Shorter springs for Ohlins Road And Track Coilovers

[act9]

Can anyone confirm max ride height with Ohlins RT and OEM top mounts? Is 14" in front achievable?

[mrgizmo04]

Can anyone confirm max ride height with Ohlins RT and OEM top mounts? Is 14" in front achievable?

Are you using their stock yellow 8" springs?

Those are 400 and 8", I was able to get to ~13.3 with 375 and 7", so I think you can easily get to over 14 with the yellows. You can also get a bit higher is needed if you preload the springs a bit more.

You having tire rub issues, is that why you want to run 14"?

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[act9]

Are you using their stock yellow 8" springs?

Those are 400 and 8", I was able to get to ~13.3 with 375 and 7", so I think you can easily get to over 14 with the yellows. You can also get a bit higher is needed if you preload the springs a bit more.

You having tire rub issues, is that why you want to run 14"?

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No tire rub concern, only looking to maintain a minimum of 14” in front and 13.75” in rear.

Looking for:

-Ohlins quality damping.
-Moderate lowering from OEM (max 0.5”)
-Moderate spring rate increase from OEM (max 1.5x)
-Retain OEM top mounts

If Ohlins RT can reach hight requirement, the only downside is spring rates nearly 3x oem...

[tnord]

bumping this back to the top because I'm having trouble figuring out why my front ride height is so HIGH (14.75 LF, 14'' RF), and hoping someone has encountered this challenge before.

- off the shelf ohlins R&T from Barry at 3DM.
- no spacers
- OE top mounts and strut bearing in their original position, arrows pointed forward.

currently my adjusters are all the way at the bottom of the shaft with no preload, I confirmed the strut is seated all the way down in the kingpin, and the endlink is off the car. I did take the car for about a 5 mile drive, and didn't notice any major clunks, rattles, or noises that would indicate a significant problem. Some settling wouldn't surprise me, but from the way people talk about this setup is the challenge is not getting the car to ride too LOW, hence the spacers, and I'm having the opposite problem.

[Obioban]

bumping this back to the top because I'm having trouble figuring out why my front ride height is so HIGH (14.75 LF, 14'' RF), and hoping someone has encountered this challenge before.

- off the shelf ohlins R&T from Barry at 3DM.
- no spacers
- OE top mounts and strut bearing in their original position, arrows pointed forward.

currently my adjusters are all the way at the bottom of the shaft with no preload, I confirmed the strut is seated all the way down in the kingpin, and the endlink is off the car. I did take the car for about a 5 mile drive, and didn't notice any major clunks, rattles, or noises that would indicate a significant problem. Some settling wouldn't surprise me, but from the way people talk about this setup is the challenge is not getting the car to ride too LOW, hence the spacers, and I'm having the opposite problem.

Barry's pretty great-- I'd hit him up for advice.

But, really, seems like it can only be...
strut not fully seated
height adjuster too high
spring too long/stiff
incorrect top hat assembly

Are the spring compressing at all when you lower the car to the ground? Or just staying at unloaded height?

[tnord]

It looks like the spring is compressing about an inch under load, it's a little tough to measure on the ground. from the setup manual, it's asking for 196mm spring length with preload, which is 7.7''. I'm measuring somewhere around a 6.5'' weighted length, and that's with the front of the car sitting about 1'' higher than the rear.

I also verified the stamped PN on the spring matches what's in the manual, so it should be the correct rate.

I was going to ask Barry, but I also figured the simplest answer is the most likely, which is that I did something wrong. This is really strange to admit, but even after over 20yrs of owning 7 BMWs, this is the first time I've messed with a spring/strut assembly.

[Obioban]

that strut looks not fully seated at the base.

IIRC the Ohlins have a welded on tab that should bottom out against the clamshell when fully seated.

[Obioban]

You can see the tab in this picture:

[tnord]

oh shit. that'd do it.

I have it in there where the recessed portion sits inside the kingpin. that's like 3-4'' of ride height right there.

As I suspected, the simplest answer - that I'm an idiot - is the most likely. 😳

[tnord]

I looked at this for a minute last night, and it appears that I have the struts on the wrong side once orientated with the little bit of slag below the tab in the opening of the clamshell. Which means the top mounts will have to be swapped also.

Is swapping mounts side to side still a thing, or has it been determined that's a bad idea for street cars because it results in too much camber?

[Obioban]

don’t swap them. You’re already going to have too much negative camber, just from the lowering.