NEW Öhlins coilovers

[the bruce]

Thanks for this review !!

[vRSAlex]

I've now changed to 80nm front and 70nm rear.  Transformed them on the vRS. I run solid front top mounts so also had to run a helper spring for when the car is raised.

I had the B16's on before and they were stiffer with less roll in the corners than the ohlins.   Changing to the stiffer springs on the ohlins has improved the roll and smoothed the overall ride.

[the bruce]

Alex, where did you buy these springs from? Öhlins, Eibach, H&R?
Are they 65 mm dia and/or do more common 60 mm ones also fit?

[danishmkvgti]

Alex, where did you buy these springs from? Öhlins, Eibach, H&R?
Are they 65 mm dia and/or do more common 60 mm ones also fit?

Alex?? We are waiting for your answer 

[vRSAlex]

Alex, where did you buy these springs from? Öhlins, Eibach, H&R?
Are they 65 mm dia and/or do more common 60 mm ones also fit?

Alex?? We are waiting for your answer 

Bought them through ground Control as I needed different cups for the top mounts. Had to add a helper spring too.  They supplied eibach springs. Stayed at the same diameter.

[fuscobal]

They must be 65mm, otherwise they won't fit. Swift makes every possible spring. Found the exact same sizes I have from Ohlins on Swift's page but if going much stiffer I suppose you need to shorten the springs a bit if you want to keep the same ride height !?

[the bruce]

Agree, for example if go from 50 N/mm (rear) to 70 N/mm and the supplied
ones are 180 mm, I'd try 160 mm ones instead. Anyway, check pretension
and if required, add a helper spring (5 to 10 N/mm).

[pudding]

I know it's an old thread, but other than fab5freddy, has anyone else recently taken the Ohlins plunge?

Trying to get technical details and advice on the upper rung coilovers is quite tricky as so few people use them.

My queries are:

Do they REALLY need 30K rebuilds?  It's a road car only, so this would be annoying.  I know some people say you don't need coilovers on a road car, but I disagree.  It's just a method of attaching a spring/damper to a car.....the DFV dampers are still a benefit on the road.

Where can I get 1" longer springs for them?  I want to run them at factory ride height.  Even -20mm is causing me clearance problems on the road with stock wheels (no spacers).

Can these be used with the Race spec Ground control top mounts?

Basically, I'm aiming to get the flattest cornering without using ARBs.  I'd rather do it with springs, dampers and geometry.

Thanks!

[Tfsi_Mike]

@Bernhard30

[AJP]

Someone whose opinion I value highly told me recently Öhlins coilies are noisy. Bilstein Clubsport were mentioned as a better alternative. Make of that what you will!

[fab5freddy]

I know it's an old thread, but other than fab5freddy, has anyone else recently taken the Ohlins plunge?

Trying to get technical details and advice on the upper rung coilovers is quite tricky as so few people use them.

My queries are:

Do they REALLY need 30K rebuilds?  It's a road car only, so this would be annoying.  I know some people say you don't need coilovers on a road car, but I disagree.  It's just a method of attaching a spring/damper to a car.....the DFV dampers are still a benefit on the road.

Where can I get 1" longer springs for them?  I want to run them at factory ride height.  Even -20mm is causing me clearance problems on the road with stock wheels (no spacers).

Can these be used with the Race spec Ground control top mounts?

Basically, I'm aiming to get the flattest cornering without using ARBs.  I'd rather do it with springs, dampers and geometry.

Thanks!

@Bernhard30 and @fuscobal might be able to weigh in with the rebuild scenario. Mark uses his for road use only i believe, whereas Fuscobal would do a lot of track days, so might be varied results there, both are probably around that mileage now possibly??

These just landed today  Finally getting them fitted on Wednesday


This was the missing piece of the puzzle to mate them with the ground control camber plates.

Alex @ AKS would be the best person to talk to regards getting a custom longer spring id say

[pudding]

Someone whose opinion I value highly told me recently Öhlins coilies are noisy. Bilstein Clubsport were mentioned as a better alternative. Make of that what you will!

Ouchies, £3.5K 

TBH I'm not sure I trust Bilsteins. I've had them before and they leaked.  After trawling various forums on the PSS9/10, it seems they are still renowned for leaking if driven hard.  Their high speed compression valving is waaaaay too harsh for my tastes as well, which makes urban driving very crashy.   They do however have epic body control at high speeds, and seasonal damping consistency I've not experienced on any other kit. 

Do you know if this Ohlins user has solid top mounts, or is it just the damper valves are just noisy? 

[pudding]

I know it's an old thread, but other than fab5freddy, has anyone else recently taken the Ohlins plunge?

Trying to get technical details and advice on the upper rung coilovers is quite tricky as so few people use them.

My queries are:

Do they REALLY need 30K rebuilds?  It's a road car only, so this would be annoying.  I know some people say you don't need coilovers on a road car, but I disagree.  It's just a method of attaching a spring/damper to a car.....the DFV dampers are still a benefit on the road.

Where can I get 1" longer springs for them?  I want to run them at factory ride height.  Even -20mm is causing me clearance problems on the road with stock wheels (no spacers).

Can these be used with the Race spec Ground control top mounts?

Basically, I'm aiming to get the flattest cornering without using ARBs.  I'd rather do it with springs, dampers and geometry.

Thanks!

@Bernhard30 and @fuscobal might be able to weigh in with the rebuild scenario. Mark uses his for road use only i believe, whereas Fuscobal would do a lot of track days, so might be varied results there, both are probably around that mileage now possibly??

These just landed today  Finally getting them fitted on Wednesday


This was the missing piece of the puzzle to mate them with the ground control camber plates.

Alex @ AKS would be the best person to talk to regards getting a custom longer spring id say

Thanks mate.  Shiny new parts, I like!

I'm trying to avoid helper springs and also excessive preload.  It's disappointing Ohlins don't use the more recent way of adjusting the height (threaded body instead of winding the spring up/down) but never mind, you can't have everything.  I've read that as supplied, with 3mm of preload, the ride height is -20mm or something around there.  So my plan is to use 1" longer springs with the preset position which should push it back up to OEM height....in theory!

I'm at AKS on the 18th, so I'll have a chat with Alex about this and some other options maybe.

[FJ1000]

If high spring rates are what you're after, the TT boys rave about GAZ Gold coilovers. They're custom made in the U.K. To your spec so take a few weeks to put together. Good for track cars as you can specify stiffer springs.

Apparently after sales support is good too.

I priced them up for my mk1 TT track car at £980 from memory, but I wasn't patient enough to wait the 4 week lead time so got some ST XA's (basically KW v2's), which were a couple of hundred cheaper too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pudding]

If high spring rates are what you're after, the TT boys rave about GAZ Gold coilovers. They're custom made in the U.K. To your spec so take a few weeks to put together. Good for track cars as you can specify stiffer springs.

Apparently after sales support is good too.

I priced them up for my mk1 TT track car at £980 from memory, but I wasn't patient enough to wait the 4 week lead time so got some ST XA's (basically KW v2's), which were a couple of hundred cheaper too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the recommendation but I suffered severe quality issues with a set of those on my Corrado.  That was about 11 years ago though, so I would hope things have improved since then, but the experience has put me off them for life unfortunately.

Besides which, they don't list anything for the MK5 platform, which I think is due to fierce competition from established and well respected rivals.  The VW aftermarket is dominated by the European tuners, so a tough market to get into for a small UK company.
Gaz are predominantly ex Leda employees, and Leda were kind of niche motorsport damper makers back in the day.  MK2 Escorts and the like, so that was and probably still is their main customer base.

Ohlins generally find their way onto some of the best cars in the world, but that doesn't necessarily make them the best for this application......it's mainly the dual flow valving to soften sharp bumps that interests me.  And I like monotubes.....just not Bilsteins because their high speed compression valving is ridiculously stiff, which doesn't feel settled until you're travelling at very naughty speeds on the roads.