Nitron Electron 996 suspension.

I thought I ought to post a standalone thread in the 996 forum as my original post was under the 911 GT forum, on the Tractive Suspension thread. My 996 Turbo has a set of Nitron R3 Electron dampers, with a Front Axle Lift and standalone suspension module, similar to the factory PASM on 997 and later variants, which allows me to switch to 1 of 6 individual suspension modes whilst on the fly. I have to say that the resultant ride and handling quality is simply amazing! My car was stiffly sprung at my request as I do the odd track day and personally prefer a stiff spring set on the car, a car that I have owned for coming up to 14 years and know intimately, so the ride is not as soft as it could be with this kit. As mentioned, I asked for stiff springs, in my case, 100 N/mm fronts along with 140 N/mm rears, but the ride is still light years better than it was with the previous Ohlins Road and Track set up on the same spring rates. I found the Ohlins R&T had good rear damping but the front end was always lacking in my opinion, which frustrated the heck out of me both on road and track (oh the irony...). The damping feels so plush on the Nitrons, whereas the Ohlins felt sticky at first, particularly when cold, though they became better with miles, yet the Nitrons feel the same at all times, hot, cold or any temperature at all. I opted to have the adjustment clicker mounted where the ash-tray was on my car, as that is the easiest position to reach for me and it's perfect to alter on the fly without having to take my eyes off the road. The six positions are as follows; 1-3 being soft, med, firm with no active input from the suspension controller, 4-6 being the same base setting but controlled avtively by the suspension controller, which senses yaw via an inbuilt gyro and multi axis accelerometer. The beauty of this particular component is that it can be mounted anywhere within the wheelbase and track of the car, then the software programmed with it's position relative to those two parameters, making fitment very flexible indeed. The controller comes with a bespoke wiring loom tailor made to each application. As I struggle to get in and out of the car Nitron suggested a FAL should be fitted to raise the nose by 25 mm, which it does so hydraulically at the press of a button. This also helps give access to my driveway, so no funky approach angles are necessary anymore - result!! The same applies to those pesky mid-road speed humps which are just waiting to rip the spoiler of a lowered 996. It just sails over them now. In terms of mode selection I find myself driving on the road in position 5, which gives maximum adaption to the medium damping position, which is perfect for brisk cross country B roads etc. I use soft active for the worst road surfaces and low road speeds, say 50 mph and below or when trundling through town. With the recommended softer springs fitted I doubt I would need to touch anything on the road at any speed. For track use or very smooth roads I use position 6, which is active firm. The Nitron kit is of the highest quality, the design, material and finish is simply second to none, including Ohlins TTX and the like. I am so pleased with every aspect and could sit and look at the components for hours, such is the quality of machining and finish. If anybody is thinking of upgrading their suspension, I would advise you to choose carefully, there are lots of kits available from various manufacturers, but Nitron would be top of my list. Here's a little video of the kit on my car. I will do my best to answer any questions as and when. In terms of cost, please contract Nitron direct or a dealer as each installation will be different. Cheers all, Mike.

Hi Mike That's a great write up. Thank you for taking the time to document it. I too have the Nitron Electron kit on my 996.1 C2, albeit the Roadsport version and had watched the video of your car having the kit fitted. It's a lovely car you have and the stance looks perfect on the Nitrons. I went for the Roadsport as my use is exactly that, spirited A and B road drives predominantly and I'm unlikely to hit the track. I haven't put many miles on it yet since being fitted as the weather has been so grim so am still feeling my way in so to speak but early impressions are positive. It's entirely evident that the product is top quality and I definitely feel like it's a worthwhile investment. I have the adjustment knob mounted to the right of the steering wheel in the cowling trim (no idea what the correct term is!) below the instrument cluster so nice and accessible but not in your face. What I have found in my limited usage so far is the stiffest setting (3 and 6) is a bit too stiff for my liking and how I use my car. I can see it being useful for track work potentially but it's too much for the roads I have to contend with. Ideally I would like my current 2 and 5 to be the stiffest and perhaps introduce an even softer base setting (wife and child friendly!). I have asked the question of Nitron via my installer to see if the map settings in the damper control unit can be tweaked and await their reply. Maybe you know if this is possible? Dan

Thanks to both of you for sharing the experience Sadly I expect the caution over costs means I can’t afford it! 996 turbo on factory shocks, even replaced ones as I think I have, really doesn’t feel great anymore - I’d love an upgrade to state of the art

Great write up Mike and video. I’m sure this upgrade has completely enhanced your car and it would be interesting the difference between stiff settings and the factory settings with the lift kit a great option to have as well.

Thanks to you both for your feedback! For me, this system sounds ideal - I'd get it fitted right away...if it wasn't for a new clutch and the associated "while you're in there" becoming a sudden and urgent requirement Wellsy, please let us know if you are able to reprogram the pre-sets. On the tractive it's possible, so I'm sure Nitron will also allow you to do the same. Thanks again!

Seen this on the ramps at Nitron the other week. Lovely looking track car!

Will you be selling the ohlins you had on it before hand?

Once question i have, i dont know if they have been moved now.. but why are the res on the rear so close to the seat?

What's the cost of this on the 996 turbo?

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It’s like £10k

£10k!! Isn’t the Tractive system £4-5k and supposed to be amazing

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TracTive start at £5800, for the 1 way adjustable touring shocks that re-use the OEM top mounts. Comparable from Nitron, would be the roadsport kit, 1 way adjustable that uses the OEM top mounts. Pricewise it would be around the same. £10k is the top of the line Nitron R3 elec-tron, 3 way adjustable with Front axle lift and monoball top mounts. There's a few options inbetween the Roadsport and R3 with FAL. Links: TracTive UK Nitron

If you're interested in the Nitron stuff I would recommend you speak directly to them or an approved dealer regarding pricing.

Gents, lots of questions raised above, so I will do my best to answer them here. @wellsy have you run your car on 1 or 4? That's the setting I use for pot-holed roads or around town and I find that super comfortable up to around 50 mph, but much faster than that the damping is too soft for my taste, hence using 5 from there on. 3 or 6 are solely for track use and far too stiff for anything but the smoothest roads. @nebpor the Roadsport kit would be far cheaper than the version I have, as the R3 is their top of the range kit. Having already paid for the Ohlins R&T kit which I found didn't suit mu use case, I then decided to go the whole hog and not be in the same situation again in the future. I did look at Tractive but the quality of the hardware left me underwhelmed when compared to the Nitron equivalent. I also took advice from Matt at the old Fearnsport and he said the Nitron R3s were the ones to go for. @dnz I may well be selling the Ohlins, but they are still with Nitron at the moment as I've not had chance to pick them up. I had the canisters so close to the seat so I can reach them from the drivers seat. It's difficult for me to hop in and out of the car these days, so asked for them to be close to hand @Nightshade mine is the top of the range kit, the Tractive equivalent is similar money if not more. I do have a Tractive price list somewhere but not to hand as I write this. @photek the software can be reprogrammed easily by Nitron. I think they opted to have preset settings rather than let people loose inside the software and then spend hours and hours on the phone trying to untangle Joe public's programming mistakes. I'm very happy with the presets currently.

Awesome, thanks the the write up, that really is some install! I run the R1's on mine but with roadsport spring rates, no lift or electrical adjustment, pure peasant but i love the Nitron kits. They made me a kit for an old 1973 bmw i had and from then on i never wanted to run anything else!