now, that I think about it again, there is basically no point in getting a shorter spring, there really is no benefit to it.

 

Mine are set up to as close to stock ride height as they could get them - love them.

 

That is pretty odd. Is it possible something on that side is bent or something? I can quite easily get to 13" center of hub to fender. I do have 12m RCAs in the rear so that obviously effects it, but there is still plenty of room to go lower.

 

Very unlikely something it bent, but I'll know for sure when it gets a corner balance.

 

Does anyone make deep tophats like Raceseng does for the FRS Ohlins application? That would resolve pretty much every issue related to ride height, preload & travel.

 

Extended ball joints in the rear would allow you to lower a little more without resulting in losing bump travel, but it would cost points, and most aftermarket aren't as reliable as what you'd find in OEM.

I just towed my car out to Colorado as I was here on business and will be back the following weekend to run a NASA event, but I left my car with a buddy who will be doing a corner balance. After looking at the car, he said he'd only be looking to lower another 1/4" on the side I am having issues with (which the other side will achieve at the same adjustment). I asked him his thoughts on the lower ball joints and his opinions are what I posted above. He had me order 2 of these and these. I already have shorter springs in the rear to allow him to work this route with the shocks bottomed out in the cup.

 

The above picture is after my initial alignment, with the 1/8 " rake, just before my auto-cross clubs first event, the Spring Enduro. The enduro is 5 laps in a figure 8 configuration which is the same every year. I practiced on Saturday where I had time to test different settings with the dfv’s and tire pressure. I ended up running 4 clicks from full stiff all the way around. These settings along with the RE-11 tires I was running gave me the desired feel and response that I was looking for from the OHLINS. My car felt and handled as I remembered it from when I first had slicks with the stock suspension. I run with my rear sway disconnected and tire pressure at 42 psi all around. I try to keep a neutral balance and have dialed out most of the understeer with my Eibach FSB set to the softer setting and these tire pressures. The OHLINS felt like they maintained this neutrality quite well without tossing me any surprises in how the car responded to input. My lap times were consistent, all 60 second laps with only hundredths separating them. I could have pushed a little harder, if my lack of tire noise was an indicator that my tires were not at their limit.



This picture is the way my car sits currently, after adjusting the rear height and getting it re-aligned. At my initial alignment my guy could not get the rear camber to the spec we wanted. After the Spring Enduro I raised the rear up to get that ½” rake as per stock, which also enabled my alignment guy to get the rear camber we were looking for. Next was to find a setting where the car was close to stock comfort on the street. Initially I was on OHLINS recommended 10 clicks from full stiff, then I went to13 from full stiff, to finally 21. At this setting, driving around on both highway and canyon/forest twisty roads has proved to be the sweet spot for me. I was a little unhappy with the stiff ride on the street at first, but with these settings and a tire switch back to the S02, the ride is now more compliant and quieter. Even at this softer setting I feel the high speed stability is just as good as with the stiffer settings. My wife and I took the S out for a top down cruise and some dinner this weekend and I asked her what she thought of the new shocks. She said the car felt less ‘bouncy’ and ‘smoother’ than before, I think that is a good review in layman’s terms.

I mentioned in a previous post about how good the stock suspension really was, I am sticking to that statement and joining the camp of ‘purists’ who support the OEM dampers as ideal. Having said that I am happy with the dfv’s because of their performance and the cost involved with them when compared to OEM. You can no longer buy the entire damper assembly but I could have possibly picked up just the stock shocks and changed all of the components over, but then I would have been in the same situation down the road, because of the fact they are not rebuild-able. At almost $1400 for the OEM shocks and then looking at my labor and the hassle of swapping the springs and associated components, I think the OHLINS will be the better investment. Bottom line: I am enjoying them more as I explore their adjustability and performance, which is bordering on….sublime.

 

After having my shocks installed last year at Group 2 in Seattle then storing the car over the winter I have to say that this is Awesome with the DFVs set per the instructions.

 

I didn't update my issue here, but if you haven't already seen it, I did write a review and explained (with pictures) what I did to fix my ride height issue.

https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/112...#entry23627956

 

Yes yamahaSHO, I've been following your DFV post.

I completed my first hill-climb this past weekend, and have to say I am very pleased with the OHLINS. I was able to match my best time from a previous year when I was running slicks. This was exactly the result I was hoping for, to run street tires (200 treadwear Potenza RE-11) with the OHLINS and match my performance from when I was running the stock dampers and DOT slicks (BFG R1). I could have bettered my performance with some more driver mod, I only heard my tires at two times, out of 5 runs. I am still getting used to the new suspension and their limits. I had them set at 4 from stiff all the way around.