robbieracer

I drove about 160 miles round trip to my autocross, mostly highway with maybe 15 miles of city streets. It was definitely very firm with the rubber top mounts; I had the shocks at 15 clicks from full. I would have liked a slightly more comfortable ride, but it was tolerable. I think a lot of it was just a drastic change from standard OEM susp. to these coilovers. With more time, I may get used to them, this is my weekend car, so I don't drive it too much. I drove it very little with the new top mounts and it's more stiff than the rubber, but the steering is also a lot better. The steering with stock susp. was very vague.
I'm running Pirelli Rosso 285/30/18 at the rear/225 front, my stock ride height was 26" all around, now just over 25".
I've been to Europe (Germany), I think the roads are very smooth over there compared to California. Our roads aren't too bad where I live, cracks, uneven surfaces, but very few pot holes.

robbieracer

Just wanted to added another update since I've had more time on these. I think the suspension softened up a bit, maybe needed a little breaking in... At higher speeds on the road, it's decent not harsh it soaks up the road imperfections well. At low speeds, it's still a little on the harsh side since the springs are stiff. I did a DE last Friday and it was great on the track. With the stock susp. the body was rolling all over the place and my PSM was kicking on all the time. With the Ohlins and new top mounts, it handled great on the track, a lot more fun the drive since the body didn't roll all over the place. I set the shocks at 2 from full stiff for the track and 17 for road cruising. Overall, I'm very happy with this setup. I also did a alignment two days before the track, did the camber at -1 front and -1.6 rear. I have an AX next weekend, and will see how that goes since I didn't have the top mounts the last time I ran it.

MagnusB

Reviving this thread. How did it go?
I'm thinking of the Ohlins on my car. Must be good for AX.

AWDGuy

Oh mama....would love a set of ohlins for my car.

So much more to fix before I start modding suspension.

Several of my racing friends use ohlins at the track and I've driven some of their setups. Absolute dream on track!

DeanClevername

I installed Ohlins Road and Track on my 2003 996 C2 in January. My car is DD-ed from from downtown DC to Bethesda over godawful roads and I have 13 autocross events on them so far in 2017. I've been meaning to write something up as I think these are pretty under represented in the 996 camp. If anyone is in the area and would like to experience them in person, PM me.

My impressions on the street: DC has horrendous roads. Especially the section of my commute through Rock Creek Park where the pavement is an utter disgrace. Honestly I could probably barely get through some sections on a road bike. With that in mind, dampers set to 12, they are far more comfortable than my original stock suspension. I've never felt the need to set them softer than 12 (see setting note below), even driving on worn Direzza Zii* or RE71R. I actually run them stiffer at 10 or 11 when I swap to my daily tires which are the new Conti ExtremeContact Sports.

The springs are reasonably stiff (something like 340lbs front, 680 rear) but you'd never guess as such when the dampers are set anywhere close to soft-ish. The base suspension was under-sprung and over-damped, but IMHO these are just perfect. Even on street settings you immediately notice the disappearance of the stock pitch/dive under braking/acceleration and much of the body roll. As you would expect turn-in is much sharper and the car feel much more settled at any speed. There's really little need for upgraded roll bars on the street with this suspension.

Long road trips are a breeze, expansion joint harshness becomes more a function of your tires than the suspension. Sometimes I instinctively brace for what I expect is going to be a big impact, but the DFV rounds off these big impacts extremely well.

Autocross: I began the season setting the dampers to 7 or 6, but now I'm regularly running as stiff as 4. I like that there is only 1 **** to mess with, I'm not really a setup guy. I like to get the car in the ballpark and work on my driving. The increased body control has made this a seriously fast car now. The car feels every bit as sharp and responsive as you'd expect from coilovers with spring rates like these. Im actually surprised how much earlier I can get on the gas on corner exit as weight transfer to the rear is better controlled and the car wont plow out as badly with early throttle application.

The rest of my suspension is stock including roll bars (I prefer the OFAT method), so this has some effects at autox. With the dampers at 6+ the car transitions just as mildy to oversteer as before. In stock form it was shocking how cuddly the car was at the limit, how catchable oversteer was, and how well the car responded to a little lift mid-corner. None of this changes with settings at 6+. However given my stock roll bars I was looking for a little more control in transitions, so I pushed up to 4. The car feels amazingly sharp at 4. There is probably a slight traction disadvantage running this stiff, but the car responds so beautifully that it is worth it. I managed to take FTD in my lowly 996 at my last PCA autox against some seriously fast cars. I was blown away. There is a down side to running this stiff however, as the car does become a bit less forgiving. When the rear breaks, it breaks fast and you have to be much more exact with your corrections. Stiffer sways would allow me to run a little softer without losing the responsiveness in transitions. It's a little thing and might be down to my alignment or something, but it's worth noting.

Even running stiff, the DFV does a great job soaking up bumps. At at an on-track autocross I was able to get pretty aggressive on the curbs and the car just soaked it up. Often I drive home with the shocks still set to stiff because Im too hot and tired to bother resetting them. The car works great on the freeway still, only really getting harsh over the broken pavement on DC surface streets.

My only regret is not installing these earlier. List price has come down to about $2500 and you can find them even cheaper with a little effort. At that cost and for a dual purpose car, it's a no brainer.

Ohlins' user guide suggests the following settings (0 being stiffest, 20 being softest)

track use: 0-7 clicks
winding road: 5-10 clicks
street: 10-20

If you're nearby DC and want a ride to see for yourself, just LMK

MagnusB

Thanks for the excellent write-up!
Exactly what I was looking for. It seems they will fit really well for me. I also use the car as a DD but want it to be set up for the AXs.
Currently I can't turn my PASM on to Sport because it becomes too bumpy and I lose traction, and with it off the car just dives and pushes way too much.
The roads around here are atrocious to say the least so it great to know I'll survive with the Ohlins on.

MoeMonney