Ohlins Road and Track review

I finally got a track day in to give my impression on this suspension. I have to say it works out great. It removed lots of the lean I was experiencing with the M030 and I was able to drive the car faster. My times were 3 second a lap faster. I have to say that this suspension is pretty tight. The spring rates are 60NM or about 340 lbs front and 120NM or 680lbs rear. This is more than double the rates. As far as street ride it is firm but not rough. You can feel bumps and ruts, but the shocks absorb that crashing feeling associated with too stiff suspension. I find it comfortable enough for daily use, but some may not, it just depends on personal preference. As far as a comparison to PSS9 I cant truly put a finger on that because the only one that I have driven was lowered 3/4 inch lower than normal settings and on full stiff shock setting so I felt it was rougher than the Ohlins set up. I have my shock setting at the lightest recomended setting for track use. I feel my set up is better than a PSS9, but that is my personal belief. The PSS 9 has springs which are about 100lbs less than the Ohlins and I don't think it works on that track as well. The Ohlins is a single adjustable and the cost is a few hundred more than the Bilstein, but I think its worth it. I know people probably will suggest the KW3 at near the same cost but is double adjustable. I seen that the KW has softer springs and I usually set the shocks and leave it so double adjust probably is not worth it to me. I personally think the dampers are nicely constructed and I like the fact the height adjustment is adjusting the shock body length not compressing the spring short like the bilstein. IMO the Ohlins is perfect for the guy who likes to drive his car on the street and likes their track days.

Thanks for taking the time to write a review Jetskied. We learned a few weeks back that Ohlins doesnt make a C4S specific kit but for those C2 owners looking for coilovers ohlins is a great option.

Thanks for the review from both a track and street perspective.

What is the price range for this kit?

$3200 http://www.ohlinsusa.com/automotive-...he+996+Carrera direct from Ohlins USA

on the website it states: The �hlins Porsche shocks also feature segregated compression and rebound adjustors, are pressure balanced, and have preload adjustability. does this mean they are double adjustable? on another note I like the higher spring rates... this will serve you well at the track...

There are other Ohlins made for P cars, but the road and track are only single adjustable. The kit works well for a dual use car, but if you are more of a track junkie it might serve you better with stiffer springs the road and track are good for an additional 100 lbs of springs.

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Jetskied, thanks for your review! You may be the only one to post an Ohlins Road and Track review with a non-turbo 996 so far, so your experience is very interesting. (I'm assuming you car is not a turbo, as you didn't post on the tt forum. Anyway, can you let us know which 996 you have? 996.1 or 996.2, Carrera or C4S, etc.? On 18s?) Also, do I understand correctly that with the Ohlins, the street ride quality is not as good as with the M030 suspension? (If so, just slightly worse, or definitely worse?) And can you identify in which ways the street ride quality is better or worse with the Ohlins? (For example, there are probably many ways to look at this, but I think it's common to think about 4 kinds of ride quality: low speed & small imperfections, low speed & big bumps like speed bumps, high speed & small imperfection, and high speed and big bumps ... .) Thanks again!

Subscribed to thread for updates. Hopefully jetskied chimes in!

Contact Leo at Vividracing, a few weeks ago he quoted me a much better price than the one listed above. If I decide to replace my suspension, Ohlins is definitely the way I'll go. Thanks for the review!

I'm waiting to install mine this spring on my C4S Looking forward to it Heard lots of good things 6C53ED64-AB90-49FB-9EC2-92B0BC0174E3_zpsnapwixch.jpg

Ohlins now making a 4S kit? Let's us know how they compare once you have some miles on them.

It's the 996TT kit, same suspension as C4S Per ohlins it's to used on the C4S as well

I just realized jetskied has not been on the forums since May of 2014.

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Interesting that Ohlins would recommend the turbo kit for a 4S considering the turbo is a heavier car. follow up once you get some miles on them.

Coilovers installed Playing with height settings and letting it settle a bit prior to alignment

This thread:

Hi I don't check in often so sorry. To answer the question is that I run the car probably more track than most people would. I run the car with NT01 on 18". My street tires are Hankook and on 19. I would describe the ride as firm. The sharpness is mostly in big bumps the smaller ones don't affect it as much, but you'll still feel them slightly more than the M030. As far as the turbo vs the C4S weight should not be a factor as the rear springs are awfully stiff on this system so I doubt there would be much difference.

FWIW I set the system at 10 from full stiff at the front and 7 from full on the rear. The height I use is about 30mm lower than factory height. My car is a 996.1 C2.

I just received my Ohlins on Tuesday, so on Monday I removed all my old suspension to get ready for my new coilovers. This is what I received, one 997 rear, one 996 turbo front and possible one correct front & rear for my C2. Unfortunately, Ohlins doesn't have any more 996's in the states so they needed to order from Sweden and they won't receive them in N. Carolina till next Tuesday... Now my car sits on jackstands.... Not happy, since I have a autocross on the 11th and track day on the 17th.

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What is the distance from the fender to the ground? I believe they come from the factory at 20mm lower than stock. I'd like you use your reference as I want it sitting approx. 25.25" - 25.5". My stock height is 26" and I don't want it too low so I can still get my jack & puck under the car to lift it up and also avoid some speed bumps... Also, have you looked into the camber for your alignment? I was thinking a GT3 alignment, -1 front & -1.5 rear.

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Are you serious? You ordered a complete "996" set and this is what they piece mealed and sent to you?

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They were very apologetic and said they didn't look in the box, only looked at the outside label. I noticed the tape was already cut before I opened the box, but didn't think too much about it until I saw they were different. He thought they were used for a product display show and had the various models in a same box, but they didn't label the box and was put back on the shelf...

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That would make the most sense but still shouldn't have been put back on the shelf for sale. Hope you don't have to wait too long.

Just a point... I've had these on my 997 GT3RS for over a year and they are really good dampers - especially for the $, and much better than the OEM coil overs. I have much stiffer springs, 700 rear and 600 front with tenders. I think I had one of the first 997 kits in the US, which my shop worked with Ohlins to put together along with custom spring rates. I keep mine dialed up very stiff, but if you dial it down they are firm but compliant. They make jumping the curbs on track very confidence inspiring. The next step up is the TTX doubles and they are about 9k for my car... until I'm driving at the limit of these dampers I see no reason to change. Another friend of mine has these on his 997 RS and another on his E92 M3. Both are very happy.

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I was using what the factory US set up was and that was about 26.25 inches from the ground. The Ohlins has a begining set up height which is about 25-30mm lower. My car sits at 25-25.25 from the ground due to the corner balance. As far as alignment it will depend on the tires you are using and the amount of wear you are willing to give up on the street. I use NT01 so I have it relatively agressive at -2.5 Camber all around. I probably would recomend -1.5 for the street with .2 toe in all around. Hope this helps.

Jetskied - and others who are now installing these - do you notice changes to the handling balance? E.g. to turn in, understeer, oversteer, throttle adjustability, etc? Thanks again!

Hard to say as I have always tended to set up the car for more oversteer as I'm more focused on track day driving. I do feel that the turn in improved and the car turned more neutral than factory set up.

I finally got my Ohlins installed. I thought I'd post it here instead of creating a new Ohlins post, I hope the OP doesn't mind. I only have about a week on them and it'll take more time for a good evaluation. After finally getting the correct shocks, I had to install them with the OEM rubber mounts becuz I had a AX that I wanted to run. I was still waiting for the Elephant Racing top mounts to arrive. They did great on the track, but I think they were still missing something since I had the rubber mounts. I never got the rear Elephant racing mounts to work, becuz they have the bearing above the mounts and had to drop it 20mm and my drop would have been 1.5" and I was looking for around .75". So I ended up buying Tarrett for the rear and used the Elephant Racing for the fronts; these were installed last Friday, so only have a few rides on them. Right now my ride height is about 25 1/8" at rear and 25 1/4 up front; I'll readjust it after it settles in a little. They'd very firm, almost too stiff for my liking at low speeds, they get smoother the faster you run. I may swap to softer springs after AX/DE season is over. Firm suspensions were fine when I was in my 20's, but now I don't enjoy them much on the road, but I have a 335i for a DD, so that's my plush mobile... With the non-rubber top mounts the steering is very precise now, it doesn't sway as much and the front end doesn't nose dive like it did prior. I was supposed to do a DE last Friday, but signed up late due to not getting the top mounts installed, so I'll see how the setup performs later in the year. I do think these will be better suited for the track than the Bilsteins as others have said, the springs are 60 Nm/mm fronts and 120 Nm/mm rears (342 lb/in front, 685 ft/lb rear). They are significantly stiffer than our OEM stock springs at 146 ft/lb front & 225 ft/lbs rear. They're even stiffer springs than 996 GT3 setups: Front: 40 N/mm (228.44 lbs/in --> 225 lbs/in) Rear: 95 N/mm (542.55 lbs/in --> 550 lbs/in) Overall, I 'm pleased with the handling at the AX and I knew it would be a bit harsh on the road, but I wanted a better handling car for the track and that is what I have now. I'm glad I made the purchase, but may go with softer springs in the winter months when I'm not racing. For DD I have it set at 17 clicks from full stiff and the AX was 5 clicks.

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Thanks for sharing your findings! To avoid any uncertainty, were they "almost too stiff for [your] liking" before you installed the top mounts and the Tarretts in the rear? Also, can you let us know what suspension you started with (standard suspension, M030, X74 ... ), and what tire model and size? And what are the roads like near you compared to other parts of the US (or Europe, if you're in Europe, or ... )? Thanks again!

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I drove about 160 miles round trip to my autocross, mostly highway with maybe 15 miles of city streets. It was definitely very firm with the rubber top mounts; I had the shocks at 15 clicks from full. I would have liked a slightly more comfortable ride, but it was tolerable. I think a lot of it was just a drastic change from standard OEM susp. to these coilovers. With more time, I may get used to them, this is my weekend car, so I don't drive it too much. I drove it very little with the new top mounts and it's more stiff than the rubber, but the steering is also a lot better. The steering with stock susp. was very vague. I'm running Pirelli Rosso 285/30/18 at the rear/225 front, my stock ride height was 26" all around, now just over 25". I've been to Europe (Germany), I think the roads are very smooth over there compared to California. Our roads aren't too bad where I live, cracks, uneven surfaces, but very few pot holes.

Just wanted to added another update since I've had more time on these. I think the suspension softened up a bit, maybe needed a little breaking in... At higher speeds on the road, it's decent not harsh it soaks up the road imperfections well. At low speeds, it's still a little on the harsh side since the springs are stiff. I did a DE last Friday and it was great on the track. With the stock susp. the body was rolling all over the place and my PSM was kicking on all the time. With the Ohlins and new top mounts, it handled great on the track, a lot more fun the drive since the body didn't roll all over the place. I set the shocks at 2 from full stiff for the track and 17 for road cruising. Overall, I'm very happy with this setup. I also did a alignment two days before the track, did the camber at -1 front and -1.6 rear. I have an AX next weekend, and will see how that goes since I didn't have the top mounts the last time I ran it.

Reviving this thread. How did it go? I'm thinking of the Ohlins on my car. Must be good for AX.

Oh mama....would love a set of ohlins for my car. So much more to fix before I start modding suspension. Several of my racing friends use ohlins at the track and I've driven some of their setups. Absolute dream on track!

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I installed Ohlins Road and Track on my 2003 996 C2 in January. My car is DD-ed from from downtown DC to Bethesda over godawful roads and I have 13 autocross events on them so far in 2017. I've been meaning to write something up as I think these are pretty under represented in the 996 camp. If anyone is in the area and would like to experience them in person, PM me. My impressions on the street: DC has horrendous roads. Especially the section of my commute through Rock Creek Park where the pavement is an utter disgrace. Honestly I could probably barely get through some sections on a road bike. With that in mind, dampers set to 12, they are far more comfortable than my original stock suspension. I've never felt the need to set them softer than 12 (see setting note below), even driving on worn Direzza Zii* or RE71R. I actually run them stiffer at 10 or 11 when I swap to my daily tires which are the new Conti ExtremeContact Sports. The springs are reasonably stiff (something like 340lbs front, 680 rear) but you'd never guess as such when the dampers are set anywhere close to soft-ish. The base suspension was under-sprung and over-damped, but IMHO these are just perfect. Even on street settings you immediately notice the disappearance of the stock pitch/dive under braking/acceleration and much of the body roll. As you would expect turn-in is much sharper and the car feel much more settled at any speed. There's really little need for upgraded roll bars on the street with this suspension. Long road trips are a breeze, expansion joint harshness becomes more a function of your tires than the suspension. Sometimes I instinctively brace for what I expect is going to be a big impact, but the DFV rounds off these big impacts extremely well. Autocross: I began the season setting the dampers to 7 or 6, but now I'm regularly running as stiff as 4. I like that there is only 1 **** to mess with, I'm not really a setup guy. I like to get the car in the ballpark and work on my driving. The increased body control has made this a seriously fast car now. The car feels every bit as sharp and responsive as you'd expect from coilovers with spring rates like these. Im actually surprised how much earlier I can get on the gas on corner exit as weight transfer to the rear is better controlled and the car wont plow out as badly with early throttle application. The rest of my suspension is stock including roll bars (I prefer the OFAT method), so this has some effects at autox. With the dampers at 6+ the car transitions just as mildy to oversteer as before. In stock form it was shocking how cuddly the car was at the limit, how catchable oversteer was, and how well the car responded to a little lift mid-corner. None of this changes with settings at 6+. However given my stock roll bars I was looking for a little more control in transitions, so I pushed up to 4. The car feels amazingly sharp at 4. There is probably a slight traction disadvantage running this stiff, but the car responds so beautifully that it is worth it. I managed to take FTD in my lowly 996 at my last PCA autox against some seriously fast cars. I was blown away. There is a down side to running this stiff however, as the car does become a bit less forgiving. When the rear breaks, it breaks fast and you have to be much more exact with your corrections. Stiffer sways would allow me to run a little softer without losing the responsiveness in transitions. It's a little thing and might be down to my alignment or something, but it's worth noting. Even running stiff, the DFV does a great job soaking up bumps. At at an on-track autocross I was able to get pretty aggressive on the curbs and the car just soaked it up. Often I drive home with the shocks still set to stiff because Im too hot and tired to bother resetting them. The car works great on the freeway still, only really getting harsh over the broken pavement on DC surface streets. My only regret is not installing these earlier. List price has come down to about $2500 and you can find them even cheaper with a little effort. At that cost and for a dual purpose car, it's a no brainer. Ohlins' user guide suggests the following settings (0 being stiffest, 20 being softest) track use: 0-7 clicks winding road: 5-10 clicks street: 10-20 If you're nearby DC and want a ride to see for yourself, just LMK

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Thanks for the excellent write-up! Exactly what I was looking for. It seems they will fit really well for me. I also use the car as a DD but want it to be set up for the AXs. Currently I can't turn my PASM on to Sport because it becomes too bumpy and I lose traction, and with it off the car just dives and pushes way too much. The roads around here are atrocious to say the least so it great to know I'll survive with the Ohlins on.

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