Mightymetro

So with mine that could be a mismatch of anything . I’ll get the bolt out and have a measure thanks for the help guys

Next question (but I’m definitely getting there even though nearly everyone I have used to do any jobs have let me down which is extremely frustrating!!!!) just wanting to order a few final assembly washers etc and wondered what the difference is between c level and d level radius arms

Any idea how to remove the lower spring perch? I’m guessing it slides up to the top of the shock? Don’t want to damage it with big hammers

So, I’ve hopefully got to the bottom of this and it seems Lotus maybe considered using conical bushes on all the rear suspension at some point in time for the facelift in 1997 and used my car for his. All my rear suspension components that should use parallel bushes have taper bushes and sleeves. The measurements all match the conical type that you can fit in the front wishbones. The bad thing is now that I have to buy all new suspension links etc as I already have the bushes and there must be a reason Lotus didn’t stick with this design. Grrrrrrrrrr

That’s Fab Barry, I’ll have a measure when I get home and see where I’m at

Hi sailorbob, these are the rear lower links on the back of the car, not the wishbone

If you get chance to have a measure I’d really appreciate it Barry

I might have to buy new arms and top links as I have no idea what The bushes are that are fitted to mine and no part numbers ££££££££ I don’t suppose anyone has one lying around and could tell me what the internal diameter of the link bar is. I maybe able to bore them parallel

It’s not that Barry, it’s the fact that the link bar ends aren’t parallel and I’m worried that the bush is the wrong type as all the other Link bars I have seen seem to be parallel whereas mine are tapered / conical

I’ve pretty much come to a standstill with my current problem and any help would be really appreciated. ‘’here are the photos of the rear stabiliser arms where the bushes go. I’ve got the new Lotac bushes which are the red round bushes and these appear to be parallel. ‘I’ve cleaned up the insides of the stabiliser bars and they are tapered inwards to the middle by about 2mm diameter. The bushes I removed were split type black conical rubber bushes similar to the later spec front taper bushes. I don’t know if they are all like this to allow movement of the poly bush during fitment to ensure a tight fit or I have some odd creation. The car has no history of bushes been fitted previously but the only part number for rear bushes is the same for all types?

I’m still interested too but i still don’t think there is any pricing. If it’s a few thousand I could go for it but any more and the pots empty

Hi Andy, unfortunately I haven’t had chance to look at it yet due to stripping the suspension off the car. I got replacement support brackets from SJ to fit in but I’m not sure if I’m just going to buy a new tray assembly. I’m terrible at fibreglassing and by the time I’ve bought a kit and sanding bits and the time it would take me I might just bite the bullet and get a new one. you have made a fab job of your repair

I have a nitron on my triumph Daytona and it seems really well made but it is a summer toy only. My only reservation is longevity as I’m hoping the car will be my daily driver. I’ve been in touch with Bilstein about the possibility of them rebuilding Lotac dampers etc but I’ve had no response in over a week and that’s with email and phone @Bibs, can you get a price and lead time for the Nitrons if you get chance and any more room in price if there is a small number of people interested ?

Here is a summery that I received from a suspension company regarding choices. I priced them at Lotac set up - £2750 nitron - £2000 Protec and Gaz - £1000 I think you should realistically rule out the Bilstein option, there's a fair amount of 'Lotus tax' applied to that, and for that much money you could buy so much more. If the money was no object, even with the Billies in the frame, I would go for the Nitron's. The reasoning for this, they run inverted monotube technology, they are simple to adjust (only 1 knob) they are fully customisable at the point of order, meaning we can choose your spring rates to suit your mode of use, and they are fully rebuildable (futureproof). We see the Nitron kit on a large proportion of the competition cars we set up, from kit cars and E46 M3's, up to 1200bhp Skylines and Noble GT3 race cars. We have seen quite a few cars now on the Protech kit, mainly TVR's and Noble's, and we are both pleasantly surprised with them, especially for the cost. With the Protechs you will get height adjustment, as well as separate bump and rebound adjustment. 350lbs springs as suggested by SJ's may be a little high (in my opinion) for a road only car, so it would certainly be worth enquiring as to whether softer springs can be supplied instead (250lbs-300lbs). Failing that, set aside a budget to replace the springs. The TVR owners are blown away by the performance of the Protech's, and this is coming from customers who have removed the stock Bilstein kit (similar to your lotus stock kit) or Gaz Golds. I guess the only thing that we do not know, is how they will fair in the longevity battle. However, factor that into the cost of the kit, and even if they only last a few years it still works out cost effective to have them rebuilt - and they do come with a 3 year guarantee. Price/performance, you can't go wrong. Gaz Golds - hmmm - I wouldn't. I run Gaz Golds on my own 944, and since day 1 they have given me nothing but grief. They are too firm for the road, and I spec'd them 15% softer than their recommendation. I have since softened the spring rates, and they're still too stiff. And they leak oil from the adjusters when I set them soft. Ignoring my personal experience, on other cars we've seen, they are always too stiff for road, they come with 20-30 adjustments but to make them bearable you can only use the last 3-5 clicks, and time between rebuilds is very short - race cars are having them rebuilt at the end of every season. To summarise, if I were in your position, id be weighing up the Nitron's or the Protech's. Likelihood is the Protech's will win, especially if we can set the spring rates a little softer. And if you factor in the money side of things, the money saved buying the Protech's more than pays for the final set up works on the car. Protechs also have that fine tune capability of setting bump and rebound individually, whereas Nitron is combined. I hope this helps - if you'd rather talk it through, or you have any questions, please do give me a shout.

Everything off the car and dismantled. Got the lower link studs out on all except the last one. Had to drill it out gently and straight. Tried the stud extractor once I had most of the bolt material out but it wouldn’t budge. Quick trip to tool station for a 13mm cobalt drill as the hss ones were not up to the task and also what a difference cutting fluid makes. got it out and then junior hacksaw through the split pin. Plenty of heat and got it out without cracking the hubs only 1 thing left that is seized and it is the top link. The half that is left handed came off but the stud is solid in the other side. Will persevere with fire and gt85 this week and see if it will come out. If not I might need one new side but pretty happy with what’s been salvaged. im still stuck with the fact my rear bushes seem to be conical and not parallel like the others. The ones I removed were 2 part black rubber bushes. I’ll,get them blasted and then measure them to see. I’m guessing they are normally parallel inside? Cweeden, last time I looked I’m sure that the Lotac suspension kit was £2200 but your right, it’s £2700 now!!! Can’t believe it was £279 per pair when they came out. I think I’m now edging towards the nitrons. Will give them a call this week and discuss fitting and report back.