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Author Topic: Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers  (Read 21967 times)

Offline pudding

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Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers
« on: September 08, 2017, 07:33:27 pm »
So I've had these on a week now and done 500 or so miles, so time to share my thoughts.   Yeah I know, another Pudding essay  :grin:

Ohlins? Never heard of them. Who are they?

Ohlins are a Swedish shock absorber manufacturer and are more well known in the motorbike and motorsport world.  They've only recently ventured into the road car market. https://www.ohlins.com/products/automotive

Synonymous with quality and unrivalled damping performance, they have earned a reputation of being up there with the best for dampers.  A couple of videos to have a snout at if you're bored:-





Yawn, more coilovers, there's billions already. What makes these so special?

5 reasons that I can think of.

1) The DFV (Dual Flow Valve).  It's basically a blow off valve for high speed damper movements (fast damper piston movements, not high road speeds).  When you hit a sharp bump, some regular dampers can become momentarily solid because the valving is too restrictive in that condition, which transmits a loud thunk into the cabin along with an unpleasant feel to the car, jolting it off course in extreme cases.  The DFV relieves that pressure so that the spring can compress and also return to it's natural state a lot faster, meaning the tyre hits the ground faster and the shock is less severe.  Win win.  These diagrams probably explain it better.




2) Inverted 'upside down' damper design. Not a new design. Both Bilstein and Ohlins have used this design for decades.  So what's good about it?  Strength in short.  When you drive into a corner hard or hit harsh bumps, you'd be surprised how much regular dampers bend.  They are essentially another control arm. The stronger, the better.  You really can feel the benefits of this design.  I'll let these images from Tein's website do the talking.







3) Build quality.  I've been fortunate enough to have tried numerous sets of coilovers and regular struts over the years, from assorted brands, but Ohlins and KW are the best I've personally experienced.  The look and feel, the engineering precision and the consistency of production are all there with the Ohlins, which is very reassuring.  Exactly what you want to see given the chunky investment.  It just looks the part.  No nonsense and no flashy marketing frippery. They just shout 'bring on the B roads and the track please'.



4) Installation. Ohlins ship the coilovers with preset ride height and spring preload that they feel is optimal for the application.  It makes for much a much easier installation with no guess work and no tweaking of the C spanners for days afterwards.  Installation was dead easy and ready to hit the streets in 4 hours for a handy DIYer.

5) Development.   Ohlins spend a minimum of 6 months development work on each R&T kit, and it shows.   Most of their competitors simply take X damper length with X spring rates and bash them out the door in days/weeks, hence the vast fitment range compared to Ohlins' 20 or so car range.  Sounds insignificant and 'what ever' on the face of it, but this stuff matters when you've been through numerous suspension kits and can't quite find the sweet spot.

Anyway, onto the unboxing, installation and review!

You get quite a comprehensive bunch o' bits which is extremely well packaged, in 2 boxes, not 1  :smiley:



Made in Japan, which is no bad thing.  I'm guessing because Yamaha have a share in Ohlins and have the production facilities to already in place, rather than Ohlins having to sort that themselves, which is expensive.



A noticeable weight saving vs a regular strut.  OEM 8P RS3 top mounts & Audi/Polo 6N bearings used.





There are numerous guides for installing struts onto MK5s online, but suffice to say it was dead easy.  Remember to buy in new TTY (torque to yield) bolts in preparation  :happy2:  One piece of advice if you have alloy front hubs, don't whack it with a hammer to detach the tie rod end, buy a proper BJ separator.







Adjustments and setup.

No adjustments required for the ride height because as already mentioned, it comes preset to -20mm. Just enough preload to take up the slack when the car is off the ground, and that's it.  You don't want too much preload as it can mess up the handling and ride quality.  You can go up +15mm and -7mm if so desired. These are not coilovers for slamming I'm afraid.  The dampers are shipped 7 clicks open (from fully closed, max stiffness).  I wound them out to 10 clicks open front, 10 clicks open rear.  Adjustment range is 20 clicks. 20 being fully soft and flacid.

Default ride height.

Absolutley spot on for my tastes and the fuel tank is full in this pic.  Uniform arch gaps all round, plenty of belly clearance and and plenty of damper travel.  Exactly what you need for handling  :happy2:



So then, what are they like?

In short, epic!  With the 10 clicks open settings, the feel of the car is very firm and very glue to the road.  Steering self centering improves, turn-in is sharp and the cornering is very flat (standard ARBs on my car).  Body control over undulating, varying cambered and rough B roads is incredible.  The damping speed is very fast and tight. The closest thing I've felt to this is a Porsche 911, but minus the front end bobbing up and down, for those of you familiar with 911s. Absolutely nailed down and the shape of the road is fed back to the driver like brail. Probably the most remarkable thing is minor surface lumps and bumps are filtered out and barely felt in the cabin.  All of the silly little obstacles that had the OEM setup twitching and fiddling about unnecessarily.  Bigger bumps and compressions are very noticeable like they are with other suspensions, but the car does not flinch or veer off course.  The steering wheel remains resolutely on target and twitch free.  It's actually quite surreal for a Golf to feel like this.  This setup is by far the best suspension I have ever tried in 27 years of VW modifying.  Finally, you can have your cake, cut a bloody big slice and eat it  :smiley:

Ohlins are not miracle workers.  If your local roads are diabolical, then don't expect this kit to turn the surface of the moon into a billiard table.  You will certainly feel it more than the OEM suspension, but in a way which is far more controlled and planted.  You can cover ground way faster and with less drama, going into corners way faster and flatter than you thought possible in a humble little Golf.

Hmmm, sounds intriguing, but the most important question, how much?

£2,200, or thereabouts.  Come again??  :surprised:  You seriously think that is good value??!  If you love your Golf and derive pleasure from fast road and track driving, then absolutely it's good value.  If anything puts a smile on your face then it's worth every penny.  Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten - to quote Rolls Royce, and its very true.

On this car I've come from OEM and RacingLine suspensions.  Both have their merits but this setup is seriously next level.  It's not for everyone and 90% won't entertain the price, but if you're in it for the long game, you can do a lot worse  :happy2:






2007 ED30 | 2009 TDI 140 | 2016 BMW 330D

Offline AJP

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Re: Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers
« Reply #1 on: September 08, 2017, 07:50:21 pm »
Another good report, Kev. Pleased you've finally got these on and that they live up to your discerning expectations!

Feel free to add a follow up in a few months, let us know if they're still doing the biz. I fully expect that to be the case.

Offline pudding

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Re: Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers
« Reply #2 on: September 08, 2017, 10:39:44 pm »
Thanks mate  :smiley:

I will definitely update the thread as the miles pile on.  I try to provide a lot of context so people know what to expect if they were to follow the same path  :happy2:





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Offline rich83

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Re: Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2017, 12:04:46 am »
There is no doubt that if had a spare 2k to spend on my car right now, this is probably where it would be going.

Rich

Offline MIJ_JAGGER

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Re: Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers
« Reply #4 on: September 09, 2017, 12:42:24 pm »
So I showed my missus this and she said don't even think about it

Offline pudding

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Re: Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers
« Reply #5 on: September 09, 2017, 05:17:08 pm »
Yeah it's a heap of cash for sure.  In the past I spent £1400ish on KW V3s and wasn't happy with them.  They used to have me bouncing out of my seat on severe dips and humps.  I never did get the hype with those.  Built like tanks but the ride and handling weren't for me.  For the extra these are definitely worth it, although that said I'm hearing good things about BC Racing / Relentless. 

Haha, my missus saw them on my screen and nearly fainted  :grin:  She gets it's my hobby though and so long as the bills are paid, she leaves me to it  :happy2:


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Offline Bodyboarder81

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Re: Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers
« Reply #6 on: September 27, 2017, 06:31:56 pm »
Completely agree with all the above .... have these on my s2000 and I'll more than likely be binning the bilsteins for a set of these for the golf as well . A very well made suspension kit indeed :)

Offline pudding

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Re: Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers
« Reply #7 on: October 06, 2017, 10:20:22 am »
That's good to know as the S2000 is a fine handling car out of the box  :happy2:   I can't recommend them enough on the GTI.



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Offline flashp

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Re: Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers
« Reply #8 on: October 29, 2017, 06:50:44 pm »
Always fancied these, superb choice. Simpler implementation I know but I liked the Koni FSD of many years ago for the frequency specific damping, they worked well. Not in the same league as these of course but a good principle. Transformed my 2008 Leon FR I had them installed on.

Gone but not forgotten :-)

Offline flashp

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Re: Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers
« Reply #9 on: October 29, 2017, 06:54:56 pm »
@Pudding you need some of these now, get some of that unsprung weight down!  :happy2: :laugh:
http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,114145.0.html

Gone but not forgotten :-)

Offline pudding

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Re: Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers
« Reply #10 on: October 30, 2017, 10:45:58 am »
I keep looking at those but too many house expenses to fork out for at the moment.  New carpet, or AP Racing brakes, carpet, brakes, carpet, brakes..... :thinking:

The boss who wears the skirts would kill me if she didn't get her new carpet!


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Offline MIJ_JAGGER

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Re: Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers
« Reply #11 on: November 10, 2017, 10:06:13 am »
Do it Kev


Offline Shoduchi

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Re: Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers
« Reply #12 on: November 10, 2017, 11:35:22 am »
Great review! Who wouldn't love to have these coilovers on his/her Ed. 30? :drool: :drool: :drool:

Keep us posted with your thoughts. :drinking:

Offline pudding

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Re: Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers
« Reply #13 on: November 10, 2017, 06:04:02 pm »
@MIJ_JAGGER Wicket tatt  :laugh:   Probably a good idea to replace old and brittle bones with Ohlins struts when you get older  :grin:

Thanks @Shoduchi  I think I've put about 1500 miles on them now.  In common with most stiff coilovers, I'm noticing more interior rattles now, and even wobblier Xenons than ever before  :grin:   All part of the modifying game unfortunately.

Now that winter is here and my PS4s are down to 3mm, the tyres feel like concrete, so I've backed the damping off a click and dropped the pressures to 32psi front and 31psi rear which has helped a lot.  I really need some new rubber.  They are bloody awful at the moment.  Tramlining badly and not much grip.  Performance tyres seem to go off very quickly past half worn. 

Still loving the suspension kit though.  The ride height hasn't settled at either end, so no adjustments needed  :happy2:  I've never had coilovers before where you literally take them out of the box and throw them on.  I like that  :smiley:  Knackered tyres aside, road feel and cornering grip are still epic  :happy2:


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Offline teo_parvu

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Re: Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers
« Reply #14 on: December 12, 2017, 02:59:23 pm »
Didn't see this great review until now. Thanks man!  :happy2:
I was thinking of them too but since mine has become a track-toy and I don't care of any noise, rattle, vibration, I choose AST with hard spring rates. But this kit is pure quality,
Now this car deserves that summer project (DSG Conversion) if you can get a good, low mileage one. :jumping: