MOTON 3-Way Coilovers Explained
MOTON, family by family
MOTON's triple adjustable damper won the European Touring Car Championship in 2004, and the 3-Way on our list is that idea in its current form: rebound on the damper, and compression split into high speed and low speed on the reservoir.
Put it next to the AST 5300 and the numbers look back to front. The AST gives you 14 or 15 steps of low speed compression and 12 of high speed; the MOTON gives you 6 of low speed and 15 of high speed. Garreth reads that as a damper built to ride kerbs and rough track for hours at a time, which is exactly what endurance racing asks of it.
Here is how the three adjusters work, what comes in the box, the 89 cars it covers, and who should buy one.
- Rebound 15 clicks, on top of the piston rod
- High speed compression 15 clicks, on the reservoir
- Low speed compression 6 clicks, on top of the high speed knob
- Blow off valve system in the reservoir for kerbs and rough surfaces
- Non-inverted monotube, the same valving ideas as the 2-Way
- MOTON's triple adjustable won the 2004 ETCC
- 24 month warranty, rebuildable and revalveable
Three adjusters, and the split that matters
Rebound sits on top of the piston rod, 15 clicks. The reservoir carries both compression adjusters, the low speed knob on top of the high speed one, and each moves on its own. MOTON labels the caps LOW-SPEED and HIGH-SPEED so nobody has to guess.
In MOTON's words, low speed compression is very effective at controlling body roll while adding to turn in, and at controlling pitch and squat, while high speed compression works through the blow off valve system in the reservoir, which MOTON says is there to control kerbs and bumpy track conditions.
| Adjuster | Where it is | Positions | What it controls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebound | Top of the piston rod | 15 | The spring pushing the damper back out |
| High speed compression | Large knob on the reservoir | 15 | Sharp inputs: kerbs, bumps, rough surfaces |
| Low speed compression | Small knob, on top of the high speed one | 6 | Body movement: roll, turn in, pitch and squat |
From MOTON's product literature.
Six low speed steps sounds few. Cameron’s view is that it makes each one a change you can feel in the car’s balance, which is what you want between sessions with the clock running. The fifteen high speed steps are where MOTON gives you the fine control, and over a long race that is the adjuster that looks after the tyres. MOTON lists better tyre wear over race distance among the reasons for the design.
What comes in the box
The damper itself shares the 2-Way’s thinking: a non-inverted monotube, a large piston rod and main piston, no preloaded valve stacks for low speed control, and reservoirs on high pressure hose with swivel banjos, all of which the MOTON 2-Way guide goes through in detail.
A typical kit, taking the Audi R8 as MOTON lists it, is four dampers, springs, camber-adjustable front top mounts, rear top mounts, the remote reservoirs and quick disconnect couplings at the front. 22 of our 3-Way listings name quick disconnects, and 11 keep the car’s own separate rear spring.
Which cars it covers
89 listings, from £5,268 to £8,436. The most expensive are the 996 and 997 Porsche kits. Beyond BMW, Porsche and the Japanese performance cars, the list runs to the Ferrari 328 through 599, the Viper SRT-10, the Corvette C5 and C6, the Saleen S7R, the Saker, and the Audi R8 and Lamborghini Huracan with and without the factory nose lift.
| Make | Listings | Make | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| BMW | 22 | Mazda | 2 |
| Porsche | 15 | Dodge | 2 |
| Honda | 10 | Lamborghini | 1 |
| Ferrari | 7 | SEAT | 1 |
| Audi | 5 | Saleen | 1 |
| Toyota | 5 | Fiat/Abarth | 1 |
| Nissan | 5 | Hyundai | 1 |
| Subaru | 4 | Lexus | 1 |
| Mitsubishi | 3 | Saker | 1 |
| Ford | 3 | Acura | 1 |
| Lotus | 3 | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Volkswagen | 2 |
Every make in the MOTON 3-Way range. The full list is on the MOTON 3-Way category page.
Against the 2-Way and the AST 5300
Almost every 3-Way has a 2-Way for the same car, and on 79 of the 81 pairs the step is within £15 of £780. That buys the split compression. The AST 5300 guide has a side by side table with the AST equivalent for four common cars.
Garreth’s rule of thumb: a 2-Way for the club racer driving on their own, a 3-Way when there is an engineer or the races are long enough for tyre wear to decide them.
Before you order
- Nose lift. The R8 and Huracan kits split on whether the car has the factory nose lift
- BMW notes. EDC delete kit ordered separately; 3 bolt and 5 bolt top mounts have different kits
- Original hubs. Two kits need your original hubs before they are built
- Early 911. The torsion bar kit uses the car's own torsion bars, no spring hardware
- Camber. One listing notes strut tower work for extra camber adjustment
- Base settings. We have not found published starting clicks; start mid range and log every change
Fitting
Zero preload on arrival, 5mm minimum clearance to the tyre, every quick disconnect connected before the car is lowered, reservoirs solidly mounted away from heat, then the alignment.
Servicing
Racesport, the UK service centre, suggests a yearly service for race kits, with dyno graphs before and after. Revalving is possible at the same time.
Common questions
Why only 6 steps of low speed compression?
That is how MOTON builds it: each step is a clear change to body control, and the finer range is on high speed compression and rebound, 15 clicks each.
Is the MOTON 3-Way inverted?
No, AST lists every MOTON family as a non-inverted monotube.
Can it be used on the road?
MOTON describes the 3-Way as designed for the professional racer, and while it will run on the road with soft settings, a 2-Way or Clubracer suits a road car better.
Does the kit include top mounts?
Where the car allows, yes: camber-adjustable at the front and rear top mounts, as on the R8 kit.
Is this the damper Andy Priaulx won the WTCC on?
No. Priaulx won on the MOTON 4-Way, developed with his team. The 3-Way is MOTON’s triple adjustable, and it was a MOTON triple adjustable that won the 2004 ETCC.
Who should buy one
Endurance racers first. Then the GT and touring car drivers with an engineer and a notebook, and the owners of the Porsches and Ferraris on this list who race them properly. Cameron would stop there.
Garreth would add one more: the driver who has run a 2-Way for a season, knows exactly what the car does over a kerb, and wants to change that one thing without touring the rest of the setup. That is what a separate high speed adjuster is for.
That is the last of the AST and MOTON guides. The MOTON guide and the AST guide put each range side by side. Send us the registration and we will find your part number.
Manufacturer reference: AST x MOTON motorsport range. Shop the MOTON 3-Way range.
The rest of the AST and MOTON series: AST Suspension explained, MOTON Suspension explained, AST 5100 explained, MOTON 1-Way Clubracer explained, AST 5200 2-Way explained, MOTON 2-Way explained, AST 5300 3-Way explained.
Send us your current part number. We will check with AST what moving your kit to 3-Way involves before you buy a new set.
Send the registration or chassis number and the series you run in. We will confirm the part number, top mounts, nose lift or EDC question and the reservoir mounting with you before you order.
