Ohlin DFV Height & Ride Quality

[Driver32503]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to get some feedback from thuse of you who have installed Ohlin DFV coilovers on your FL5 CTRs. If you recall, my install shop at first put the front springs on the rear and vice versa, which didn't help me fall in love with the Ohlins quickly. After I had them swap the springs around, I was hoping that the ride quality would be much improved, but I still feel as though the Ohlins ride rougher than I read about elsewhere.

FWIW, I had MPP/KW coilovers on my 2019 Model 3 Performance and thought they rode perfectly on middle-of-the-road damper settings. So I've been hopping to have a similar ride quality and sharpness for the FL5. I've been wondering whether my preload on the Ohlins is too low, so took a look today at the perch measurements to confirm whether they were on the recommended values:

• Front: 170mm height of front springs, on jack stands, wheels off (this means that there is only 1-2 threads below the bottom perch lock nut)
• Rear: 12mm of threads above the rear spring perch, 215mm of height on the damper body

I found that while the rear was in spec, the front was maybe only 150mm, meaning about 20mm of threads below the bottom perch lock nut. Adjusting this to 170mm meant lowering the front even further.

I've looked at various videos on YouTube and photos in this forum to see what ride height looks like for Ohlins, and the far majority of times photos look like the car rides MUCH higher (especially (608) Dustin Williams - YouTube). I know that Ohlin isn't meant to "drop" a car so low, but below are photos I took today after I made the adjustment to 170mm. Looks like the recommendations (for me at least) resulted in a slight forward rake (1/2").

@SakeBomb Garage I reached out to you to see if you had any advice, even though I didn't buy the Ohlins from you (though I did buy the cancellation kit from you). I bought the Ohlins from Tire Rack.

I'm still hoping that there's something wrong that is causing the ride to be rougher than I was hoping (I experiment bet ween 10-20 clicks), and this disparity in ride height makes me think there still might be something going on. I can see how more preload (higher) gives more travel, but also means the initial spring strength in higher - not sure which is more related to my issues.

Sponsored

 

[Driver32503]

This is the Dustin Williams screenshot I'm referring to.

 

[Driver32503]

And here's a quick screenshot of the front coilover that's been adjusted (according to them) to spec. Clearly more threads than I had showing below the perch nuts.

 

[Chilly613]

He also went with different wheels and tires on his FL5, I believe they went with 18 inch wheels with a 35 sidewall tire, compared to the stock 19 inch wheel with a 30 sidewall. That increase in sidewall will make it a little bit more comfortable.

 

[Driver32503]

He also went with different wheels and tires on his FL5, I believe they went with 18 inch wheels with a 35 sidewall tire, compared to the stock 19 inch wheel with a 30 sidewall. That increase in sidewall will make it a little bit more comfortable.

Yes that is certainly true but it’s obvious that I’m significantly lower and that means that my 170mm is wrong and potentially worsening my ride.

 

[Chilly613]

Yes that is certainly true but it’s obvious that I’m significantly lower and that means that my 170mm is wrong and potentially worsening my ride.

That would definitely make the ride more harsh, I've seen the video on Dustin's Ohlins install and it seems like they went step by step from the instructions out of the box. Not sure if that's what your installer did, but seeing as how they had to swap the springs around, maybe not.

 

[Driver32503]

That would definitely make the ride more harsh, I've seen the video on Dustin's Ohlins install and it seems like they went step by step from the instructions out of the box. Not sure if that's what your installer did, but seeing as how they had to swap the springs around, maybe not.

Yea, but I’ve measured the rear and it’s spot on from the instructions, and I’ve confirmed the 170mm measurement for the front preload. I think pictures of the threads from another install would really be helpful. @sugarl4nd do you have any advice?

 

[Tougefl5]

Look to see what the recommended factory spec settings and hight are. Go drive on roads you like to spend time on.
Set the settings as soft as they can go. Drive the same roads. From there start to adjust the stiffness till the car is acting as you prefer. They are single adjustable so you don't really have anything to tune. If you can't get it how you like then sell them and get KW being that they rode how you liked.

 

[Driver32503]

Look to see what the recommended factory spec settings and hight are. Go drive on roads you like to spend time on.
Set the settings as soft as they can go. Drive the same roads. From there start to adjust the stiffness till the car is acting as you prefer. They are single adjustable so you don't really have anything to tune. If you can't get it how you like then sell them and get KW being that they rode how you liked.

I’m trying to confirm what my ride height should be with the recommended specs, which I suspect is closer to the Dustin screenshot above. If I don’t like the ride after I’m 100% confident in the install, then maybe I’ll switch them but I’m not at that point yet.

But since I think I’m at the right perch height but the ride height isn’t matching others, I’m afraid something else is going on.

 

[MooMoo]

no experience with the FL5 but on the M2 platform a lot of people got different spring rates ( I think some even had them re-valved) because the poor ride quality

 

[TurboZed-R]

In my experience, which is pretty much every single car in the Type R segment, having an experienced shop dial in your coils is the way to go. I told my race shop I wanted an aggressive street setup for my 370Z Nismo on Tein Mono's, and it rode perfectly. The shop also races Porsches on the national level. That or your expectations cannot be delivered.

 

[AZCWTypeR]

Shocks have a break-in period and are stiffer at first.
Spring preload and damper settings both affect ride quality and you don't mention the damper settings.
Backing off the dampers can make a ton of difference. Not sure about the FL5 models, but motorcycle Ohlin's have three damper adjustment screws.

 

[chadwicke619]

Take my opinion with a grain of salt since I have an FK8, but I have a tingling suspicion that your coils are probably setup just fine. The Ohlins are not as comfortable on the street as stock - period. The stock spring rates on an FK8 are 4K front, 4K rear - the Ohlins are 6K front and 10K rear. Sure, the rebound and compression is adjustable, but the fact of the matter is that everything is stiffer, and you can feel that when you drive. On the same token, the things that make it feel a bit rougher when you’re not driving it should also make it feel better when you ARE really driving it. I would posit that if it felt great and comfortable for slow cruising on the streets, they wouldn’t be giving you what they should be giving you on the track. People will say Ohlins RT are not a dedicated track coilover and they’re not wrong, but in my experience, especially with the increase in stiffness in the rear, they’re more for the track than the street, and I would never, ever recommend them to someone who never planned to track. Just my opinion.

That said, I love mine. I had mine setup by a professional race shop. I provided adjustable end links to even out the front sway without preloading. Ride height ended up very similar to stock with a very, very minimal drop, and very subtle positive rake, just like when stock. The car drives pretty close to neutral, but definitely has a greater tendency to oversteer with the stiff rear. I keep the car set at 5-6 clicks from closed in the front, then about 11-12 in the rear to keep her ass settled on the streets.

 

[Driver32503]

Take my opinion with a grain of salt since I have an FK8, but I have a tingling suspicion that your coils are probably setup just fine. The Ohlins are not as comfortable on the street as stock - period. The stock spring rates on an FK8 are 4K front, 4K rear - the Ohlins are 6K front and 10K rear. Sure, the rebound and compression is adjustable, but the fact of the matter is that everything is stiffer, and you can feel that when you drive. On the same token, the things that make it feel a bit rougher when you’re not driving it should also make it feel better when you ARE really driving it. I would posit that if it felt great and comfortable for slow cruising on the streets, they wouldn’t be giving you what they should be giving you on the track. People will say Ohlins RT are not a dedicated track coilover and they’re not wrong, but in my experience, especially with the increase in stiffness in the rear, they’re more for the track than the street, and I would never, ever recommend them to someone who never planned to track. Just my opinion.

That said, I love mine. I had mine setup by a professional race shop. I provided adjustable end links to even out the front sway without preloading. Ride height ended up very similar to stock with a very, very minimal drop, and very subtle positive rake, just like when stock. The car drives pretty close to neutral, but definitely has a greater tendency to oversteer with the stiff rear. I keep the car set at 5-6 clicks from closed in the front, then about 11-12 in the rear to keep her ass settled on the streets.

Thank you for the thorough response. I’ve been wondering the same. It’s stiffer than my Tesla was bus it’s wonderful when pushing the car. I didn’t want to never experience other than KW so I’m happy that I’m learning a new brand and technology. I just raised the front and rear higher than it’s ever been (around middle of the threads) and I’ll see what it feels like. Hopefully it’s a better ride but even if it’s not I’m happier having some more travel available. And if it’s not softer I’m not upset that I didn’t get a more street-friendly set, I just want to make sure I’m giving them the best chance at performing.

 

[sugarl4nd]

Yea, but I’ve measured the rear and it’s spot on from the instructions, and I’ve confirmed the 170mm measurement for the front preload. I think pictures of the threads from another install would really be helpful. @sugarl4nd do you have any advice?

Hey, it's been a while since I login to the forum. Has been busy with work & travels. I just took exact measurement of front & rear (in order for you to do comparison with my set up).

My front measures : 25.75" and my rear measures : 25.25" with 19" wheels. Mine is slightly lower than stock height but not by much and also has slight rear rake ~ 0.5".

Hope this helps you to figure out the issue.

Sponsored