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

[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.

[Brian]

New NC Tein Street Flex include top hats and come assembled, very nice!

[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]

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.

[Va MX5]

Second point, see notes below related to the front units.

[Va MX5]

3rd point, see notes below related to the rear units.

[Va MX5]

Folks,

4th and last point. This was posted by me on another thread, but it should have been here.

"Hi Bart,

I just finished pulling out the rear shocks last weekend, following the same install info. No problems were encountered. Starting with the rear wheels in the air, the rear shocks in place, the bolts for the lower shock mount and the two upper links were tightened by hand using only my fingers. The car is then lowered & fully loaded by it's own weight, only then, are the bolts torqued down to spec. The trick to this stuff is getting under a fully weighted car to tighten the bolts. The easiest way for me is to lower all 4 car tires down onto 4 equal sized blocks, 12 inches high, and then get under the car to do the work. Yes, all 4 corners /tires are sitting on these bolcks during the procedure. Safety is the 1st concern, so find the right type of bolcks for the job. I use 12 inch wheel cribs, made by RaceRamps for this type of work. Good luck, you can do this, if I could.

Regards, Pat"


The Ohlins DFV install is relatively easy, just take your time and use some common sense. Anyone can do it.
This kit is an awesome product and you will have no regrets with the performance results.

Regards to all, Pat

[morrisg]

Just a note to say that when adjusting the ride height, you don't have to remove the Ohlins lower mount from the car. Just unlock the ring and twist the shock body with the weight off the wheel. You can do this by hand. When you get the correct ride height, then tighten the lock ring against the lower mount. Enjoy!

[drpro]

Thanks to Brian's Ohlin sale, I purchased a set and installed them this weekend. The car is an 06 GT with 36k on it, wheels are 17x8 Enkei RS+M with Conti DWS 225x45 tires along with RB sways. I used the factory suggestions for the settings on each shock. Drove it around the block after install and did the final torque all around with the wheels on ramps. Monday the wife and I drove about 350miles on freeway and surface roads. What a difference over the factory shocks. Even she could tell a difference.
Front height is 14" and the rear is 13.5". Being new to this I am seeking suggestions on settings. The car is mostly driven around town and short trips along with some spirited rides with the local Miata club. We do have a few twisties in Tennessee. I like what I have now, just can I improve slightly on the overall settings. Damping is 10 clicks per Ohlins.

Thanks for your insights.

David

[Brian]

We usually start customers about 13.25 front height, and 13.5 rear.

As for setting stiffness and balance....lots of experimenting ahead to find what you like best on your particular local roads.