Hi everyone,
In December I bought the Vehicle Handling Solutions damper kit comprising of four high quality Bilstein dampers optimised to VHS's own specifications.
I had to wait till christmas was over to have them fitted, and VHS offer a fitting service so I decided I would have themselves fit them, although they do give excellent fitting instructions with the kit, I wanted the experts to do it!
I arranged to be at VHS for 9am saturday morning which is an hour and a half drive from mine, but as there based in Tenbury wells I decided I would drive back through Wales and the forest of dean to evaluate my new dampers.
When I arrived I was met by Andy Kitson and introduced to Alan Phillips. Both gentlemen were very nice and showed real enthusiasm and a genuine interest which to some extent I was a little surprised of for engineers of their esteem.
The guys set to work quickly and thoroughly!
The front dampers were off and changed in good time.
Out with the old and in with the new!
When the guys got to the rears they proved to be more of a pain!
Due to some issues with old bolts not being particularly forthcoming.
The guys persevered and used some ingenuity!
Finally the fitting was complete and I was eager to go for a drive!
Andy (left) and Alan, somewhat relieved! lol
The moment of truth came and I noticed the difference as soon as I drove out the gates!
What I noticed first was the general ride quality was vastly improved, the car no longer crashed and bumped itself down the road, but the one thing I really noticed was the vast reduction in suspension 'noise'.
This is something I didnt fully appreciate when initially advised of the benefits of the VHS kit, but now I do!
Later on in the drive I was able to increase the speed more and the body control further impressed with such a feeling of solidity and composure but the best was to come!
So far the kit had bettered the original dampers in every respect but I was amazed at the high speed composure! It is amazing, I raved about my ZS at Combe last year in the high speed sections 80mph+, but with this new kit it is something else, I briefly hit 110kph and the composure was something I hadnt felt before, I really cannot wait to take the car back on track!
I highly recommend VHS as I have been so impressed by them, the kit is not the cheapest but you get what you pay for and the service from Andy and Alan more than makes up for it.
I look forwards to having more dealings with them in the future.