e46 M3 suspension setup, or how to not downgrade your car with suspension mods

[Slideways]

Does anyone know how long before rebuild is needed for DFV?

37k miles street use which seems like a conservative estimate. My buddy put 40k miles on his before selling the car. Depending on your roads, it might be possible to run them almost as long as the stock rear dampers which usually give up at 75k miles. For some owners, that would be 7+ years before needing a rebuild.

[0-60motorsports]

Does anyone know how long before rebuild is needed for DFV?

[eacmen]

Öhlins is legit. I'm starting to think they're head-and-shoulders above even other high-end brands.

Tangential: Heard a story about someone who upgraded from regular DFV dampers to TTX. On his first track day he thought his ABS had crapped out because it wasn't kicking in. Turns out he just had that much more traction. Apparently TTX is that much better at damping very small motions. Blows my mind.

I have the R&T kit on my car right now. Plan to swap some JRZ RS2 from the old car over the winter to see the difference.

I had one day on the RS2 before I wrecked. But the laps I did do felt awesome.


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[cobra]

Found this motoiq YouTube video from a couple years ago where they toured Ohlins USA facility. Found it very interesting and informative:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwT4uXu7P7g

That's the other one I watched - awesome video!

Ohlins is good stuff. You pay for it, but it's good quality. The TTX and DFV are in two completely different classes (and price points).

[IamFODI]

Öhlins is legit. I'm starting to think they're head-and-shoulders above even other high-end brands.

Tangential: Heard a story about someone who upgraded from regular DFV dampers to TTX. On his first track day he thought his ABS had crapped out because it wasn't kicking in. Turns out he just had that much more traction. Apparently TTX is that much better at damping very small motions. Blows my mind.

[eacmen]

Found this motoiq YouTube video from a couple years ago where they toured Ohlins USA facility. Found it very interesting and informative:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwT4uXu7P7g

[Tbonem3]

Please do. As a fellow MCS 1wnr owner, I'd like to see what spring rates and damper settings you're using.

[r4dr]

My understanding is the V3 and Clubsport kits are on their own tier of quality from the V1/V2 which are "entry-level."

Either way, I was thinking about posting the details behind my flatride MCS 1WNR setup at some point. A few things were trial and error, but the setup is dialed now and they are fantastic. I figured someone might make use of the info, but just have to find the time to write it all out...

[cobra]

I was surprised he mentioned KW as a quality option. Maybe it's because he deals with V3 and above, but the V2s that came on my car were crap and that's the general review I've heard of them.

I checked out a KW V3 brand new out of the box. As I mentioned in another thread I made, they are a good length in order to run stock height or lowered without running on bump stops. The spring rates are a good balance of street/performance driving. They have a wide adjustment range and can develop lots of compression force. The bodies are stainless steel and will never rust which is pretty neat.

On the flipside, while the front struts were nearly identical, the two rears were significantly different indicating a manufacturing or design issue. That was a bit disappointing because they are otherwise good. For example they should be run 3-4 clicks different in order to produce the same force.

I wouldn't go for V2's because they are more like a traditional twin-tube (like Konis) and have no compression adjustment. The V3 has a pressurized gas reservoir front and rear.

My general impression is that they're a good middleground setup for $2k. Certainly a step-up from the entry level sub-$1k options, but not at the level of Clubsport/MCS/JRZ but those are double the price.

Also, I have heard KW rebuild cost is high, so unless you're the original owner it might not be the best option. They have a lifetime warranty for the original owner.

[r4dr]

I was surprised he mentioned KW as a quality option. Maybe it's because he deals with V3 and above, but the V2s that came on my car were crap and that's the general review I've heard of them.

[usdmej]

Curious. What info did you find misleading?

have followed him since his SCC magazine days, and while he's made invaluable contributions to the scene and community, there isn't a Nitto tire or KW coilover that he hasn't fallen in love with

[cobra]

Curious. What info did you find misleading?


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I didn't make a list, but off the top of my head some of the shock tuning and spring rate things could lead to confusion.
-They both agreed that spring rates were a bad way to talk about spring selection due to varied motion ratios, but then proceeded to speak in terms of spring rates. Mike was not forthcoming with his perspective on ride frequency.
-The "4 clicks in, 1 click out" can cause a lot of confusion because every shock is completely different. 8 clicks on one brand might equal 1 click on another. Some adjusters do almost nothing and others have dramatic effects. More importantly, if you aren't in the ballpark to begin with you're wasting your time. I've wasted a LOT of time turning adjusters when in reality I was not even in the ballpark to begin with.

Just generalizations that people might think they can apply to their vehicle, A few more disclaimers would have helped

[eacmen]

Interesting. I ended up watching some more of his content after this. Kind of a quirky guy. Some misleading information but also a lot of things I didn't know about.

Curious. What info did you find misleading?


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[cobra]

Great podcast episode with Mike Kojima. Suspension guru extraordinaire. Highly recommend a listen:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tuned-in/id1579263731?i=1000577379915

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Interesting. I ended up watching some more of his content after this. Kind of a quirky guy. Some misleading information but also a lot of things I didn't know about.

[K-Dawg]

Great podcast episode with Mike Kojima. Suspension guru extraordinaire. Highly recommend a listen:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...=1000577379915


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Youtube link for those on PC (or android) and don't want that fat bastard called iTunes on their PC.

That's a good listen. I liked that a lot of the concepts they talked about are already being discussed on this forum.