Hi,

A friend of mine is trying to sell me his used Ohlins ("for a reasonable price" he told me). I'm currently running JICs. I do around 8 DEs a year. I've never tried Ohlins (only heard that it's a high end suspension maker) so I've got a few questions:

1. How much do they go for new? It's the Ohlins with separate tanks in the rear. Just to check if it's really a "reasonable price"

2. How do they compare to my JICs? In terms of ride quality (it's my DD) and also track performance.

3. Anything I should be aware of when buying used Ohlins? I know overhauling these is around 1k ...

Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

Never driven on them, but I can 90% tell you they are WAY WAY WAY WAY better than a JIC. Ohlins are top of the line and most people that have them like them MUCH better than JRZ or Moton.

Are these 2-way or 3-way Ohlins?

From what I've heard from others direct experience, the Ohlins are the best built and will require the least maintenance of the major coilover makers.

P.M. sent if you don't take them.

 

Can I be nr.3 in line if you or Heavychevy don`t want them?

 

And I'd be happy to be 4th inline... Ohlins stuff is top shelf... A "reasonable" price? I think they sell in the $6K range new for the shock, and then you have to buy the rest of the parts.

Mike

 

You might post this question in the DE and Racing forum on Rennlist. There are a lot of knowledgeable track guys on that part of the site who could probably give you some insight as to their value.

 

This is the pic I got from him

 

We do alot of Ohlins from StaSIS on the Audi and they are BAD **** A But would I spend the money to switch from JIC... Probably not unless I am trying to win trophies.

 

I don't think those mounts will work on the TT. If his car is 2wd the mounts will likely be different. What kind of car did they come off of?

 

Also consider cost. I recently purchased a set of "used" JIC coilovers for $2500 from a fellow 6speeder. They were never installed, BNIB!

I checked with Ohlins for comparable setup, and they wanted $14k!

Penske wanted the same amount!

Keep in mind the use of your car. Mine is a street legal 996tt that will be DD'd with track days on occasion. Therefore, the "dollar per performance ratio" is the main consideration.

In contrast, with a proper/dedicated race car, you have NO cost consideration when purchasing performance upgrade. If it makes the car 1/10 of a second faster, you buy it, even if it costs an ADDITIONAL $100k!

With used parts, consider the cost of rebuilding as well as possible replacement in a MUCH shorter time frame. What are you gonna do
when one of the shocks suffers a stress crack, one month after you buy them? There will be no warranty from Ohlins on it.Guess what one new Ohlins shock cost . . . more than you paid for the entire set, AND it will have to be set up differently from the other three shocks, for as long as you own the car. . . just something to consider.

 

No doubt the cost to performance ratio vs most anything will favor the JIC. Actually IMO the KW V3 could possibly take that crown considering some of the deals that are out there on them now being 2-ways with the 3rd aspect separately from the manufacturer. Waiting for more reviews on them.

There is no comparable Ohlins to a JIC, anything that costs 14k from them will be a 3 or 4 way adjustable and the JIC is single adjustable. It will also be motorsport quality meaning you could put them on any cup car and be competitive. That costs money. JIC aren't in the same ballpark in terms of engineering, design and quality.

Ohlins has released some street shocks recently that should be available for the 911 soon. I will be as good as or better than JRZ RS shocks and Moton clubsports. Ohlins is the real deal.

 

Having raced both the penske AND the Ohlins shocks on motorcycles, there is no choice.

Ohlins is always the end of the discussion.

Honda won their last world championship (MotoGP) in 2006. They were on Showa suspension. The 2007, 2008, & 2009 World Championships were won on Ohlins. Honda recently announced that for the 2010 MotoGP season, that they will be using Ohlins suspension components! EOD - Bamm!

 

Choy, hopefully you can see by the reaction here and number of people in line how highly respected Ohlins is. I wouldn't pass them up, they'll hold value real well if you decide to sell them in the future since you're getting a good price on them.

Don't be stingy if you do pass them up though. hehe

 

My last response on this subject is this:

Ohlins = Filet Mignon

JIC = Happy Meal

If you can't tell the difference, DON'T upgrade to these...

Mike

 

True, but that's not the question. The question, which is most appropriate to his situation:

Which will the 10 yr old child appreciate most? The filet or the happy meal?

The filet he is considering is not served up fresh at the restaurant, either. It is served cold from the fridge the day after it was served. It then has to be re-heated to be edible. It also matters who will re-heat his left over filet. Will it be reheated in the microwave, or fried up in the pan?

Personally, I'd rather have the freshly served up happy meal!

 

Hi all,

An update. Thanks to the advice from you all I have taken up my friend's offer. I've got the Ohlins now and I'm trying to look up more information on them on the web - but I can't find anything! In particular, being new to high end suspension I am not sure what the 2 ***** on the rear (1 on the tank and 1 at the top) are for? Also I can't seem to find this Ohlins for sale on the web anywhere?