better control, they would be even smoother!!!
As a Nitron customer I can vouch for Guy’s comments about being 100% satisfied with the excellent customer service. My NTR’s were initially built for me for my S2 111s which was about 100kg lighter than my Exige S!!! 
I initially decided to keep the same spring rates when I swapped them over when I changed cars - they were at that point 375F / 450R. But having done a track day with them I noted the car was rolling and pitching a tad too much. On Nitrons recommendation, I then went the the stiffer springs and all the above was sorted! VERY happy bunny with them. 
From what I gather, if you want a great upgrade but dont track your car, the NSS would be a good move above the standard Billies. But if you like to drive that bit harder and perhaps want to track it, I would go with the NTR’s… they will ‘future proof’ your intended driving and are just brilliant dampers! OR, go the whole way at get the 46mm NTR’s!!! 
Dave at SL is well in the know about this kind of stuff… give him a call as he is a top bloke to chat to so you can make the decision right for you!
I got these bad boys - http://www.nitron.co.uk/nitron09/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_19_32&products_id=977
First TD on them this Friday - will report back
[quote=pete757] My NTR’s were initially built for me for my S2 111s which was about 2100kg lighter than my Exige S!!!
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Fixed that for you Pete