wjk_glynn

SToronto

Where did you get them?

kimchee411

Dumb question for guys who DIYed this install: How does the rear adjustment **** come off so you can put the top hats on? Just unscrew the nut that the **** is on? Pull up on the **** and then unscrew the nut?

Slightly less dumb questions: Can/how did you torque the lock rings to spec with the spanner wrench? Or just go by feel and tighten them firmly or tighten them as much as you can? How about torquing the top nuts? Can somebody point me to appropriate sockets/tools?

Got the old struts off yesterday. Not too bad of a job and knowing how to DIY will come in handy when it's time to rebuild them. Really excited to get the Ohlins on!

MaximumA

I run Öhlins DFV R&T on my modified 2006 MINI Cooper S: the adjustability is very helpful for trackday, summer and winter set ups. There's no comparison at all to the standard "Sports Suspension Plus" which was basically awful: stiff and uncomfortable springs with crappy dampers. The Öhlins are also very light which is beneficial for unsprung weight. The springs are a bit softer than the Bilstein B14s that I ran on the MINI earlier, which were truly excellent on the track, but definitely too firm for the day to day.
I'd definitely run Öhlins on a 997 if it was fitted with passive suspension, but I have PASM and the TPC Racing DSC controller, which works very well.

bmwcousins

Hella-Buggin'

I'm so torn on this issue. It's time to replace mine and I'm torn between Damptronics with a DSC box and the Ohlins. I do about 5 DE's a year and enjoy many Canyon runs. The Ohlins sound awesome but the service interval seems like a pain. Based on my driving I'd have to pull them off about every 3 years and have them serviced. But, when I factor in the damptoinics and the DSC i'm up in the $5 range which exceeds the Ohlins by a significant amount.

Presto

bmwcousins

kimchee411

Have you tried going 20+ clicks from full stiff? I installed mine 9 days and 300 miles ago and was surprised at how stiff the ride was at 13-14 clicks when I first took it out. Stiffer than stock for sure, but not by a whole lot. A couple days later I did a 90 mile roundtrip commute at 15 clicks and still found it too stiff, having one of those tooth rattling crashes into a rough spot of pavement. I've been going softer and softer and when I was at 20 clicks after about 6 days I felt the damping was getting more compliant. Took it to 23 and it felt quite compliant over most bumps, especially the little ones. Today I went back to 20 and felt the added stiffness, then tried 25 clicks and wow, it soaked up everything. After about 30 minutes of testing I felt the damping was really good but maybe getting towards a bit wallowy over bigger bumps so I ticked it back to 24 clicks and I think I'm now at a good place for street driving over these somewhat beat up Bay Area roads. It never felt pogo stick bouncy though. Not sure how much of the change was due to break in, but I think the best approach is to start way soft and decrease clicks to find your sweet spot.

Presto

peterhorten

Maybe someone can help me with the installment of the front shocks, as I am not sure on one detail: I plan to replace the whole strut, as the front strut top mount is fairly cheap. There are only small pieces to replace (dust cover, nut,two washers)
But: the original strut has a real ball bearing and another plate/washer below this steel/rubber top mount, but in the original instruction only this top mount is visible and described. What about this ball bearing? It would be helpful if anybody could at least post a close picture of the strut, displaying that area. Thank you

jchapura

I'm in the middle of changing to the Ohlins R&Ts on my 997.1. I replaced the top strut mount/hat (99734301801), bearing/housing (99634351505), 6.5 mm compensating plate/shim (99634351101). [Take pictures as you disassemble the strut to be able to get the assembly order right.]

Skwerl

I've been thinking about refreshing my Turbo's suspension in the next year or so. Goal is some tasteful lowering and upgraded sporty ride quality.

Until this thread, I assumed that the best setup short of $7k Tractives would be Damptronics + a DSC box. Now I'm thinking, for someone like me who drives only on the street and almost never flips between normal/sport modes, maybe the passive R&Ts set to my taste would actually provide a better ride (firm and compliant but not "crashy," as mentioned earlier)?

Does a good old fashioned passive setup like the R&T beat the Bilstein/TPC duo if you don't really need on-the-fly adjustments?

peterhorten

Fantastic, thank you, so you will reuse the bearing and the compensating plate. Interestingly, this plate comes in two thicknesses.

The nut 10 and the washers 6 are clear. So you reuse 11, the bearing. The compnesating plate is 5 and 4 is a metallic washer. Do you use this as well? What about 2, a small washer. We do not need 9, the absorber?

Thank you, maybe you can take pictures.

Presto