I current am running the Ohlins Road & Track shocks. They are basically the new DFV's.

I plan on calling Ohlins tech tomorrow regarding some questions about ride height. The pdf manual states they can be adjusted +/- 15mm from the standard ride height. This is approx 25mm lower than stock. It states going beyon 15mm could cause the shock house to come loose.

My questions...

Would it be safe to assume that 15mm applies to raising ride height?

At 15mm lower there is still approx an inch of mounting tube left that I can screw the shock body down into. Couldn't I screw the shock body all the way into the mount?

I am asking because at the current "lowest" setting I am still approx and 3/4 inch higher than the majority of STR cars out there. I can get that back by screwing the body all the way in.

Here is a photo for reference.

 

My question would be how much travel to do have at resting height?

 

I don't know. But since the shock body screws into the mount the travel shouldn't change if it is just screwed further into the housing.

 

i would bottom the shock in the housing and use the spring perches to raise the ride height to where you want it. You'll get more shock travel and room for ride height adjustments.

 

If you reduce the length too much then you run the risk of the tire hitting the chassis or fender before the damper bottoming out on the bumpstop.
You need to remove the spring then install the damper, wheel and jack it up to check clearance and adjust from there. Once you've got the length adjusted you can then adjust the spring perch to get the height you want.
I'm guessing 15mm below standard will be as far as you want to go.

 

I am not understanding. The ride height does not appear to be adjusted by the spring perch. According to the DVF literature you adjust ride height by screwing the shock body up or down within the housing. The spring perch is used to set spring pre-load.

 

Would it be safe to assume that 15mm applies to raising ride height?

+/- 15mm means raising and lowering. I am with you though, I dont see how it could apply to the lowering part. I don't see that it could possibly hurt the shock body to screw it all the way into the lower portion. In fact I would think that the more threads attached to it the better. And if they are anything like my teins which are exact same design, then the preload and the ride height are adjusted completely seperately. In fact turning the springs perches down all the way (no preload) doesnt shorten the stroke of the damper at all. In fact if you go to far it just pulls the spring away from the perches etc. For this design ride height and preload are truly separate.

 

Reducing spring preload will also reduce ride height. that is how 90% of shocks out there adjust ride height. What this design allows you to do is increase spring load (thus raising the car) or decrease it (thus lowering the car) and then use the shock to change the ride height back to where you want it without changing your new preload setting. but if you screw the body all the way in, then lower the spring perch you will further lower the car but will be reducing shock compression stroke. However, I do not know how much you can do this without ill effect on these particular shocks.

 

What would be a recommended amount of shock travel?

 

I bottomed out 60mm of travel with 700lbs springs. Honestly I want 75mm of travel to feel safe.