DSE and Ohlins = first class

[Abdi]

Hey guys,

I've had my car on jack stands since November. I had put it away for winter with planned suspension upgrades but I've been extremely busy with my job and family commitments but finally today I just about completely wrapped up what I started working on in December.

I've installed all of the Detroit Speed suspension pieces except for the JRI/DSE coilovers. So, it's lower control arms, toe rods, trailing arms, subframe bushings, anti-roll bars front and rear, links, caster kit, wheels studs, and motor mounts. I've also installed the Ohlins road and track coilovers paired with a set of Ground Control Camber plates. The spring rate is just about 400lbs (70 N/mm) front and 628LBS (110 N/mm) rear. I've got the single adjustment valving 12 clicks from full stiff front and 14 clicks on the rear. This is based on the Ohlins recommended setting for street driving. I seriously need a proper alignment but I managed to "string up" the car with some jack stands and I made some basic adjustments for Camber and Toe. Interestingly enough I noticed that I was only about 1.5mm+/- from 660MM ride height (bottom of wheel to top of fender) based on the Ohlins suggested spring preload adjustment during assembly. So I set the ride height to 660mm and this was encouraging as I had read Peter from JPSS suggest this setting as a good place to be on our cars. I don't have another day off until Monday and I'm scheduled for an alignment at a well known race team shop outside of Boston then.

I took the car out for about a 10 miles drive today so I could listen for possible loose items and check on my work. So far no issues. It was quiet, stiffer, not uncomfortable but the ride was a lot more precise and the Ohlins do a fantastic job of soaking up the irregularities on the road. I didn't push the car beyond the legal speed limits but the car behavior has certainly changed. Its feels great to have better sense of what the tires are doing and the whole car responds so much more quicker to my inputs. Overall I very happy with the results, I'll be heading to New Hampshire motor speedway on the 13th so I'll really get a chance to test the car and hopefully find a higher limit of performance.

I've never bought anything from Peter at JPSS but I want to say "thank you" to him because whenever I had an issue over the past few months I was able to come to this forum and search for an answer and it was almost always something that he has already addressed. So that was a big help to me with my limited time. I'll try to follow up on this post with some more details after the alignment and the upcoming track days.

Cheers,
Abdi

[PapaKlutch]

Sounds pretty nice! I'm looking forward to your followups.

[bkevind]

Awesome. Subscribed. I am very interested in the Ohlins but there is very little feedback on them for the Camaro platform.

[Billy10mm]

I've used Ohlins products multiple times on motorcycles. They are arguably the highest quality suspension bits one can get for a motorcycle. I would expect no difference in their 4-wheeled offerings and wouldn't hesitate to purchase.

[cdb95z28]

Did the front strut to tire clearance increase with these coilovers vs the OE struts?

[Abdi]

Originally Posted by cdb95z28

Did the front strut to tire clearance increase with these coilovers vs the OE struts?

I never used the OEM mount with the Ohlins which is an option for those that do not want camber plates. With that said, if someone is to use the OEM top mounts, the strut to tire clearance is not likely to get any better or worse. The lower spring perch is basically designed in the same general area.

On my installation I was acutely focused on this as I wanted to gain both SAI, clearance for a future 10.5 wheel with 305 tire, and greater range of camber adjustability. Without camber plates this would be impossible.

Yes.
Last night on the 10" ZL1\1LE wheel with 295 Trofeo tire I measured camber at -2.7 with a digital angle finder with about 12mm (1/2") of clearance from the front strut to tire. I would highly suggest camber plates for those reasons alone. I also pretty certain that I've gained caster but I'll confirm that Monday on the alignment rack.

Based on my measurements I'm thinking I'll get away with 10.5 front wheel with a +23mm offset. I'll lose about 3mm of clearance. Wheels are next on my list.

[bkevind]

Originally Posted by Billy10mm

I've used Ohlins products multiple times on motorcycles. They are arguably the highest quality suspension bits one can get for a motorcycle. I would expect no difference in their 4-wheeled offerings and wouldn't hesitate to purchase.

Agreed. I had full ohlins on an older R6. It was substantially better than stock suspension. On a later R6 I had AK-20 up front and penske triple rear, and it was also pretty amazing, but I give the nod to Ohlins for a better feeling, they were so smooth. The track bike I'm picking up next weekend (K5 gsxr1k) has ohlins superbike fork kit teamed with a penske triple. Old school gsxr but at my level of track day goofing off it will be more than enough! Might finally dabble in the CMRA a little bit before I get too old to throw a leg over.

I'm more or less decided on the Ohlins for the Camaro, the R&T should be just about perfect for my environment. Bumpy backroads, bumpy tracks (except COTA, but that is developing some bumps as well). My favorite little home track is H2R, and it is very bumpy.

[Mgizzle]

Do you have any pictures of the Ohlins amd how the car sits now?

[Abdi]

Originally Posted by Mgizzle

Do you have any pictures of the Ohlins amd how the car sits now?

I'm currently at work wishing I could be at home washing the car. I'll get some pictures tonight.

[L99CAMA2011]

Originally Posted by Abdi

I'm currently at work wishing I could be at home washing the car. I'll get some pictures tonight.

What wheels are you getting. Apex has a sale on the 19x11s now.

[Abdi]

Originally Posted by Mgizzle

Do you have any pictures of the Ohlins amd how the car sits now?

This is a 660mm ride height, bottom of wheel to fender arch. I think I may have discovered a mistake on my part with the camber plate installation as I took the car out for a 5 miles ride to get ice cream with the wife. I heard a noise from both fronts but I'm pretty sure I know what I did wrong. Also if my suspicion is true my car should sit 5mm lower on the front after I make the fix. I've also sent an email to the engineer at GC just to confirm my thinking. I've used GC camber plates on all my previous track cars and always had great support from those guys.

When I bought the Ohlins I was only the second guy to actually take delivery in the USA. I am also the first with the GC plates so I'm sure I've taken the risk of finding potential pitfalls but these are both companies that I've purchased from multiple times before and never been disappointed.

[Abdi]

Originally Posted by L99CAMA2011

What wheels are you getting. Apex has a sale on the 19x11s now.

I just ordered yesterday in 10.5" front & 11" rear.
http://www.bcforged-na.com/monoblock/rz05/

[cdb95z28]

Originally Posted by Abdi

I just ordered yesterday in 10.5" front & 11" rear.
http://www.bcforged-na.com/monoblock/rz05/

What offsets did you go with?

[Abdi]

Originally Posted by cdb95z28

What offsets did you go with?

10.5 +26 ET front.
11.0 +43 ET rear.

All wheels from BC are custom ordered. I worked with Jonathan DeHate from BC North America on this. I was very happy with the help and the price. I realize these are not made in the USA but they are both JWL and VIA certified in Japan. I really wanted Forgeline or HRE but I can't swing the price no matter how I look at it.

I want to keep the rear the same as it currently sits. The front will be about .25" further inboard, and .25" on the outboard of the fender. I think I'll be happy with that look. With camber plates in the front this should look pretty good. Looks are not my biggest priority but I do take it into consideration.

I have an Aero Sport Concepts kit to install and I think it' will compliment the front wheel nicely.

Abdi