I'm trying to decide which suspension upgrade to save up for: Ohlins DFV coilovers or Tokiko D-spec spring and damper kit with extension cables for rear dampers. The Ohlins are much more expensive, but you get what you pay for. I like the idea of having very high quality parts on my RX-8, but I don't know how hard it would be to get at the adjustment **** on top of the dampers from the trunk. How much material would have to be cut away, and how hard is it to reach?

 

are you asking about the tokico's or the ohlins?

 

The Tokico's have cables that go on top of the damper. To adjust it you just lean in the trunk and turn the ****..

 

Are the Ohlins top adjustable or are they inverted so it's underneath the car. There is a pretty good sized chunk of metal blocking the way to the top of the strut and the carpet as well would either need to be removed or a hole cut in it as well. The tokicos extension ***** will be much more accessible.

 

User ac3mastuh has the Ohlin coilovers. It looked like he had to cut through the carpeting in his trunk around the struts. He would know how much cutting there is though.

 

Yeah, I was asking about the Ohlins. I believe I read at Good-Win-Racing that the Ohlins are top-adjustable and can be done from the trunk, but I'm wondering just how much of a PITA it is to do without those cables offered by Tokiko. I'll PM ac3mastuh.

Thanks all.

 

^To adjust the Tokico without the extenders you will need to completely take the top part of the coilover out, pull it down, take the wheel off, and yeah. PITA.

 

The above is true of any top-adjustable without cables (in the RX-8, anyway).

What is your objective? The Ohlins are, by all accounts, an amazing setup. My guess is that once you have it setup right, you'll never touch the damping adjustment. Listen to Brian in terms of choosing a setting for the rear; he knows his stuff. After install you can use the front to balace the car in transitions and then you are done.

Don't get me wrong; I had D-Specs and they are good. But, while you will want to stiffen the D-Specs for track days and/or autocrosses, I suspect you won't find yourself needing/wanting to do that with the Ohlins. I have KW V3s one my car now (also sourced from Brian), and I drive it on the street the same way I autocross it without any problems. And, if I wasn't so focused on autocrossing (I'm going to the national championships this fall) I'd back the damping down a little all the way around and have a brilliant dual-purpose car.

If you can afford it, I say get the Ohlins (or KWs - they are fantastic as well) and never look back.

 

the simple question is how often do you track / autox the car?

if you do either, what tires are your running?

if you dont do either. the d specs will be more than fine. and really they do well..

beers

 

First thing is don't dismiss the Tokico setup as cheap parts. While the Ohlins seem to be quality suspension parts (I don't have any personal experience with them) I wouldn't dismiss a good strut/spring combo for your setup.

The decision process for choosing a suspension setup goes way beyond your dampening setup. There are a lot more elements to having a proper coilover setup than simpy using a strut and spring setup. The real problem is unless you have prior suspension adjustment experience you will very likely make your handling much worse rather than make it better.

Coilover suspension requires adjustments such as ride height, dampening, and spring pre-load. They can be a real quality addition to your RX8 but the benefits won't be seen unless you are using the RX8 for some moderate to serious track time.

Coilovers only really shine when they can be corner balanced which will require you find someone with a set of scales to use. Both setups will obviously require a new alignment.

We have had local RX8 owners use the Tokico struts here locally on the track with a lot of success. Coilovers require a lot of time to get the adjustments right unless you have it done by a professional which will add to the cost.

This is also something to keep in mind. The more aggressive setup you use (higher spring rates, valving etc) the better and more sticky your tires are going to need to be. I'm not saying you'll need to run R-comps but a high quality performance tire will be a must to keep the car under control.

 

Just unscrew 3 clips and you can access the rear shock absorbers damping *****.

 

What kind of coilover is that?

 

not all of them mount that low.

I really liked my d-specs. I replaced them because I wanted a much higher spring rate than would work with the factory style suspension. I went with coil overs.

 

If you drive the car on the street a lot you will probably beat up the ohlins. I personally don't dare run top of the line suspension on the street for the risk factor (roads are pretty bad here in NE ohio). The coilover setup is much more convenient than a spring and strut combo performance-wise. I think you could find a good compromise in between the two (say a 1600-1800 coilover).

Both are good items in the end, depends on the application.

 

A kit not yet mentioned is the Bilstein PSS9 coil over kit. They are fully adjustable and done at the bottom not the top. I have them on my 8 which sees AutoX / track and daily. I have them paired with adjustable sways and for an all around setup I couldn't be happier. Ride around town isn't harsh at all and the car performs great on track.

 

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