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Model Y performance Ohlins Road and Track anybody?
- Thread starter Yperformance
- Start date
Öhlins R&T for Model 3 and Y is brand new and I don't believe anyone has received or installed them yet in the US. They should start arriving in the US pretty soon though. I think Redwood Motorsports said they're expecting to receive the very first ones.
(I'm not sure about other markets, even in Öhlin's home markets in Europe might be the only cars with them yet are the ones they used for testing / development. Just a guess.)
(I'm not sure about other markets, even in Öhlin's home markets in Europe might be the only cars with them yet are the ones they used for testing / development. Just a guess.)
Hi guys, I've got lots of first-hand info to share that some may find useful..
Wheels/tires:
Running square 20x9 255/35's (a setup from my old car). These are 46 lbs per corner. The OEMs were 62/66 lbs. Planning to max out the 9" width and maybe go a bit taller with 275/40's when the tires wear out.
Handling is much improved and confidence-inspiring with the square setup. Perhaps I wasn't used to the staggered setup and the old wheels felt familiar. The OEMs felt like the car was heavy to rotate in the corners. The car still felt like a swaying boat in the corners and squatted under acceleration with the OEM suspension.
Ohlins:
Once I installed the UP sway bars and Ohlins RT I was able to get rid of the body roll in the corners and most of the squatting. Some squatting from a dead stop which I'm good with. Squatting from accelerating when rolling is mostly gone.
Love the adjustable dampers from Ohlins. Stiffening up the front dampers gave me so much more steering response and confidence. Too stiff in the front and it understeers. Stiffening up the rear too much made it bouncy and oversteery. The rear would break loose and the TCS would kick in. I ended up with 8 clicks front and 12 clicks rear. Allows ~20 clicks total front/rear.
Performance:
For ride height, I bottomed out the front body (8 rotations) and rear perch (without removing the adjusters) while keeping the regular preload settings. I'm happy with this setup. Not too low.
Issues:
So far no issues bottoming out in dips, but I do get a clunking noise from the front when going over anything bumpy. It started in the front left and I fixed it by reassembling the spring. Now I have it in the front right. Will need to reassemble and wrap the top spring perch with electrical tape to keep it perfectly seated in the center.
Redwood's documentation did recommend adjusting preload instead of free length to protect the battery and prevent bottoming out. They're the ones who also recommended wrapping a section of the front top spring seat to prevent the "accordion" noise that happens when the spring is not perfectly centered. I'd recommend anyone installing these to do the same because the clunking noise is annoying.
From Redwood's doc:
I did notice that Redwood includes bump stop limiters when you purchase from them, and they just listed it as a standalone kit. I got mine from TireRack so no bump stops here. The rear shock body doesn't sit in the top hat. Maybe less NVH without them but I'd feel better with the bump stops. I wonder why Ohlins didn't see the need to include them.
Install:
Pretty straightforward with a loaner strut spring compressor tool from AutoZone, 12" digital caliper, T50 tool, and an extra jack.
For the front, you only need to remove the 3 top hat nuts for the front and whatever frunk trim panels that block the way (mostly the cowl and wiper reservoir tubing, no need to unbolt the upper arm. Use a jack to lift the lower arm so you can unbolt the upper ball joint (I did not do this and stripped the pinch bolt, see pic for replacement bolt). The upper arm wants to go up and the rest wants to go down.
I like that you can remove the rear strut without having to go thru the interior of the car. For assembly and installation check out:
Redwood's YT video and docs
Ohlin's docs (also included with kit) https://world.ohlins.com/app/uploads/2022/03/MI_TES-MU00S1.pdf
Sway bars:
For the sway bars I went full stiff in front for better cornering, and medium in rear for a smoother ride. I was at full stiff in the rear and the ride wasn't as pleasant.
Wheels/tires:
Running square 20x9 255/35's (a setup from my old car). These are 46 lbs per corner. The OEMs were 62/66 lbs. Planning to max out the 9" width and maybe go a bit taller with 275/40's when the tires wear out.
Handling is much improved and confidence-inspiring with the square setup. Perhaps I wasn't used to the staggered setup and the old wheels felt familiar. The OEMs felt like the car was heavy to rotate in the corners. The car still felt like a swaying boat in the corners and squatted under acceleration with the OEM suspension.
Ohlins:
Once I installed the UP sway bars and Ohlins RT I was able to get rid of the body roll in the corners and most of the squatting. Some squatting from a dead stop which I'm good with. Squatting from accelerating when rolling is mostly gone.
Love the adjustable dampers from Ohlins. Stiffening up the front dampers gave me so much more steering response and confidence. Too stiff in the front and it understeers. Stiffening up the rear too much made it bouncy and oversteery. The rear would break loose and the TCS would kick in. I ended up with 8 clicks front and 12 clicks rear. Allows ~20 clicks total front/rear.
Performance:
For ride height, I bottomed out the front body (8 rotations) and rear perch (without removing the adjusters) while keeping the regular preload settings. I'm happy with this setup. Not too low.
Issues:
So far no issues bottoming out in dips, but I do get a clunking noise from the front when going over anything bumpy. It started in the front left and I fixed it by reassembling the spring. Now I have it in the front right. Will need to reassemble and wrap the top spring perch with electrical tape to keep it perfectly seated in the center.
Redwood's documentation did recommend adjusting preload instead of free length to protect the battery and prevent bottoming out. They're the ones who also recommended wrapping a section of the front top spring seat to prevent the "accordion" noise that happens when the spring is not perfectly centered. I'd recommend anyone installing these to do the same because the clunking noise is annoying.
From Redwood's doc:
I did notice that Redwood includes bump stop limiters when you purchase from them, and they just listed it as a standalone kit. I got mine from TireRack so no bump stops here. The rear shock body doesn't sit in the top hat. Maybe less NVH without them but I'd feel better with the bump stops. I wonder why Ohlins didn't see the need to include them.
Install:
Pretty straightforward with a loaner strut spring compressor tool from AutoZone, 12" digital caliper, T50 tool, and an extra jack.
For the front, you only need to remove the 3 top hat nuts for the front and whatever frunk trim panels that block the way (mostly the cowl and wiper reservoir tubing, no need to unbolt the upper arm. Use a jack to lift the lower arm so you can unbolt the upper ball joint (I did not do this and stripped the pinch bolt, see pic for replacement bolt). The upper arm wants to go up and the rest wants to go down.
I like that you can remove the rear strut without having to go thru the interior of the car. For assembly and installation check out:
Redwood's YT video and docs
Ohlin's docs (also included with kit) https://world.ohlins.com/app/uploads/2022/03/MI_TES-MU00S1.pdf
Sway bars:
For the sway bars I went full stiff in front for better cornering, and medium in rear for a smoother ride. I was at full stiff in the rear and the ride wasn't as pleasant.
GreenCoffee
Member
Is the ride stiffer than stock? I'm looking at the comfort tuned version of these for my use but interested in anything you have to say about the ride quality difference not just the handling, thanks.
adc65
Member
I have the same kit on my Oct. 22 MYP with the first iteration of the comfort suspension running on max soft settings and on the drive back from the shop me and my buddy agreed that the kit rides ~50% smoother than stock.
GreenCoffee
Member
I was looking at the ones from Redwood Motorsports that have 3 differently tuned versions depending on your preference, the softest or the grand touring version is what I was referring to.
Model Y Öhlins DFV Long-Stroke Coilovers - Engineered by FPSpec for Redwood Motorsports
PLEASE BE AWARE - Redwood DFV Long-Stroke Coilover kits have a typical lead-time of 2 or 3 weeks. Each kit is valved and built to order. Please contact us if you have any questions or need a rush order. Please click HERE for installation instructions Built from the ground up, we have partnered...
redwoodmotorsports.com
Ah gotcha.I was looking at the ones from Redwood Motorsports that have 3 differently tuned versions depending on your preference, the softest or the grand touring version is what I was referring to.
Model Y Öhlins DFV Long-Stroke Coilovers - Engineered by FPSpec for Redwood Motorsports
PLEASE BE AWARE - Redwood DFV Long-Stroke Coilover kits have a typical lead-time of 2 or 3 weeks. Each kit is valved and built to order. Please contact us if you have any questions or need a rush order. Please click HERE for installation instructions Built from the ground up, we have partnered...
@GreenCoffee I've ridden in a Model 3 with the new Redwood Grand Touring FPX version. It's basically the same as the Redwood Öhlins DFV except instead of the Öhlins damper, it's built around a more economical damper. It was much smoother than a stock Model 3. Smoother than my air suspension Model S P85 as well. I believe this was with the damper adjusters set close to full soft. I didn't drive the car so that's about all I can report, I can't tell you how it handles.I was looking at the ones from Redwood Motorsports that have 3 differently tuned versions depending on your preference, the softest or the grand touring version is what I was referring to.
Model Y Öhlins DFV Long-Stroke Coilovers - Engineered by FPSpec for Redwood Motorsports
PLEASE BE AWARE - Redwood DFV Long-Stroke Coilover kits have a typical lead-time of 2 or 3 weeks. Each kit is valved and built to order. Please contact us if you have any questions or need a rush order. Please click HERE for installation instructions Built from the ground up, we have partnered...
The Öhlins version is supposed to be better of course, but I've only experienced the Redwood Öhlins DFV in Performance Sport, not GT.
The Öhlins R&T kit is reputed to be very firm. If you're worried about a stiffer ride I wouldn't get the R&T. I think any of the Redwood coilovers would be a better option if you're concerned about ride quality. Even the cheaper FPX versions. R&T is "Road and Track" after all...
GreenCoffee
Member
At this point i'm convinced that either the Redwood FTX GT or the Ohlins GT is the best way to go for me, probably will choose to wait for the Ohlins as I just want the most comfortable ride without giving up too much
@hek8560 You might end up with a lot of understeer, and feel like the rear moves around more than the front. That's just my guess, not from experience.
Every coilover for this car for which I've seen published spring rates, uses stiffer springs on the rear.
Let us know how it goes! At worst, you can always swap the front springs for softer ones too later.
A fix for seized / stuck ohlins coilovers..
After a year and getting a new set of wheels/tires, I had to adjust the coilovers and experienced a seized damper shock absorber and under bracket lower cup. All threads had anti-seize applied. The lock ring was loosened but the damper would not rotate out of the cup. The spanner wrenches and lock ring teeth started to get damaged from hammering. I tried applying PB blaster and leaving the lock ring backed off so it would break free while driving.
I eventually got it to rotate freely by using a strap wrench (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B6CB8CV6) on the lower cup with beefier aftermarket spanner wrenches (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Y1WY3CS). I had a punch on hand as my next resort.
. See below.
After a year and getting a new set of wheels/tires, I had to adjust the coilovers and experienced a seized damper shock absorber and under bracket lower cup. All threads had anti-seize applied. The lock ring was loosened but the damper would not rotate out of the cup. The spanner wrenches and lock ring teeth started to get damaged from hammering. I tried applying PB blaster and leaving the lock ring backed off so it would break free while driving.
I eventually got it to rotate freely by using a strap wrench (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B6CB8CV6) on the lower cup with beefier aftermarket spanner wrenches (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Y1WY3CS). I had a punch on hand as my next resort.
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