[M2C_PLUS]

I have finally had the chance to take my car out for a drive since having the new Litchfield spec Nitron's fitted.


https://www.litchfieldmotors.com/bmw...dling-upgrades

As most of us know, Litchfield have announced they have developed two new Coilover kits for the BMW M2/M2C. A Bilstein kit and a Nitron kit. Both kits use the same Litchfield spec springs with either Bilstein or Nitron dampers. Both kits come with a two year warranty and no specific rebuild mileage schedule.

I went for the Nitron's for a few reasons.....

The Nitron's have more damper adjustability (24 click adjustment range) compared to the 12 of Bilstein.

The Nitron's have a better height adjustment range. They can be set to OEM height if needed. The Bilstein drop 15-20mm all round before you even lower them. This drop may be an issue for owners who want coilovers and need to run OEM height for day to day access issues with their car.

The Nitron's also run a monoball spherical bearing in the rear damper.

My thoughts after a short drive today???

They are really good. Litchfield's softer spring rates paired with the Nitron's dampers seem to be a perfect match. I've only driven around 70 odd miles on country b roads since having the car back, it's my local road I go along for a good drive out, it has plenty of tight corners, long sweeping bends, combined with plenty of alleviation changes on a few of the bends too. I good road for testing coilovers that's for sure!

I was genuinely impressed, initially I thought the spring rates might be too soft but I was wrong. They soaked up all the bumps/dips beautifully when on the move and the increased grip under load out of the bends is instantly noticeable, especailly when compared to the M Perf coilovers.

The softer spring rates make slow speed bumps less intrusive compared to the AST & M Perf coilovers also.

The crashy ride of the stock suspension is gone and the suspension is much more complaint. The heavy nose dive has gone and turn in & balance is greatly improved. Which is a good testament to the Nitron dampers. I found the car was very composed and neutral under heavy braking.

On my short drive I did not notice any increased NVH from the monoball, spherical bearing fitted to rear dampers either.

Having driven the same stretch of road with my M Performance coils fitted (running two different settings) the Nitron kit is much more compliant, the softer spring rates help this greatly. Due to them being a little softer I could get on the power sooner out of the tight bends compared to the M Perf coils.

I need more seat time in the car to test the dampers better but everything is going in the right direction. The dampers kept the car stable and controlable when I hit the odd dip/bump mid bend etc.

I have a few track days coming up and will report back how they do. It will be good to see how they are with the dampers set stiffer all round.


From Litchfield Motors website...
.......
Litchfield have now released their two (Nitron or Bilstein), new coilover options for the M2 & M2C with input from Chris Harris

***Litchfield / Bilstein BMW M2 suspension kit***

We have been working with Bilstein for years and we are one of their largest UK dealers. We install our own Bilstein Damptronic suspension on our Nissan GT-R packages with over 500 sets sold. Bilstein is also an OE major supplier to manufacturers like Mercedes, Porsche and Lamborghini so you can be assured of the quality and excellence of these German engineered dampers.

Knowing the settings that work best with the BMW M2 we commissioned Bilstein to produce a new damper for the car what would work with our proven spring combination to transform the ride quality but also enhance the already excellent handling of this M car.

The Bilstein Damper is based on their successful B16 PSS10 design with our own custom internal valving. This damper offers simple 2-way mechanical adjustment of rebound and compression movements by a simply twist its dial. The dampers dial has 10 clicks that clearly distinguish each setting, we provide our preferred settings but the adjusters give you the flexibility to find the combination that works best for you in a variety of driving conditions.

Our Bilstein based M2 suspension kit features adjustable spring platforms which allow us to corner weight each car for optimal chassis setup and allow for a more aggressive appearance.

After installing our suspension kit, the car will be much more supple on the road and make long distance journeys more enjoyable whilst still having razor sharp handling response, improved body control and greater driver feedback.

Chris Harris - 10th December 2020 - Litchfield BMW M2 Bilstein suspension thoughts:

"There is a plushness to it that was missing before. The ride comfort is superb. I can't see how you get much more for winter use in a high powered RWD car!"

***Litchfield / Nitron BMW M2 suspension kit***


Nitron Race suspension systems are the UK's premiere suspension manufacturer and as well as numerous competition success are also OE suppliers to companies such as Lotus.

The Nitron version of our suspension kit uses same damper internal setup as our Bilstein kit so the exceptional ride and handling characteristics remain. However because these Nitron's use their R1 2-way damper design they have an increased range of 24 clicks to offer even finer control.


The Nitron Damper bodies also have adjustment to change the length so combined with the adjustable spring platform we can offer even great ride height options.

Like our Bilstein kit the Nitron dampers use our custom spring kit which mounts to the original BMW mounting points to reduce noise and vibration and keep that OEM feel.


Link to website for ref:

https://www.litchfieldmotors.com/bmw...sE7BZ9oBu-5PpE

Watch from 22mins to hear Chris Harris talk briefly about the new Litchfield suspension.....

Nitron explain Damper graphs.....

Nitron explain how dampers are made...

https://www.litchfieldmotors.com/bmw...ling-upgrades/

[Kylewc]

Interesting read. I saw your car up there while I was having mine done.

Out of interest- do you know what spring rates you have now? Just keen to compare against what I have with the Ohlins R&T...

Sounds like you're very happy. 😀

[M2C_PLUS]

Originally Posted by Kylewc

Interesting read. I saw your car up there while I was having mine done.

Out of interest- do you know what spring rates you have now? Just keen to compare against what I have with the Ohlins R&T...

Sounds like you're very happy. 😀

Very happy mate. A safer, faster car for having them fitted.

Litchfield keep these custom spring rates to themselves.

[VisualEcho]

Originally Posted by M2C_PLUS

Litchfield keep these custom spring rates to themselves.

Should be written on the spring itself, unless they omitted that as well. The rates only help if they're linear, as progressive rates can't be directly compared.

[3t3p]

So are your keeping these on? Are they in your opinion better than AST and MPS or just different?

Why so many threads now too thought was already in one place?

[Billy_BMW]

Those custom Nitron springs look awfully similar to a progressive KW V3 spring. 🤔. Nevertheless, they are just a teeny bit more expensive than a similar MPS/V3/B16 setup. Quite close to Ohlins R&T.

Good to have choices, but I suspect what’s better for the majority of owners will largely be dependent on brand/pricing, rather than actual performance. I’d be quite surprised if one of these was ‘a class above’ the others in road performance - the real magic happens when you have 3/4-way dampers with independent high and low-speed compression. But as with anything, that flexibility comes at a price!

[3t3p]

I think the difference with this setup is that it is the only one I am aware of that has softer spring rates than any of the other coilovers that universally all have stiffer spring rates.

As I'm learning though stiffer springs don't necessarily mean less comfort. But for our shoddy UK roads it may be that a setup like the Litchfield is notably better than the commonly fitted setups?

I'm close to pulling the trigger, meant to be saving though!

[Billy_BMW]

It’s very hard to make a direct comparison between spring rates if they’re not published, but also because expensive dampers are able to handle higher rates without issue; it’s all in the valving technology.

If you’re in the market for M2 suspension; the only two questions that need answering IMHO are:

1). What’s your budget?
2). What’s your intended use?

Plenty of good setups at each price point.

[3t3p]

Are stock dampers Bilstein or Sachs or other?

For me it would be added connection on spirited drives. Daily comfort for me is already fine stock esp with ps4s.

It's the leap of faith that everyone raves about suspension upgrades, I'd like a slice of the pie too and it's about the only rational thing I've got left to do to my car mod wise.

And reliability I need as don't work on my car and don't want rebuilds or shocks leaking on me.

[Billy_BMW]

Stock are Sachs I believe. It’s not the manufacturer, but the calibration, which is poor.

For your needs, anything from a KW V3 through to Ohlins Road and Track will be fine. The relative price delta is around £5-700, but the differences are not night and day. As long as you’re not slamming into potholes at high speeds, they’ll all be reliable enough.

You could even go for the Nitrons shown here

[Bee Pee]

Originally Posted by Billy_BMW

Stock are Sachs I believe. It’s not the manufacturer, but the calibration, which is poor.

Billy - knowing that you and I both moved from M135i's into M2's, I think it's fair to say the stock strut/damper calibration of the M2 was a vast improvement on that of the mlite. BP

[Billy_BMW]

Very true BP, but when you change to the brilliant chassis of the M2, the dampers are still a weak point when you compare them to the stuff on Audi’s etc (IMO).

Adding aftermarket suspension only enhances the capability of the chassis even further. I wouldn’t say it’s essential as the base car is capable for most, but then there’s a fair few chaps who do like to tinker

[Rapture1]

Does anyone know if there is a U.S. distributor for this company? I have a message into the company directly, but have not heard back. Looks like a very nice product.

Thanks,

[bmwv]

Originally Posted by Rapture1

Does anyone know if there is a U.S. distributor for this company? I have a message into the company directly, but have not heard back. Looks like a very nice product.

Thanks,

I am also very interested, have no idea how to get one.

[3t3p]

Thought they said in the other thread they would ship abroad?
They will not have distributors as they are a one off tuning shop in the UK.

[M2C_PLUS]

Originally Posted by bmwv

I am also very interested, have no idea how to get one.

They will ship to the US no problem.

[Rapture1]

Originally Posted by M2C_PLUS

They will ship to the US no problem.

I'd like that, but have not heard back yet from multiple e-mails. I suppose it's possible it went to spam.

Looks like a nice performance upgrade that adds some everyday compliance.

It also looks like the spring perches are narrower than the MPS which would be a benefit when running wider wheels/tires.

[bmwv]

Originally Posted by M2C_PLUS

They will ship to the US no problem.

I will send them an email, hopefully they will reply.
When is your track day? I would like to hear how is the car behaving on the limit with this suspension.

[M2C_PLUS]

Originally Posted by bmwv

I will send them an email, hopefully they will reply.
When is your track day? I would like to hear how is the car behaving on the limit with this suspension.

End of this month.

[M2C_PLUS]

More stock arriving at Litchfield......

[3t3p]

Those are some nice shocks I may have to steal some...

[Bee Pee]

Originally Posted by 3t3p

Those are some nice shocks I may have to steal some...

GB on FB