Anyone with Ohlins able to drive my car? [NorCal]
 

Hey guys-
Here's the story:
I bought my R3 at 59k miles and took it on Sears point. Actually LOVED the handling and couldn't complain about the ride compliance.

The ricer in me didn't like the stock fender gap so I wanted to go a bit lower. Purchased a used set of Ohlins of unknown origin off this site (they must be pretty old as they are actually Ohlins re-branded by R-Magic, replete with Japanese instructions). They also have 32 clicks of adjustment instead of the 20. (In retrospect I should have bought new or left well-enough alone.)

Anyways even after corner balancing and alignment from Roger Kraus, I feel like the car is not very confidence-inspiring on the street. Primarily I feel like it:
(1) is easily unsettled by mid corner bumps;
(2) rolls about as much as it did with the stock R3 suspension;
(3) shimmies under heavy braking (which I did not notice before with the stock suspension).

I cannot tell if I need to rebuild the dampers, get new springs, or whatever. Was wondering if someone local would be willing to drive my car and tell me if this is normal for the Ohlins kit.

Thanks,

Sounds to me like you should ditch the coils and just get a set of lowering springs with f/r ratio similar to stock (if such a thing exists).

A few random thoughts...


That doesn't sound right for Ohlins in general, but I don't know what you actually have there.


If you have a full-on track alignment, it is not going to be a lot of fun on the street. In fact, it will be borderline dangerous--especially when wet.


Skittish under braking is often too much rebound. Dial it back a few clicks and see if that improves it. It may also help your mid corner behavior. We have different "Ohlins," so this is probably not applicable, but out of 25 clicks, I run 10F / 9R on the street and ~15F / ~14R on the track.

I have ohlins dfv on my car. the spring rates are 9/6 on mine. From full stiff I run 10 clicks front and 14 clicks out.


Another good set up is 8 click out front and 14 clicks out rear.


Compliance is good for mine and I like them a lot.

My impression of the Ohlins (having ridden as passenger at Sears point and taken a short drive on the street) is that they feel pretty sorted. Comfortable and stable...

The car will turn more quickly, and follow camber/tramline on the street with a track alignment.

From what you are describing, it is possible one or more of the shocks are bad and you need a rebuild, or the setup is not quite what you think it is.

Hey, I'm in the San Jose area. I also have a R3 with ohlins, although with different spring rates. shoot me a message if you still need help.

I actually turned down the stiffness to 16F 18R and the squirrely feeling under braking is gone. Felt great at Sears Point as well. Guess having it a few clicks off full hard was the culprit.

Here is the methodology for setting rebound:

1. Start with the front
2. Set the rebound to 1/4 of its range
3. Get everything up to temperature and pay attention to what happens under hard braking
4. Add rebound 2 clicks at a time, until you experience front wheel hop under hard braking
5. Back it off 1 click at a time, until it stops
6. This is your new baseline for the fronts. Start here and fine tune for each track and conditions
7. Repeat for the rear

Take it to Sake Bomb Garage in Fremont. They specialize in Ohlins. Let them know i sent you (guy with the white FD and blue 8), you may get a discount :)