Ohlins Road and Track

[bdaddylo]

I finally took the dive and splurged on Ohlins Road and Track coilovers. My 1M is my DD, so I was meticulous in selecting a setup works well both on the street and track. It was a hard choice between JRZs and Ohlins. In the end, Ohlins' racing reputation and experience was what won me over. The build quality and fit and finish are second to none. The dampers and hardware are truly a work of art.

I opted for the remote adjusters for the rear dampers. This allows me to make adjustments without having to remove the trunk liner. Install was straight foward. The height was set per the installation instructions which is supposed to be a 20mm drop in the front and 10mm in the rear. Final results appear to be less of a drop. I'm hoping the springs will settle a little and will contemplate going lower in a few weeks.

Per recommendations from the M3 board, I've set my dampers to 10 clicks from the stiffest setting. The ride is definitely firmer. Nose dive, rear squat, and body roll have been reduced.

After the install we checked the corner balance and it was near perfect, so no adjustments were made. One disappointment was the weight. With a full tank of fuel, it weighed in at 3,399 lbs. and front to back weight distribution was 52% F and 48% R. I wish our 1Ms were at least 300 lbs. lighter.

In preparation for driving the Circuits of America's in June, the car will go in for an alignment followed by some testing at Texas World Speedway.

Here are a few pics of the install.

Enjoy!

[///1M]

Is the car any less comfortable to use as a DD?

Has stability improved at higher speeds?

[bdaddylo]

Originally Posted by ///1M

Is the car any less comfortable to use as a DD?

Has stability improved at higher speeds?

The ride is firmer because of the increased spring rates, but the dampers can be adjusted so that the ride is not harsh. I'm still experimenting with the settings to find a suitable combination for the crappy road conditions in Houston. High speed testing is scheduled May 10th.

[sparoz]

Looks really good. Did you have camber plates up the front?

[bdaddylo]

I'm running the Vorshlag camber plates and Dinan 28mm front sway bar.

[JoeC]

No pics after the install??

[Mahlzeit]

Delicious. Thanks for taking the time to post up.

Interested in the balance you find between ride height, handling and ride.

[jan9]

Love to see pics after the install too. Thanks for sharing!

[whoop_ass]

Quick Question here...
I am looking at these for my 135i
are these coilovers adjustable for ride hide with out affecting the spring preload.

Thanks

[bdaddylo]

Originally Posted by whoop_ass

Quick Question here...
I am looking at these for my 135i
are these coilovers adjustable for ride hide with out affecting the spring preload.

Thanks

Yes

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by bdaddylo

The ride is firmer because of the increased spring rates, but the dampers can be adjusted so that the ride is not harsh. I'm still experimenting with the settings to find a suitable combination for the crappy road conditions in Houston. High speed testing is scheduled May 10th.

be careful loading the trunk! Where will you be 05/10-11 ?

[bdaddylo]

Originally Posted by M3 Adjuster

be careful loading the trunk! Where will you be 05/10-11 ?

TWS, but only on Friday for the open track day.

[Black Gold]

im local to rich, and hope to get a ride / drive soon

i have kw v3, so it will be a good comparison. i am counting on the fact that i am goign to want to switch haha

thanks for posting, rich

[bdaddylo]

Here are two before and two after pics. In the first pic, I'm running stock tire sizes. In the last three, I'm running 275-35-19 in the rear which are taller than stock. The drop is less than the advertised 20mm front and 10mm rear because the kit was designed for the E9xM which is 300 lbs heavier. Looking back, I should have accounted for this, but I really don't need much of a drop as I have to traverse some steep driveways on a daily basis.

I currently have the front dampers set at 14 clicks from stiffest and the rears at 15. The ride is firm and comfortable and better than stock. I'll be doing some more experimenting this weekend to determine the softest setting I can run on the fronts for daily driving.

For the rears, I'll have to figure out the best setting for traction at the track.

[sparoz]

Thanks for this!

[///1M]

Do Ohlins make sense as an upgrade for a mostly street-driven 1M?

Would the price be justified?

[Black Gold]

Originally Posted by ///1M

Do Ohlins make sense as an upgrade for a mostly street-driven 1M?

Would the price be justified?

from what i have read and what rich has communicated to me, absolutely

plus, they are very hard to come by since they are basically built to order, so the resale on them will most likely be very good, just like kw v3

the spring rates are ideal for this purpose, and these are some of the best dampers money can buy, which is the most important component of a coilover kit

sonic ms has some excellent deals on this product from what i remember, and they also hooked me up with a great deal on my kw v3

[mikewills]

Rich.....how much neg camber and toe are you running...front and rear?

[HP Autosport]

Originally Posted by whoop_ass

Quick Question here...
I am looking at these for my 135i
are these coilovers adjustable for ride hide with out affecting the spring preload.

Thanks

Yes, on the 1M/M3 only. Not on the 135/335.

[bdaddylo]

I still haven't done an alignment as I decided to drop the car some more. I was targeting a 20mm drop all around, but the rears maxed out at 12mm so I settled for 20mm in the front and 12mm in the rear. There's still about 1" of fender gap in the front. I don't have a clue why the designers created such a large gap. Ground clearance at the fang part of the front bumper is now 5" . This is as low as I will go. The inside rear tire will come off the ground while turning into steep driveways. I'll probably see some 3 wheeling action during autocrosses commonly found on Mazda Speed 3, Honda Civic hatchbacks, and lowered Mini Coopers.

The dampers are performing flawlessly. I've gone as soft as 15 clicks on the front and the ride is very comfortable, almost to the point where the car no longer feels sporty. I've also stiffened them up to 5 clicks and although you feel nearly every road imperfection, the ride is liveable and not harsh.

Here are a few new pics. The front fender gap has been reduced to 1"



The rear is pratically slammed with the 275/35 I'm running.



Here's the new side profile where you can see my complaints on the front fender.

[Black Gold]

rich that looks great, well done!

what is your height from the center of the wheel to the ground in front / rear? what settings are you running on the street?

[bdaddylo]

Originally Posted by mikewills

Rich.....how much neg camber and toe are you running...front and rear?

Finally did an alignment yesterday. I was hoping to get some track time, but it rained for most of the day.

Due to the drop in ride height, my range of front camber adjustment with Vorshlag camber plates is -1.7 to -3.5 degrees. For daily driving, I'm running -1.7 camber and .21 toe. For the rear, I'm at -2.0 camber and .20 toe.

Measurements from center of wheel to fender are 13-3/4" front and 12-3/4" rear.