MORE product details for the - Ohlins Road and Track DFV For MX5 ND Models

Road and Track by Ohlins:

A more than 30 year long tradition of high-end racing commitments and state-of-the-art solutions within advanced suspension technology is now available for street cars all over the world.

The focus has been clear from the very beginning superior road handling without sacrificing comfort in your day-to-day transports. The time of compromises is over!

Ohlins has also added a clever lightweight design with a majority of the parts in aluminium and on top of that all shocks have suffered through vast corrosion tests according to ISO 9227. The end result is a 2-year limited warranty on all of Ohlins products - worldwide.

Ohlins has long led the way for suspension design in the world of motorsports from Motorcycles to Indy Cars. This package comprises aluminium bodied, mono tube design shocks, with 30 clicks of adjustment. The beauty of the Ohlins is not only will your MX5 handle better, be easier to drive at the limit, but it will also ride better than stock. These coilovers are a great choice for the dual purpose user who wants a setup that can be VERY comfortable around town yet super competent in the twisties, the race track, or the autocross course.

Ohlins are what I used for years on my motorcycles because they are the best, and we approached Ohlins to make these for the ND generation because we wanted our customers to enjoy the best MX5 Suspension! Ohlins are what you find on Formula 1 cars and at the highest level of motorsports and now you can have the best on your MX5.

Application Notes from Brian: I have used Ohlins for decades and have always been amazed with the ability of this brand to provide both great handling AND great ride quality and their ND MX5 coilover kit continues this tradition. The ride is very close to stock yet less busy and more controlled and the handling is light years beyond stock. One of the great features is that you can set pre-load independent of height setting thanks to the multi-piece construction

INSTALLATION NOTES: We usually have customers CAREFULLY drive the car for a few hundred miles before corner balance or alignment because the car will settle significantly.

Despite early pics to the contrary, kit includes NO spherical bearing top hats.

DRIVEN DAILY...AND COMPETITION PROVEN. What better way to prove this setup is the BEST MX5 Coilovers for the money then to take them to competitions and WIN, WIN, WIN. This is the setup in our own ND Project MX5 daily driver below that is regularly top time of day at local autocross events. Yet while it is fast enough to consistently win it is also comfortable enough that we daily drive this car on long road trips...including the 437 mile drive drive each way to Laguna Seca for a full weekend of fast laps...and back 437 miles home again in comfort.

The TECHNICAL DETAILS

The DFV Technology Advantage. So what is DFV? It is Dual Flow Valve technology and it sets Ohlins apart from competitors. Only Ohlins has DFV technology on its road and track products. With DFV, the dual flow valve gives the same characteristics on rebound as it does on compression, thanks the damper fluid having a consistent path of flow in both directions. This means that the wheel and tire can quickly and effectively resume their important position back on the ground, providing grip and traction. The new Ohlins Road and Track range uses DFV technology on every single fitment, making it the perfect upgrade for the enthusiast that needs comfort and agility in the one unit.

Figure 1: (Compression flow) At low shaft speeds, oil flows mostly through the shaft jet bleed (lower dotted arrow). At higher shaft speeds, oil flows mostly through the compression ports in the piston (upper dotted arrow). At very high shaft speeds, or during sudden shaft accelerations, oil can also escape through the compression ports in the DFV, increasing comfort. Figure 2: (Rebound flow) At low shaft speeds, oil flows mostly through the shaft jet bleed (lower dotted arrow). At higher shaft speeds, oil flows mostly through the rebound ports in the piston (upper dotted arrow). At very high shaft speeds, or during sudden shaft accelerations, oil can also escape through the rebound ports in the DFV, maintaining tire contact with the road. Because DFV opens more quickly and easily on minor road imperfections, ride comfort is surprisingly supple and more akin to an OEM shocks than a coil-over set-up. Over undulating surfaces, the compliancy of the R&T units allows your MX5 to crest bumps and pot-holes, whilst still keep stable and in control. Traction is always maintained at its optimum level. When comparing suspension, why settle for second best?

Figure 3: (Vehicle no DFV) Without DFV the oil can not flow through the piston quickly enough on the rebound stroke after hitting a bump, so the tire is not able to stay in contact with the road.

Figure 4: (Vehicle DFV technique) The DFV valve opens, letting the oil flow quicker through the piston on the rebound stroke after hitting a bump, enabling the tire to stay in contact with the road. When adjusting ride height on coil-over units, it s worth comparing how it s done. On many inferior designs, height is adjusted by raising or lowering the lower spring platform. This has the effect of compressing or extending the spring, which can limit the suspension travel that may cause topping out. The Ohlins method is to leave the spring seat in its perfect position, whilst the lower flange spins easily on the threaded body, to allow you to adjust with absolute precision whilst maintaining the perfect characteristics that we took so long to design in! Once you've set it all up, the adjuster simply locks off to maintain your exact settings.

Dampers will get hot. That s one thing that you can be sure of. As the piston moves within the damper, it generates friction and therefore, heat. Although we can t stop heat, we can deal with it, and this is yet another way that Ohlins differs from the competition. As the heat increases, the viscosity of the damper fluid can change, altering the car s handling characteristics. Our unique needle bleed valve expands with temperature, closing the gap that the fluid travels through, maintaining a consistent damping rate. The best thing of all? You won t even notice! All you'll feel is that the car responds consistently, lap after lap, turn after turn. Allowing you to concentrate on braking points and apexes whilst the Ohlins technology takes care of the damping.

Figure 5: Thermal Expansion Design Advantages.

These kits amazing out of the box , but there s still plenty of adjustment for you to set things your way. You like stiff and reactive? Or soft and forgiving? It s all there. Too much low speed rebound damping can have an adverse effect on grip, so the easily accessible adjuster at the top of the Ohlins units allows small, but positive increments of fine tuning, so you can take into account every single parameter. Sounds complicated? It is actually very easy to adjust a few clicks either way to find the settings that work for you.