Hello everyone,

I have been meaning to get a set of OHLINS coilovers for seemingly forever and want to pull the trigger soon.

Sakebomb offers 4 different options:

1) Road & Track DFV
2) FPSports
3) FPSpec Lite GT's
4) FPSpec Long Stoke

My car is a low mile garage queen but I would like a more enjoyable ride when she does come out. It will never see track use under my ownership. I currently have the original R1 suspension which to me feels a bit harsh.

So a few questions for the group:

1) Will the standard Road & Track DFV's be an upgrade from a comfort and compliance perspective for street use?

2) Anyone buy the standard kit and wish they would have gone for the FPSports instead (billet floating top hats, aurora bearings, swift springs) ?

3) Anyone have the GT lites (10/8kg) and feel they are too soft for the character of the car ?

I know Sakebomb is a great resource too but wanted to get some real world feedback from owners. Thanks !

 

Got a set of Long Stroke GTs in the garage. Putting them on the car once the snow is gone
Guys at Sakebomb who run them said they where OEM+

 

The Sakebomb website does a good job of explaining the differences. I'd definitely skip the Road and Track / DFVs and step up to one the Sakebomb options.

FPSport - The revisions that Sakebomb made to shock valving and spring rates are worth the additional cost The rear of the out of the box DFVs was a bit too stiff and oversprung for general street use in my opinion but I'm picky. For regular street use, bang for the buck, consider these:
https://www.sakebombgarage.com/fpspo...er-kit-fd-rx7/

The FP Spec have even better engineering with the long stroke (lite gt) shocks, associated shock valving, slightly softer GT spring rates that will improve ride quality. If budget allows and ride quality is important and you are sensitive to ride quality or have a lot of rough roads, consider stepping up to these.
https://www.sakebombgarage.com/fpspe...kit-fd3s-rx-7/

I think the FPSpec Long Stroke lite and GT spring rates will be the best option for a street focused car if you're looking for ride quality. If I were to do my suspension again, these would be the minimum entry point for my picky self.

etc

 

@gracer7-rx7

Thank you for the reply. I'm between the GT Lite and FPSport.

The GT lites have the more street focused springs rates but lack the billet top hats, lower mounts, and swift springs.

The FPSports have all the goodies above but 12kg/10kg spring rates.

 

10 kg is great for a street car (quite comfortable), but too soft for a track car. YMMV.

 

I don't think that these will affect ride quality too much - billet top hats, lower mounts, and swift springs. My opinion of course.
The special sauce is in the shock valving and stroke.

 

Spring rates (like 10k) don't mean much unless the dampers are quality, which Ohlins are. a 10k Stance coil over is a lot stiffer than one from Ohlins though.

 

Thanks for the responses so far.

Does anyone here run the GT Lites with the 10k/8k springs ? Wondering how you like them or if they are "too soft" for the car.

 

None. It's a low mile garage queen. Keep the OEM suspension.

If you have to, GT spec because the stock ride is already too harsh for you.

Call Sakebomb directly, they will be happy to talk to you and take your order.

 

Do you know what ride height you want to run? The shorter shock body on the off the shelf ohlins make factory ride height in the rear a challenge.

Based on how you described your use-case, I think the Long Stroke Lite GT set with the longer shock body in the rear and the offset spring rates are going to be the best choice for you. The longer stroke in the rear will offer more ride height adjustment and the offset spring rates pay respect to the FD's motion ratios front vs rear; which will make for a more compliant and balanced feeling ride. 10k/8k will not feel too soft. I agree with gracer7 that the billet top hats and beefy lower mounts would provide no additional value for you.

 

Went with the FPSpec Long Stroke Lite GT (10/8kg). I'll report back once installed, super excited : )

 

Nice!
pro tip - You may be tempted to think that running the damper on full soft will give you the softest and most comfortable ride but this is not the case. Don't hesitate to run them at full soft to see what it feels like but don't be surprised or alarmed if it feels bouncy and annoying. This is effectively because the damper will not be reacting as fast, so forces from the spring persist longer which can result in a bounce sensation. Ultimately you'll have to play with the adjustment ***** front&rear to find the balance between quick/firm response and smooth/comfortable response. Enjoy.

 

Wow, super fast shipping and these things are absolutely beautiful, I just want to look at them.

 

So with the Yen being so low, the cost to buy a set of coil overs out of Japan is pretty appealing at the moment.. I was looking at the Endless Zeal Function X Plus (wicked deal currently ~200,000 JPY shipped), but then saw a great price on the Ohlins too:

https://www.rhdjapan.com/ohlins-coil...unts-fd3s.html

How do these compare to the typical USA offerings? Aside from the valving, is there an appreciable downside to these?

I'd love to support Sakebomb but I need something on a tighter budget. These seem like a really good deal unless there is something I'm missing?

 

Shipping is the big one. Tax maybe too. it would apply to both, obviously

 

Shipping from JP is very good right now. Not to mention USD to JPY is very strong. Think 90's exchange rate!

I just ordered new set of Advan's at $340 usd shipped and dry carbon GT wing for $304 usd shipped. Duty fees apply to overall cost but excellent option if that works with your budget.

I personally vote for the Endless set.

 

If I was in the USA, it would be a much easier decision. I'd gladly pay a couple hundred more for the support and expertise but its a pretty big difference to my location. Having just received a few orders recently from RHDJapan, I'm considering the landed (all-in) cost.

It is currently cheaper to get OEM Mazda parts from Japan, and my local parts guy at Mazda does pretty good for me.

The Endless set IS a really good deal. That's not off the table either.

 

Make sure the Endless set can be serviced in the USA.

The Ohlins look like a good deal. Find out the fully landed cost, maybe Sakebomb will price match?

Side note on the Ohlins: the manual recommends too much preload. I backed it off, and the car is WAY more compliant. Maybe it makes a difference at the limit, but for street use the car is significantly more comfortable.

 

"more enjoyable ride when she does come out. It will never see track use under my ownership."

"GT Lites with the 10k/8k springs ? Wondering how you like them or if they are "too soft" for the car."

as per my Longacre Digital Spring Rate Tester, the FD came with 4.7 Kg front (263 pounds/inch) and 3.5 Kg (195) rear springs.

while the forum is filled w Phil Hills, i am here to tell you that you dodged a bullet (congratulations) by not picking the awful-for-primarily-street 11-11 package. you have the outer edge of street spring rates at 10-8. your new springs are 2.12 F and 2.28 R times stiffer than OE. there is NO shock valving that can make a spring softer.

note that the Mazda rear spring rate is 26% softer than the front. this is correct for a front engine rear drive chassis. the rear needs to be more compliant. that's why you should run 30 F 27 R tire cold pressure.

with rear compliance in mind i called Sakebomb and had a long convo with them as to WHY they were selling FD coil overs with equal F and R springs for dual purpose app.. after a lot of back and forth they finally offered the answer:

the rear shock body lacked sufficient travel for a "proper" softer spring. they had to limit the travel so the piston would not bottom out. not cool for street. great for drifting, where you want monster oversteer..

to Sakebomb's credit they, on their own, engineered a longer rear shock body. this is not, as i understand, an Ohlin P/N.

i still believe that the proper spring rate for your app is an 8/6 which is what i run. much more adhesion to the typical road surface than 10/8. i simply swapped in a set of 8/6 Eibach springs... no drama. there lots of heavy breathing over "SWIFT" springs. in the real racing world, of which i was a part for 22 seasons, Eibach, along w a few other brands occupies center stage. 'not particularly expensive. i have no beef w Swift, but proper springs are just a commodity in the racing world, no need for heavy breathing.

 

He has spoken.

 

Some Clarifying Points

• The off the shelf Ohlins are 11/11. Sakebomb is not specifying those numbers. Ohlins is.
• The stock shocks and aftermarket replacements like the Koni and Bilstein are basically too long and don't allow enough room for the springs to compress. This is why stock springs ride so high in the rear - to give the rear shock enough room to squat without bottoming out on the crappy, way too hard factory bump stops.
• The stiff 11k rear spring allows you to run a lower ride height on a stock length shock and not bottom out as much - at the expense of causing a stiffer ride and making the rear end "livelier" (howard's drifting reference) than some would want.
• Many off the shelf coilovers from many different manufacturers do not address these issues.

The Sakebomb FP spec Ohlins do address the shortcomings described above. It is a very well engineered suspension system for the FD. Very few coilover companies attempted to address these problems over the years.

 

Have you been able to put many miles on them? How are you liking them? I have similar goals with a low mileage R1 that will only see the street and have been looking at these so I am curious what you think so far and if they are worth the money.

Thanks!

 

@RotarySB - unfortunately I haven't driven the FD since the install (aside from the ride home), I'm hoping to get some more seat time this fall. I live in Palm Springs so our seasons are reversed from the rest of you guys (winters are beautiful and summers are too hot to have an enjoyable cruise).

Definitely more comfortable than the 31 year old stock suspension, worth it ? Probably not as I don't drive it that much but I am wanting to add some wheels down the road so I felt a nice set of coilovers was a necessity first. I'll report back when I have more to share.

 

get some AC in the car from jp3motorsports