Do you track or just street driving? The reason I'm asking is how good is this for just street driving use to give you the soft comfort ride but not too soft.
Also how does this compare with UPP/MPP sport or comfort?
I wrote an "Ohlins Manifesto" on Rennlist after having them installed last year... this may provide some insight. Long winded, but a thorough articulation of my impression.
In a nutshell, it's the best street system I've experienced - and I still haven't even had a thorough going-through yet. I dropped it back off at the shop last week for alignment and tires; I wanted to give it some miles so everything could seat before aligning. The snow last week killed deliveries and the tires didn't arrive until yesterday. So I had the car back for about a week after the install and used it as a runner around town and met up with a few friends last Sunday for a drive - and that was the first time I actually got into it a bit for an extended backroad session. Also tinkered a bit with the dampening, but not much (tried 13 Front/13 Rear, 8/8, 9/9 before dropping it back off).
First observation - Not a single creak, thud, weird noise, or any unnatural tendencies. I've had coilovers before that knock around (H&R RSS for example) after install while they make themselves at home on the car (and after that in some cases). The Ohlins plugged in and performed flawlessly from the second they were installed. A good first sign, if you ask me. My tech texted me when he was assembling the dampers to tell me they're the nicest units he's seen. Takeaway: quality, quality, quality. The dampers are so beautiful it's a shame to hide them under the car!
Second observation - At 13/13, the dampening was too soft for me, but it gave me an introduction to the DFV experience. The car literally floats over undulations. It tracks straight and maintains 100% connection to the road, but literally soaks up irregularities - in fact, it gives your more control as you aren't scattered by spotty surfaces. Chickens comes to mind, as weird as that sounds; when the birds keep their heads stationary while their bodies move. In accordance to marketing and testimonials, it's the real deal (unsurprising though... we are dealing with Ohlins here). Even at that soft setting, it's not floaty or undersprung. The firmer settings have tightened and sped everything up, but have not compromised compliance. Takeaway: DFV is legit - it doesn't bang over potholes but still manages to communicate 100% to the driver, so it gives a very noticeable incremental sense of total control. Can't wait to find the right settings for different use/road profiles.
Third observation - Generally speaking, after 100 miles or so I acclimated myself to the suspension and pulled the dampening from 13/13 down to the 8/9 range. I remember one very specific moment driving on a windy back road, on my way home from the gym, thinking to myself "this feels remarkably stock - did I just spend $4k for an adjustable-but-not-much-different-from-OEM-aside-from-lowering suspension?" And then I realized I was mindlessly cruising about 15 MPH faster than typical. Squeezing through sweepers like butter, it was outrageous. Takeaway: building on second observation... these babies = complete composure and elevated tolerance, enhanced the the car in a very organic way.
Fourth observation - Last Sunday I met up with one of my closest friends who in the upper echelon of a local Porsche store and our mutual friend who recently picked up a 991.2 GT3 (Touring, and it really is beautiful). The first thing I had my dealer friend do was take my car for a rip. I value his opinion because of his immense experience with Porsche (and everything else out there, literally) and we've been extremely close friends for over 10 years - we call it like we see it with each other. He came back genuinely enthralled with the car. In addition to the Ohlins, I also recently had SOUL Performance installed a catted X-Pipe (they could be a game-changer in the 996TT exhaust game, by the way, it's motorsport sound through and through) - between that and the suspension, his reaction was that it felt alive. A GT3-Turbo love-child (at least on the street). He was blown away by the car, and has had several stock and modified 996TT's. Secondly, the GT3 driver had to work a little too hard to keep up (although we weren't totally irresponsible on the drive). Takeaway: I'm not clouded by my own rose-colored-lenses and the car has proven to impress unbiased observers.
Fifth observation - I did not do sway bars. I will in the future. I'm pragmatic and acknowledge that they will tighten up the torsion to match the dampening, but I'm going to wait a bit and just savor the coilovers as a monumental incremental add to the experience on their own. I have no doubt that sways will increase the initial bite and general tautness of the ride quality. Takeaway, building on the prior observations, the suspension is so impactful and tuned from Ohlins in a way that feels totally natural on the car, I'm really content at the moment. The car feels unmodified but enhanced. 100% OEM+ (my goal).
Sixth observation - In my mind, for my road-only use of the car, it's clear that going with a suspension of this level transforms the car. I feel like these DFVs are a well-kept secret in that regard - they aren't $10K JRZ/Moton/etc but also aren't overkill for street use. In fact, they're perfect for street use.
-Joe
