Ohlins R&T landing in the USA as soon as May

[Motion122]

Just got off of the phone this afternoon with Ohlins USA. Sounds like R&D has been done and we may see factory Ohlins R&T kits landing as soon as May this year. Given how well Ohlins R&T perform on other sport car/sedan chassis, it will likely be the one of the best dual purpose coilover kits on the market. Drop the springs rates a notch or two for the ultimate in street coilovers.

 

[Dallas J]

Lets hope since they're late to the party they dont get the spring rates all jacked up like other platforms.

 

[Motion122]

Lets hope since they're late to the party they dont get the spring rates all jacked up like other platforms.

You know the chances of the rates being higher than what is needed is a given on Ohlins R&T! Afterall it is a Road & Track product. At least I am hoping 65mm springs are used so one can easily alter the rates for a more compliant ride or better track performance. My guess is that it will be 80-90 N/mm front and 120-140 N/mm rear. Any other educated guesses?

 

[Dallas J]

Im slightly jaded after Evo stuff was backwards of what was needed like rates were chosen didn't take into account motion ratios. Luckily it worked to just flip them front/rear and after 20 years, its still the same. And on latest mustang, Ohlins shipped coilovers with front rates double stock and rear softer than stock. Just like it was a full on swag which means the valving isn't likely matched either.

But I like their shocks, I use Ohlins doubles on the Evo but they're not stock. I had to make parts to fix design failure, particularly one that when a pin breaks (when not if), then it can rotate the canister and crush it against the chassis. So I'm cautious about their products anymore.

IF they do it right, Id guess your rate range is appropriate for R&T's.

 

[Motion122]

Im slightly jaded after Evo stuff was backwards of what was needed like rates were chosen didn't take into account motion ratios. Luckily it worked to just flip them front/rear and after 20 years, its still the same. And on latest mustang, Ohlins shipped coilovers with front rates double stock and rear softer than stock. Just like it was a full on swag which means the valving isn't likely matched either.

But I like their shocks, I use Ohlins doubles on the Evo but they're not stock. I had to make parts to fix design failure, particularly one that when a pin breaks (when not if), then it can rotate the canister and crush it against the chassis. So I'm cautious about their products anymore.

IF they do it right, Id guess your rate range is appropriate for R&T's.

My shop deals with BMW, VW and Porsche kits most of the time, no issues with those. Ohlins had a lot of time with the Tesla so I am sure they will get it right.

Just installed a Gen 5 Camaro kit this week, but the spring preload is a bit off. Someone maybe fell asleep during the design phase. To add, the rear spring went from a constant ID 65mm to a beehive style. I hope the rear of the Tesla will be a 65mm and not beehive to make altering spring rates a little easier.

 

[tm1v2]

I'll ask the obvious question...what differences do you expect compared to the Redwood Motorsports Öhlins kit?

Did Öhlins say if they'll offer different valving and spring options like the 3 Redwood versions?

 

[Motion122]

I'll ask the obvious question...what differences do you expect compared to the Redwood Motorsports Öhlins kit?

Did Öhlins say if they'll offer different valving and spring options like the 3 Redwood versions?

No specs yet. It's their R&T kit so likely no spring options and valved to whatever springs the kit comes with and the enduser can alter 30% in either direction without a revalve.

 

[Dallas J]

That would be nice if they came out with a standard spring for the rear for easy changing. But the rear really needs something to reduce some of the bending in the springs too. Guessing that wont be solved with a standard kit.

 

[Motion122]

That would be nice if they came out with a standard spring for the rear for easy changing. But the rear really needs something to reduce some of the bending in the springs too. Guessing that wont be solved with a standard kit.

Most people tend to ignore that fact. There is a lot of bending introduced into the spring throughout the suspension travel.

Only an articulating height adjuster, full floating spring seat or a true rear coilover can fix that. Look how much articulation there is on the my height adjuster at full droop, definitely not linear. I can imagine with a longer or lower rate spring there will be bind.

 

[P3D-R]

I'll ask the obvious question...what differences do you expect compared to the Redwood Motorsports Öhlins kit?

Did Öhlins say if they'll offer different valving and spring options like the 3 Redwood versions?

Redwood kits are custom valved in the USA by Ohlins USA so we'll just have to see what EU comes up with since I do not believe Redwood data was shared with them. I know the Redwood kit also comes with swift springs which have added to the cost as well. I can't wait to see what the off the shelf Ohlins kit is priced out at.

 

[Dallas J]

For really cheap, you can custom order pretty much any ohlins custom valved from ohlins usa, you just need to email them. Of course thats not for Tesla yet, but of their available kits. What I was told is they basically have a program they enter in the specifics and it spits out the shim stack to use so its a quick change on the DFV/R&T kits.

Unfortunately my Flags get no love, all I can do is rebuild them

 

[Motion122]

Redwood kits are custom valved in the USA by Ohlins USA so we'll just have to see what EU comes up with since I do not believe Redwood data was shared with them. I know the Redwood kit also comes with swift springs which have added to the cost as well. I can't wait to see what the off the shelf Ohlins kit is priced out at.

Ohlins USA also uses springs made by Swift on some R&T kits.

 

[Motion122]

For really cheap, you can custom order pretty much any ohlins custom valved from ohlins usa, you just need to email them. Of course thats not for Tesla yet, but of their available kits. What I was told is they basically have a program they enter in the specifics and it spits out the shim stack to use so its a quick change on the DFV/R&T kits.

Unfortunately my Flags get no love, all I can do is rebuild them

Correct, Ohlins USA will revalve the dampers anyway you wanted for a small fee.

They will also private label kits if the quantity is there. During the late 2000s a very well known BMW suspension tuner almost made a switch to Ohlins DFV from a twin tube damper design but was never able to reach a deal with them.

 

[tm1v2]

For really cheap, you can custom order pretty much any ohlins custom valved from ohlins usa, you just need to email them. Of course thats not for Tesla yet, but of their available kits. What I was told is they basically have a program they enter in the specifics and it spits out the shim stack to use so its a quick change on the DFV/R&T kits.

I know approximately how I would like my M3P to handle and feel, but I have no clue how to translate that into a custom dampers and springs request. I should probably stick with off-the-shelf kits/components for now.

But that does sound useful for someone with a lot of suspension tuning experience, or maybe if I started with an off-the-shelf spec and wanted to fine tune it beyond just the knob adjustment.

 

[Mash]

I know approximately how I would like my M3P to handle and feel, but I have no clue how to translate that into a custom dampers and springs request. I should probably stick with off-the-shelf kits/components for now.

But that does sound useful for someone with a lot of suspension tuning experience, or maybe if I started with an off-the-shelf spec and wanted to fine tune it beyond just the knob adjustment.

The only way to choose proper valving and spring rates is instrumental testing, change and test again. On specific roads, with specific driving behaviour and specific balance of conflicting goals in mind.

We dont know if stock suspension is bad or not. It's all about preferences. How many m3p consumers on a blind test would choose MPP Vs stock? We only know that people who really disliked stock setup usually get much happier with MPP. But that doesn't mean that MPP is better for average buyer than stock.

Ideal would be to have high-speed adjustable suspension. Like 4-6 high-power voice coil actuators with springs instead of all arms and coilovers on each wheel. That's the only way to have an ideal suspension - maximum traction and torque vectoring with maximum comfort all the time. But I doubt we will see that for another 15 years...

 

[gearchruncher]

Ideal would be to have high-speed adjustable suspension. Like 4-6 high-power voice coil actuators with springs instead of all arms and coilovers on each wheel. That's the only way to have an ideal suspension - maximum traction and torque vectoring with maximum comfort all the time. But I doubt we will see that for another 15 years...

We do already have some good high speed suspensions. The mag ride options from Chevy and others are pretty amazing, and have proven benefits on the track and street. You can functionally have any valving you want changing instantly. This is very power efficient and affordable as well. It's just hard to retrofit and tune to aftermarket cars given it works best with a ton of information about what the car is doing at any moment. We also have the hydraulic suspensions like Mclarens using cross-systems to emulate sway bars and such.

Going to literally supporting the vehicle height with electromagnets instead of springs is a but out there however. First, what happens to the car when it's turned off? You can do the math and see that holding up a car with a voice coil would take kilowatts, and this would go up rapidly as you tried to control motion.

 

[Motion122]

I know approximately how I would like my M3P to handle and feel, but I have no clue how to translate that into a custom dampers and springs request. I should probably stick with off-the-shelf kits/components for now.

But that does sound useful for someone with a lot of suspension tuning experience, or maybe if I started with an off-the-shelf spec and wanted to fine tune it beyond just the knob adjustment.

If you go with the Ohlins R&T kit, you will want to step down a notch or two on the spring rates for comfort. There will not likely be optional spring rates from Ohlins USA uprades will be be from Swift.

 

[Dieselboy777]

I found these, and really wonder if anyone got feedback on them. Model 3 Öhlins DFV Coilovers - Engineered by Redwood Motorsports ™

 

[tm1v2]

@Dieselboy777 I have a set of the Redwoods on order in Performance Sport with the optional spherical bearing top hats. They should be ready very soon now, I'm hoping to find time to install them in the next few weeks and I'll definitely post all my driving impressions once I have it settled in, aligned, and I've dialed in the adjustment settings.

Another forum member just installed a GT kit:
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/6317092/

Note he also installed the MPP front lower control arm spherical bearings at the same time, and I have a set of those ready to put on my car too. I've read really good things about them improving steering response and feel.

I'm obviously committed to the Redwoods and I doubt I'll regret them at all (I sure hope not for the price! ), I'm following this thread because I'll always be glad to see and learn about more suspension options for this car. And I'm definitely a fan of Öhlins DFV after experiencing them on a different car.

 

[Motion122]

I found these, and really wonder if anyone got feedback on them. Model 3 Öhlins DFV Coilovers - Engineered by Redwood Motorsports ™

This is the Ohlins factory kit. We will have wait and see how it differs from the Redwood kit. 7 post shaker rig testing will sure net different results.