Got some info on Ohlins offerings.

[Supermassive]

I run Ohlins suspensions on my sportbikes and will probably never go without on any bike i own in the future due to how amazing they are. So I was curious to see what Ohlins had up their sleeve for the FR-S/BRZ, so I sent the US distributor an email and just got a reply back.

Heres my original email:

To Whom it may concern,

I recently purchased a 2013 Scion FR-S and am in the market for a suspension system. I understand that the FR-S is new but I was hoping that you might be able to tell me the likelihood of a kit being made for this car, preferably something along the lines of a TTX. I have been using Ohlins suspension on my sport bikes for the last 4 years and would like to try Ohlins for the first time on a car.

Anyways, any info you could give me regarding this would be greatly appreciated and would help me plan my car’s upgrades a little better.

Thanks again,
Gerden Clark

And heres the response:

Gerden,

Thanks for the inquiry.
Sweden is currently in development of a Road and Track series coilover for the FR-S/BRZ. We expect it’s availability sometime in late-winter. There is no pricing yet, but I would anticipate the kit to fall in the $2900 - $3300 range.
Due to this car being a front strut car, a TTX build would be prohibitively expensive. So at this time, there are no plans to develop a TTX kit for that chassis.

Let me know what else I can do for you.


Regards,


Öhlins USA
find us on facebook!
http://www.roadandtrackbyohlins.com/en/

So now you guys have an idea of what they are doing

[Draco-REX]

I have Ohlins struts on my STI, they are very good.

[fatoni]

provided they dont run into stroke issues like they often do for some reason im sure it will be a steal

[RRnold]

Sweet! This is the same suspension that I'm going to install in my FR-S too. :happy0180:

[Racecomp Engineering]

We will definitely try the Ohlins on our car.

- Andrew

[octagon]

I imagine they'll look a lot like this

http://ohlins.czj.jp/auto/Item/BTO-ZC6_DFV_HAL.html

The relocation of the swaybar mount and use of custom links in front is nice. Gives more room for spring height adjustment. I also like how they have the option to go with either camber plates/pillow ball or keep rubber mounts.

I've had Ohlins on my wrx for 6+ years and will say that they're worth the investment since they've held up so well. I don't remember ever reading a long term coilover review, but I bet $1k coilovers would degrade much sooner. I freaked out when I took off the dust boots on my Ohlins when I disassembled them before a revalve. The chrome on the shock bodies had started discoloring and I thought the coating was wearing through. Turns out they were just bluing from heat according to Ohlins . Their shock fluid must be good because they didn't recommend changing it despite whatever heat the shocks had seen. Only bad news is that when I called Ohlins USA earlier this year about regreasing my rear struts is that they are no longer servicing "late model" road and track shocks and are redirecting people to other 3rd party service centers. They said they work on current model shocks and do all warranty work themselves.

I know Myles and Andrew at racecomp are always talking about having sufficient suspension travel, but all the BRZ/FR-S coil over systems I've seen (these Ohlins included) are running 7" springs which only have 4" of useable stroke. Also, I only recall KW and JRZ using helper springs so its not like all 4" is being used for bump travel only. I guess real world experience must say this is fine, just wondering if the racecomp guys will comment on this.

[Supermassive]

Originally Posted by octagon

I imagine they'll look a lot like this

http://ohlins.czj.jp/auto/Item/BTO-ZC6_DFV_HAL.html

The relocation of the swaybar mount and use of custom links in front is nice. Gives more room for spring height adjustment. I also like how they have the option to go with either camber plates/pillow ball or keep rubber mounts.

I've had Ohlins on my wrx for 6+ years and will say that they're worth the investment since they've held up so well. I don't remember ever reading a long term coilover review, but I bet $1k coilovers would degrade much sooner. I freaked out when I took off the dust boots on my Ohlins when I disassembled them before a revalve. The chrome on the shock bodies had started discoloring and I thought the coating was wearing through. Turns out they were just bluing from heat according to Ohlins . Their shock fluid must be good because they didn't recommend changing it despite whatever heat the shocks had seen. Only bad news is that when I called Ohlins USA earlier this year about regreasing my rear struts is that they are no longer servicing "late model" road and track shocks and are redirecting people to other 3rd party service centers. They said they work on current model shocks and do all warranty work themselves.

I know Myles and Andrew at racecomp are always talking about having sufficient suspension travel, but all the BRZ/FR-S coil over systems I've seen (these Ohlins included) are running 7" springs which only have 4" of useable stroke. Also, I only recall KW and JRZ using helper springs so its not like all 4" is being used for bump travel only. I guess real world experience must say this is fine, just wondering if the racecomp guys will comment on this.

Awesome find! I love Ohlins suspensions on my bikes and I hope these are as good if not better than the competition...that said I am not set on any particular kit just yet.

[Black Tire]

This is the kit I have been waiting for. It will be interesting to see what they finally come up with.

[Bristecom]

Looks like they already have one built in Japan.

http://ohlins.czj.jp/auto/Item/BTO-ZC6_DFV_HAL.html

It will have their Dual Flow Valve technology and a stiffer front vs rear spring rate which likely means it'll be a lot more stable/grippy for track use.

Ohlins TTX and DFV are the best dampers/coilovers in the world, IMO. But in the FR-S case, I may just stick with the stock suspension so I can get the rear to play more. I dunno, maybe if somebody gets them for their BRZ/FRS locally, they can give me a ride in them so I can see if it's worth it.

[RRnold]

Originally Posted by Bristecom

Looks like they already have one built in Japan.

http://ohlins.czj.jp/auto/Item/BTO-ZC6_DFV_HAL.html

It will have their Dual Flow Valve technology and a stiffer front vs rear spring rate which likely means it'll be a lot more stable/grippy for track use.

Ohlins TTX and DFV are the best dampers/coilovers in the world, IMO. But in the FR-S case, I may just stick with the stock suspension so I can get the rear to play more. I dunno, maybe if somebody gets them for their BRZ/FRS locally, they can give me a ride in them so I can see if it's worth it.

It's about damn time!!

[Racecomp Engineering]

It is REALLY good to see at least one part of this community is able to appreciate the good dampers/manufactures on the market. This is refreshing. Sometimes what we see in other markets is the good parts are available and no one buys the good stuff. OR...the classic mega build out thread with about 20k spent on power and the classic Taiwanese made shocks installed.

We convinced Ohlins USA to import the fixed perch struts for the 04+ STI back in mid 2005 and those sold VERY well up until maybe early 2010 which for a 2k strut ONLY, is strong and goes to show that there are some out there who will pay for the good stuff !



Myles

[xwd]

When I see JDM coilovers using higher spring rates in the front the rear I think they just retrofitted something they had for the WRX/STI...

I have heard mixed feelings about the Ohlins Japan stuff and they probably aren't a good fit for US roads. I hope Ohlins US does release some coilovers and/or dampers at some point soon.

[icemang17]

Ohlins makes excellent products!!!!! JRZ & KW are also quite good......it won't take long and there will be TONS of high quality kits out there for our cars

[kiks]

Jdm ohlins by carozzia are good, but not identical to Swedish ohlins.

Having used both in my BP legacy I know this well enough. Internals are all swedish but housings, perches, clevis, eyelet, top hats etc all different. Bearing shell is Japanese on both tough (better than most shit you seppos see). Ohlins in Sweden are 1-2 months off having something on shelf. It'll just be a GR sti damper with a fair bit less bound rate and a lighter spring. No problem with this, as they are essentially the same anyway except for vehicle weight. Motion ratio is same. Unsprung front weight is less so they'll reduce some front rebound rate at high frequency and all will be sweet. But they do a lot of testing over there, and they run such a great set of shims that 30% spring rate changes are factory approved. Progressive 4-6 kg sort of range with a 2kg tender would work excellent if they have the stroke for it, should be all the weight needs for just about any tyre.

MCA in Australia will have something special out soon, a little birdy tells me. Considerig Murray Coote is an ex proflex mechanic, and his stuff is as good as proflex/reiger/bilstein/sachs WRC, they should be the best there is as a bolt on for the brz86frs chassis. Also twice/three times the price of the ohlins dfv/R&T too though.

What's funny is the amount of you guys who praise ohlins, jrz and kw..... Because you don't know anything better. At least it's a step in the right direction though and away from Thai crap. Drip fed education by racecomp over the years for a stubborn market of people saturated in an economy of absolute garbage, knock offs, and cut throat sales. I like the fact you even try this RCE. The boys at performanceshock (a while back) said they can't even bring themselves to try and deal with the general public because they're always right, and the Internet knows best. Can't convince a dude to change gun laws, religious
Fanaticism, their opinion on abortion, or love for cheap taiwanese or Japanese coilovers. All are equally as retarded to drill into the thick headed. To present a valid argument or even allow an informed decision with a fact based rhetoric behind their purchasing choice is futile to most. It's war of the cheap shit sadly.

But hell, as long as someone makes 24pot calipers, rear mounted turbos, and $1000 coilovers they will be gobbelled up by a market fanatic over numbers. Just look at the turbo thread for a laugh about how every single valid issue about how a turbo bolt on should perform is excused for the chase of figures only. 3 way coilovers is my latest laugh.... Nothing to do with high/low speed bound as linked rebound, but rather height, camber and rebound. Lol at the fact people listen to that and accept the marketing blindly.