Coilover Recommendation (Road and Track)

[wutanec]

Hello,

I recently purchased a E92 Coupe with intention of doing track days.
Honestly, It won't be hitting the track every weekend. It will be more like 5-6 times a year.
My E92 is a third car, so it gets rarely driven but I do like to drive it sometimes to exercise it every other weekend. So being able to drive it on streets with a reasonable comfort is important to me as well.
Is there any coilover kits you guys would recommend?
I am leaning toward Ohlins Road and Track because they have a good reputation on other cars I am familiar with, but have not really done research on other kits. I would like to spend less than 3500 for the kit.

Thanks!

[Thumbie]

The Ohlins R&T is a great setup. I think it is the best out there for spirited driving, or even just street commuting. I have driven it personally and am in the process of getting it for my e90. It is a little stiffer than factory suspension, but more comfortable and refined. So sort of best of both worlds.

The only drawback I have heard, besides the service rebuild interval, is that it is a little soft if you are tracking the car regularly.

For me, I commute in mine 1-2 times a week and only hit the track 1-2 times per year, so it is perfect.

For you, I am sure you will be happy but if you are driving pretty aggressively on track, you may want to explore other options. There are many e9X owners in socal who track. Reach out to them on here and see if you can go for a ride in there car to test their setups at the next HPDE at buttonwillow or willow springs.

Best advice I can give is to physically experience different setups before choosing.

EDIT: I would also recommend factoring camber plates and front monoballs into your budget. The camber plates will get you more accurate alignment (even if keeping factory specs) and the monoballs will give you better feedback without adding much NVH, if any.

[Z K]

As said above, the Ohlins are great. Just be aware that Ohlins rebuild intervals is every 20k miles. If you drive on the street regularly, that happens very quickly.

[Redd]

Ohlins R/T are fantastic! Not sure why people keep saying it needs to be rebuilt every 20k miles. It doesn't. I had mine for 66k kms (40k miles) and they were still fine. No leaks, nothing. I sold them and got TracTive but the buyer is still running my old set as is with no issues.

TracTive is another amazing option if you can afford it. You can read my full review in here somewhere.

[MineralWhiteF80]

Just a few things: I think for under $3500 all said and done buying NEW, I think Ohlins R&T is great. I have a friend that has them and loves them on both the street and at track days.

The stock spring rates are 60 N/mm (343 lb/in) front and 120 N/mm (685 lb/in) rear. (as stated in the owner's manual). While these rates are stiffer than stock, they are considered a "half way, met me in the middle" compromise between a street comfort spring and something that can hold up to some decent track speeds, but more on the street side of the range. I think you could also bump those spring rates up a little without a revalve if you find the springs a little too soft on the track. Seems most other companies run their "street/track combo" spring rates around 80 N/mm (450 lb/in) front and then between 120-140 N/mm (685-800 lb/in) rear spring. And then a 600/900 lb/in or 700/1000 lb/in spring combo for more track dedicated setups.

The owner's manual says rebuild time for street driving is 60,000 km or 37,000 miles. For "race" applications, rebuild every 15-30 hours of track time. So to me, that is pretty darn good for a quality, track-proven damper.

[Z K]

Originally Posted by Redd

Ohlins R/T are fantastic! Not sure why people keep saying it needs to be rebuilt every 20k miles. It doesn't. I had mine for 66k kms (40k miles) and they were still fine. No leaks, nothing. I sold them and got TracTive but the buyer is still running my old set as is with no issues.

TracTive is another amazing option if you can afford it. You can read my full review in here somewhere.

They need to be rebuilt. Shocks rarely leak but they do wear out. I had them on a previous car and by 30k miles, you can feel the dampening was not good. The ride was more bouncy and not as smooth as before. They obviously will still work but the performance is not optimal as it is new.

This also depends on how smooth the roads are. On rougher roads, it will wear out faster.

[Redd]

All shocks will wear over time. No damper is ever 100% consistent until it starts to leak. That's also why there is damping adjustability. As the shock ages and starts to get soft you can add one click and stiffen it up a bit.

[tom @ eas]

Ohlins R&T is a great kit, but you will outgrow it quickly if you start seeing more track time. If only seeing a couple of track days a year Ohlins R&T will fit the bill, but if you really start to get more and more involved, I would recommend looking into a set of KW Clubsports instead.

Our shop is located in Anaheim, feel free to drop by if in the area and we can discuss what's best for you as there's really no "one size fits all" kit out there for everyone.

[fengrr]

ST suspension has new 3-way adjustable coilover kit for under 3500. They are sister company to KW and made in germany. I am hearing good things.

[Redd]

Whatever u pick, try to get a ride in a car with the same setup. I rode in my friend's M3 with Bilstein B8 and stock springs and was surprised how stiff they were compared to my Ohlins. Ohlins far and away is more comfortable than anything with stock springs.

[IamFODI]

20k miles (really 30k km) is the "recommended service interval", not the expected lifespan. And last I heard they are working on changing or eliminating that because it massively undersells the longevity of the dampers.

I have 45k miles and several track days on my Öhlins R&T kit. It was my family's do-everything car through COVID (the roads really sucked around here) and the suspension took some disturbing hits. The dampers are fine. If they've degraded, I can't tell. Of course I also can't say they're performing like new, because I can't tell that either without an A/B comparison. But I haven't felt any need to tweak the damping or have them refreshed or anything. At this rate, it feels safe to say they're probably wearing like any other damper – aside from maybe Bilsteins, which trade some ride quality for that longevity.

[patsbimmer1]

Ohlins R&T are an excellent choice.

I'm running the ST XTA+3 and they're amazing for street use and hold up for occasional track use. 10k miles on them and they've been excellent.