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For our cars there has been a huge hole in the market for suspension upgrades. We are either stuck with a cost-conscious level offering from BC Racing, or you have to get a $6,000+ offering from Velocity/Bamford Rose--even Valiant Ecosse has their own no-holds-barred upgrade. So our choices are: $2k budget coilovers, $6k performance/mainstream coilovers, or whatever Aston wants to charge for OEM replacements (even more money I am guessing.)
I was really surprised to see these:https://valiant-ecosse.com/collections/suspension/products/ve-vh2-tb-vedk] https://valiant-ecosse.com/collections/suspension/products/ve-vh2-tb-vedk from VE. A fully respectable Bilstein damper with an adjustable spring perch. Stock ride (I think maybe the "sport" suspension? I am not sure) but with height adjustment for around 3,000 Euros. It seems like such a considerate offering from VE to give an option to adjust the height and geometry of the suspension but from a well-known manufacturer. I can't stop thinking about these.
I was set on replacing my shocks with BC Racing + Swift springs until I saw the Bilstein's. Now I am just frustrated. In my mind the Bilstein's are easily worth the small difference in price but with Tariff's, and the fact that no shipper seems to be able to calculate them correctly, the math is more complicated. If anyone here thinks that BC+Swift would still be good, please chime in.
I don't need to spend too much time complaining about tariffs. I just thought the forum would be interested to see this new offering from Valiant Ecosse. Also, it looks like VE has a webshop with a lot more offerings than in the past. It is worth a visit just to see.
Last edited by GT3 Chuck; Feb 19, 2026 at 08:36 PM.
Alister has had these available for a while, but up until recently his site didn't display his full catalog of upgrades well. I bought his Bilsteins a few years ago to replace the Multimatics on my old 07 Vantage that failed VERY prematurely. I didn't get a lot of time with the Bilsteins before I sold the car, but was impressed with them during the small amount of driving I got to do. I didn't really have any experience with/knowledge of BC Racing (still don't) and so I gravitated towards the established Bilstein product. I like supporting Valiant Ecosse when I can as well. Not a lot of resources specifically for our cars and I want to keep him around.
The tariff situation is tough, but Alister is doing what he can to ensure the shipper gets the correct information. If you go for them I'd definitely ask him to ship with DHL over UPS, seems like DHL is doing just a bit better with accurate tariff amounts.
I have had terrible luck with both UPS and DHL. DHL is calculating 50% fees while UPS is calculating 60% fees; but neither are doing a great job. I have to admit though. My order from VAP--from Canada to the US--an extremely unfriendly situation--was much less painful than I expected.
Alister has had these available for a while, but up until recently his site didn't display his full catalog of upgrades well. I bought his Bilsteins a few years ago to replace the Multimatics on my old 07 Vantage that failed VERY prematurely. I didn't get a lot of time with the Bilsteins before I sold the car, but was impressed with them during the small amount of driving I got to do. I didn't really have any experience with/knowledge of BC Racing (still don't) and so I gravitated towards the established Bilstein product. I like supporting Valiant Ecosse when I can as well. Not a lot of resources specifically for our cars and I want to keep him around.
The tariff situation is tough, but Alister is doing what he can to ensure the shipper gets the correct information. If you go for them I'd definitely ask him to ship with DHL over UPS, seems like DHL is doing just a bit better with accurate tariff amounts.
That is great. I WISH I had known about this option earlier. I would have ordered those on principal years ago.
That is great. I WISH I had known about this option earlier. I would have ordered those one principal years ago.
It’s a good thing he has the new site now, found a few things I was previously unaware of as well. If my car had a need I would definitely order them again. Only downside is I think they may be made to order (along with a lot of their parts) so does take some time to get them in. Took 4-5 months to get my Bilsteins.
FWIW, I got the BC Racing coilovers (not swift springs) installed this year and really like them. Can't compare to the other options of course, but driving around on rough pot-holed roads around town is now far more tolerable (I have them on the softest setting). I can't see any compromise with spirited driving, but the actual livability of the suspension vs. stock is much higher. No regrets.
or you have to get a $6,000+ offering from Velocity/Bamford Rose.
Can you tell me where you see a $6000+ offering from VelocityAP?
__________________ Stuart Dickinson Managing Director Velocity Automotive Performance Limited 206 Maple Avenue Oliver, BC Canada V2A 4W6 Office: (1)250-485-5126 www.velocityap.com
Can you tell me where you see a $6000+ offering from VelocityAP?
Stuart, I was being hyperbolic. The Nitron offering from VAP is around $4,000 not $6,000. Not anywhere close to $6,000. Sorry for the offense.
On that note, I was talking to my mechanic the other day and he brought up Nitron and said that they were great because they are so light. I had no idea that weight was a benefit. I had not read that anywhere. If you have time, please feel free to add any insight you have on that.
I am guessing the Bilsteins may not be light. I think their biggest benefits is that 1. They are stock-adjacent, and 2. Adjustable. 3. Relatively inexpensive. I believe that the Nitrons go one step beyond the Bilsteins, but also with an associated increase in price.
Why was I talking to my mechanic? Because he was getting ready to install my new VAP Headers, Sport Cats, Performance Filters, and the associated Tune. (He has already texted me about how nice the headers are compared to stock btw).
Velocity AP has contributed so much to the Aston community. I really appreciate everything you guys do. You also absolutely nail shipping and tariffs right now. As Alister at Valiant Ecosse is ramping up their offerings, I would love to be able to order some of those items from VAP here in North America.
In summary, thank you Stuart for all your contributions. Sorry I seemed like I was saying something negative about Velocity AP; that was not my intent at all.
Stuart, I was being hyperbolic. The Nitron offering from VAP is around $4,000 not $6,000. Not anywhere close to $6,000. Sorry for the offense.
On that note, I was talking to my mechanic the other day and he brought up Nitron and said that they were great because they are so light. I had no idea that weight was a benefit. I had not read that anywhere. If you have time, please feel free to add any insight you have on that.
I am guessing the Bilsteins may not be light. I think their biggest benefits is that 1. They are stock-adjacent, and 2. Adjustable. 3. Relatively inexpensive. I believe that the Nitrons go one step beyond the Bilsteins, but also with an associated increase in price.
Why was I talking to my mechanic? Because he was getting ready to install my new VAP Headers, Sport Cats, Performance Filters, and the associated Tune. (He has already texted me about how nice the headers are compared to stock btw).
Velocity AP has contributed so much to the Aston community. I really appreciate everything you guys do. You also absolutely nail shipping and tariffs right now. As Alister at Valiant Ecosse is ramping up their offerings, I would love to be able to order some of those items from VAP here in North America.
In summary, thank you Stuart for all your contributions. Sorry I seemed like I was saying something negative about Velocity AP; that was not my intent at all.
It's okay I didn't take it as a negative, was just curious if something was priced incorrectly somewhere, or one of our vendors had something wrong.
__________________ Stuart Dickinson Managing Director Velocity Automotive Performance Limited 206 Maple Avenue Oliver, BC Canada V2A 4W6 Office: (1)250-485-5126 www.velocityap.com
__________________ Stuart Dickinson Managing Director Velocity Automotive Performance Limited 206 Maple Avenue Oliver, BC Canada V2A 4W6 Office: (1)250-485-5126 www.velocityap.com
