[RaceSTI]

Thinking about a set of coilovers, Price is about the same with pillomball, and camber plates. Some street driving-spirited, but concentration on track and solo.

[ace996]

Track and solo, huh? Either one will do the trick but the T2s are double adjustable and have reservoirs. I had the same question not too long ago and chose the T2s. I've been very happy with them, especially on the track.
Good luck,
TomK

[evilSTi7]

If you're concentrating on the track then i would probably go with the 500/400 RCE's. They will still be comfortable on the street, but i think they will be better on the track than the Ohlins (which i currently have on my car).

[Andy STI]

Another vote for the RCE's. Great for the track. I have not used the Ohlins and I don't know if you will find anyone here who has owned both. I know BoostJunkie has the Ohlins and is switching to the T2's though (he works for RCE though). I have been very happy with mine even with the middle rates - I was a wuss when ordering. I have new springs to put on now so I can't wait to get them on and get to the track.

[cuzitsmyusofwtvr]

I have the 500/400 T2's and I drive on them every day. I am not going to lie, its a bit stiff, but livable. I have only done one track day so far on the new set up, but I absolutely love it. Since, I have never ridden/driven a car set up with the Ohlins coilovers, I can't really compare. The T2's are geared towards people who track their cars (read: lots of adjustability). You can't really go wrong with either set up it....

-spencer

[stretch]

The Ohlins Sportlines look overdamped to me. The Ohlins Club Sports don't look quite as bad, but have limited suspension travel. I wouldn't buy either. Experienced people seem to like them but I think there's room for improvement. Perhaps this is because the two sets were designed by and for the Japanese domestic market, and they tend to like things overdamped. Take my opinion with a grain of salt, though, since I'm just looking at the numbers and haven't tried them.

I have similar reservations towards RCE, but for a different reason. Since RCE won't release dyno's, we have no way of knowing how they truly perform. Like the Ohlins, most people seem to like RCE's valving. However, after seeing the Ohlins valving, I'm skeptical of even the most well-received dampers. I've additionally heard some rumors about faulty valving in the rear T2 coilovers that has not being fixed by RCE, but I don't know how common that is. Hopefully those experiencing this problem will start coming forth rather than keeping it secret (like RCE's coil bind fiasco).

You didn't mention if you'd be on R-compounds when at the track. I've also seen some data suggesting that twin-tube struts don't hold up well long-term with r-compound tires. Prodrive collected this data; I believe it is reliable. Twin-tubes will be fine on street tires, though. (RCE, KW, Koni, Ground Control, Zzyzx are all twin-tube, while Ohlins, AST, Whiteline, TiC, and Bilstein are monotube.)

I've also been PM'd by a number of people experiencing malfunctions in their BC Racing, Stance, and other inexpensive coilovers. I know you didn't ask about them, but lots of other people do.

I'd wait and see what the TiC coilover dynos look like. They look extremely promising, enough so that I've preordered the first set. The set uses the valving from AST's very expensive 3-way competition coilover set, but removes some adjustability to keep the price down. Suspension travel is extremely high and they're the only coilover to use Swift's ultra linear springs.

I'm also hoping to see some dyno plots of the Bilstein PSS9's because anecdotally I have reason to believe they are one of the few coilovers that are not overdamped. Maybe I'm wrong, but they may be a good budget option. The problem with the Bilstein PSS9's is that they cannot be raised to normal ride heights for the winter, but this may not be an issue for you.

[DuncanG]

Originally Posted by stretch

....The set uses the valving from AST's very expensive 3-way competition coilover set, but removes some adjustability to keep the price down. ...

I don't quite follow - are you saying that this is better in some way (what?) than using the valving (adjusted for TiC) from the single adjustable? Is there some fundamental difference in the main valve?

[ace996]

Originally Posted by stretch

The Ohlins Sportlines look overdamped to me. The Ohlins Club Sports don't look quite as bad, but have limited suspension travel. I wouldn't buy either. Experienced people seem to like them but I think there's room for improvement. Perhaps this is because the two sets were designed by and for the Japanese domestic market, and they tend to like things overdamped. Take my opinion with a grain of salt, though, since I'm just looking at the numbers and haven't tried them.

I have similar reservations towards RCE, but for a different reason. Since RCE won't release dyno's, we have no way of knowing how they truly perform. Like the Ohlins, most people seem to like RCE's valving. However, after seeing the Ohlins valving, I'm skeptical of even the most well-received dampers. I've additionally heard some rumors about faulty valving in the rear T2 coilovers that has not being fixed by RCE, but I don't know how common that is. Hopefully those experiencing this problem will start coming forth rather than keeping it secret (like RCE's coil bind fiasco).

You didn't mention if you'd be on R-compounds when at the track. I've also seen some data suggesting that twin-tube struts don't hold up well long-term with r-compound tires. Prodrive collected this data; I believe it is reliable. Twin-tubes will be fine on street tires, though. (RCE, KW, Koni, Ground Control, Zzyzx are all twin-tube, while Ohlins, AST, Whiteline, TiC, and Bilstein are monotube.)

I've also been PM'd by a number of people experiencing malfunctions in their BC Racing, Stance, and other inexpensive coilovers. I know you didn't ask about them, but lots of other people do.

I'd wait and see what the TiC coilover dynos look like. They look extremely promising, enough so that I've preordered the first set. The set uses the valving from AST's very expensive 3-way competition coilover set, but removes some adjustability to keep the price down. Suspension travel is extremely high and they're the only coilover to use Swift's ultra linear springs.

I'm also hoping to see some dyno plots of the Bilstein PSS9's because anecdotally I have reason to believe they are one of the few coilovers that are not overdamped. Maybe I'm wrong, but they may be a good budget option. The problem with the Bilstein PSS9's is that they cannot be raised to normal ride heights for the winter, but this may not be an issue for you.

Come on, man...he's asking for track/solo applicaitons...stop with that $hit already.

[gOt_rally?]

Originally Posted by ace996

Come on, man...he's asking for track/solo applicaitons...stop with that $hit already.

What $hit ace? From what I see stretch is giving a honest opinion on what he thinks about the coilovers. No coilover is perfect, and the fact that he says some obvious flaws of all the coilovers isn't really talking $hit, its just sharing his knowledge of the given subject.

[ace996]

Originally Posted by gOt_rally?

What $hit ace? From what I see stretch is giving a honest opinion on what he thinks about the coilovers. No coilover is perfect, and the fact that he says some obvious flaws of all the coilovers isn't really talking $hit, its just sharing his knowledge of the given subject.

That was not directed to you...not your issue, unless you speak for him...???

$hit...as in talking $hit...do you really want me to elaborate? I'm not looking to initiate a war here with Stretch...we have some very different opinions on spring-rate...swaybars...etc, so I kept it simple and to the point.

Do you believe the rhetoric and mathturbational theory? That $hit.

I just share my knowledge of the given subject based on my actual, on-track, experience and dataloggs....different strokes.

Be good,
TomK

[MKTURBO]

i too are looking into these 2 exact coilovers......here are the problems i forsee with each........even though the rce's are the best bang for the buck in terms of a 2 way adjustible coilover i believe that myself and other enthusiasts dont really know how to tune a 2 way adjustible coilover.......even though myles has baseline suggestions i personally feel that i dont really know how to adjust such a coilover......ohlins look ver promising with included camber plates and extremely high quality, but are they really worth that extra chunk of change........and i do agree with stretch the tic's look very promising, but are they proven like the RCE's? and if they were to have a issue who would service them? AST is from somewhere in europe? also, stretch what is the problem associated with the sportlines being overdamped?

[ace996]

Originally Posted by MKTURBO

.......even though myles has baseline suggestions i personally feel that i dont really know how to adjust such a coilover......

It's not difficult and the journey of learning is quite fun...you'll never learn until you try. The car will speak to you and let you know what it needs...sounds funny but it's true. And there are several among us that have found some great settings...tell us what you want and we can get you pretty close if not dead-on.

Either way, they're both fantastic units...no "bad" choice here.

Be good,
TomK

[BoostJunkie]

Originally Posted by stretch

The Ohlins Sportlines look overdamped to me. The Ohlins Club Sports don't look quite as bad, but have limited suspension travel. I wouldn't buy either. Experienced people seem to like them but I think there's room for improvement. Perhaps this is because the two sets were designed by and for the Japanese domestic market, and they tend to like things overdamped. Take my opinion with a grain of salt, though, since I'm just looking at the numbers and haven't tried them.

I have similar reservations towards RCE, but for a different reason. Since RCE won't release dyno's, we have no way of knowing how they truly perform. Like the Ohlins, most people seem to like RCE's valving. However, after seeing the Ohlins valving, I'm skeptical of even the most well-received dampers. I've additionally heard some rumors about faulty valving in the rear T2 coilovers that has not being fixed by RCE, but I don't know how common that is. Hopefully those experiencing this problem will start coming forth rather than keeping it secret (like RCE's coil bind fiasco).

You didn't mention if you'd be on R-compounds when at the track. I've also seen some data suggesting that twin-tube struts don't hold up well long-term with r-compound tires. Prodrive collected this data; I believe it is reliable. Twin-tubes will be fine on street tires, though. (RCE, KW, Koni, Ground Control, Zzyzx are all twin-tube, while Ohlins, AST, Whiteline, TiC, and Bilstein are monotube.)

As far as the Sportlines go, I've stated my opinion on that issue and you yourself admit that you have no real world experience with them so let's put that issue aside for a second.

As far as your stab at the T2's, there is no basis for it and frankly it's getting annoying. We have the dyno graphs and I have spent countless hours analyzing the data. KW will not allow us to release the graphs to the public and that is their prerogative, but I can tell you that they are very capable of your "magic" critical damping rates based on properly matching the settings to the spring rates. I find it laughable that you can develop an opinion about these coilovers based on rumors and calculations that you create sitting behind a computer. I guess the fact that there are a ton of people out there who are satisfied with their performance and comfort on the street, as well as many time attack winners means nothing. Get out there, do some real world testing, and then get back to me. Until then, these opinions mean nothing to me. Like Tom said, I don't want to start a war, but I see this over and over and it's getting old.

As far as twin tube vs. monotube, again I haven't seen much data to back this up. I haven't seen what Prodrive's stance is on this, but I know MANY people who are racing on twin tube shocks who can go just as long between rebuilds as those who are on monotubes. This is also dependent on design, cooling, etc. but you get the idea. What this comes down to is I'm tired of seeing a lot of theory and hypotheticals with no actual testing to back it up. However, I'm of the opinion that the way something performs in a real situation is far more important than what some results gathered in laboratory and analyzed by amateur enthusiasts can show.

[Andy STI]

I agree completely with you Dan and Ace.

Now Dan, answer the OP's question. You're one of the only people who have used both.

Andy

[MKTURBO]

is thier going to be that much of a benefit to going with a 2-way vs. a 1-way like the ohlins sportlines?