No official Ohlins rebuilders left?
Discussion
I'm having some Ohlins dampers rebuilt at the moment, but the guys who are doing it are stopping in a week's time, so does that mean shipping back to sweden? there's rebuilders here, but not officially recognised by ohlins .. oh bugger. anyone any ideas for the future? .. might mean you guys on ohlins might have trouble shortly.
I thought Ohlins just make shocks for motorbikes?
Out of interest, if most of the high/top quality shocks can be refurbished, is there a market for refurbished 2nd hand shocks? My S3 will need a new set soon, so I read all I can find on here about shocks.
After all that research I know that I want Nitrons, but I also know that I can't afford them....
They seem to be the only make nobody's got a bad experience with.
So what are the chances of finding a refurbished set?
Out of interest, if most of the high/top quality shocks can be refurbished, is there a market for refurbished 2nd hand shocks? My S3 will need a new set soon, so I read all I can find on here about shocks.
After all that research I know that I want Nitrons, but I also know that I can't afford them....
They seem to be the only make nobody's got a bad experience with.
So what are the chances of finding a refurbished set?
ohlins are owned by yamaha so have a big interest in bike dampers, but also make car dampers too.
refurbed aftermarket dampers tend to be rare, they're the sort of kit you buy once and then recon as they get tired, hence no need to replace with anything else, so few on the s/h market.
refurbed aftermarket dampers tend to be rare, they're the sort of kit you buy once and then recon as they get tired, hence no need to replace with anything else, so few on the s/h market.
I offered to put a set of my nitrons on the dyno against a set of his ohlins, for some reason he declined (hmm..) .. I have a healthy suspiscion of anyone who actively poo-poos someone else's product unless it's well founded and proven. What Shane fails to appreciate is not everyone has 1600 pounds for a single adjustable damper kit, and AVOs are quite literally less than one third the cost. Ohlins are the daddy of dampers, along with penske, proflex and Nitron, but the AVOs fill a very large and significant gap in the budget damper market, they consistently outperform gaz and leda dampers on the dyno for example, which can be very variable when tested yet they are perceived as better dampers than avo for some strange reason...go figure!!
Avos offer an intro in to the world of adjustable suspension, they have a 2 year guarantee and rebuilds are normally within 3-4 working days no quibble. I'm proud to sell and stand by Avo dampers
If however you have the money burning a hole in your pocket and you have to have the name ohlins then I can honestly say they are a top notch damper and the performance will be very very good.
Avos offer an intro in to the world of adjustable suspension, they have a 2 year guarantee and rebuilds are normally within 3-4 working days no quibble. I'm proud to sell and stand by Avo dampers
If however you have the money burning a hole in your pocket and you have to have the name ohlins then I can honestly say they are a top notch damper and the performance will be very very good.
Don't worry, I'm happy with my AVOs and for the price there's nothing to match 'em (especially 'cos I bought the car with them already on 
)...but...if I had a TVR which needed new shocks, I had loads of cash, and I knew how to drive properly I'd pick the Ohlins or Nitrons.
I'm not knocking the AVOs - I think Shane taking the p!$$ is more crap-tyres-related than anything, it's quite good fun playing with the settings and seeing if I can tell the difference it makes, they're rebuildable and have adjustable ride height as well as soft-hard settings, and they're bound to be better than standard shocks, BUT when I win the lottery...
I didn't know you could dyno shocks - how is it done? - is it on a special suspension rig that compresses and loads the coilover assembly, or do you mean actually fitted to a car - it would be quite interesting to see a measurable difference between brands, then for someone to blind-test them back-to-back on a track, to see if the expensive stuff can be shown to be better.
>> Edited by andy43 on Saturday 15th November 17:24
>> Edited by andy43 on Saturday 15th November 17:27
)...but...if I had a TVR which needed new shocks, I had loads of cash, and I knew how to drive properly I'd pick the Ohlins or Nitrons. I'm not knocking the AVOs - I think Shane taking the p!$$ is more crap-tyres-related than anything, it's quite good fun playing with the settings and seeing if I can tell the difference it makes, they're rebuildable and have adjustable ride height as well as soft-hard settings, and they're bound to be better than standard shocks, BUT when I win the lottery...
I didn't know you could dyno shocks - how is it done? - is it on a special suspension rig that compresses and loads the coilover assembly, or do you mean actually fitted to a car - it would be quite interesting to see a measurable difference between brands, then for someone to blind-test them back-to-back on a track, to see if the expensive stuff can be shown to be better.
>> Edited by andy43 on Saturday 15th November 17:24
>> Edited by andy43 on Saturday 15th November 17:27
I know the answer to this! It is on a special dyno rig. The damper rod is moved at varying speeds and at different damping settings; the force required is plotted against the rod speed .. simple 
ref ohlins rebuilds if you have any problems with your dampers i can have them completeley rebuilt, as to avo dampers i have no problem with them i have purchased them on customers behalf but as for or all the other dampers avlable the ohlins are by far the best. i have lots of experience with lots types of dampers through motor racing and although very expensive if you want your car to preform as it should there isnt another choice!
Gassing Station | General TVR Stuff & Gossip | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff