Suspension upgrades

S1 Elise Suspension Enhancement Kit

In order that owners of S1 Elise might enjoy the benefits of suspension development on the S2 model, a retrofit kit has been introduced which comprises Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs to provide enhanced ride comfort and refinement.

Parts Required Part Number Qty

Suspension Enhancement Kit A111C0148S 1

comprising:

Spring/damper assembly front A117C0052F 2

Spring/damper assembly rear C117D0038F 2

Bracket, rear damper to chassis A117D0077F 2

Spreader Plate, rear damper mount A111D0125F 2

Fitting Instructions LSL459 1

Changes

The front spring rate has been increased to 42.5 N/mm from 27.5 ('Mk.1') and 35 ('Mk.2').

The rear spring rate has been increased to 50 N/mm from 40 (as 'Mk.2').

The front spring abutment uses the lowermost groove in the damper body.

The rear spring abutment uses the uppermost groove in the damper body.

The mid-laden (2 x 75kg passengers plus half tank of fuel) ride height is lowered to 130/130mm from 140/140 front/rear.

The brackets securing the rear damper to the chassis are unique to this application to provide the correct mid-laden ride height (with other bracket variants, rear height would be too low).

The spreader plates were fitted as standard to S1 cars with barrel shaped springs, but not to parallel spring cars.

Apart from the mid-laden ride height, suspension geometry settings and steering rack shim plates are unchanged.

ELISE 111R SPORT SUSPENSION

The suspension of the Elise 111R and Exige are similar, but the springs and dampers of the Exige are stiffened to match the Yokohama A048 tyres with wider front wheels, and provide a more sporting ride/handling balance. Owners of Elise 111R who wish to enjoy this type of characteristic can fit the Exige springs and dampers in conjunction with a vehicle set of Yokohama A048 tyres mounted on Exige wheels. The Exige front wheel size is increased in width over the 111R from 5.5J to 6.5J, and the front tyre section increases from 175/55 to 195/50. Rear wheel and tyre sizes remain unchanged at 7.5J and 215/45 respectively. Tyre pressures remain at 1.8 bar front, and 2.0 bar rear.

Wheel options are either:

Standard Exige cast alloy, 8-paired spoke, satin black painted, front 6.5J x 16, rear 7.5J x 17

or:

Lightweight forged alloy, 7-split spoke, satin silver painted, front 6.5J x 16, rear 7.5J x 17 Each forged front wheel saves 2.4 kg over the cast Exige wheel, with a 2.7 kg saving for each rear wheel.

Note that using the wider wheel set and Yokohama A048 tyres on an otherwise standard car will increase grip levels over the original specification, but in order to enjoy the full benefit of these tyres, it is strongly recommended that only a complete vehicle set of wheels/tyres/springs/dampers are fitted. It is also necessary to fit an edge finisher to the front wheelarches in order to maintain the legally required tread coverage when using the wider section front tyres.

Customers outside the U.K. should check the legality of this fitment with the appropriate authorities in their country of residence before purchase.

Part numbers are as follows:

Front Damper A122C0007H (2 required)

Front Spring A122C0008H (2 required)

Rear Damper A122D0008H (2 required)

Rear Spring A122D0006H (2 required)

Your dealer will be pleased to quote prices and fitting charges.