JhnRX7's Weekend Track Toy Build

[JhnRX7]

Originally Posted by wutangben

saw you were selling your twin power. what coils are you switching to?

AEM IGN-1A

I am in the process of replacing my wiring harness with a low mileage one so I figured now would be a good time to make the switch to these coils.

[wutangben]

nice, might go this route instead of a twin power. seems to make more sense.

[mofoaka]

Love your car! how far off the ground is the GTC replica bumper? i'm looking to do the same bumper but wondering if its something you'd want to daily.

[JhnRX7]

Wow, its been over a year since an update...

Its been a busy year, but the car has not changed much. I have still been attending track days with the car, however not nearly as many as I would like. Aside from swapping out the occasional turbo cartridge on the twins I have simply been enjoying the car.

I recently had the opportunity to purchase a set of Ohlins DFV coilovers from Sakebomb Garage for a killer deal so I could not resist. I previously had Stance GR+ coilovers with 12k front and 10k rear spring rates. The ride was pretty stiff, but aside from that I did not have any major complaints. However I have been drooling over Ohlins for years so I did not hesitate to make the switch.

These coilovers are pure mechanical art. I would have almost preferred to hang them on my wall they are so beautiful. They came in multiple boxes and required assembly. This was ok though because they had the most detailed instruction manual I have come across. They provided exact measurements for spring pre-load as well as height adjustment and even damper settings for the ideal starting point.

Big weight savings with the Ohlins as well. They are all aluminum with the exception of the piston, spring, and hardware. The springs weighed more than the damper!!

Front Assembled: 9.2 lbs (each)
Rear Assembled: 8.2 lbs (each)

For comparison the Stance fronts were 12.8 lbs each. Did not weigh the rears yet.





I took the time to safety wire the dust boots on to help keep them in place.






The new spring rates are 11k front and rear. I will be curious to see what that does to the balance when i get a chance to take them to the track. I suspect it will be quite good. After my first road test I was absolutely blown away. I had known that the Dual Flow Valve tech in the Ohlins would make for a more comfortable ride, but I did not know what I was missing out on as far as handling. The ride is firm but not harsh, potholes and bumps are soaked up very well. The handling is outstanding, I took it out on my favorite backroads and I found myself going a lot faster without even meaning to. The car actually feels lighter in the turns.

I should be able to update after Nov 10th with some on track impressions... I cant wait

[RedR1]

Please do update on your feel of the Ohlins. I am currently on the fence right now between those and a set of Quantum coilovers. I've seen 4 people on this and the other forum purchase them (i too would be going through Sake) but no one has said how they truly feel with them on a day to day, and old versus new on the track basis. So far it's just been, "i love them" with no tangible thing other than "i can drive to the market and back and love it"

I can't justify $2800 to be comfortable to and from the market. . . . unless the track was inbetween

Please, and thank you

Originally Posted by JhnRX7

The ride is firm but not harsh, potholes and bumps are soaked up very well. The handling is outstanding, I took it out on my favorite backroads and I found myself going a lot faster without even meaning to. The car actually feels lighter in the turns.

do you feel any regret against your old Stance's? Like, is it worth every penny to upgrade? Ohlins is one of the best companies, I just wanted to see honest answers since the cost is pretty steep (for me)

it sounds like you are 100% sold on the Ohlins, yes?

[JhnRX7]

Originally Posted by RedR1

Please do update on your feel of the Ohlins. I am currently on the fence right now between those and a set of Quantum coilovers. I've seen 4 people on this and the other forum purchase them (i too would be going through Sake) but no one has said how they truly feel with them on a day to day, and old versus new on the track basis. So far it's just been, "i love them" with no tangible thing other than "i can drive to the market and back and love it"

I can't justify $2800 to be comfortable to and from the market. . . . unless the track was inbetween

Please, and thank you



do you feel any regret against your old Stance's? Like, is it worth every penny to upgrade? Ohlins is one of the best companies, I just wanted to see honest answers since the cost is pretty steep (for me)

it sounds like you are 100% sold on the Ohlins, yes?

I completely understand what you are saying as I was in the exact same boat. However now I am on the other side of the fence and can relate to the other reviews. Its honestly hard to put into words how good these feel.

Lets put it this way, I rarely ever drove my FD on the street simply because it was uncomfortable and not very enjoyable for me anymore. The weekend I installed these I drove to the grocery store THREE times just for an excuse to drive the FD... " oh, we are out of salsa? Be right back!"

To be more specific, I can say that with the 11k spring rate the car is still "firm", but they soak up bumps extremely well. Its not like a Cadillac where you didn't even know that you just drove through a sinkhole, but its not kidney jarring when you hit bumps either. The car feels very supple now for lack of better words. It feels a lot like my buddies BMW.

My next track day is on the same track as my most recent track day (about a month ago). I have data from the last track day and I will be taking data on the next so I should have a good comparison. I am not the best driver so it will be pretty subjective, however if they give me the confidence to push the car harder which results in lower lap times then I would call that an improvement.

I can honestly say they were worth every penny even without the track experience yet. They have really changed the car. I stuck my gopro in the wheel well over the weekend and got some cool video of the shocks in action haha I'll post that up tonight

[RedR1]

Originally Posted by JhnRX7

I completely understand what you are saying as I was in the exact same boat. However now I am on the other side of the fence and can relate to the other reviews. Its honestly hard to put into words how good these feel.

Lets put it this way, I rarely ever drove my FD on the street simply because it was uncomfortable and not very enjoyable for me anymore. The weekend I installed these I drove to the grocery store THREE times just for an excuse to drive the FD... " oh, we are out of salsa? Be right back!"

To be more specific, I can say that with the 11k spring rate the car is still "firm", but they soak up bumps extremely well. The car feels very supple now for lack of better words. It feels a lot like my buddies BMW.

that is awesome. I know every time I had to drive my FD anywhere, it always felt "jarry" . . . like, a bump was a major thing where i'd have to play minesweeper on the street that was with the old Zeal Function X i had. It's great to know these Ohlins are better valved to take up bumps. Even reflectors (only thing i could think of that's universally the same size state to state) in the middle of the roads were annoying and a point to be avoided when changing lanes.

Its great to know that these brings back the want to drive the car, where as previously it felt borderline "track only" (though not literally) if that makes sense.

Originally Posted by JhnRX7

My next track day is on the same track as my most recent track day (about a month ago). I have data from the last track day and I will be taking data on the next so I should have a good comparison. I am not the best driver so it will be pretty subjective, however if they give me the confidence to push the car harder which results in lower lap times then I would call that an improvement.

I can honestly say they were worth every penny even without the track experience yet. They have honestly changed the car. I stuck my gopro in the wheel well over the weekend and got some cool video of the shocks in action haha I'll post that up tonight

I would LOVE to watch the bound/rebound of these coilovers in action. Please do share when you have a moment to upload.

I'm also not the best driver, but if these coilovers make you feel more confident and in control versus your old, that's enough of a sale for me. Having confidence on a track is worth more to me, than going faster as there is always someone faster. I look forward to your track update. I'll also tell Dan and Heath your review is what sold me, maybe they'll give you some sort of kickback or discount next time you order?

thank you for your honest response!

[JhnRX7]

Originally Posted by RedR1

I would LOVE to watch the bound/rebound of these coilovers in action. Please do share when you have a moment to upload.

Ask and you shall receive!

The FD has a perfect little cubby hole to mount the GoPro, I just wish it was a tiny bit wider so I could see the bottom of the tire. Also, there is a lot of grain from the low light. I want to find a small LED light that I can mount in there as well to see if that helps for these videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_hIY...ature=youtu.be

[RXtacy]

Originally Posted by JhnRX7

Wow, its been over a year since an update...

Its been a busy year, but the car has not changed much. I have still been attending track days with the car, however not nearly as many as I would like. Aside from swapping out the occasional turbo cartridge on the twins I have simply been enjoying the car.

I recently had the opportunity to purchase a set of Ohlins DFV coilovers from Sakebomb Garage for a killer deal so I could not resist. I previously had Stance GR+ coilovers with 12k front and 10k rear spring rates. The ride was pretty stiff, but aside from that I did not have any major complaints. However I have been drooling over Ohlins for years so I did not hesitate to make the switch.

These coilovers are pure mechanical art. I would have almost preferred to hang them on my wall they are so beautiful. They came in multiple boxes and required assembly. This was ok though because they had the most detailed instruction manual I have come across. They provided exact measurements for spring pre-load as well as height adjustment and even damper settings for the ideal starting point.

Big weight savings with the Ohlins as well. They are all aluminum with the exception of the piston, spring, and hardware. The springs weighed more than the damper!!

Front Assembled: 9.2 lbs (each)
Rear Assembled: 8.2 lbs (each)

For comparison the Stance fronts were 12.8 lbs each. Did not weigh the rears yet.

I took the time to safety wire the dust boots on to help keep them in place.

The new spring rates are 11k front and rear. I will be curious to see what that does to the balance when i get a chance to take them to the track. I suspect it will be quite good. After my first road test I was absolutely blown away. I had known that the Dual Flow Valve tech in the Ohlins would make for a more comfortable ride, but I did not know what I was missing out on as far as handling. The ride is firm but not harsh, potholes and bumps are soaked up very well. The handling is outstanding, I took it out on my favorite backroads and I found myself going a lot faster without even meaning to. The car actually feels lighter in the turns.

I should be able to update after Nov 10th with some on track impressions... I cant wait

Love the Ohlins and the picture quality! I really need to get a real camera

Originally Posted by JhnRX7

Ask and you shall receive!

The FD has a perfect little cubby hole to mount the GoPro, I just wish it was a tiny bit wider so I could see the bottom of the tire. Also, there is a lot of grain from the low light. I want to find a small LED light that I can mount in there as well to see if that helps for these videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_hIY...ature=youtu.be

Here you go.

[JhnRX7]

^ haha thanks, I fail at the internets.

[JhnRX7]

In addition to the Ohlins, I also just installed these! The (US) driver side is perfect, however the passenger seat has some holes in the bolster that will need to be recovered. I intentionally hid them from view in the pics





Attempted to replicate Mazda brochure photo with this one, only had my 50mm lens though:

[speedjunkie]

Dammit man, you're gonna make me take out a loan for these coilovers lol. I've been wanting these things for a long time now and I'm planning on them being my next big purchase. I have some of the original STANCE coilovers that came out and your review just confirmed what I hoped, that I would love the DFVs. The drive on the street is exactly why I want to swap. I was planning on getting them already, but now I don't have to wait to know for sure that they are better.

Lets put it this way, I rarely ever drove my FD on the street simply because it was uncomfortable and not very enjoyable for me anymore.

That's what sold me, because I am in the same boat. Now I can't wait to get these.

And this I can't fully agree with...

I can't justify $2800 to be comfortable to and from the market. . . . unless the track was inbetween

I definitely understand your point, and $2800 is crazy, but if it makes me want to drive the car more, it's worth it to me haha.

[theorie]

So sexy.

[RENESISFD]

Originally Posted by RedR1

that is awesome. I know every time I had to drive my FD anywhere, it always felt "jarry" . . . like, a bump was a major thing where i'd have to play minesweeper on the street that was with the old Zeal Function X i had. It's great to know these Ohlins are better valved to take up bumps. Even reflectors (only thing i could think of that's universally the same size state to state) in the middle of the roads were annoying and a point to be avoided when changing lanes.
.....

I find that interesting you mention a horrible ride, my function xs seems to ride fairly well. I will have to go for a ride in Jhnrx7's car to compare the difference.

Did you buy them new or used? What were the spring rates you had.


John, the car is looking real good, I cant wait to join you out on track next year.

[RedR1]

Originally Posted by RENESISFD

I find that interesting you mention a horrible ride, my function xs seems to ride fairly well. I will have to go for a ride in Jhnrx7's car to compare the difference.

Did you buy them new or used? What were the spring rates you had.

I never got to let the suspension fully settle. I drove maybe 200 miles tops. Bought them new, 11/10 spring rates. They were with the first 10 units Rishie brought stateside many years ago.

then they were stolen off my FD when it was stolen and stripped (still hurts).

When you get a chance to ride with John, can you please chime back in or PM me insight compared to the function xs, if you don't mind? I would genuinely appreciate it (though i'm pretty much sold on the DFV's when its time).