nubby

iTrader: (6)

Not much info about Hotbits on this board, and I know that most people don't want gravel suspension, but thought I'd post up some info and pics so at least there's a little bit of info about them.

The specs: (DT2, gravel)
46mm piston, 22mm piston rod
Monotube, non-inverted, 3mm thick damper shell
Piggyback oil/gas reservoirs
Steel spherical-bearing top-mounts, front camber adjustable (optional)
62lbs w/ top-mounts (For comparison, Buschur lists DMS suspension at 58lbs, not sure if 40mm or 50mm, assume tarmac spec)
Completely rebuildable
Application-specific valving and spring rates
Available in non-adjustable, single-adjustable & double-adjustable (what I got)
Made in Malaysia

The pics might not show it, but these are very beefy units. Reviews are good, and apparently the range of adjustment is huge. Dampers are supposed to be very consistent as far as damping adjustments, which I understand is a big problem with many Japanese coilovers. Adjustments have a nice positive detent, and can be made without any tools. The welds are competent, but not especially pretty which I can live with. They come with a 1-year warranty for manufacturing defects.

The DT2 for tarmac rally/road race should be very similar as far specs, but the coilovers will be shorter and I'm sure the spring rates and valving will be different.

I'm very happy with these just looking at them, and I'll be doubly happy when I'm not pounding the OEM suspension into the bump-stops. These will get used for RallyX, and eventually RallySprint and hill climbs when I can afford to do the rest of the basic safety prep on the car. I think they'll serve just fine for my needs.

Thanks to Doug Davenport @ Davenport Racing who said they'd get to me in 2 weeks from Malaysia (Yeah sure!), and they got to me in exactly 2 weeks, answered all my dumb emails and phone calls, and even called me when he saw DTL delivered them to make sure I was happy and to give a little setup advice. Top notch in my book.

And without further adieu, the pics:

Faust

iTrader: (28)

How much did this set up cost you from those guys? A really good friend of mine is a Hot Bits Dealer and I have had Hot Bits on a couple of my cars now and have always liked them. If other guys are interested in this set up or the standard set up we could try to get a Group Buy going. LMK.

nubby

iTrader: (6)

You can see Davenports pricing right here:

http://www.davenportracingusa.com/hotbits.php

So about $2K for the setup I got.

MR_Vengeance

let us know how it feel on dirt road!

DMS_Mark

At 58 lbs it is the 50mm tarmac, the gravel is about 2 pounds heavier.
We ran a OEM length 40mm street unit to compete against these units in competition, lasted a heck of a lot longer. The ohlins R/T if you can get them as well with a taller stroke will do the same.

We had a DMS 40mm car compete and win in TARGA Newfoundland last week.

It is a way cheaper alternative to the 50mm gravel setup, good if you are first timers in the sport with a very limited budget. Not going to be a podium finish setup though ...

Hope this insight is objective enough to help out.
-mark

speedomodel

iTrader: (15)

Nubby showed me these over the weekend, and I was definitely impressed. I'm now excited for the installation. I believe they make coilovers for my '90 GSX, too, which is a rare application.

CBRD

iTrader: (60)

hotbits make nice stuff

cb

ammelk

Nice nubby, i was looking at the same deal for rallyx also..
Are you going to do a write up on them? pics of the install etc.?
I would be very interested in seeing how they fit and hear how they work out.

nubby

iTrader: (6)

Right now I'm waiting on new springs. Doug Davenport called me up to see what the rates were for the IX (he'd heard rumors that rates from Hotbits changed for the IX), the rates sounded fishy, so he did some more research, and indeed my rates were off.

The kit came with 230-80k front, 200-50k rear springs, and the new springs will be 250-55k front, 230-60k rear springs, quite a difference. What I think happened is I got the "safari" springs, which are for cross country rallies. I should have them in a week or so, and then I'll get the suspension installed.

We have a test-n-tune October 14th before a RallyX on the 15th, so I'll post up what I think of them, and what I did for ride height and alignment. Doug got me starting points for bump and rebound adjustment which is nice, should speed setup.

Davenport racing has been a joy to deal with, Doug has been on top of everything and he even went the extra distance to make sure everything was correct for my application, and answered all my emails and phone calls. He's the one who called me about the springs. If you're thinking Hotbits, I'd recommend them.

ammelk

Thanks for the insight Mark.
Do you have any information? write up on the DMS vs Hotbits? or did i misunderstand about the "40mm street unit to compete against these units in competition" comment?
Thanks

DMS_Mark

Comment interpretation was correct ... I am not going to post damaging information as it is still a unit that CAN complete an event. nothing wrong for what you pay for at all. Just the price difference explains a lot.

The Hot Bits is an excellent entry level system for teams wanting to start rallying. I do not or will not endorse our 40mm for the same application.

Cheers,
-mark

ashumo

iTrader: (6)

So nubby how you liking the DT2's?

gunzo

iTrader: (2)

updates ?? I'm changing mine from dt1 to dt2 soon..

and wgats the order of adjustment? compression 1st then rebound?

nubby

iTrader: (6)

I guess I should've subscribed to this thread. :P

They are 40-way adjustable in rebound and 30-way adjustable in compression. I'm not quite sure what gunzo means about "order", they're independently adjustable, compression on reservoir and rebound on the top of the strut.

I don't have them on yet, I will before the RallyX National Challenge this weekend, then I'll have some impressions how they perform at least as far as RallyX.

gunzo

iTrader: (2)

should have been clearer in paraphrasing

I was wondering which do you adjust first for shocks that's both compression and rebound adjustable ..

do you tune the compression 1st and then rebound??
or vice versa??
or do both at the same time..