Ohlins thoughts and musings 1500 miles in.
It has been a few months since I posted regarding the Ohlins suspension upgrade on my 996T and as the car has just had it's first track outing, I thought I would update this old thread.
The car had remained largely standard for quite some time, but the suspension had been optimised to the point requiring something major to be changed in order to make any drastic changes to the driving dynamics. As the post above shows, I had thrown the proverbial kitchen sink at the standard suspension components to try to tailor the car for my needs. In the end I chose to bite the bullet and purchase Ohlins Road and Track units, though this could have easily been Bilstein PSS10s, as reading through the many posts on here by Ken at 9E had indicated both set ups were very good on a turbo.
I elected to buy my units from Mick Gardner Racing and have them fitted by Fearnsport. All my previous set ups had been completed by CG, I did ask them for an up to date quote but didn't hear back, hence ordering from MGR. My car had already had new top mounts and coffin arms all round, with new diagonal arms being fitted at CG earlier in the year, so all in all, the car was up together prior to having the dampers fitted.
The Ohlins have spring rates that are double those of the standard shocks, which was worrying me greatly regarding the ride quality. Time has proven this worry to be unfounded, the ride is getting better and better with every mile under their belt, to the point where it is a lot better than the stock set up of M030 everywhere, which is a most welcome addition. The settings I currently run are 16 out from full hard on both front and rear. Manic996T suggested that they get better with mileage, and he was right, so in the future I may well end up tightening the dampers up by two or three clicks.
So what do they perform like? On the road, the turn in and front end grip is really impressive and smile-inducing! I love it. The rear feels much better supported than the standard kit on the road, with the car staying flat through the corners with loads of grip, poise and control, it feels calmer to drive at speed. There is one downside and exception to this and that is on long, bumpy, high speed corners, where it feels as though the loaded outer wheel has some toe change going on. I may well end up with Porsche motorsport toe arms which can be shimmed to dial out bump steer, something which occurs due to the lower ride height. I need a really good look at the geometry to try to ascertain if this is what is actually happening, but it certainly feels slightly disconcerting under the above conditions.
On track? I was really looking forward to running these babies on a track day, an opportunity I took last Friday at Goodwood. The fronts were stiffened to 6 out from full hard, as were the rears for the first session, but it became very apparent that the rears were too hard for Goodwood's long and fast corners; the rear end was very loose on corner entry. In fact, it was scary, so I immediately softened the rears to 9 from 6. This improved matters but didn't fully eradicate the trait, which primarily showed itself going into 'No Name', a very fast entry right hander, and I do mean fast, the speedo showing 138 on the one glance I stole , and it felt like it too.... Gulp.
Once settled in to a corner the car felt very nice indeed with good grip and feel. One area which was possibly weaker than the stock suspension was front end grip under braking, which was probably due to the less aggressive weight transfer, which meant that the rate of retardation didn't seem as good as standard. However, I was lapping considerably quicker than the last time I visited this fabulous circuit, so this could have been why.
Over all I think that the Ohlins are a good upgrade over standard. The road settings make for a much more dynamic driving experience, with the bonus that the comfort levels are very impressive too. On track I feel that more experimentation is needed, not to mention that the car is so quick around a lap now that it requires Cup2 tyres to compliment the new suspension. If anyone likes to use their cars for occasional track use as well as on the road, this suspension kit is a no-brainer. I generally do one, maybe two trackways a year and would still rate the suspension upgrade as worthwhile, particularly if the standard units have covered 60k miles or more.
With Michelin Cup2s fitted, this car will be a serious proposition to drive, both on track and on the road. The 996 platform never ceases to amaze me, well done Porsche for designing a peach of a car, one which can now run with a 991 GT3RS on a fast track and not disgrace itself, which I find incredible. :worship:
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