Ohlins R&T Mi01 Install

[spidertri]

It was difficult to hold two rulers and a camera so I took a pic of how I held the one ruler and then just measured the rest of the wheels.



The correct way to do this is to remove the springs and jack up the suspension until simulates full compression. I held the one ruler like this, flush to the inside top of the fender lip to extend the fender down next to the tire. Then I measured the distance from the top of the tire sidewall to the outside edge of ruler #1.

Distance from tire sidewall to fender edge:
Front: 19mm
Rear: 9mm

Notes: My fenders are rolled front and rear. I only rolled them and not pulled.

[mad_hatter]

Originally Posted by spidertri

It was difficult to hold two rulers and a camera so I took a pic of how I held the one ruler and then just measured the rest of the wheels.

The correct way to do this is to remove the springs and jack up the suspension until simulates full compression. I held the one ruler like this, flush to the inside top of the fender lip to extend the fender down next to the tire. Then I measured the distance from the top of the tire sidewall to the outside edge of ruler #1.

Distance from tire sidewall to fender edge:
Front: 19mm
Rear: 9mm

Notes: My fenders are rolled front and rear. I only rolled them and not pulled.

Thank you! This is really valuable info, I knew fitting 9" wheels would be tight. Do you know your camber settings in the rear?

Car looks great!

-Alex

[spidertri]

Camber should be -3.5 front, -2.5 rear.

[Roccity Rider]

Originally Posted by spidertri

Got the Vorshlag plates too. According to 3DM, these plates are a custom spec'd version that have a second reinforcement plate and extended hardware in order to keep the strut nut under the strut tower in the car. That way the strut tower opening doesn't limit the full travel of the camber plate.

The doubled up reinforcement plate is ~13mm (probably 1/2") tall and the top of the nut is about 7mm above the red plate. From where the spring contacts the perch, the vorshlag plate is 50mm tall.

Was the doubled-up top plate imperative to get the camber you wanted? I purchased nearly this exact kit about two weeks ago, I am just waiting on the camber plates from Vorshlag. I am pulling off Eibach/Koni and Dinan camber plates. I was able to get -3.3* with a fair amount of clearance to the tower opening, I also have M3 arms and 5mm strut tower notches. I am curious if, given the wait, I should call Vorshlag and add this extra spacer. Here is a picture of the current setup. Do you mind sending a picture of what your strut tower clearance looks like?



Thanks,
Andrew

[spidertri]

I'll get some pictures for you by this weekend.

I didn't increase the slot size from what the factory provides, just the vorshlag plates and M arms. From what I remember, the nut actually didn't go too far past the strut tower opening but without that extra spacer (it was just two of the top pointer rings stacked on top of each other, and the longer studs to go with) the top of the nut could definitely contact the tower sheet metal.

[Roccity Rider]

Originally Posted by spidertri

I'll get some pictures for you by this weekend.

I didn't increase the slot size from what the factory provides, just the vorshlag plates and M arms. From what I remember, the nut actually didn't go too far past the strut tower opening but without that extra spacer (it was just two of the top pointer rings stacked on top of each other, and the longer studs to go with) the top of the nut could definitely contact the tower sheet metal.

Thank you so much. I can not wait to get these on and get to the track. The Eibach/Konis were leaving a bit to be desired after 2 years of hard AX/track driving. What are you running for swaybars? Also, what are your first impressions on track coming from the Konis?


Here is me at Lime Rock last year.

[spidertri]

Stock swaybars for now, I'll do the rear when I get a LSD.

It's tough to compare the February track day to the previous ones. There was rain all weekend and the temps were in the upper 30s. I don't mind rain or cold but both was definitely a new experience. The last time I was at CMP on the Konis it was sunny and in the upper 50s.

If anything, I got to push the car and see where the limits were at lower speeds. I had a few slides, one big one, and the car broke away very progressively and was easy to catch and correct. The whole set up was very confidence inspiring in the wet. The real limiting factor was tires hydroplaning, lots of people were going off, luckily I didn't.

The other awesome thing, is being able to adjust the shocks easily, the rear koni compress to adjust meant I set them and never touched it again. Being able to soften the rear a couple clicks was fantastic. The adjustments make a big difference going from 5 to 7 in the rear and then turning them down for the drive home.

I've been dailying the car for a few weeks now and I have all of them at 15 clicks and it's a sporty but compliant ride. I never drove this car when it had the stock suspension, so I can't compare to that, but I appreciate how well the Ohlins soak up bumps. It's still a stiff ride, but it handles the crappy roads around here well.

[Roccity Rider]

Originally Posted by spidertri

Stock swaybars for now, I'll do the rear when I get a LSD.

It's tough to compare the February track day to the previous ones. There was rain all weekend and the temps were in the upper 30s. I don't mind rain or cold but both was definitely a new experience. The last time I was at CMP on the Konis it was sunny and in the upper 50s.

If anything, I got to push the car and see where the limits were at lower speeds. I had a few slides, one big one, and the car broke away very progressively and was easy to catch and correct. The whole set up was very confidence inspiring in the wet. The real limiting factor was tires hydroplaning, lots of people were going off, luckily I didn't.

The other awesome thing, is being able to adjust the shocks easily, the rear koni compress to adjust meant I set them and never touched it again. Being able to soften the rear a couple clicks was fantastic. The adjustments make a big difference going from 5 to 7 in the rear and then turning them down for the drive home.

I've been dailying the car for a few weeks now and I have all of them at 15 clicks and it's a sporty but compliant ride. I never drove this car when it had the stock suspension, so I can't compare to that, but I appreciate how well the Ohlins soak up bumps. It's still a stiff ride, but it handles the crappy roads around here well.

The LSD makes the world of difference, worth every penny. I have a Wavetrac and it completely woke the car up. I am running Eibach front and rear sways. I think I am going to have to lose the front after I up the spring rates with the Ohlins. Have you done any of the power mods?


Not having to remove the rears is definitely a game-changer. I have made rear adjustments at events but it sucks and I only did it in extreme situations. This also means that I left them too stiff for street driving most of the time because I didn't want to mess with them.

Last question for you, what are you running for brakes? I am running e90 330i fronts stock rears with DS2500 pads all around. They are perfect for AX but I have overheated them at Limerock on warm days. I think I am going to go up to 335i fronts and 328i rears so I can run DS1.11s. I work at FCP Euro and like to use our Lifetime Replacement Guarantee to its full potential.

[spidertri]

I should probably start a log thread of what I've done to my car, hah.

It's a N51, so already had the 3IM. Previous owner did AA headers and turner intake boot, I've added the euro airbox, SFP tune, and oil cooler. I'm trying to limit my mods to keep the car legal for NASA TT5 but I'm still just in the advanced DE group.

For brakes, I'm just on the stock 128 calipers and rotors. I use cheap centric blank rotors, RBF600, and PFC08 pads. I did cut away as much of the brake backing plates as possible for airflow and coded out all of the weird brake nannies. They were fantastic at the track day, but the wet meant the tire grip was the limiting factor there. I don't plan on changing calipers/rotors unless I really need to since they'll assess a modification factor with TT5.

[Roccity Rider]

Originally Posted by spidertri

I should probably start a log thread of what I've done to my car, hah.

It's a N51, so already had the 3IM. Previous owner did AA headers and turner intake boot, I've added the euro airbox, SFP tune, and oil cooler. I'm trying to limit my mods to keep the car legal for NASA TT5 but I'm still just in the advanced DE group.

For brakes, I'm just on the stock 128 calipers and rotors. I use cheap centric blank rotors, RBF600, and PFC08 pads. I did cut away as much of the brake backing plates as possible for airflow and coded out all of the weird brake nannies. They were fantastic at the track day, but the wet meant the tire grip was the limiting factor there. I don't plan on changing calipers/rotors unless I really need to since they'll assess a modification factor with TT5.

I have an N52 with 3IM, AA headers, Eurobox, BPC Tune, intake boot, N52 High load water/oil cooler, and upgraded every mount and bushing.


Do you drive the PFCs on the street or just on track? I drive my car year-round and don't like changing pads at events. I am willing to, but if I can avoid it I will. The 335i calipers use the same pad shape as the E9x M3 so pad compound options are endless. Where the 128i/330i pad is only available in a few compounds from a few companies most of which I can't get through our suppliers. I really like not having to pay for pads or rotors ever again. DS2500 pads are $200 a pop and E89 Z4is rotors are $180 a pop.

I have not done a TT before but I want to try one this year. How does the modification factor work? Though the 348mm single piston 335i brakes never came on the 128i, you could get port installed 6 piston 338mm front brakes which came with the rear calipers I am upgrading to. Is it based on factory options or the options spec'd on the VIN?

[spidertri]

Here's a picture of the vorshlag plate at full negative.



I usually put the PFCs on in the spring and run them street/track until the season is over in the fall. 128 calipers/rotors can run the E36 M3 pad shapes, so I haven't found any limitations to pad compound yet.

If you look up the NASA TT class calculator you can see how they use power to weight and assess factors for different modifications.

[Roccity Rider]

Originally Posted by spidertri

Here's a picture of the vorshlag plate at full negative.

I usually put the PFCs on in the spring and run them street/track until the season is over in the fall. 128 calipers/rotors can run the E36 M3 pad shapes, so I haven't found any limitations to pad compound yet.

If you look up the NASA TT class calculator you can see how they use power to weight and assess factors for different modifications.

Perfect thank you so much for sending this over.

I was looking into pad shape crosses when I was debating the 335i upgrade. PFC is one of the only companies to say these cars take the same pad. After researching FMSI numbers they are close but not exactly the same. The piston clip being the biggest difference. PFC must have massaged the shape some to make them work for both.

Anyway, thank you again for all of your help and information. Hopefully Vorshlag gets these done soon and i can hit the track. Hope to see you out there some time.

[spidertri]

PFC didn't massage the clip, for the rears it's smaller and doesn't work for fitting into the 128 piston. I was surprised that it didn't rattle. On my old E36 the clips would always fall off my track pads and cause them to rattle.

I looked into the brake upgrades for the 128 and, using factory parts, the only one that made sense was the full 335i kit, you keep the good pad selection, and get a brake bias number skewed slightly more rearward than stock, which I prefer. To do that though, I'd swap out the rear knuckles to be able to use the 135i rear end and bigger wheel bearings so that the 335 stuff would bolt up and not mess with parking brake mods. So if I did that I'd definitely take the points for brakes.

[carscatscoffee15]

Originally Posted by spidertri

Quick update, I had a chance to lay everything out yesterday and make sure all the parts are in good shape.

Compared to the old Mi00 kit, this new one does have many updates that show further development for the chassis. Maybe Ohlins updated this stuff between fe1rx's install thread and now and they've been included for a while, but I remember a few instances of things he made that now come standard.

- Rear spring adjusters that fit cleanly into the body
- A mix of plastic and rubber spring isolator pads are included for use on all four corners on the top and bottom of each spring
- The rear shock stroke has been shortened by 25mm
- Front strut travel has been shortened by 11mm

Otherwise, dimensionally, everything matched up with what fe1rx posted in his thread.

godly. i can't wait to get mine eventually!!!

[Roccity Rider]

Originally Posted by spidertri

Got the Vorshlag plates too. According to 3DM, these plates are a custom spec'd version that have a second reinforcement plate and extended hardware in order to keep the strut nut under the strut tower in the car. That way the strut tower opening doesn't limit the full travel of the camber plate.

The doubled up reinforcement plate is ~13mm (probably 1/2") tall and the top of the nut is about 7mm above the red plate. From where the spring contacts the perch, the vorshlag plate is 50mm tall.

Vorshlag was unable to get the camber plates to me on time with the 3DM spec. Ended up having to add washers to clear the towers. It was only a couple of mm so I wasn't too worried. They should just make the upper plate 10mm thick and it wout solve the problem.


Got everything installed over the weekend. Install was straight forward though the car is a little lower than I was expecting at the recommended preload settings. Also camber was very different from side to side, max 3.4 on the pass side and 4.2 driver side. Not sure what is going on there.



I got hard tire contact with the height adjustment collars (17x8.5 ET 40 Apex ARC-8s wrapped in 245/40 BFG Rival S 1.5s). I am still waiting on my fe1rx spacer which should do the trick. I through on some 12mm spacers which will work in the mean time but it is SUPER tight.





Ball parked the alignment with strings, which was tedious but worked well.


Otherwise everything went in great. The improvement over the Konis is indescribable. The ride is stiffer and more precise while also being significantly more supple and comfortable. I am currently at 10 clicks F&R, I will probably settle in the 5-7 range. Taking it on a road trip today to dial it in.

[NA64LIFE]

I'm looking to swap my bilstein/eibach setup with the Ohlins R&T for my 128i and was wondering what other hardware I would need to make sure everything clears? Below is my current setup.

Bilstein B12 kit
M3 front control arms, struts, upper link arms, sway bar
M3 rear upper link arms, guide rods, sfb
Dinan camber plates
Apex Arc-8 18x8.5 et38 (225/40) and 18x9.5 et58 (255/35)

[spidertri]

Honestly, I don't know anything about the B12 kit and how it would compare dimensionally to the Ohlins. If you need any specific measurements I can try and get them for you.

I have a track day at Roebling Road next weekend, hoping for dry track time to get a better report on the suspension.

[Bullitt]

Originally Posted by spidertri

Vorshlag has the option of a double or single row bearing, for these cars, running the single row bearing and thicker reinforcement plates allows for the strut nut to sit below the strut tower opening. Keeping the strut nut below the strut tower means that you are not limited by the relatively small strut tower opening and can get more negative camber.

Originally Posted by spidertri

Got the Vorshlag plates too. According to 3DM, these plates are a custom spec'd version that have a second reinforcement plate and extended hardware in order to keep the strut nut under the strut tower in the car. That way the strut tower opening doesn't limit the full travel of the camber plate.

The doubled up reinforcement plate is ~13mm (probably 1/2") tall and the top of the nut is about 7mm above the red plate. From where the spring contacts the perch, the vorshlag plate is 50mm tall.

Thanks, this is helpful to know! I have the double row bearing and wasn't aware of this option. Can you run the thicker reinforcement plate (with the extended hardware and shorter strut nut) with the double row and accomplish the same result?

[spidertri]

Yeah, I don't see why you couldn't. You could probably order a bolt ring with extended studs and a second pointer reinforcement plate (super technical terms) from vorshlag and be fine with swapping those parts from your current kit. The only thing you'd need to measure would be how much the strut end/nut sticks up above the camber plate. If it's less than 13mm then you'll be fine.

Looking back, I would have asked for the double row bearing and the double reinforcement just to get some more stack height to raise the car up a bit more.

[Bullitt]

Sweet, that is what I plan to try with my double row bearing, and have requested those parts from Vorshlag. They said I may be able to stack the additional reinforcement plate onto my existing bolt ring with the shorter normal studs, as long as there is at least 3-4 threads engaged with loctite.

This could mean you may be able to stack yet another reinforcement plate with your extended studs.

[spidertri]

With my current set up there's definitely not enough thread to stack another plate. I got my ride height to where I want it with the strut spacers, but it's certainly an option for these suspensions.

[Bullitt]

Do you have a photo of the strut spacer?