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03-16-2023, 05:26 AM | #1 |
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Help with ride height on ohlins r&t
Ive got the rear set about where i want but i cannot get the front to come down to even stock ride height. Ive done what i can through pre-load and the instructions that come with it for setting ride height are very vague and im not sure actually fully apply to our vehicles since they seem to make references to things that are either very different or dont apply at all to our cars.
So is there a way to further adjust ride height or did i pay nearly three grand to have a carolina squat bmw? The only thing i can think of are switching to lighter springs in the front |
03-16-2023, 06:22 AM | #2 |
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Double check and make sure the front springs they sent you are the correct length. I want to say the front springs should be about 7" long when uncompressed, but don't hold me to that.
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03-16-2023, 09:28 AM | #3 |
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Is this a common issue? Because i absolutely struggled getting the rear close to where i want it, like i was fighting something off with the kit
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03-16-2023, 10:21 AM | #4 |
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I have no idea if it's a common issue, but it's good to check and make sure they sent the right parts. Who did you buy the kit from?
Just fyi, the rear springs should be longer than the front springs. My ohlins came with 7" front springs and 8" rears, but I had the swift upgrade as part of it so I never saw the original ohlins springs spec'd with the kit.
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03-16-2023, 09:03 PM | #5 | |
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03-21-2023, 08:05 AM | #6 | |
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You're only option is to take preload off the front spring using the lower spring perch collar until you drop to your desired front ride height. Chances are the spring will go loose. Not a big deal to be honest but doesn't make sense that you should have to do that... here are some people who installed this kit:https://www.1addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1789614 I don't see anyone else had an issue with the front being too high? Seems a few said the front ended up too low? What camber plates are you using? Different plates have different stack heights which raise or lower the front end... |
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03-21-2023, 08:08 AM | #7 |
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Also when you say "stock ride height" what are you using for that measurement? If it's your previous ride height, there's a small chance it was actually low (i.e. dead struts).
Maybe take a measurement from the very center of the wheels straight up to the edges of the fenders and post it here, let some others compare. |
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03-21-2023, 02:43 PM | #8 | |
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03-21-2023, 02:45 PM | #9 | |
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03-22-2023, 05:02 PM | #10 |
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Okay so I’ve measured from the center caps to fender and the fronts are a hair over 14 & 3/4 inches and the rears are right 13 & 1/2 inches. Im at max droop in the front and I don’t know how i can take any more length out of the fronts. Im honestly not super happy with this kit. It rides great and handles great too but it really seems like this kit was not meant for our cars. I have no clue why ohlins would send out a kit like this that feels so half-assed, at nearly $2800 its not even dual height adjustable. Probably should’ve gone with kw but that ohlins name is alluring.
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03-22-2023, 08:58 PM | #11 |
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Did you ever measure the length of the springs they sent you?
It sounds like the front spring is too long. I had to add strut spacers to get mine up to the ride height I wanted it at. You can always call up ohlins and ask them to help troubleshoot.
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03-23-2023, 08:07 AM | #12 |
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I've got a 2011 135i M-sport. Original factory parts. I'm about 13" even in the rear, 13-1/8" in the front. You are definitely riding high, at least in the front (and maybe both), no doubt about it.
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03-23-2023, 06:24 PM | #13 |
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Unfortunately its gonna have to wait til the weekend for me to measure the spring length. Just dont have enough time (or more importantly, energy) to take that all back apart after work. Im gonna contact the guys over at HPA to see what they recommend i do for springs. I probably should have gotten their upgraded swift springs anyway but i saw they were mostly recommended for track use and i got the ohlins because of how well they ride on roads. Honestly thats the one area im not disappointed with this kit on, they ride so supple yet i can feel every little thing my tires go over.
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03-23-2023, 07:13 PM | #14 | |
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The complaint on the older Mi00 kit was how soft it was. Mi01 is an improved kit with more track duty in mind. The front spring is a bit on the stiff side for street duty in our opinion. 6kg is more or less what we like to see instead of 7kg. Rear is fine at 12kg, but a slight reduction rate can further improve the ride quality. |
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03-23-2023, 09:40 PM | #15 |
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I also have this kit with the Vorshlag plates. I also was disappointed that the lower shock body was not adjustable independant of preload. I ordered them with 9/12 swift springs setup since my main usage is autocross.
I had to pre-load the crap out of the 7” springs to get the front end down. One big concern with doing this is normally coil bind, but with the swifts, there are less turns per inch. Looking at Swifts website, I’m sitting just within range of the usable stroke. The other issue I had was the lower spring perch rubbing on the tire (255/40/17 a052 on 17x9+42 Apex arc-8). The other option, then, is to use 6” Swift springs. Barry at 3DM indicated that they would not have enough useable stroke/compression. They seem to work fine, thiugh, without and weird handling characteristics |
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03-24-2023, 09:24 AM | #16 |
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I'm running the 6" Swift springs with Vorshlag camber plates so that I could clear 245's on an 18x8.5 ET45 ARC-8 wheel. I've run time trials at Sebring in it and never had a problem with any weird handling characteristics. Ride height looks great without excessive pre-load so I love the setup.
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03-25-2023, 11:51 AM | #17 | |
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Last edited by Grainwashed; 03-25-2023 at 12:47 PM.. |
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03-25-2023, 08:03 PM | #18 |
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If you have the newer kit, the front spring is already 7". A shorter 6" at the same rate will lower the vehicle further but will likely bind on large bumps.
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03-26-2023, 02:15 AM | #19 |
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Sorry yes that’s what I meant. Handles great. Have not noticed coil bind or wished that I had more travel.
Forgot to add that I’m running a 7mm spacer on front. Also have the powerflex offset bushings since I can’t run both the m3 control arms AND Vorshlag plates in my autocross class (STX) |
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04-19-2023, 02:14 PM | #20 | |
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to the comments about running 6" springs, you likely have tall progressive bump stops (maybe stock?) preventing the coil from binding. You really don't want to be on the bump stop that much. you want travel and 6" springs give very little travel to work with. Factually they give less travel than your front strut stroke. Z65-152-090 swift springs give 3.1" of usable stroke and 3.9" of MAX stroke (completely bound). Front strut stroke is usually around 4.25-4.5" on every coilover I have seen. If your spring isn't binding then you're probably riding on the bump stop after as little as 1" of bump travel in braking/turning. or, you have coil bind and you don't even realize it. Last edited by bbnks2; 04-19-2023 at 02:29 PM.. |
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04-25-2023, 02:29 PM | #21 | |||
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I also did look at the spring specs from the Swift website for useable stroke and maximum compressed length (coil bind). When I was setting up the car and realizing that in order to get the lower spring perch high enough to clear the tire, the 7” spring was compressed a significant amount (~1”). So, comparing useable compression for two springs based on just the springs themselves is not an equitable comparison to real-world springs: The 6” spring has 3.9” max stroke. The 7” spring has 4.6” max stroke. If the 7” is already preloaded/compressed 1”, then real-world available compression is only 3.6”. |
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04-25-2023, 07:37 PM | #22 |
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Retorque all your arms at new ride height? If not that's a big part of it. Loosen everything, jack up the hub until the spring compresses fully and torque everything down to spec. Rinse repeat in other side. Set preload loosen collar or lower perch all the way, tighten until spring under minimal compression. Spring preload best set with 1/8" of preload IMO.
Obviously set your preload first. Ohlins R&T kit doesn't have separate ride height adjustment, only preload. If you've done all that likely the springs are too long, which I'd doubt.
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