Suspension that compromises between road and track

[adam.]

I've had Ohlins R&T on my Evo for 4 years now, and they are the most comfortable/compliant coilovers I've ever used. They are far less crashy than the standard suspension, bumps are absorbed rather than clattered across. They are worth every penny of their price, as they're incredible on track too.

A close second, is the B14/B16 Bilsteins that I've had on Clio 172 Cup and Honda Integra DC5 respectively. A good compromise for road and track too, and on both cars the car was much more compliant with our roads. I ran both on maximum stiffness/rebound at all times. They have the added benefit of being a lot cheaper than the Ohlins option.

I would avoid cheaper coilovers, where most people assume a stiff a ride as possible translates to amazing handling.

[d_a_n1979]

Muzzman said:

I've bought a 325ti and a m54b30 engine which will be going in it.

I will probably only do two to three track days a year and 2000 miles road driving as i have two other cars.

I want a setup that isn't awful on the road but can hold it's own on track and haven't really found this so far.

Over the years i've had the following:

340hp Lotus Elise - Nitron & Ohlin (they were both fine as i did a lot more trackdays)

Porsche 993 C2 - KW Clubsport (Horrible on the road, never took it on track - spoiled the car for me)

Renault Clio Cup - AST II (Actually pretty good on road and track)

276hp BMW E30 - BC Coilovers ( I never really got to drive on them as someone offered me a good price for the car)

260hp R56 Mini - GAZ Gold (My god, undriveable on the road, verging on dangerous)

Any recommendations for something that fits the bill? Obvious choice is Ohlin Road & Track but they cost as much as the car.

Maybe compromise is the wrong idea in the first place....

Ohlin Road & Track

Edited by Muzzman on Wednesday 22 April 17:12

I've run Nitron coilovers in the past on an Integra DC5 and they were superb, but IMO, a bit too raw for the road.

On previous BMWs, including an E38 728i and a number of E39s and an E46 318i, I've run D2 and BC coilovers and would highly recommend them.

They've been around a long time, very well tried & tested and lots of excellent reviews and recommendations from lots of various owners

The standard spring rates are fine for a road going car, but with BC, you could look to change these if you're going to doa. few track days here & there. But again, the standard rates will hold up to track days too

You could spend a fortune on coilovers; but you really don't have to, unless you want to etc

[CABC]

i'm in a similar situation trying to blend a minimal use road car with track. it's really difficult and for something heavier i suspect nearly impossible. the Elise you had was obviously lightweight.
for this year i'll be hiring track cars, expensive but at least you get the right tool for the job. not that road legal track cars ever worked out cheap either