The Mustang Forum for Track & Racing Enthusiasts

Taking your Mustang to an open track/HPDE event for the first time? Do you race competitively? This forum is for you! Log in to remove most ads.

  • Welcome to the Ford Mustang forum built for owners of the Mustang GT350, BOSS 302, GT500, and all other S550, S197, SN95, Fox Body and older Mustangs set up for open track days, road racing, and/or autocross. Join our forum, interact with others, share your build, and help us strengthen this community!

Coilover choice: Ohlins vs ??

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

301
360
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Raleigh, NC
Another option for the S550 is the Shelby Double Adjustable set. Uses Penske internals developed on a shaker rig the right way, and IIRC the strut housing is made by Cortex.

BTW, I believe the Ohlins DFV are single-adjustable, though the adjustment may affect more than just the high-speed rebound that Koni yellows change. The DFV are higher-end street shocks, the TTX are Ohlins' motorsports line.

If you look at web sites for Ohins, Bilstein, Koni, etc., you'll generally see their offerings broken down into "street" and "motorsports" lines. TL;DR: High-end street shocks are $1-3K per set and use off-the-shelf valving and adjustments to work with a variety of spring rates. Motorsports dampers are $1-5K+ per damper and are typically custom-valved for each car setup, with the adjustments used to match pairs and fine-tune handling - major spring changes mean revalving, and they get rebuilt regularly. If going the "motorsport" route, find the person you trust to do the tuning/revalving/rebuilding on your shocks first, then discuss brands with them.

Always remember that the more knobs you have to play with, the more ways you can royally foul things up.
The single Ohlins DFV adjustment dial affects both the compression and rebound. The rebound has a more pronounced effect than the compression. I was told 2:1, but that wasn’t in the manual so I’m not confident in that as a fact. My manual says “The adjuster affects the rebound, and also, the compression damping to a smaller degree.”
I noticed on the Vorshlag site they mention 20 clicks of adjustment. Mine has 30 clicks. They come from the factory at 7 (1 being firmest). My second day out, I changed it to 10 for both front and rear. I’ve currently got mine at 10 in front, 15 in back. I’m sure I’ll keep mucking around with it.
 
20
28
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Jacksonville, FL
Hi all. Been out of pocket for the past month and am now back on this. Called all the companies and I've landed on the MCS for several reasons. Appreciate any thoughts on if I'm missing any key components to include in the overall suspension upgrade.

MCS dual adjustable remotes
Vorschlag camber plates
Vorschlag spherical rear shock mounts (Vorschlag said these are important given the spring over coil configuration)
GTR spring package (800 #/in front; 1100 #/in rear)
(above are pre-assembled by Vorschlag)
Whiteline front and rear adjustable sway bar kit (includes front and rear sway bar endlinks)
SPL Titanium front lower control arms
Front strut tower cutting alignment tool to cut larger hole for more camber adjustment room

What am I missing? Again, I have a 2017 base S550 with PP1. This should be a good start, right?
I'll be running this with APEX EC-7 18x11 ET52 with NT01 305/35s to start with plans to move to 315s/slicks

Thanks.
 
1,161
2,116
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
SoCal
Hi all. Been out of pocket for the past month and am now back on this. Called all the companies and I've landed on the MCS for several reasons. Appreciate any thoughts on if I'm missing any key components to include in the overall suspension upgrade.

MCS dual adjustable remotes
Vorschlag camber plates
Vorschlag spherical rear shock mounts (Vorschlag said these are important given the spring over coil configuration)
GTR spring package (800 #/in front; 1100 #/in rear)
(above are pre-assembled by Vorschlag)
Whiteline front and rear adjustable sway bar kit (includes front and rear sway bar endlinks)
SPL Titanium front lower control arms
Front strut tower cutting alignment tool to cut larger hole for more camber adjustment room

What am I missing? Again, I have a 2017 base S550 with PP1. This should be a good start, right?
I'll be running this with APEX EC-7 18x11 ET52 with NT01 305/35s to start with plans to move to 315s/slicks

Thanks.
You’ll probably want the SPL adjustable tension rods to go with the lower control arms. The S550 guys can chime in, but I believe they’re needed to get to the correct caster settings after the lower control arms are installed.

You mentioned that you landed on MCS for several reason - wouldn’t mind hearing what your reasons are and would be good for future reference here.
 
Hi all. Been out of pocket for the past month and am now back on this. Called all the companies and I've landed on the MCS for several reasons. Appreciate any thoughts on if I'm missing any key components to include in the overall suspension upgrade.

MCS dual adjustable remotes
Vorschlag camber plates
Vorschlag spherical rear shock mounts (Vorschlag said these are important given the spring over coil configuration)
GTR spring package (800 #/in front; 1100 #/in rear)
(above are pre-assembled by Vorschlag)
Whiteline front and rear adjustable sway bar kit (includes front and rear sway bar endlinks)
SPL Titanium front lower control arms
Front strut tower cutting alignment tool to cut larger hole for more camber adjustment room

What am I missing? Again, I have a 2017 base S550 with PP1. This should be a good start, right?
I'll be running this with APEX EC-7 18x11 ET52 with NT01 305/35s to start with plans to move to 315s/slicks

Thanks.
Dont forget spl’s tie rod ends.

i have the whiteline front end links you need for sale i didnt use if you want.
 
20
28
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Jacksonville, FL
Should be a great setup. My only concern/thought is that may be too much spring. Others would know better than me but I think rates that high are generally run with a good bit of aero.
Good feedback regarding the spring rates. I am on the fence between those and the one step down from them. I will be adding aero eventually. if the springs end up being too much do you know if I’ll have to have the MCS dampers re-valved to go with the lower spring rates? Next step down From vorshlag is 600 #/in Front / 750 #/in Rear.
 
20
28
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Jacksonville, FL
You’ll probably want the SPL adjustable tension rods to go with the lower control arms. The S550 guys can chime in, but I believe they’re needed to get to the correct caster settings after the lower control arms are installed.

You mentioned that you landed on MCS for several reason - wouldn’t mind hearing what your reasons are and would be good for future reference here.
Thanks. This would be good to know for certain. Vorshlag didn’t indicate that I would need them. Appreciate it if somebody can confirm. Thanks.

And yes, when I get the time I will write up the considerations that led me to MCS.
 
1,161
2,116
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
SoCal

PaddyPrix

If breakin' parts is cool, consider me Miles Davis
725
1,081
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
San Diego
Other than the adjustable remote reservoir, that is the setup I'm running, should find yourself pretty happy with it. Depending on the course, you might prefer the 315/30 over the 305/35, and if you don't already have them, get some 27mm spacers so you can clear the front struts. Grab another 5mm or 7mm spacer for piece of mind as you may find some tires run slightly larger than others.
 
You realize that you are entering the shock rabbit hole of death, correct?
Unless you have some experience with coil overs, you can adjust yourself right out of the ball park. If it were me, I'd run the car as is, or with adjustable standard shocks first, just to get some baseline and experience with adjustable shocks. Many (off the spring) standard type of shocks are really good quality. But, if you must, the JRIs seem like a decent choice, for the money, but Ohlins are also decent. The cars I work with almost all have Penskes, which are crazy money, and I would not recommend them except for a race only application. I have absolutely no experience with the MCS product.
First on your list would be to check the rulebook and see exactly what you are allowed to do, then come up with a modification strategy based on what you can afford, vs the change they make, if it were me, and I was allowed several mods, the shocks would be my last one, since they basically control all the rest. What I'm trying to say is, get the car baselined, then go coil over last, based on what you've learned.
Zactly. Dead on. I run Koni Yellows and H&R race springs on the Shelby and that set up just flat works for the car. It doesn’t have to be Bukoo bucks to work great for your application dependinding on your application.

Have Penskes on the other car and they work great too.
 
343
300
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Bulgaria
I'm in the same boat as you GB GT PP1 on track. I plan to go with Ohlins mostly because my car is a "daily" as well and the DFV will be ok on street. Vorshlag did testing on all Coilovers in there build tread and the Real Rear coilovers have a problem with touching halfshafts and braking them. Which is also a reason why I want to go with Ohlins and standard rear setup. With that in mind I go with them just because they are local to me in Europe so no shipping. MCS is the only other reasonably pricy alternative which may or may not be cheaper in USA. Overall if you don't have experience with the S550 on track I will go with some lower spring rates maybe in the 600 range as 800 is usually a rate for slicks and real race cars. 600 should be max you can run on street tires.

My current Mods are:

Steeda Camber Plates,
Steeda Front SwayBar,
KB Jacking Rails.

I plan to tacle my suspension as fallow:

Ohlins R&T
Steeda Roll Center and Bumpsteer kit
Steeda adjustable endlinks
Apex SM-10 19x11 ET26 front / ET52 Rear with 295/30 Semi's

I order a lot of steeda parts because Steeda have local shop in Europe and we have limited access to parts.

Hope this helps.
 
77
56
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
TX
Good feedback regarding the spring rates. I am on the fence between those and the one step down from them. I will be adding aero eventually. if the springs end up being too much do you know if I’ll have to have the MCS dampers re-valved to go with the lower spring rates? Next step down From vorshlag is 600 #/in Front / 750 #/in Rear.

Higher spring rates are necessary for aero, mainly to support the added weight. Which makes you compromise low speed mechanical grip. This is why aero cars carry so much speed, if they don't they are out of their normal performance envelope. The next reason is partly for aero balance, the more spring rate you run the less total damping you need. However engineers again make a compromise imo for simplicity and they use damping as a timing device to tie down (jack down) a corner of the car for aero balance. If you place the car in a known condition it is easy to predict performance.

I will be running 450lbs front and 750lbs rear + rear ctrl arm for a shock MR of 0.77, which is about the softest rates run on GT cars. That makes the front ride frequency ~2hz and the rear ~2.2hz. Without modifying the front ARB that gives me a rough front roll couple of ~55-60%. Since my car will not be primarily aero grip dominate I can allow the chassis to move around a bit more. I will be running ~60-65% critical damping so as to give me good performance on the track, and still be streetable.
 
343
300
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Bulgaria
I will be running 450lbs front and 750lbs rear + rear ctrl arm for a shock MR of 0.77, which is about the softest rates run on GT cars. That makes the front ride frequency ~2hz and the rear ~2.2hz. Without modifying the front ARB that gives me a rough front roll couple of ~55-60%. Since my car will not be primarily aero grip dominate I can allow the chassis to move around a bit more. I will be running ~60-65% critical damping so as to give me good performance on the track, and still be streetable.

Looks like you come to my conclusion on high front rate/soft rear ;) The Ohlins rates are 515lbs front 800 lbs rear (oem location) should be as soft as you can get rear though. Also DFV will be great for street car :)
 
Higher spring rates are necessary for aero, mainly to support the added weight. Which makes you compromise low speed mechanical grip. This is why aero cars carry so much speed, if they don't they are out of their normal performance envelope. The next reason is partly for aero balance, the more spring rate you run the less total damping you need. However engineers again make a compromise imo for simplicity and they use damping as a timing device to tie down (jack down) a corner of the car for aero balance. If you place the car in a known condition it is easy to predict performance.

I will be running 450lbs front and 750lbs rear + rear ctrl arm for a shock MR of 0.77, which is about the softest rates run on GT cars. That makes the front ride frequency ~2hz and the rear ~2.2hz. Without modifying the front ARB that gives me a rough front roll couple of ~55-60%. Since my car will not be primarily aero grip dominate I can allow the chassis to move around a bit more. I will be running ~60-65% critical damping so as to give me good performance on the track, and still be streetable.

Hopefully this doesn't take us too far off topic, but a question about spring rates. You mention of 450F paired with 750R has me thinking. I currently have the 450F 550R (on MCT 2-way's) with stock RLCA's and the rear feels subjectively very soft compared to the front. I've been contemplating upping the rear rate. I've also got a wing going on shortly so trying to figure out how high to go while keeping the rate as low as possible for mechanical grip.
 
77
56
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
TX
Looks like you come to my conclusion on high front rate/soft rear ;) The Ohlins rates are 515lbs front 800 lbs rear (oem location) should be as soft as you can get rear though. Also DFV will be great for street car :)
Not quite, the motion ration in the front is basically 1:1 being a strut. So it is a higher rate than stock, but with the majority of the weight in the front it is soft relative to the rear. The rear MR is 0.77 which is higher than stock and so also stiffer. The rear weighs less than the front which makes the rear rate STIFFER than the front. I chose this because I personally prefer flat ride in my setups.
Hopefully this doesn't take us too far off topic, but a question about spring rates. You mention of 450F paired with 750R has me thinking. I currently have the 450F 550R (on MCT 2-way's) with stock RLCA's and the rear feels subjectively very soft compared to the front. I've been contemplating upping the rear rate. I've also got a wing going on shortly so trying to figure out how high to go while keeping the rate as low as possible for mechanical grip.

If you have moderate aero it becomes a jumping off point for you. You could run moderate to low spring rates or you can run higher rates but you'd be relying more on aero.

Something to consider and it may be counter intuitive, but if you have a high rake or if you jack one end of the car down you throw your aero balance way off. Example; if you lower the front relative to the rear, or if you have high rebound damping in the front relative to the rear you move your aero balance REARWARD. Since the wing element will be raised into the airstream + have more total airflow over if vs your front splitter. This would cause understeer.

The order I would work through changes are:
1. springs
2. dampers
3. aero balance
4. roll bars

Work your changes in system stiffness by roll couple, that will give you a general idea of the amount of oversteer / understeer you will have in total. Then you can fine tune with alignment, tire pressures, etc.
 

TMO Supporting Vendors

Top