Just installed Ohlins DFV coil overs and have to say, WOW, these are great.

The ride quality is superb. A bit stiffer on really bad stuff than the bilsteins i had, but not much. I live in an area with some really bad roads and amazingly fun roads.(Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz Mountains)


1000% better handling than my bilsteins or konis with GC

Worth every penny. I got a really good deal on them from a vendor I can't mention openly


I'm using the 11k springs front and rear, might go with a higher front and back to a stock rear sway bar.... well have to see.

 

And you don't even have the decency to post pictures??? For shame!!!
I have these, too, but my build is not ready for them yet.

 

No comments on messy garage. Bought house 2 weeks ago :P

 

I have a set on my v8 FD as well. I'm actually shocked that the ride wasn't incredibly harsh. In fact, they were surprisingly comfortable, soaking up those bumps well.

 

What kind of life expectancy is there on the street? Rain, and such. Some of my local autocross events end up very wet outside.

 

Ohlins uses a Teflon coating on their aluminum surfaces so they hold up well.

My FD is garaged but raced in rain and shine and they have held up well to two seasons of that so far.

I bought some used Ohlins from Japan for my RX-8 (thanks purerx7) and they were in great shape. The RX-8 just sits outside, so far so good.

Springs do start to rust where the powedercoat gets chipped from pulverizing pebbles that collect between the 1st coil and 2nd. That happens with all coilovers where I race because the surface has so much sand/gravel on it.

 

I'm in CA, rust and corrosion is pretty much a non issue out here unless you are in the snow or right on the coast

 

I have the Ohlins dfv as well. I think they ride pretty good and handle well. I like the higher damping settings for a softer ride. 15 clicks from full stiff seem pretty good.

 

I think I may have seen you a few times around Felton, Boulder creek? There's someone up there with a silver fd.

 

lOOkatme

I have the Ohlins dfv as well. I think they ride pretty good and handle well. I like the higher damping settings for a softer ride. 15 clicks from full stiff seem pretty good.

As I have said before, you have it wrong.
That setting is 5 clicks softer damping than the recommended 10 clicks softer than fully stiff (full clockwise).

I didn't find the full owners manual online, but here is the relevant info.

To adjust the low speed rebound damper settings you turn the adjuster fully stiff by turning (clockwise) and then turn back toward softer (counter clockwise) the number of clicks you want to run.

 

mmhmm...one day I'll get me some Ohlins DFV

 

Yes, I know that.

I also swapped out the springs with 8/6 and run them at 12/12 from full stiff.

The 11's where too harsh at high rates of speeds over small bumps. the 8/6 just laugh at it. little more roll, lots more grip.

 

That's me. Sorry for probably driving like an ******* :P

 

Have bought multiple sets of these bad boys from the Sexy Bastards at SakeBombGarage and been *very* pleased

Click Here----->Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers (FD3S) - SakeBomb Garage LLC

 

Yes, I know that.

 

Where'd you get the softer springs?

 

I had a set of ARK coilovers before this. They were 12/12 and I found them to be too harsh for the roads I drove on. I found a set of Swift springs used. the fronts were like $80 and the rear $60. I threw them on to try a softer spring rate to see if that helped. The softer springs were insanely better in terms of ride comfort, and the second benefit was they were much faster at high speeds. They glide over stuff instead of dart back and fourth on top of things or shake you to death.

The lower speed transitions the higher rate springs feel better, but anything above 30mph I like the softer rate springs. This area of opinions varies greatly amongst individuals. I have also not had a problem bottoming my shocks out at all with a pretty low ride height 25" front and 25.5" rear.

The ohlins are better shocks and I can still use the entire spectrum of adjustments with the softer rate springs. The ark's had a much more limited range to work with the softer spring rates and 4/4 from full soft was the best setting. I didn't think the ride was all that bad except for going over large bumps...like ramp type bumps. the ohlins dfv are better, for the money are they that much better......its close.


Its a noticeable difference when riding in cars back to back. if you ride with the 11/11 stock spring rate you can feel a ton of bumps in the road at almost any setting. We hopped in my car and I would say you don't even notice the road has bumps in comparison. all of the small cracks are gone, and the car is smooth, not as harsh. I gave the one guy a ride in the car and he is like.....damn, I want to go softer. The grip difference and increased confidence at high speed is a big difference, at least for me. high speed is 100MPH + speeds.

 

Oh, and to help you choose.

I am running 8" long 8KG front, 8" long 6KG rear.

I have the front spring compressed .5" and the rear is compressed .75" for pre-load.

If you run a 8KG+ spring in the rear I would probably choose a 7" spring. stock is 8" spring front and 7" spring rear with 11KG springs.

These rates are one of the most favorite mods I did to the car. wide wheels is also up there.

 

Thanks! I plan to get DFVs once the single turbo and paint are done. The roads round here are terrible hence looking at softer springs.

 

I'm probably going to be switching to 9k rear, fronts may stay 11k - I have a bit more weight with my 1jzgte and tr6060

 

Do you find the spring rates to be too much as well?

 

Being a double wishbone car has a bit to do with this...

11 kilos on a strut car would be bone-jarring.

 

it has to do with the motion ratio. a strut car, by definition has the spring at the end of the arm, so its motion ratio is 1:1. the FD has the spring in the middle of the arm, so the motion ratio is something like 0.7:1.

the motion ratio is computed with the spring rate to get what is called the wheel rate, the spring rate at the wheel. the wheel rate is comparable car to car.

so basically 11kg springs on the FD, with a motion ratio of .7 (not sure what it actually is, although the info has been posted, also easy to measure), gives you a wheel rate of 7.7kg, which is basically the same as the 8kg people run in the FC.

 

The multiplier is the *square* of the motion ratio.
11kg/mm springs with a motion ratio of 0.7 gives a wheel rate of 11kg/mm * (0.7)^2 = 5.39 kg/mm

I track my car and needed stiffer springs, so I swapped the 11kg/mm fronts for 13kg/mm.
I also do a fair amount of street miles on some poor roads, and this compromise works well for me overall.

For a street car, I would try the existing 11kg/mm up front with either 9 or 8 kg/mm rear springs like Sketch_hs is talking about.

IIRC, motion ratios are ~0.61 front and ~0.69 rear on the FD, so with 11kg/mm all around you end up with 4.09 kg/mm front wheel rate and 5.24 kg/mm rear. Stiffness is overly biased to the rear which results in somewhat more oversteery behavior and more front/less rear relative cornering grip. Don't know why the "stock" Ohlins DFV configuration for the FD is so rear-biased...

Loving the Ohlins on my car

 

Don't know why the "stock" Ohlins DFV configuration for the FD is so rear-biased...

Probably has to do with how much understeer a stock FD has. I raced mine in stock class 1 year. FD was made "safe" before Vehicle Dynamic Stability was a thing.

For instance, put Traction Control/DSC in malfuntion mode in RX-8 and it has less understeer than a stock FD.