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Looking good. How long and how many miles since install? What are your fender to ground measurements? Looks like the rear can come down a touch or the front up a hair.
1 week, ~150 miles. Been running around town (gym, grocery store) over the past week.
Got out today for the first time to put it through it’s paces. Absolutely fabulous. Current dampening is 9/9, was very good around our fairly smooth back roads.
25 3/8” Front, 25 7/8” Rear. After driving around today, decided to stay there - not going any lower. 100% usable still and still at a fairly stanced height.
1 week, ~150 miles. Been running around town (gym, grocery store) over the past week.
Got out today for the first time to put it through it’s paces. Absolutely fabulous. Current dampening is 9/9, was very good around our fairly smooth back roads.
25 3/8” Front, 25 7/8” Rear. After driving around today, decided to stay there - not going any lower. 100% usable still and still at a fairly stanced height.
Awesome, it sounds like you are happy and I'm sure it feels great. Enjoy!
Eric (eracer) PM'd me asking the same thing, so I'll repurpose the thoughts I replied back to him with.
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 so 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 speeded 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 evolve 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.
A little insight into my enthusiast philosophy: I love real car-guy cars. Mechanical, historic, pedigreed, and generally immersive. I also want something drivable and robust, so I like technology that supports engineering (not ergonomics like touchscreens or synthesized and artificial elements (like piped-in exhaust sounds). Lastly, the CARB and other global emissions requirements that have forced manufacturers to move to turbocharging, in my opinion have lost the je ne sais quoi that made these cars so special. Now they feel clinical, sterile, and effective rather than connected, visceral, and alive. To that end, and to suit my purposes I've regarded the 996TT as the sweet-spot of modern engineering and old-school performance for quite some time, and that opinion has galvanized as time marches on and technology in the new 911s (and basically all new cars) renders them 100% unexciting or pedigreed to me.
The "old-school label" is subjective, and we often use it to rationalize weaknesses in performance, chalking them up to "character" and instead ranking the overall experience as the value proposition, and therefore reason to own. One of the old-school, antiquated weaknesses of 996TTs is their suspension. Not totally thrilling stock (not bad though, let's be real here!), but generally tired and outdated after 16+ years (and WAY too high). Engineering has evolved, enter: Ohlins DFV. The car is literally perfect in my mind now. It's a classic example of 911 evolution, true to form (water-cooled, headlights, et al), that's on the cusp of being old(ish) - so in my mind, it has the character but none of the drawbacks. I was fortunate to find my car here, owned by similarly minded enthusiasts (most recently cbracerx) who aligned on the OEM+ philosophy. So my car has an FVD tune, GT2 intercoolers, diverter valves, short shifter, Soul exhaust, OEM GT2 twists. Just some essentials the enhance the car in its original vision. It's as fast as anything out there, engaging (but not abusive) puttering around town, smaller than new cars, and a 100% real, visceral 911. Takeaway: The Ohlins will absolutely pay for themselves because there is nothing that I would trade this car for. Cars will only be added, and some may come and go, but this one stays. Current garage-mates are a 550 Maranello and 599 GTB, both of which offer more of an event, but neither of which is more satisfying. I'm in love with the car and look at it in its current state as a perfect street 911 that will continue to give-back for the rest of time.
Long winded, but it was about time I articulated some initial impressions. Long, long, long story short - they galvanized the car as a modern classic. I have more respect for it than ever and am over the moon with having such a perfect pedigreed Porsche package. It's just another one of those cool 911's that are timeless and downright enjoyable to own and use.
evolution what top hats did you use? oem 996tt or 997tt or monoball like jrz ? front and back please. im looking super hard at these due to the excellent reviews like yours and others. im also looking at a set of fortune auto coilovers which are priced the same but come with monoball top hats. what spring rate did you end up with?
I followed this thread for a while debating to go with DFV's, but decided to try out RSS.
Remarkably, I am not kicking myself wishing I went with the DFV's, and I am VERY happy with the RSS. I am not trying to hijack the thread, but to everyone thinking the RSS are too stiff and over sprung for these cars, all I will say is they compare to PSS10's set to 9 or 10. IF you were to go with monoball top hats, then maybe it would be too harsh for the street.
I have the Bilstein PSS10s... I like them very much over the stock units. Am thinking about going to the Eibach sways - currently equipped with stock bars.
evolution what top hats did you use? oem 996tt or 997tt or monoball like jrz ? front and back please. im looking super hard at these due to the excellent reviews like yours and others. im also looking at a set of fortune auto coilovers which are priced the same but come with monoball top hats. what spring rate did you end up with?
996TT OEM top hats front and rear. Decided to go with Ohlins's recommended spring rates (400lb F/ 685lb R) since it's exclusively for street use and I trust their R&D.
Picking it up this afternoon - can't wait to have it back for good just in time for driving season to officially begin.
Top quality review Evolution - Much appreciated. Let us know in a few k miles if your initial impressions have changed. I am eyeing these and have several discussions with other folks offering PSS10's, KW's, etc. Ohlins by far get consistently rave reviews.
I'm getting anxious, my shops been done with my car (minus needed to order new front end links as the PSS10's wouldn't work)....but i injured my hip and have basically been unable to walk for a few days so i have't had a chance to go pick it up.
Yesterday’s test: lower and MUCH smaller than a stock RS. He did pepita inserts in the LWBs and Dundon headers + bypass though, extra points there. A bit of an antisocial crowd between our volume in stereo.
I set the dampening to 8/8 yesterday and had no compliance issues. Starting to zero-in on the general range and will start to explore splitting the F/R settings differently. Also noted that the absense of more robust sway bars becomes more evident as I firm up the Ohlins. Not an issue, purely an observation.
So far, still in awe of this suspension. And still completely satisfied with the 996 Turbo.
I did need to order new front end links as the pss10 ones weren't going to work. Ordered the tarret ones for ohlins coilovers (not sure the difference to their other offerings, assume length)
03-18-2018, 07:39 PM
