OHLINS DFV COILOVERS FOR BRZ / FR-S

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by createluck

installed Friday, at West End Alignment. I can not express how joyful this short five day process made me feel, after over two months of waiting and waiting.

Darin and Chris took incredible care installing coilovers and Whiteline bushings. I never felt rushed during alignment and slow process of corner balancing. There was quite a bit of communication prior to installation, updates during process, and while fine tuning balance. This has always been my experience with Darin, in my past racing life. Chris is carrying on the same tradition of excellence!

West End Alignment ftw.

My belief is that the suspension plays a major role in your improvement, but the more important thing is that it increased your confidence so that you're willing to push harder.

[orthojoe]

Originally Posted by createluck

I have run Chuckwalla several times this spring. One of those days was CCW. So, I feel quite familiar with the track. I have been out of racing for 12 years. These track days along with a day at Auto Club, Streets of Willow, and Buttonwillow, have helped me familiarize myself with the car.

The last track day, on March 23rd, I had added a K and N air filter, Whiteline crossmember mount insert bushing, Whiteline gearbox bushing, SS brake lines, Motul 600 fluid, Ferodo DS 2500 brake pads front and rear, the Nameless exhaust, including front pipe and over pipe, Wedsport TC105N 17x8, Michelin Pilot Super Sport 225x45x17 tires, and a Grimmspeed Master Cylinder Brace. Granted, I had an exhaust leak, but as much as I had hoped it slowed me down, it was just my driving skill. My best time was a 2:17.9.

The next day, at Chuckwalla was this past Sunday with the Ohlins just installed Friday. I was there on April 21st and ran only one session, due to the unfortunate accident. We also installed Whiteline anti-dive caster correction, Whiteline front control arm bushings, and Whiteline rear camber adjuster kit, which gave us an extra -.5 degree camber, in the rear. I ran a straight pipe and removed the exhaust. I do not have any tune. This resulted in a best time of 2:11.2. These last modifications were the only differences from the previous best time and resulted in a 6.7 second improvement. Since I lacked experience with the new set-up, I ran the tire pressures too high, which should result in some improvement. I need to dial in the rebound settings and I also have a lot to gain with better driving.

I believe that the majority of improvement came from the Ohlins. Unless of course, I became a much better driver, in a few weeks!

Damn. That is impressive. I guess ohlins are magic. REAL magic. LOL. That is great information to know. Thanks!

[createluck]

Based on my memory and the information supplied above, the comments from @CSG Mike are correct. But, I did not feel that my confidence had really grown the first day with the Ohlins. So, I scratched my head and started looking for other reasons for the big time gain. Once I pulled my car file, I found the culprit. It turns out that I did not install the tires and wheels until after the March 23rd Chuckwalla event, just before the Streets of Willow event April 5th. In fact, the only modification, at Chuckwalla, was the exhaust. The other modifications were made the next week.

With this new information, I analyzed my times with several other FT86 drivers, before and after these modifications. It turns out that the tires and wheels gave me 2.5 seconds. With a more track oriented tire, this gain would have neen a bit more. This means that the Ohlins gave me the additional 4+ seconds, which matches the gains experienced by @CSG, with the Tein SRC.

I apologize for the bad information. However, my impressions are all the same. The car is a joy to drive, predictable, and my confidence will grow with more time, in the seat. I believe that these gains are more in line with expectations, based on past experience. The Ohlins are still gold, just not magic.

[orthojoe]

Originally Posted by createluck

The Ohlins are still gold, just not magic.

4 seconds is still VERY impressive. Thanks again for the info!

[CSG Mike]

I think I'd prefer to have a lump of gold over a lump of magic.... unless that magic is worth more.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

I think I'd prefer to have a lump of gold over a lump of magic.... unless that magic is worth more.

You can't put a value on something priceless.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

You can't put a value on something priceless.

(┛ò__ó)┛彡┻━┻

[SkullWorks]

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

You can't put a value on something priceless.

Ebay that $h!t they'll put a price on it for you....

[Circuit Motorsports]

Originally Posted by createluck

Purchased a set of Ohlins for my BRZ after quite a bit of research and availability issues with previous choice. Ohlins were not available when that choice was made and out of my price point. Desperation for a suspension, ultimately opened my wallet. Tristan, at Circuit Motorsports, was helpful, informative, and found a set for me. Ordered Monday, received Wednesday, and installed Friday, at West End Alignment. I can not express how joyful this short five day process made me feel, after over two months of waiting and waiting.

Darin and Chris took incredible care installing coilovers and Whiteline bushings. I never felt rushed during alignment and slow process of corner balancing. There was quite a bit of communication prior to installation, updates during process, and while fine tuning balance. This has always been my experience with Darin, in my past racing life. Chris is carrying on the same tradition of excellence!

The set-up was simply -3 front, -2.5 back, 0 toe front, 3/32 toe rear, 6.5 degree front caster. The car was lowered the maximum allowed by Ohlin, without compromising suspension geometry. This turned out to be just over an inch, which was my original goal.

We set up the rebound for the track. This made the slow drive home a bit bumpy. However, the first laps, at Chuckwalla, were fantastic! Body roll was severely minimized, car settled quickly, and turn-in was increased. I was able to immediately gain confidence with higher entrance and exit speed due to increased contact patches and balance of car. My third timed lap was one of my fastest for the day. I increased rebound stiffness twice, in rear, but now believe the original guess was the best for now. These were five from full stiff front and seven from full stiff rear.

I will be at Streets of Willow this Saturday to dial in settings. Now that I have softened up rebound for street driving, they are awesome! I do not feel that I am driving a race car. It is slightly stiffer than factory, but very compliant and enjoyable. I was worried about lower spring rates for track and will have to make the final determination, over time. Initial impressions are very favorable. Now, I just need to become a better driver and learn the new limits of the car.

Glad we could help

Looks like you have been putting them to good use, no time wasted!

[PoWn3d_0704]

You know, I've only ever had one experience with Ohlins and that was on an ATV. For three shocks with minimal adjustments that only need to support around 600 lbs total, they STILL want nearly 3k.

Less than 4k for a sports car seems like a steal.

[robispec]

not apples to apples your ATV dampers flew over the atlantic...these fly over the pacific.

[PoWn3d_0704]

No it's a good point, I just find it interesting. Plus, even on ATV's you aren't going to find anything better than Ohlins.

[7thgear]

Originally Posted by robispec

not apples to apples your ATV dampers flew over the atlantic...these fly over the pacific.

don't know if there is a joke in there but it made me chuckle

[vignesh]

how does the KW v3's stand up to the ohlins?