jamesac83

I'm happy as hell with my Ohlins, and they were a smoking deal for the price. The suspension is much more compliant now than it was stock. I don't know why on this board the Ohlins DFV are viewed as an "expensive" option. Finding a better damper than you get with the DFV results in spending almost double. My only gripe with mine is the low-ish out of the box spring rates(my car is primarily an autox car that sees an occasional track days), but since the addition of them my car has been much easier to tolerate driving everyday if I had to.

SakeBomb Garage

I completely agree with you there and think your assessments are spot on, the stock spring rates are too soft for our tastes as well. Stock they are good... but we've spent years tuning Ohlins on various platforms and with a few tweaks they're beyond great. We've modding them FAR beyond just spring rates, and with a few extra tricks up our sleeve we've found these can truly be made to be pretty much...... perfect!

I'm curious what you mean about using them to their full potential? You absolutely don't need you have to track your car to get good use out of them. I drive around town on them and they're fantastic, and I think because of the dual flow valve they're actually MORE comfortable than even softer springs in other suspension. Firm yet supple, and also absorb harsh impacts is the ultimate street suspension for me. You'll probably never use the temperature-compensating needle valves which compensate for the viscosity of the shock oil thinning as they get hotter and hotter, but I wouldn't necessarily say that you NEED to use every feature in them to get your moneys worth (that's just my personal opinion though, and I do get where you're coming from)

Cheers!

I'm a happy Ohlins user here. In fact I bought my set from Sakebomb.

=)

alSpeed2k

Meaning I won't be taking them to the track. Puttering around town, I think other coils could be comfy as well. While I have never ridden in a car shod with the HKS, I have ridden in a car with brand new Fortune Auto coils with the Swift Spring upgrade and to me, as a passenger, they felt comfortable. Are the Ohlins comfortable, yes, without a doubt! I drove my car and my friend's CR back to back over some rough pavements, the difference was night and day. But if you are on a limited budget, I think there are other coils which could be considered.

B serious

I'm an Öhlins owner. The only issue I see with them for street use is that to keep their precision, Öhlins recommends a rebuild every 2yrs/20k miles.

I'm not sure how badly the damping will "fall off" in that much time....but it may be significant. A rebuild takes a few weeks and, I'm guessing, costs a few hundred $.

In contrast, my DD (TSX) has Teins...which seem to last forever. Fairly low spring rates. Not EXTREMELY sophisticated. But they ride very well...and have been on the car for 55k+ miles. They're also great for winter use. Their anti corrosion coatings are very durable. They make a line of suspensions specifically aimed at STREET use. So their features are more in line with daily driven car use. Their official rebuild interval is 3yrs/36k. But...again...all the sets I've bought over the last 15 years seem to have lasted forever. And because the demands placed on the shocks are fairly relaxed...I feel like I can probably get 60-70K out of the SA's on my TSX.

Bilsteins are another shock that seems to really last. The PSS and PSS9 are aimed at street cars. Very comfortable...and more sophisticated damping than Tein. Plus they're monotube...and inexpensive. The downside being the zinc coating if you're using them on salty roads.

I do love my Öhlins on my S2000. But I feel a bit like I'm "wasting" the shocks when driving them around lol. I do track my car. So I needed something with a bit more control than a typical street suspension setup. The Öhlins fit my bill for my S2000 because it is a dual-purpose car.

I don't know that I would have bought them for a street-only car. There are other choices that may br better suited to that.

Is the car going to be used in salt? If so...I'd definitely stray away from the Aluminum DFV's.

Apex1.0

Don't compare Ohlins to hks, please.

Penske, Bilstein, kW, Koni, even Fa.... But not hks, tein, bc, etc.

If you can't affor Ohlins go kW or bilstein pss.

B serious

Its not a comparison in the direct sense. OP asked about a street suspension. The Öhlins do have a couple drawbacks, as I mentioned.

And Tein makes excellent setups for street driving. Obviously not as sophisticated as Öhlins. But still very good...and still worth considering. I've been more satisfied with the Teins that I have had over the years than I have with my Konis. I've been as happy with Tein as I have been with KW. If you haven't experienced one of their relatively new setups (last 3-4 years or so), then your experience is outdated.

RedCelica

Just for a street car I think the Bilstein PSS is a great choice. I have Ohlins on my ap1 and they are fantastic both on the street and track. If I didnt track the car I would have probably saved some coin though and just went with either FA500s or Bilsteins.

jamesac83

I find it odd that you complain about the service interval for the Ohlins, but go on to say you ignored it for the Teins. You have zero proof that the Ohlins will perform any different, but because the window(that you ignored) is shorter than the latter it's somehow worse. At the end of the day the Ohlins are a very good single adjustable damper, especially for the price. But lets not talk about the DFVs like they are the TTX version and that you're "wasting" them by driving on them. They are very much a street oriented coilover.

Apex1.0

Where is tein engineered, designed, tuned and manufactured?