Ohlins DFV Coilovers

[RichA]

Hi guys ,

Just wondered if anyone could help who has or had Ohlins coilovers on their DC5, I bought a set off DFVs from someone a couple of months ago for a pretty good price with a view to getting them serviced and freshened up to put on the car.

However the rear shock bushes are knackered and pretty much crumbling away so I will need replacements but I cannot get an answer from Ohlins about the dimensions of them, I also asked hardrace the divisions of their replacement bushes to see if they may fit but again no response. Does anyone know the dimensions of the rear bushes for the DFV coilovers?

I would also quite like to replace to top pillow balls for new ones just so I am putting on fresh bearing rather then years old ones does anyone know where I can get these as apparently they are not made by ohlins? Or is it a matter of getting whole new top mounts from the likes of cusco?

Finally I have been quoted around £90 + VAT per suspension unit for servicing from a few dealers who have bothered to get back to me can anyone recommend somewhere to get these coilovers serviced?

Sorry for all the questions, I have searched the forum but cannot find any definitive answers for any of my questions. I really want to get these coilovers on as I have another trackday in a couple of months but I don't want to put them on if they aren't 100% perfect.

Thanks in advance for any help/advice!

Rich

 

[davidpingu]

Are the DFV's the ones that came as an option on these cars from Japan?

If so they are the ones mine had and they were just terrible. Sorry :xno:

I was in a similar position to you for getting them serviced but was eventually convinced that for my driving they just weren't suitable. If all you are doing is track then they'd be ok but they are completely unsuitable for UK roads. I seem to remember someone mentioning that the valve system within was not suitable and that the £3,500 units you buy over here have a very different design and set up.

They were also not true Ohlins from what I understand but were a substandard unit that Ohlins put their approval/trademark to.

Lastly, as you are finding, getting people to repair and service them isn't at all easy. Pretty much everyone would reccomend alternative units available over here.

I was put off coilovers for a long time but am slowly being convinced that if I go for decent money street coilovers that they will be better than my current standard shocks and spoon springs which were bought second hand and will have seen a fair few miles now.

Meister R's get some good reviews as do the Eibach street coilovers and I recently drove Jono's on BC's and was pleasantly surprised.

 

[RichA]

Oh dear that doesn't sound like good news then, I thought that I'd heard that the DVF units were supposed to be really good, I do not know if they are the ones which were an upgrade in japan, the ones which I have use an inverted damper on the front with the adjuster at the bottom. I had heard that these coilovers were meant to be really comfortable for the road and superb on track as well which was why I was keen to get them sorted.

These are the ohlins which I have


http://www.speedstar-racing.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=472

Are they the same as the ones which you have?

Thanks for your help!

Rich

 

[C&S Evo7]

We have dfv on the s2000 and they are amazing, but they are swedish versions, the ones you have are japanese and made under licence, like all japanese coilovers they are way too hard for our roads .

I would speak to Aurok they should be able to service them

 

[davidpingu]

Here are what mine looked like. They do look the same:

 

[dave c]

I had these Ohlins as well, epic for circuit and for smooth roads but for me, the car never really felt settled / planted on them unless you were really leaning hard on them. On the road I can drive faster point to point on the Eibachs I replaced them with.

On track I think these would be very very good

 

[Altecians]

I'm a little unclear on which segment these coilovers mentioned above fall under in the Ohlins line. As I understand it the DFV is a technology in their shock.. so are we talking about the Road &Track line they offer? Or another line of theirs?

 

[dave c]

Personally I was on about these ones...

Here's a quote from the site:

"The product range will be focused on high performance cars that tend to be driven hard by their owners. It‘s also possible to use these shock absorbers in club-races, on race tracks etc."

 

[RichA]

Thank you all for your help!

DavidPingu i believe that yours were the same as mine though it seems yours had different springs fitted, perhaps this was why they were so uncomfortable?

I'm in a bit of a flux as of what to do now, the teg is my only car but i can walk to work so do not have to commute in it, though i do not want to compromise the handling in any way, i currently have eibach pro kit springs with TGM fast road set up and the car handles great but on track feels a little wallowy on slower corners, i thought the Ohlins sounded like the perfect compromise all round but from what Dave C has said it sounds like they are not ideal for road use after all.

I know its my decision at the end of the day but what do people suggest i do :S should i cut my losses and flog them on and just go for a set of Cusco ARBs on my current setup or is it worth getting these on the car if they are an improvement on the road over standard shocks and lowering springs with the added benefit of being able to stiffen them up for the track?

Thanks for all of your responses already guys, it's so nice to be on a forum where people are happy to help and offer genuine advice!

 

[Gareth88]

I have a set of the DFV on mine I quite like them, they don't seem overly harsh in comparison to the mugen set up I had on the last teg . They have Eibach springs on them; not sure if this the case with all of them or if mine have been played with

 

[dave c]

to be fair they were smooth enough for the road definitely but the damping / stroke just wasn't right for b-roads (i like to do a lot of my driving on those roads).

It really depends on your preference, if you want the best possible for track with relative comfort on the road then its not a bad plan to stick with them.

I took them off as my preference was for fast road driving so i wanted my car to perform as well as it could on the road and then to be good on track as well rather than the other way round.

 

[davidpingu]

I should have mentioned mine were on swift springs which were very hard but I've seen lots of others on the same. Another option perhaps?

I'll always remember the time the wife was sat in the passenger seat with a can of red bull. We were just driving an average 30mph road. Nothing bad and just normal speed. It ended up all over her

Whilst I was very amused, she was not lol

If I'm honest my least favourite thing about them was the pillow balls. They don't last long on our roads before they start knocking and it just really irritated me. Again, good for track I'm sure but not Road so as said it all depends how you want to use the car.

If it were me I'd look for coilovers with non pillow ball top mounts but obviously just my opinion.

 

[RichA]

Ok thanks alot guys, i think after all perhaps i may be better off flogging these on and getting a set of Eibach Coilovers instead, i could do without redbull stains on the passenger seat! Are the Eibach coilovers any improvement over the pro-kit springs and standard dampers on track?

On an totally unrelated note does anyone want a set of Ohlins coilovers?........ :unsure:

 

[dave c]

Ok thanks alot guys, i think after all perhaps i may be better off flogging these on and getting a set of Eibach Coilovers instead, i could do without redbull stains on the passenger seat! Are the Eibach coilovers any improvement over the pro-kit springs and standard dampers on track?

On an totally unrelated note does anyone want a set of Ohlins coilovers?........ :unsure:

The Eibach coilovers are definitely an improvement over just standard shocks and springs. It's worth noting that they don't have adjustable top mounts and are not damping adjustable, the only adjustment is ride height.

So if you want camber adjustment you will need camber bolts and arms and if you want to "firm" it up for the track or "soften it off" for the road you won't be able too.

They are designed for the road so that means compromise and they are set to a happy medium. The benefit of this is obviously much less to go wrong, also worth noting that the Eibachs use the standard top mounts so nothing to go wrong there.


I hope that helps, sounds to me like you've come to the right conclusion :xhappy:

 

[davidpingu]

Dotty is also really impressed with his eibach coilovers and he wouldn't switch from standard shocks on eibach springs for years!

Like I said I was pleasantly surprised with the BC coilovers on Jono's (RE Spirit) car and have also heard really good reports about MeisterR but I sympathise with anyone making this choice as it's one of those things you can't really test before you buy so you throw all your money on a set based on opinions and the problem with opinions is different people have different preferences so there will be people here who will disagree on any of the brands I've mentioned I'm sure.

As a happy medium as Dave puts it you're probably safer with the eibach ones as they always seem to be a company that do excellent quality suspension.

 

[Dan34]

If it were me I'd look for coilovers with non pillow ball top mounts but obviously just my opinion.

Agree. I think i've managed to kill one of my pillowballs in about a year and a half. Admittedly thats 30k miles and a fair amount of trackdays, but still i'd rather not be replacing them that often! Going to be taking a proper look at them this weekend...

I find my meisterR's are good on the road and track. Perhaps a touch soft for track use but could easily up the spring rates in them if you wanted too.

 

[RichA]

Ok well I think this makes up my mind then, eibach coilovers are just what I'm after I reckon! No pillow balls to worry about and they should last without constant servicing and TLC, I guess them mated with some stiffer ARBs could be a great handling yet comfy ride.

Thanks again for all your help guys

 

[davidpingu]

Exactly what dotty runs if you look at his build thread and he loves his setup.

 

[C&S Evo7]

Japanese ohlins have a blue sticker, Swedish versions are yellow/gold. Japanese versions tend to be harsh , the swedish versions are like the eibaches but adjustable and with better damping, they are awesome,

they dont offer a set of DFV dampers from sweden (Road and track range) for a civic or dc5 , its only the fd2. although when i did the write up below i said they did, but its possible that as the info i had was pre production they meant FD2

http://www.itr-dc5.com/forum/index.php?/topic/20406-new-ohlins-road-and-track-coilovers/