I just dropped mine off at the installer for the Y. I'm going to put 20" rims on it, so was thinking of dropping it 1". Did we settle on what settings would be a cushy ride? 3 or 16? that's a huge difference
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Ohlins DFV Coilover Kit Installed!!
- Thread starter GeezerSquid
- Start date
Jigglypuff
Member
What I have heard from people who actually know suspension is to find the setting where the car is stiff enough not to wallow, but no stiffer. That might vary a bit.
whisperingshad
Active Member
Just talked to @RedwoodMotors , Heath. Amazing customer service. reminded me to send install guide to installer, apparently if anyone who does BMW suspensions should know how pretty easily. He also offered for my installer to talk to him to give some tips to make it go a little easier. Installer said it was pretty straight forward but did have 1 questions on something so was glad to be offered that. I guess turning it fully clockwise is zero (stiffest), and turning it counterclockwise counts up. He suggested 22 in the front and 24 in the rear and lowering it 1/2" instead of 1" as it would lose dampening travel too much at 1". There is also a remote adjuster for $100 for the front that extends I guess the ability to change the settings but said just leave the front plastic off the car for a few days and adjust before snapping it back in, should take a few seconds. He said if you go higher than 20's you lose the coilover benefit.
I wouldn't rely on any settings offered, even from Ohlins...except for the initial starting point.
You'll need to determine what works best for YOUR region, and the roads you drive on daily. Regional differences can be huge!
1QYKMY
Member
Congrats! 16 is far from cushy. I feel everything, which is exactly what I want. The car handles pretty amazingly and I cannot wait to road race it!
Brief update: I had my Ohlins install a bit over 4 months ago and about 3500 miles and they are waaaay better than when new. The have gotten to where I don't even think about bumps while driving. I went from Baton Rouge up to Greenville SC to pick up a new motorcycle trailer and then down to Marietta to pick up my new Vespa GTS 300. I hit some unbelievable bumps in some of the many construction zone and the car didn't even jar me!! I'm getting more and more satisfaction. If Mick would have gotten himself some Ohlins shocks, he too could get some satisfaction!!
What settings did you do? And maybe i'm miscounting but I'm only feeling 30 clicks for the rear, I do get 32 for the front. I installed mine yesterday here in LA from Songs alignment in Hawthorne. I originally had it set at 22 front and 24 rear. Being in LA with potholes basically everywhere and uneven roads driving ag 40-50mph then construction zones I'm trying to get rid of that jar. It does that but i'm feeling my head bob a little more. I'm still on the stock 19" air pressure at 41. I adjusted it to 26 front and 24 rear and it felt great at faster speeeds, super smooth, kind of floated. I'm trying to get luxury ride, smooth as posssible. I left the front cover off so I can quickly adjust. The rears took me a while to figure out to find without looking but now I can adjust pretty quickly. I just adjusted to 29 front and 3 clicks back from softest on the rears so either it's 29 or 27? I'm wondering if I set it too soft. on the phone yesterday redwood said high 20's start losing the benefit of coilover?Brief update: I had my Ohlins install a bit over 4 months ago and about 3500 miles and they are waaaay better than when new. The have gotten to where I don't even think about bumps while driving. I went from Baton Rouge up to Greenville SC to pick up a new motorcycle trailer and then down to Marietta to pick up my new Vespa GTS 300. I hit some unbelievable bumps in some of the many construction zone and the car didn't even jar me!! I'm getting more and more satisfaction. If Mick would have gotten himself some Ohlins shocks, he too could get some satisfaction!!
at slow speeds when you yank the steering wheel left rigth how much rock should a car have?
thesmokingman
Active Member
Save, store them? One day you might have to send the ohlins out for rebuild (x miles/years later) and depending on cross shipping, time to rebuild etc, it could save you down time. Not to mention selling the car or going back to stock, etc etc.
1QYKMY
Member
+1 If you ever decide to sell the car, going back to stock suspension and selling Ohlins will likely yield a higher return.
1QYKMY
Member
I think you might have this backwards. 1 should be softest setting and 32 the hardest.
Ok, a few days in, and definitely a night and day difference! I started at 24 front, 22 rear, (32 clicks going counterclockwise is softest). But felt still a bit stiff as i could hear every bump. I think it's the tires though, and currently have air set at 41psi (should I go to 39?)
I then adjusted to 29 front and 29 rear, but after talking to redwood, they suggested finding a setting that over big speedbumps or dips didn't have a rebound. I now currently have it at 23 front and 22 rear. If the rear is softer I sometimes bottom out if I go too fast on a big driveway (I lowered the car 1/2". Freeway driving is now awesome, just smooth. I'm in LA so the amount of construction and potholes is just ridiculous. The biggest difference is how fast the car can take bumps without the additional bobbing up and down. Even at the softest setting up front, it's still not huge up/downs. I love how quick I can adjust as well. Rears i've figured out pretty quickly and for the front i've left off the big piece of plastic covering the air intake for now. I'm currently signed up for the tesla autopilot beta so don't want to take corners fast lol as that would impact my safety rating but body roll seems to have decreased as well.
I then adjusted to 29 front and 29 rear, but after talking to redwood, they suggested finding a setting that over big speedbumps or dips didn't have a rebound. I now currently have it at 23 front and 22 rear. If the rear is softer I sometimes bottom out if I go too fast on a big driveway (I lowered the car 1/2". Freeway driving is now awesome, just smooth. I'm in LA so the amount of construction and potholes is just ridiculous. The biggest difference is how fast the car can take bumps without the additional bobbing up and down. Even at the softest setting up front, it's still not huge up/downs. I love how quick I can adjust as well. Rears i've figured out pretty quickly and for the front i've left off the big piece of plastic covering the air intake for now. I'm currently signed up for the tesla autopilot beta so don't want to take corners fast lol as that would impact my safety rating but body roll seems to have decreased as well.
thesmokingman
Active Member
The softer the tires are the more they become a spring, ie. another factor you have to consider when gauging overall behavior. When the tires get too soft it will start to oscillate ie gets bouncy, generally unwanted behavior.
Personal note, with coils I like to keep the tires on the high side for pressure. This allows the coils to do their job.
Personal note, with coils I like to keep the tires on the high side for pressure. This allows the coils to do their job.
Ok, I think i'm settling in at 22 front and 21 rear. Although the rear does bottom out on super steep driveways, so trying to decide if I should stiffen it up? it truly is night and day. i'm in manhattan beach if anyone wants to test drive DM me 
song's alignment in Hawthorn Marco the owner was great. we had 1 small issue where the abs cable rubbed on the tire fraying it, which caused a bunch of errors like abs disengaged, power steering autopilot, cruise control etc. wasn't his fault, as when he removed the tire, the wire was clipped in where it should be , it was a fluke. he took 5 min respliced the wire, and ordered a new one. everything worked, next day he replaced it. My friends have a Y so I'll do back to back drives in a week with their car and mine to see the difference. after a few days I almost forget how rough the Y was.
song's alignment in Hawthorn Marco the owner was great. we had 1 small issue where the abs cable rubbed on the tire fraying it, which caused a bunch of errors like abs disengaged, power steering autopilot, cruise control etc. wasn't his fault, as when he removed the tire, the wire was clipped in where it should be , it was a fluke. he took 5 min respliced the wire, and ordered a new one. everything worked, next day he replaced it. My friends have a Y so I'll do back to back drives in a week with their car and mine to see the difference. after a few days I almost forget how rough the Y was.
Jigglypuff
Member
Get the suspension settings so that it doesn't float, but no stiffer. Go stiffer than that and you'll likely just lose grip.Ok, I think i'm settling in at 22 front and 21 rear. Although the rear does bottom out on super steep driveways, so trying to decide if I should stiffen it up? it truly is night and day. i'm in manhattan beach if anyone wants to test drive DM me
Yes I think it's the right setting. when i go thru dips in the road or those wider large speed bumps it goes over without a 2nd bounce. It's amazing the speed I can go thru those now without feeling like the car is going to lose control, I don't fly out of the seat of my pants. how bad is it to bottom out the rears once in a while on steeper driveways? i'll try to get some video of what it looks like going over speedbumps and dips.
1QYKMY
Member
I currently have mine set at 16 all around. There are a few freeway on-ramps in my area with really nice, wide sweeping corners that I have gradually been increasing my entrance and exit speeds. The “caution” speed is 35, I enter at around 40 and mid way through I’ve accelerated to around 70. The car feels pretty balanced, but I do feel some minimal pushing half way through the turn. I am not sure there is any reason to change my settings at this point.
I havent taken any fast turns yet as I'm trying to keep my safety score for the beta FSD
Jigglypuff
Member
You mean scrape the bottom of your car or you mean slam down hard on the bump stops?
Scraping doesn't fill me with glee. If you do that regularly, I'd attack a steel plate at the lowest point.
Slamming down on bump stops is bad. It can eventually lead to a bend or break somewhere. Or it could destroy the shock itself.
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