Nitron elec-TRON
Active damper technology that adjusts continuously in real time — not when you remember to turn a knob. The elec-TRON system brings genuine electronic damping control to road and track applications, integrating with factory systems or running standalone.
Beyond Passive Damping
Every conventional coilover — regardless of how many adjustment clicks it offers — is a passive system. The damping is set at the side of the road and remains fixed until you change it again. The car encounters bumps, compressions, braking events and cornering loads, and the damper responds with whatever setting was dialled in at the start of the session.
The Nitron elec-TRON system works differently. At the heart of each damper is a proportional solenoid valve that replaces the conventional manual adjustment needle. This valve responds to electronic signals rather than a physical knob — and those signals update every five to six milliseconds based on real-time data from the vehicle's sensors. The damper is continuously adjusting its behaviour in response to what the car is actually doing, not what it was doing when you last stopped to make a manual change.
The result is a system that can be genuinely compliant over surface imperfections while simultaneously being controlled and composed through corners — resolving the compromise that every passive damper setup requires the driver to accept.
How the elec-TRON System Works
Proportional Solenoid Valve
Each damper contains an independent proportional solenoid valve mounted on the piston rod. This valve controls the bleed characteristics of the shim stack continuously — varying electrical current between 300 and 1800mA to adjust damping force across its full range. Response time from full soft to full hard is six to eight milliseconds.
Because each corner has its own independent valve, the system can apply different damping levels at each wheel simultaneously — essential for managing the varied load conditions that road and circuit driving produce.
Real-Time Processing
The control system assesses vehicle data continuously — G-loading, vehicle speed, road surface inputs, braking, cornering and acceleration forces. From this data it determines the appropriate damping level for each corner and instructs the solenoid valve accordingly, updating every five to six milliseconds.
Under braking the front dampers stiffen to support the nose. Over a mid-corner surface variation the dampers soften momentarily to maintain tyre contact. These adjustments happen faster than any driver input and faster than any manual adjustment could achieve.
Nitron Monotube Construction
The elec-TRON system is built around Nitron's established gas-pressurised monotube damper body — the same construction that underpins the R1 and R3 ranges. The electronic valve adds active control to proven hardware rather than replacing it with an entirely different architecture.
This means the thermal consistency, build quality and rebuildability that characterise all Nitron products are retained in the elec-TRON system. The electronics enhance the damper — they do not compromise it.
Damping Maps & User Control
When running with the Nitron DCU (Damper Control Unit), the driver can select from pre-installed damping maps via an adjustable control knob — typically Rain, Tour, Sport and Race configurations. Each map adjusts the overall damping character while the system continues to make real-time adjustments within that map's parameters.
This gives the driver meaningful control over the suspension character without requiring lap-by-lap manual damper adjustment — and without locking the system into a single fixed setting regardless of what the road or circuit demands.
elec-TRON R1 and R3
The elec-TRON system is available in two configurations, mirroring the philosophy of the passive Nitron range.
elec-TRON R1
The eR1 is a purely electronic damper system. All damping control — both compression and rebound — is managed by the electronic valve and its control system. There is no manual adjustment alongside the electronic control.
For the majority of road and track day applications, the eR1 provides everything required. The electronic system manages the full damping range in real time, removing the need for manual intervention across changing conditions. Correctly specified with appropriate spring rates, it delivers composed, compliant and fast behaviour across road and circuit use without demanding ongoing adjustment from the driver.
- Proportional solenoid valve — full electronic damping control
- Independent valve at each corner
- Integrates with BMW EDC and Porsche PASM
- Nitron DCU available for vehicles without OEM electronic damping
- Adjustable camber plates and spherical top mounts included
- Bespoke spring rate specification available
elec-TRON R3
The eR3 combines the electronic solenoid valve with independent manual high-speed compression adjustment via a piggyback or remote reservoir. The manual settings establish a baseline for the electronic valve adjustments — allowing an engineer or experienced driver to calibrate the system's response to high-speed inputs such as kerbs and surface compressions independently of the electronic control range.
The eR3 suits applications where dedicated setup development is taking place — circuit racing, hillclimb or serious track programmes where the additional control over high-speed compression behaviour is used purposefully and with engineering intent.
- Electronic solenoid valve plus manual high-speed compression adjustment
- Piggyback or remote reservoir
- Independent control of high and low speed compression alongside electronic adjustment
- Suited to active race and development programmes
- Integrates with BMW EDC and Porsche PASM
- Bespoke spring rate specification available
OEM Integration & Standalone Operation
The elec-TRON system is designed to work in two distinct configurations depending on whether the vehicle already has factory electronic damper control.
BMW EDC & Porsche PASM Integration
For vehicles equipped with BMW's Electronic Damper Control or Porsche's Active Suspension Management, the elec-TRON system installs directly into the factory wiring harness. The OEM controls — including dashboard mode selection buttons — continue to function as standard, but now control Nitron's motorsport-grade damper hardware rather than the factory units.
This means the factory comfort, sport and sport-plus modes are retained, but executed through a damper with a significantly wider dynamic range. The compliant end of the range becomes genuinely more compliant than the OEM system allows — and the firm end becomes more controlled and composed. No additional control hardware is required.
Nitron DCU — Standalone Operation
For vehicles without factory electronic damper control, the Nitron DCU (Damper Control Unit) provides the processing and control architecture the elec-TRON dampers require. The DCU uses a 200Hz damping control rate, dual three-axis accelerometers, a three-axis gyroscope and an Arm Cortex-M4 processor to assess vehicle behaviour and instruct the damper valves in real time.
The DCU is supplied with a wiring harness and a rotary control switch giving access to multiple pre-installed damping maps. It is fully resin-bonded for reliability and can be configured for specific vehicle applications. This option effectively brings active damping capability to platforms that were previously limited to passive suspension hardware.
Current Primary Platforms
G8X generation and F-series. Plug-and-play integration with BMW EDC. Addresses the weight and torque management challenges of high-powered front-engine rear-drive layouts through optimised contact patch control.
991 and 992 generation including GT2 and GT3 variants. Integrates directly with PASM. Retains factory mode control while delivering a significantly wider dynamic range than the OEM damper hardware.
Compatible with BMW EDC. No additional hardware required beyond the elec-TRON system itself.
The elec-TRON system with standalone DCU can be applied to vehicles without factory electronic damping. Contact us to discuss compatibility with your specific platform.
The elec-TRON System & The TFTR Philosophy
The Nitron elec-TRON system addresses something that passive suspension specification has always required a compromise around — the fact that roads and circuits demand different damper behaviour in different moments, and a fixed passive setting cannot optimise for all of them simultaneously.
The compliance-over-stiffness philosophy that underpins all Too Fast To Race suspension work applies directly to how the elec-TRON system should be specified and understood. The electronic adjustment range resolves the passive setup compromise — the system can be genuinely compliant over surface imperfections and through the compressions and crests that passive setups struggle with, while maintaining the damping control needed for cornering and braking stability.
What the elec-TRON system does not remove is the need for correct spring rate specification. The electronics manage damping in real time — but the spring rates remain fixed, and they remain the foundation of how the car behaves. A correctly specified elec-TRON system with appropriate spring rates is an exceptional piece of engineering. An elec-TRON system with poorly considered spring rates will still be limited by that fundamental specification error regardless of how sophisticated the damping control becomes.
This is why Too Fast To Race approaches elec-TRON enquiries as specification projects in the same way as any other Nitron system — understanding the vehicle, the application and the driver before any product discussion takes place.
Discuss elec-TRON for Your Vehicleelec-TRON Enquiries
Tell us about your vehicle and how you use it. We will advise on whether the elec-TRON system is the right choice for your application and how it should be specified.
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