KW V3 vs Ohlins

[PhilCS]

Looking to upgrade, not sure which to go with.  Would like something which is road friendly rather than track focused.  

 

Any views or experience?

[Nail it]

Out of them 2 ohlins would be the better but expensive and both problely to much for just road use only, might be be free just getting a fix updated damper with a set of nice matching springs,  lots cheaper and better suited to what you want

[crafty1]

I can only comment from the Ohlins side as I have never experienced the KW stuff first hand. 

 

Below are  the various spring rates of different setups : 

 

Cayman S 987 - 27NM / 37NM (10nm)
 

Cayman R - 30nm / 43nm (13nm)

 

KW Clubsport - 70NM / 120 NM (40nm)
 

PSS9 CS - 50nm / 114NM (64NM)
 

Ohlins - 70NM / 80NM (10NM)

 

GT4 981 - 45nm / 80 nm (35nm difference)

 

On my car in the end we went 50nm / 80nm (30 nm difference) so about the same as 981 GT4. 

 

We lowered the front spring rating as Centre Gravity (who fitted my suspension) felt the Ohlins recommended 70nm would be a bit too stiff and could induce understeer.

 

I am very happy with the result, the Dual Flow Valve of the Ohlins seems to allow the car to work well on bumpy roads but also is fine on track. If the car was to be road only I would probably gone with even lower spring rates than mine and I know CG have fitted a Cayman R with Ohlins with lower rates and were impressed with the results. Hope this helps. 

[mark1205]

Hi.     I think mine is the R referred to in the above post...

We went for the ohlins road & track units as they are the very latest technology available.    They come without springs, so you can spec what ever rate you want.

It's made a huge difference to the way my R feels,, it's no longer trying to break my back and is much more secure on uneven roads..     Have a chat with the guys at centre gravity..      

 

[crafty1]

18 hours ago, mark1205 said:

Hi.     I think mine is the R referred to in the above post...

We went for the ohlins road & track units as they are the very latest technology available.    They come without springs, so you can spec what ever rate you want.

It's made a huge difference to the way my R feels,, it's no longer trying to break my back and is much more secure on uneven roads..     Have a chat with the guys at centre gravity..      

 

 

Mark, I am just curious but what spring rates did you go with please ?

[mark1205]

Hi,,   I think it was 50  .... 70.        But I can't be sure as I can't  find the notes from centre gravity..    it was set up as a road car, with little track use in mind, so we went softer than the ohlins recommendations..   the dampers are set at 12 clicks out front & rear..   

[PhilCS]

Thanks guys, all very helpful stuff.  I have to say I was erring on the side of the Ohlins...just because.  

 

I’ve heard a lot of good things about CG over the last few years so I may enlist their expertise to get this done.  

[PhilCS]

2 hours ago, eponymoose said:

I've experienced both the KWs and the Ohlins on the 987. The gap between the two drives was about two years and I didn't drive either for terribly long, though!

 

I can say that I'm pretty sure you'll achieve good comfort with both if set up right. One issue worth noting is that the KWs are a bit of a ballache re damping adjustment, but you're probably leaning Ohlins anyway.

 

Another option is Bilstein PSS9. It's quite a road biased kit with relatively modest spring rates. It's not as good as the Ohlins, but has similarly user-friendly damping adjustment and it's a fair bit cheaper. In a purely road driving context, I think the PSS9 kit probably makes some sense given the pricing and it's all off the shelf and a known quantity.

 

The Ohlins is almost certainly a better all round solution but does require a bit more involvement re choosing springs and setting it all up, etc, which can come at a cost on top of the price for the hardware, which is already more expensive. If the Ohlins kit is easy enough to afford, go for that. If it feels a bit spendy, consider the Bilstein kit.

 

Thanks e‘moose! Great advice