JhnRX7's Weekend Track Toy Build

[RedR1]

Please do update on your feel of the Ohlins. I am currently on the fence right now between those and a set of Quantum coilovers. I've seen 4 people on this and the other forum purchase them (i too would be going through Sake) but no one has said how they truly feel with them on a day to day, and old versus new on the track basis. So far it's just been, "i love them" with no tangible thing other than "i can drive to the market and back and love it"

I can't justify $2800 to be comfortable to and from the market. . . . unless the track was inbetween

Please, and thank you

Originally Posted by JhnRX7

The ride is firm but not harsh, potholes and bumps are soaked up very well. The handling is outstanding, I took it out on my favorite backroads and I found myself going a lot faster without even meaning to. The car actually feels lighter in the turns.

do you feel any regret against your old Stance's? Like, is it worth every penny to upgrade? Ohlins is one of the best companies, I just wanted to see honest answers since the cost is pretty steep (for me)

it sounds like you are 100% sold on the Ohlins, yes?

[JhnRX7]

Originally Posted by RedR1

Please do update on your feel of the Ohlins. I am currently on the fence right now between those and a set of Quantum coilovers. I've seen 4 people on this and the other forum purchase them (i too would be going through Sake) but no one has said how they truly feel with them on a day to day, and old versus new on the track basis. So far it's just been, "i love them" with no tangible thing other than "i can drive to the market and back and love it"

I can't justify $2800 to be comfortable to and from the market. . . . unless the track was inbetween

Please, and thank you



do you feel any regret against your old Stance's? Like, is it worth every penny to upgrade? Ohlins is one of the best companies, I just wanted to see honest answers since the cost is pretty steep (for me)

it sounds like you are 100% sold on the Ohlins, yes?

I completely understand what you are saying as I was in the exact same boat. However now I am on the other side of the fence and can relate to the other reviews. Its honestly hard to put into words how good these feel.

Lets put it this way, I rarely ever drove my FD on the street simply because it was uncomfortable and not very enjoyable for me anymore. The weekend I installed these I drove to the grocery store THREE times just for an excuse to drive the FD... " oh, we are out of salsa? Be right back!"

To be more specific, I can say that with the 11k spring rate the car is still "firm", but they soak up bumps extremely well. Its not like a Cadillac where you didn't even know that you just drove through a sinkhole, but its not kidney jarring when you hit bumps either. The car feels very supple now for lack of better words. It feels a lot like my buddies BMW.

My next track day is on the same track as my most recent track day (about a month ago). I have data from the last track day and I will be taking data on the next so I should have a good comparison. I am not the best driver so it will be pretty subjective, however if they give me the confidence to push the car harder which results in lower lap times then I would call that an improvement.

I can honestly say they were worth every penny even without the track experience yet. They have really changed the car. I stuck my gopro in the wheel well over the weekend and got some cool video of the shocks in action haha I'll post that up tonight

[RedR1]

Originally Posted by JhnRX7

I completely understand what you are saying as I was in the exact same boat. However now I am on the other side of the fence and can relate to the other reviews. Its honestly hard to put into words how good these feel.

Lets put it this way, I rarely ever drove my FD on the street simply because it was uncomfortable and not very enjoyable for me anymore. The weekend I installed these I drove to the grocery store THREE times just for an excuse to drive the FD... " oh, we are out of salsa? Be right back!"

To be more specific, I can say that with the 11k spring rate the car is still "firm", but they soak up bumps extremely well. The car feels very supple now for lack of better words. It feels a lot like my buddies BMW.

that is awesome. I know every time I had to drive my FD anywhere, it always felt "jarry" . . . like, a bump was a major thing where i'd have to play minesweeper on the street that was with the old Zeal Function X i had. It's great to know these Ohlins are better valved to take up bumps. Even reflectors (only thing i could think of that's universally the same size state to state) in the middle of the roads were annoying and a point to be avoided when changing lanes.

Its great to know that these brings back the want to drive the car, where as previously it felt borderline "track only" (though not literally) if that makes sense.

Originally Posted by JhnRX7

My next track day is on the same track as my most recent track day (about a month ago). I have data from the last track day and I will be taking data on the next so I should have a good comparison. I am not the best driver so it will be pretty subjective, however if they give me the confidence to push the car harder which results in lower lap times then I would call that an improvement.

I can honestly say they were worth every penny even without the track experience yet. They have honestly changed the car. I stuck my gopro in the wheel well over the weekend and got some cool video of the shocks in action haha I'll post that up tonight

I would LOVE to watch the bound/rebound of these coilovers in action. Please do share when you have a moment to upload.

I'm also not the best driver, but if these coilovers make you feel more confident and in control versus your old, that's enough of a sale for me. Having confidence on a track is worth more to me, than going faster as there is always someone faster. I look forward to your track update. I'll also tell Dan and Heath your review is what sold me, maybe they'll give you some sort of kickback or discount next time you order?

thank you for your honest response!

[JhnRX7]

Originally Posted by RedR1

I would LOVE to watch the bound/rebound of these coilovers in action. Please do share when you have a moment to upload.

Ask and you shall receive!

The FD has a perfect little cubby hole to mount the GoPro, I just wish it was a tiny bit wider so I could see the bottom of the tire. Also, there is a lot of grain from the low light. I want to find a small LED light that I can mount in there as well to see if that helps for these videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_hIY...ature=youtu.be

[RENESISFD]

Originally Posted by RedR1

that is awesome. I know every time I had to drive my FD anywhere, it always felt "jarry" . . . like, a bump was a major thing where i'd have to play minesweeper on the street that was with the old Zeal Function X i had. It's great to know these Ohlins are better valved to take up bumps. Even reflectors (only thing i could think of that's universally the same size state to state) in the middle of the roads were annoying and a point to be avoided when changing lanes.
.....

I find that interesting you mention a horrible ride, my function xs seems to ride fairly well. I will have to go for a ride in Jhnrx7's car to compare the difference.

Did you buy them new or used? What were the spring rates you had.


John, the car is looking real good, I cant wait to join you out on track next year.

[RedR1]

Originally Posted by RENESISFD

I find that interesting you mention a horrible ride, my function xs seems to ride fairly well. I will have to go for a ride in Jhnrx7's car to compare the difference.

Did you buy them new or used? What were the spring rates you had.

I never got to let the suspension fully settle. I drove maybe 200 miles tops. Bought them new, 11/10 spring rates. They were with the first 10 units Rishie brought stateside many years ago.

then they were stolen off my FD when it was stolen and stripped (still hurts).

When you get a chance to ride with John, can you please chime back in or PM me insight compared to the function xs, if you don't mind? I would genuinely appreciate it (though i'm pretty much sold on the DFV's when its time).

[RENESISFD]

Originally Posted by RedR1

I never got to let the suspension fully settle. I drove maybe 200 miles tops. Bought them new, 11/10 spring rates. They were with the first 10 units Rishie brought stateside many years ago.

then they were stolen off my FD when it was stolen and stripped (still hurts).

When you get a chance to ride with John, can you please chime back in or PM me insight compared to the function xs, if you don't mind? I would genuinely appreciate it (though i'm pretty much sold on the DFV's when its time).

Chris,

I rode in Johns car last weekend and the ride is very plush, quite comfortable. It is smoother than my zeals however I have 13k springs compared to the 11k springs John has. I also rode in goodfellas car which has the same suspension but has the settings stiffer (to rich good handling comes with a stiffy) than what John had his set to and the ride was obviously much stiffer.

Overall they are definitely a good streetable coilover that is also great for the track. If I was in the market for suspension I would get the ohlins over the zeals because they are basically the same price, and the ohlins are ohlins.

The expansion joints on the highway are much smoother than my car is but I normally drive them on a stiff setting because I live on long island and want to prevent the car from bottoming out on bumps because I drive my car with it pretty low to the ground.

I would not hesitate to get them even at their price point.

[JhnRX7]

As promised, I had a chance to try out the Ohlins on track










So my last track session was about a month ago at NJMP's Thunderbolt track. That session was on the stance suspension. This past Sunday I got back to Thunderbolt with the new Ohlins (and seats). However, I did not end up running the same track configuration. This time we ran WITH the chicane so lap times would generally be slower... Even with the chicane I shaved 3 seconds off my previous best!

Here is the data overlay. The red line is with the Ohlins, and the blue line is with the Stance. Notice my MPH is significantly higher through all the corners (except the chicane section).



1:46.85 Before
1:43.82 After

I think its safe to say these are better on track

As far as feel, they absolutely inspired more confidence but I think the higher cornering speed just came naturally. Another big improvement was rumble strips. They are so smooth now I can ride way up onto them without unsettling the car.

I have edited a video with data overlay I will be posting tonight.