BlewByYouEvoVIII
11-05-2009, 01:14 PM
First off I would like to thank Ohlins USA for kindly supplying us with one of their new redesigned Road and Track DFV coilovers for the Evo VIII/IX. Ohlins had contacted us several months ago to start conducting business with us. During one of our conversations we were informed about the plans to redesign these already impressive coilovers. We jumped on the opportunity to test out one of their new sets.
Out of the box we were able to tell that the new Ohlins were nothing but pure quality. This came to no surprise after seeing some of their previous products. The DFV's come with absolutely everything you need out of the box including adjustable camber plates. We decided not to go with custom spring rates so we could give our best impressions of what an out of the box setup would do. The standard spring rates are 100 N/mm Front and 80 N/mm Rear.
http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr260/RyanAtForged/Parts%20for%20Sale/EvoDFV005640.jpg
http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr260/RyanAtForged/Parts%20for%20Sale/OhlinsDFV010640.jpg
Ohlins come disassembled, so a little assembly is required before the initial install. This was fairly painless as everything is laid out and instructions are included for anyone who may not have done this type of install in the past. Once the car was up on the lift we began to remove the HKS Hipermax III Sports that were currently on the car. We immediately noticed 3 differences between the 2 coilovers. 1st, the Ohlins do not have a bracket for the brakes lines. 2nd, the Ohlins are significantly lighter than the HKS coilovers. We noticed such a difference just by holding them in our hands that we decided to throw them on the scales. We were shocked with the results. The Ohlins DVS's weighed in 12 pounds lighter than the HKS Hipermax III Sports! The 3rd difference was the craftsmanship between the 2 sets. You can see why the Ohlins are thought of so highly.
http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr260/RyanAtForged/Parts%20for%20Sale/OhlinsDFV023640.jpg
After we had the new DFV's installed on the car we began to set the ride height. Our previous setup on the HKS's was fairly low, but had no rubbing issues. We decided to set the Ohlins as close to our previous ride height as possible. The ride height out of the box was fairly close in the rear, but we dropped it a considerable amount more in the front. Ride height adjustment is done like most other coilovers on the market. The special wrenches are included by Ohlins and make adjusting the ride height painless. Once the collars were set to our liking and locked into place we were ready to set the shock settings. We set them 2 clicks away from full stiff in the rear and about in the middle up front (slightly in the soft side). Once this was done we were ready to corner balance the car. In most cases we would advise waiting for the springs to settle in before this is done, but we wanted to go ahead and do this while we had the car up on the lift and had access to our scales.
http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr260/RyanAtForged/Parts%20for%20Sale/OhlinsDFV028640.jpg
The wheel/tire combo is:
Volk RE30s 18x9.5 +28
Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 255/35/18
Rear fenders are rolled
Impressions
After switching from the HKS to the Ohlins we were excited to give these a shot on the road. I expected a noticeable improvement in handling. As anticipated the Ohlins felt much more composed. The turn in feels slightly quicker and the ride quality somehow feels softer while still holding better through the corners. All of our testing so far has been done on the street. I can honestly say I must now run much higher speeds to push these tires to the limit. The harder I pushed the more grip this setup provided. We decided to push them any harder we need to go to the track. We have been trying to get these out on the track, but unfortunately we have been rained out twice now. As soon as we have a chance I will chime back in with our track impressions.
In conclusion the new Ohlins DFV's have proved to be the ultimate road and track coilover. They do not have a harsh, painful feel to them on the street. They are surprisingly soft on the street when compared to some of the other street coilovers we have driven on (HKS, Tein, KW, etc). The price tag of the Ohlins comes in much higher than most of the road and track coilovers on the market, but we feel they are well worth the extra money. The quality of these shocks are second to none and the performance is astounding.
http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr260/RyanAtForged/Parts%20for%20Sale/GGdone.jpg
Retail cost is $3499
For additional information or evolutionm member pricing on these feel free to call or PM us!
770-792-0202
You can also find these for sale on our website here:
http://www.forgedperformance.com/store/product.php?productid=16780&cat=399&page=1
Out of the box we were able to tell that the new Ohlins were nothing but pure quality. This came to no surprise after seeing some of their previous products. The DFV's come with absolutely everything you need out of the box including adjustable camber plates. We decided not to go with custom spring rates so we could give our best impressions of what an out of the box setup would do. The standard spring rates are 100 N/mm Front and 80 N/mm Rear.
http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr260/RyanAtForged/Parts%20for%20Sale/EvoDFV005640.jpg
http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr260/RyanAtForged/Parts%20for%20Sale/OhlinsDFV010640.jpg
Ohlins come disassembled, so a little assembly is required before the initial install. This was fairly painless as everything is laid out and instructions are included for anyone who may not have done this type of install in the past. Once the car was up on the lift we began to remove the HKS Hipermax III Sports that were currently on the car. We immediately noticed 3 differences between the 2 coilovers. 1st, the Ohlins do not have a bracket for the brakes lines. 2nd, the Ohlins are significantly lighter than the HKS coilovers. We noticed such a difference just by holding them in our hands that we decided to throw them on the scales. We were shocked with the results. The Ohlins DVS's weighed in 12 pounds lighter than the HKS Hipermax III Sports! The 3rd difference was the craftsmanship between the 2 sets. You can see why the Ohlins are thought of so highly.
http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr260/RyanAtForged/Parts%20for%20Sale/OhlinsDFV023640.jpg
After we had the new DFV's installed on the car we began to set the ride height. Our previous setup on the HKS's was fairly low, but had no rubbing issues. We decided to set the Ohlins as close to our previous ride height as possible. The ride height out of the box was fairly close in the rear, but we dropped it a considerable amount more in the front. Ride height adjustment is done like most other coilovers on the market. The special wrenches are included by Ohlins and make adjusting the ride height painless. Once the collars were set to our liking and locked into place we were ready to set the shock settings. We set them 2 clicks away from full stiff in the rear and about in the middle up front (slightly in the soft side). Once this was done we were ready to corner balance the car. In most cases we would advise waiting for the springs to settle in before this is done, but we wanted to go ahead and do this while we had the car up on the lift and had access to our scales.
http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr260/RyanAtForged/Parts%20for%20Sale/OhlinsDFV028640.jpg
The wheel/tire combo is:
Volk RE30s 18x9.5 +28
Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 255/35/18
Rear fenders are rolled
Impressions
After switching from the HKS to the Ohlins we were excited to give these a shot on the road. I expected a noticeable improvement in handling. As anticipated the Ohlins felt much more composed. The turn in feels slightly quicker and the ride quality somehow feels softer while still holding better through the corners. All of our testing so far has been done on the street. I can honestly say I must now run much higher speeds to push these tires to the limit. The harder I pushed the more grip this setup provided. We decided to push them any harder we need to go to the track. We have been trying to get these out on the track, but unfortunately we have been rained out twice now. As soon as we have a chance I will chime back in with our track impressions.
In conclusion the new Ohlins DFV's have proved to be the ultimate road and track coilover. They do not have a harsh, painful feel to them on the street. They are surprisingly soft on the street when compared to some of the other street coilovers we have driven on (HKS, Tein, KW, etc). The price tag of the Ohlins comes in much higher than most of the road and track coilovers on the market, but we feel they are well worth the extra money. The quality of these shocks are second to none and the performance is astounding.
http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr260/RyanAtForged/Parts%20for%20Sale/GGdone.jpg
Retail cost is $3499
For additional information or evolutionm member pricing on these feel free to call or PM us!
770-792-0202
You can also find these for sale on our website here:
http://www.forgedperformance.com/store/product.php?productid=16780&cat=399&page=1