Penske 8300 vs Ohlins TTX36

[CSG Mike]

An excellent post by Jon Caserta from another forum I'm on that revolves heavily around high end setups for those that are curious.

These are the entry level dampers for the respective brands.

I think of these two shocks as being equal, while the Penskes are significantly cheaper. I think it's clear that both will do the job very well, so don't belabor the decision too much. I'll jot down a few things to think about that come to mind between the two:

-Penske and Ohlins are some of your lightest options - the JRZ/Moton/etc are much, much heavier. Ohlins are just a little lighter than the Penske but it's a small difference.
-Ohlins do not have remote canisters so if your racing class treats remote canisters as being more points or whatever than ohlins are your shock. On the other hand they're much more of a PITA to adjust since you can't put your canisters in a convenient place, you have to turn your steering wheel and lie on the ground and turn the knobs by feel.
-Penskes it's much easier to get a proven valving. No one has really adapted the TTX to cars yet other than PSI and they seem to not have much experience with it yet at least as of a year ago. Penske you've got all sorts of different builders all of which can give you a proven valving for your application. Also Penskes are generally much more widespread for the same reason.
-If you want to dabble with rebuilding shocks yourself Penskes are your shock - you can get all sorts of documentation and parts and even take a class on it with Penske if you want. Ohlins on the other hand you can't even do it, you need to vacuum fill them plus it'd be near impossible with no documentation anyway.
-Penskes are far more configurable if you want to play with different curves and piston types and stuff. You can do damn near anything with a Penske, even their crazy new regressive curves and stuff. Ohlins you're more stuck with certain traditional curves.
-Ohlins have more of a range of adjustment in compression with the knob, especially if your valving is digressive. I'd say they're about equal in rebound adjustment range.
-Rebuild/revalve cost is significantly less with Penske, like 2/3 or so.
-Up front cost with Penske is significantly cheaper assuming a basic 8300.
-You can call Penske and get technical support. You can't call Ohlins. This isn't as huge of a deal as it sounds because normally you call your builder anyway but it is sometimes good to have a second opinion.
-PSI talks about the TTX damper shocking tires less than other shocks. Penske on the other hand says that Penskes respond to forces faster than any other shock. Who knows how much either of those things matter if at all.
-PSI says the TTX goes a little longer between rebuilds.

I went with Penske. I've had two different Penske shocks over the past few years and have been very happy with them. I'm sure that had I gone Ohlins they would have also worked well, but I'm still glad I went Penske for some of the reasons above.

Hope that helps.

[Dezoris]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

An excellent post by Jon Caserta from another forum I'm on that revolves heavily around high end setups for those that are curious.

These are the entry level dampers for the respective brands.

Sounds like Penske is more the shock of choice if you in terms of flexibility and customization. Good info for the track guys.

I am going down to Ohlins HQ next week anything you want me to ask them?

[7thgear]

why no damper-only support T.T

it seems stock-class FRS's are limited in terms of product avilability... seems to be koni-n-forgetaboutit


thanks for the post Mike.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Dezoris

Sounds like Penske is more the shock of choice if you in terms of flexibility and customization. Good info for the track guys.

I am going down to Ohlins HQ next week anything you want me to ask them?

I might have a list for you....

[utekineir]

does this mean a penske application is close?

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by utekineir

does this mean a penske application is close?

The OP wasn't FR-S/BRZ specific, but a Penske application has been available since over a year ago

[howardf]

Where does the JRZ RS product that your shop sells fit into this ranking?

[Racecomp Engineering]

Cool post!

I pick up the phone and talk to Ohlins all the time? Didn't know that was a thing that was hard to do. Not sure if it's different for customers.

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

The OP wasn't FR-S/BRZ specific, but a Penske application has been available since over a year ago

From Penske or is this an ANZE suspension thing?

- Andy

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

Cool post!

I pick up the phone and talk to Ohlins all the time? Didn't know that was a thing that was hard to do. Not sure if it's different for customers.



From Penske or is this an ANZE suspension thing?

- Andy

It's from Penske, but it may have been specific to us... I'll use the same line and say it may have been different for end users.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by howardf

Where does the JRZ RS product that your shop sells fit into this ranking?

The RS-Pro is the direct competitor to the 8300 and TTX36.

The RS is a double adjustable twin-tube, without external reservoirs.

For all 3 setups, you're generally best off going with the setup your chosen shop is most comfortable/familiar with.

[solidONE]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

The OP wasn't FR-S/BRZ specific, but a Penske application has been available since over a year ago

Who do I call for these? PSI? Nobody has app specific listed on the web for the 86.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by solidONE

Who do I call for these? PSI? Nobody has app specific listed on the web for the 86.

If you're serious, I can make a call, but I won't make the call unless you're serious.

[solidONE]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

If you're serious, I can make a call, but I won't make the call unless you're serious.

I'm serious about finding out the cost of a set of Penske 2-ways that's ready to go. I'm talking springs, top mounts, etc. ready to bolt in. Also if there is extra charge for the digressive valving, and how much extra for the regressive compression valving.

Although I will have to confess that new dampers are not currently within my budget. I would just like to know what I need to put together in terms of monies before I can get my hands on a set if penskes. also to get a better idea what the difference is to other (lesser) options.

[xwd]

I started off with Anze in developing a Penske 8300 setup for the BRZ but ended up switching to MCS instead, as it was cheaper and they had already done the homework. Anze did a lot of testing with the stock stuff and took all the appropriate measurements, but never produced a set afaik.

The Penske stuff is super customizable by the end user and has things like double digressive pistons available now, but the stuff isn't cheap and unfortunately the front strut ends up being more of a one-off using Penske internals than a true Penske shock.

A full Penske 8300 setup I would budget at least $6K and that doesn't include the springs and top hats.

There are other high end options like MCS and the company making the shocks for the stout racing race car, JRi.