Worth jumping on an Öhlins deal if I'm worried about rear travel on rough touge roads?
Hey everyone,
Looking for some advice on updating my NC suspension. I’m currently on the stock Bilsteins, which have about 150k km on them and are over 12 years old. They actually still hold up okay, but honestly, they’re due for retirement any day now.
I just got a really solid offer from a reputable shop for an Öhlins Road & Track installation. They have a kit in stock they want to move, so they quoted me €3,000 completely installed and dialed in.
My original plan was to go with Tein Flex Z or MeisterR. But by the time I import them and pay for installation here in Europe, I’m looking at around €1.8k to €2.2k anyway. At that point, the Öhlins seem like way better value for the money.
My absolute dream would be Xidas, but getting them into Europe is a nightmare. Just the coilovers alone would put me over €3.5k before even thinking about installation.
Here is my main hesitation though. I’ve spent hours reading reviews, and there is a pretty consistent complaint that the Öhlins kit has too short of a rear travel, causing it to bottom out on bad roads when you really push it.
I use the car strictly on the street as a weekend toy for touge-style driving.
The mountain roads around here are a mixed bag. Sometimes they're perfectly smooth, but sometimes they are absolutely horrendous. I need a setup where I don't have to constantly lift off or back down the moment the tarmac gets rough. I want to be able to keep pushing and actually enjoy the drive.
For those of you running Öhlins on bumpy backroads, how bad is the bottoming out issue in reality? Is it a dealbreaker for rough B-roads, or is the overall quality worth the compromise at €3k?