NC Coilover Install....OHLINS, JIC, etc...

Installations instructions for MonsterFlow intakes, Big Brake Kits, shocks and more.
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Brian
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Re: NC Coilover Install....OHLINS, JIC, etc...

Post by Brian »

JT12 wrote:Brian - have a set of Tokico HTS and Progress springs coming. From looking at the pictures of those vs. the Ohlins here am I correct to assume that re-use of both the front and rear factory hat assemblies is needed in that case? So either get a new set front and rear, or a spring comressor?

Also - is the best way to get at the controller arm bolts to torque with the car on the ground to get an arm in the space between the tire and the fender down near the ground? Thanks.
Yes, replacement of the shocks means using the factory top mounts again except with some coilover kits that include both front and rear top bearings. Thus, you do need the spring compressor. Yes, you bounce it on the ground and then reach under get wrench on there to tighten it up....
Brian Goodwin
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Re: NC Coilover Install....OHLINS, JIC, etc...

Post by JT12 »

What are your thoughts about the method where you disconnect the upper control arm (upper links rear), then floor jack the wheel up to put slightly more load on the spring, then leaving the top mounts bolted in, just remove the center nut, etc. on the shaft of the shock and slowly let the wheel down to decompress the spring. Opposite to reinstall, making sure the spring seats correctly. Safe or stupid?
Brian
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Re: NC Coilover Install....OHLINS, JIC, etc...

Post by Brian »

Sounds good on paper.... but since I have never tried that method I can't recommend for or against it.
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Re: NC Coilover Install....OHLINS, JIC, etc...

Post by JT12 »

Ok thanks Brian. As long as it doesn't sound like an immediately bad idea once I get past exhaust and on to the suspension upgrade I may have to carefully give it a try and report back. Just seems like it could be a little more contained and controlled way to handle the spring compression. There's a You Tube video where a guy demonstrates it on either an NA or NB. Calls it the long bolt method. Same application for an NC, just slightly different hardware.
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Re: NC Coilover Install....OHLINS, JIC, etc...

Post by JT12 »

Well, tried Brian Kelley's "long bolt method" (search it on YouTube), and while it seems to work beautifully on the NA or NB that he uses for demonstration, not so much so on our NC. Guess on an NC it becomes the "two-bolt method" but regardless, even after removing the top control arm bolts there just isn't quite enoug drop to totally decompress the factory spring. Almost but not quite. It then becomes a two-person job to push down on the wheel assemply while pulling down on the spring to create just enough play to move the top of the spring outside the fender, and that's after pushing the bottom of the factory shock forward off the mount to gain about an inch more drop. While I liked the idea of using the floor jack as a spring compressor within the relatively contained environment of the wheel well (and that part does work well), without having quite enough drop the rest is a real pain and probably more chance of damaging a fender etc. Progress spring is a little shorter so went back in slighty better, but pretty much the same process. So, wouldn't recommend for anyone else with an NC.

Borrowed a compressor set from a local parts store and with a good dose of care and caution shock/spring #2 (with hat included) went out and back in flawlessly and in less time. Will be fininshing out with that.
Pat
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Re: NC Coilover Install....OHLINS, JIC, etc...

Post by Pat »

I just finished up the Ohlins install on my '11. Thanks to the instructions it went quite smoothly. The rears fought me a bit as the lock ring seemed to be stuck and it took quite a bit of effort to free it. Re-torquing the suspension bolts was a pain while on the ground but I ended up driving the car up on my race ramps to torque them down. Made it much easier to get access especially for the rear. Please chime in if I should redo with car level.

My initial plan was to go with the Ohlins and and possibly add RB sways bars but based on the handling I'm more than satisfied with just the Ohlins and stock bars for pure street use. I had purchased a set of RB sways as that was going to be my first upgrade but never got around to installing them so they will be up for sale.

Driving impression - WAY better than stock, firm but more compliant over small bumps and much better controlled over large bumps/dips. My wife gave me the technical explanation that it's less bouncy. She did also notice that in corners the lack of roll and the prior effect of role and hit the bump stops.

Extremely happy with the result. It took me a bout 6 hours to do all four corners. I'm close on my target ride height and to adjust all four corners take well under an hour to do. I've settled on 13.5" from wheel center to arch. The car looks much better with the drop as it was from the factory sitting at 15" all around.
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Re: NC Coilover Install....OHLINS, JIC, etc...

Post by Brian »

New NC Tein Street Flex include top hats and come assembled, very nice!
Attachments
Tein-Street-Flex-NC.jpg
Tein-Street-Flex-NC.jpg (26.07 KiB) Viewed 17421 times
Brian Goodwin
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Re: NC Coilover Install....OHLINS, JIC, etc...

Post by See23 »

Edit to height measurements:
Took me about 6 hrs to install the Ohlins on my 2013.
Ended up with 13.5" front and rear. Haven't auto crossed yet but it's working well for aggressive back road driving.

To get access to the rear adjusters I was able to cut a small hole in the carpet inside the hard top convertible compartment. To reach them I just press the automatic roof button long enough to open only the rear storage bay door. Easy access.

To get the stock rear springs off the shocks, I took them to a local shop and they did it for $30.

Took the car for a drive and nothing fell off! The only banging I heard was in the right rear going over a bump. Thought I needed more preload but it turned out to be my jack in the storage compartment.
Va MX5
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Re: NC Coilover Install....OHLINS, JIC, etc...

Post by Va MX5 »

Folks,

I am posting a couple of points to this thread to hopefully help those who will be doing Ohilns DFV installs in the future. The contributions already made in this thread by others, cover most of all the things one needs to know to successfully complete the install job. My points are only to fill-in some blanks.

So here is the first of those points.

The photo below shows you will have some left over parts from the install procedure, if you do in fact use the Ohlins supplied Top Mounts (recommended). I expected to have 6 items left over, but wound up with 8 items instead. Brian advised me, it is NOT uncommon for Ohlins to sometimes over-supply hardware items in the kit and this is not a reason for concern, as long as you have assembled the dampener units according to the Ohlins supplied instructions.
Attachments
Ohlins spare parts.JPG
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Last edited by Va MX5 on Fri Apr 04, 2014 9:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
Pat- Va MX5
2012 MX5 PRHT GT
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Re: NC Coilover Install....OHLINS, JIC, etc...

Post by Va MX5 »

Second point, see notes below related to the front units.
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front with notes.jpg
front with notes.jpg (47.29 KiB) Viewed 17101 times
Last edited by Va MX5 on Fri Apr 04, 2014 9:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
Pat- Va MX5
2012 MX5 PRHT GT
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