First round of mods done! (Akra + Ohlins)

[hesperus]

Had the car since January, though haven't had the time to really drive it as much as i'd like.

Still, the damping immediately showed up as the car's most obvious weak spot; especially over the kind of nasty broken asphalt we have here in the Philippines.

So in went the Ohlins R&T's.

As for the exhaust, i actually didn't have much problems with the sound; not the most soulful note, but more than decent at low and around town speeds, and i already get my aural thrills with some other cars. So i was resisting the Akra, especially given the frankly ridiculous cost.

Long story short, some buddies of mine have it on their 1M's, and i guess peer pressure can be a thing, especially when the Akrapovic dealer is a good friend and basically forced it on me with a "pay me when you're able".

Ok! So in went their full titanium system from the downpipe all the way down. Comes with a remote for the valves. Or you can control the valves from your smartphone. convenient, if rather dorky!



Verdicts:

Bit early to say, as I've only had the car back a few days, but the Ohlins have made a noticeable improvement to the car's composure over those rough surfaces. With the OE suspension, i always got a sense that the dampers weren't able to cope quickly enough. The Ohlins-- while not night & day better-- are immediately improved in this area. Car just feels more planted and less likely to feel all out at sea. More high speed testing needed though.

There's the side benefit of the car riding a bit lower too, which helps the looks. Car would look even better if it were lowered more, but I stuck with the ride height recommended by Ohlins. Sorry for the poor pics.




As for the Akra, damn! If it weren't for the price, this would be an absolute no-brainer! Subjectively it's quieter than stock with the valve closed, and once it's open, it's got that distinctive Akrapovic "shredding" sound that really amps up the aggression.

I find myself just stomping on the loud pedal harder and more often than i normally would, just to hear the exhaust. Lots of fun, and am loving it!

In some respects I actually prefer the OE tips to the carbon Akra tips (sorry forgot to take a picture,) but hey, that's a nit.

So far so good!

Next up: new ultralight forged BBS's, and an Evolve-R flash.

[DSCPLN]

DUDE! nice McLaren 650S coupe! I'm also rocking the white 650S/1M combo

[hesperus]

Originally Posted by DSCPLN

DUDE! nice McLaren 650S coupe! I'm also rocking the white 650S/1M combo

oh, thank you for the kind words, sir!

I do like white cars

[lightning]

Originally Posted by hesperus

Had the car since January, though haven't had the time to really drive it as much as i'd like.

Still, the damping immediately showed up as the car's most obvious weak spot; especially over the kind of nasty broken asphalt we have here in the Philippines.

So in went the Ohlins R&T's.

As for the exhaust, i actually didn't have much problems with the sound; not the most soulful note, but more than decent at low and around town speeds, and i already get my aural thrills with some other cars. So i was resisting the Akra, especially given the frankly ridiculous cost.

Long story short, some buddies of mine have it on their 1M's, and i guess peer pressure can be a thing, especially when the Akrapovic dealer is a good friend and basically forced it on me with a "pay me when you're able".

Ok! So in went their full titanium system from the downpipe all the way down. Comes with a remote for the valves. Or you can control the valves from your smartphone. convenient, if rather dorky!



Verdicts:

Bit early to say, as I've only had the car back a few days, but the Ohlins have made a noticeable improvement to the car's composure over those rough surfaces. With the OE suspension, i always got a sense that the dampers weren't able to cope quickly enough. The Ohlins-- while not night & day better-- are immediately improved in this area. Car just feels more planted and less likely to feel all out at sea. More high speed testing needed though.

There's the side benefit of the car riding a bit lower too, which helps the looks. Car would look even better if it were lowered more, but I stuck with the ride height recommended by Ohlins. Sorry for the poor pics.




As for the Akra, damn! If it weren't for the price, this would be an absolute no-brainer! Subjectively it's quieter than stock with the valve closed, and once it's open, it's got that distinctive Akrapovic "shredding" sound that really amps up the aggression.

I find myself just stomping on the loud pedal harder and more often than i normally would, just to hear the exhaust. Lots of fun, and am loving it!

In some respects I actually prefer the OE tips to the carbon Akra tips (sorry forgot to take a picture,) but hey, that's a nit.

So far so good!

Next up: new ultralight forged BBS's, and an Evolve-R flash.

nice set up. how are the Ohlins holding up?
btw, ditch the Evolve R, go for jb4. it's a lot better

[hesperus]

Originally Posted by lightning

nice set up. how are the Ohlins holding up?
btw, ditch the Evolve R, go for jb4. it's a lot better

Just drove the car again this morning. really loving the Ohlins (i just got them installed a few days ago). much better composed really over those bumpy surfaces.

everything is set to their recommended specs, and have geometry at OE settings too.

re: the tune, i'm just going with Evolve because it's what my buddy already has on his car (actually my mod path is identical to his; let him do the R&D haha!) and his is really strong. have tested some other tuned 1M's (Cobb, DMS, GIAC, etc), and short of going the custom dyno tune way, the Evolve package seems to work best given the specific set of conditions we have here.

our fuel is quite different (i.e., cr*p) than what you find in the US or Europe, and MANY cars and setups that are fast in the US have struggled here. best examples are E60 M5's being slower than stock 1M's, and Ferrari Speciale's being slower than GT3 RS's, when on paper this should not be the case.

so i've learned that it is safer to go with something actually tested here, than base expectations on results somewhere else.

jb4 (or others) may indeed be better than Evolve, but i don't want to be the guinea pig! besides, the Evolve kit is already sitting on my desk, i just need to set it up.

i appreciate the advice though; 'tis what forums are for after all!

[1'M Blue]

Hmmm RT12

Great setup on the 1M !

[hesperus]

Originally Posted by 1'M Blue

Hmmm RT12

A decade old this year, but still a lot of fun! I did a GPS verified 218 mph on a closed public road some years ago, before having a kid made me more conscious of my mortality

those days are over for me for sure!

Originally Posted by 1'M Blue

Great setup on the 1M !

Thank you! absolutely loving it!

[phunky_monkey]

That RUF RT12 is just awesome mate! Seriously cool collection you have there

I'm really curious as to how you gel wit the Ohlins R&T's. I'm actually tossing these and JRZ RS1's up at the moment as I too feel that the damping is the biggest issue with the car. When I first got it I was actually reasonably happy with the suspension for OEM stuff, but after driving across some more roads in less than perfect condition it's really showed up it's high speed damping.

It seems as though they may not have quite had the impact you were hoping for?

[hesperus]

Originally Posted by phunky_monkey

That RUF RT12 is just awesome mate! Seriously cool collection you have there

thank you!!! took delivery of the car at the factory, broke it in on the autobahn, and then straight on to the Nurburgring for some laps before shipping her home. love the car, but the memories of that trip are priceless.

Originally Posted by phunky_monkey

I'm really curious as to how you gel wit the Ohlins R&T's...

It seems as though they may not have quite had the impact you were hoping for?

my expectations of the Ohlins have to be explained i suppose.

a buddy of mine used to have a GTR, and we all know how hard riding that car is out of the box. he put a set of R&T's on and it was an absolute revelation: iron fisted body control at speed, but a significantly improved ride at lower speed. "Improved" ride is highly subjective, but within the realistic range of what to expect from just changing from OE to a set of high end aftermarket coilovers, i'd say that transformation was about as big you could hope for.

on the basis of that, i ordered the R&T's for my 1M.

that same friend also used to own a 1M, and put R&T's on his car. while waiting for my set, I asked him whether the transformation was as significant as it was on his GTR, and he said it definitely was NOT. there was some improvement, but not the night-and-day kind on the Nissan. maybe it's the short wheelbase; who knows?

I also reached out on here, and a couple of guys took the time to PM, and they seemed to express the same sentiment: the R&T's are an improvement, but not a "silver bullet". I suppose it also really depends on what you expect from the car: is this a street car? a track car? dual duty? wanting decent on street comfort AND being able to improve laptimes obviously demands a lot more from your suspension setup.

in my case, i don't intend on tracking the car, so i really wanted just a fast road setup that cured that irritating sensation of the rear getting "floaty" or unsettled over bumps.

So my expectations of the R&T's were "managed" even before i got them.

In that context, i am extremely happy with them, and would buy them again without hesitation. another friend's 1M has KW v3's, another brand and model i'm familiar with and like (have them on my Z06). the KW's also seemed to cure the OE shocks' problems, though my seat time in my friend's car was limited...

My 1M is a "keeper" car for me, so my upgrade path is to put basic best-of-breed (in my eyes anyway) items on it. hence the full Akrapovic exhaust, Ohlins and then the BBS RI-D's (coming soon). then the car will be done, and all that's left is to look forward to many years of happy motoring with it!

sorry for rambling on, but we tend to justify these upgrades to ourselves, and that's how i'm thinking about these things. YMMV of course!

cheers!

[eeghie]

Originally Posted by hesperus

...

My 1M is a "keeper" car for me, so my upgrade path is to put basic best-of-breed (in my eyes anyway) items on it. hence the full Akrapovic exhaust, Ohlins and then the BBS RI-D's (coming soon). then the car will be done, and all that's left is to look forward to many years of happy motoring with it!

sorry for rambling on, but we tend to justify these upgrades to ourselves, and that's how i'm thinking about these things. YMMV of course!

cheers!

Awesome thread; You have not reached 'rambling' status by far. And even if you did: your garage list is worth quite some forum space, keep it coming.

Looking forward to the RI-D pics!

[phunky_monkey]

Originally Posted by hesperus

thank you!!! took delivery of the car at the factory, broke it in on the autobahn, and then straight on to the Nurburgring for some laps before shipping her home. love the car, but the memories of that trip are priceless.

That's the real beauty of cars, isn't it?? Even unremarkable cars can give you memories that will last a lifetime, let a lone picking something like an RT12 up, blasting to the 'ring and then cutting a few laps before driving home. Must have been amazing!

Not sure whether this was by chance, but RUF just popped up an image of the same car last night on their FB page

my expectations of the Ohlins have to be explained i suppose.

a buddy of mine used to have a GTR, and we all know how hard riding that car is out of the box. he put a set of R&T's on and it was an absolute revelation: iron fisted body control at speed, but a significantly improved ride at lower speed. "Improved" ride is highly subjective, but within the realistic range of what to expect from just changing from OE to a set of high end aftermarket coilovers, i'd say that transformation was about as big you could hope for.

on the basis of that, i ordered the R&T's for my 1M.

that same friend also used to own a 1M, and put R&T's on his car. while waiting for my set, I asked him whether the transformation was as significant as it was on his GTR, and he said it definitely was NOT. there was some improvement, but not the night-and-day kind on the Nissan. maybe it's the short wheelbase; who knows?

I also reached out on here, and a couple of guys took the time to PM, and they seemed to express the same sentiment: the R&T's are an improvement, but not a "silver bullet". I suppose it also really depends on what you expect from the car: is this a street car? a track car? dual duty? wanting decent on street comfort AND being able to improve laptimes obviously demands a lot more from your suspension setup.

in my case, i don't intend on tracking the car, so i really wanted just a fast road setup that cured that irritating sensation of the rear getting "floaty" or unsettled over bumps.

So my expectations of the R&T's were "managed" even before i got them.

In that context, i am extremely happy with them, and would buy them again without hesitation. another friend's 1M has KW v3's, another brand and model i'm familiar with and like (have them on my Z06). the KW's also seemed to cure the OE shocks' problems, though my seat time in my friend's car was limited...

My 1M is a "keeper" car for me, so my upgrade path is to put basic best-of-breed (in my eyes anyway) items on it. hence the full Akrapovic exhaust, Ohlins and then the BBS RI-D's (coming soon). then the car will be done, and all that's left is to look forward to many years of happy motoring with it!

sorry for rambling on, but we tend to justify these upgrades to ourselves, and that's how i'm thinking about these things. YMMV of course!

cheers!

Please don't apologise, that is absolutely the type of feedback I was looking for

To be honest this seems like the most frank and honest review I've seen on them. I've heard grumblings from a few that they were not as 'plush' as they had been led to believe, but most seem to say they're great and leave it at that. Experience with other serious cars is a must in my opinion, and the comparions with the GT-R helps me get my head aorund what type of difference to expect.

My car is being modified with the same philosophy, the same view to keeping the car, and with seemingly the same purpose. I have a Radical for the track, this car is purely for the street and the odd fun-day at a skidpan or small hillclimb etc. I don;t really want to spend money twice, and from all reports it seems the R&T's and JRZ's get the best rap as far as ride quality is concerned hence why I've shortlisted them.

Both have local support and are around the same price, just ensuring I get an unbiased review is the difficult part! For me, my main concern is cutting out the high-speed damping issues over B roads as it gets most of its use up in the hills. The rear wheels picking up over undulations is also not ideal (though fun) so I'd like something altogether more sophisticated under there. I'm sure they'll both do the job quite well, as would KW V3's I think, but the softer spring rates of the first two would probably work better for me I think.

Cheers!

Dane

[hesperus]

Originally Posted by phunky_monkey

Not sure whether this was by chance, but RUF just popped up an image of the same car last night on their FB page

Yes sir, that's my car

Funny back story there. A friend of mine got RI-D's for his R8 last year, and at the time, BBS said it was the only R8 in the world wearing RI-D's. So their Asian office commissioned a photo shoot of the car, along with other cars with their wheels.

The Ruf was the second car in the country to get RI-D's a few years ago, so I got some nice "vanity" shots of the car for posterity!

Here's a shot of the R8:


Here's that 1M i mentioned with the Akra, KW's and RI-D's:


and while not riding on BBS's, the photog took some snaps of my E30 as well:


oh and i thought this was funny but while the shoot was going on, i was taking some snaps as well. I got lucky with this photo of the RT12. I guess BBS must have liked it because it showed up later on on BBS America's FB account!



Sorry, now i'm truly off-topic!

But going back, yeah i'm definitely happy with the Ohlins. I have not taken the car on some >100mph runs on them though. Will do so this weekend!

[craina]

Wow, this thread delivers. Awesome cars OP.

[hesperus]

Originally Posted by craina

Wow, this thread delivers. Awesome cars OP.

thanks! i don't wanna go too far OT though!

But i just have to say that the 1M is a staggeringly good car.

in the past couple months, i've been lucky to drive a 991 GT3RS, Ferrari 488 and Aventador SV. (not mine, but i have some well-heeled and very trusting friends! ) These are all obviously all "poster" cars by any standard.

hand on heart I can say that the fun-factor delivered by the 1M is right up there with these modern supercars. Of course you wouldn't know which way theyd gone on an open highway, and they're dripping with obvious sex appeal, vs the you-gotta-know-what-it-is-to-love-it nature of the 1M.

But on the right roads, the 1M is as fun, and in many cases even more so, than any of those other cars.

Sorry, i'm preaching to the converted, i know!