DMS Suspenders
20 January 2002, 03:26 PM
#1
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Who has it and what do they think?
40mm or 50mm struts.
Experiences that can be shared would be appreciated - what are they like on the road/track?
Cheers,
Trout
40mm or 50mm struts.
Experiences that can be shared would be appreciated - what are they like on the road/track?
Cheers,
Trout
20 January 2002, 07:28 PM
#2
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Rannoch ( 
)
I have 'm on my car since June. They are pretty amazing in many ways.
When they were just fit by TN, we set 'm at the normal settings of (IIRC) 17 clicks (out of 30, 30 being stiffest). They felt very comfortable, almost like the standard OEM setup. I was a bit worried there & then that I made the wrong choice (I like a firm/stiff setup)
Next day, we did some testing at Brunters, and with the help of SDB we set front & back to 24 clicks. This proved to be ideal for playfull fun & also for heavy road use.
I didn't change my settings when I went on track at Zolder, and they behaved just fine. No body roll at all.
Most impressive: we have a lot of "traffic slowers" (don't know how they are called in English, but they are basically big bumps in the road), and I can take them at full speed without hitting the bump stops or unsettling the car. The car feels very composed with them (but I also have the ALK, and MRT swaybars)
They did develop some knocking sounds after 3 weeks (very annoying !) but the sound didn't get worse thank god.
All in all, I am very pleased with them, and rate them over the Intrax suspension I first had (very good as well, but definitely not as "refined" as the DMS).
Oh, I have the 40 mm (Gold) BTW.
Best though is for you to drive a car that has them fitted ... opinions are cool, but very subjective etc.
Theo
)I have 'm on my car since June. They are pretty amazing in many ways.
When they were just fit by TN, we set 'm at the normal settings of (IIRC) 17 clicks (out of 30, 30 being stiffest). They felt very comfortable, almost like the standard OEM setup. I was a bit worried there & then that I made the wrong choice (I like a firm/stiff setup)
Next day, we did some testing at Brunters, and with the help of SDB we set front & back to 24 clicks. This proved to be ideal for playfull fun & also for heavy road use.
I didn't change my settings when I went on track at Zolder, and they behaved just fine. No body roll at all.
Most impressive: we have a lot of "traffic slowers" (don't know how they are called in English, but they are basically big bumps in the road), and I can take them at full speed without hitting the bump stops or unsettling the car. The car feels very composed with them (but I also have the ALK, and MRT swaybars)
They did develop some knocking sounds after 3 weeks (very annoying !) but the sound didn't get worse thank god.
All in all, I am very pleased with them, and rate them over the Intrax suspension I first had (very good as well, but definitely not as "refined" as the DMS).
Oh, I have the 40 mm (Gold) BTW.
Best though is for you to drive a car that has them fitted ... opinions are cool, but very subjective etc.
Theo
20 January 2002, 09:12 PM
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Hi Trout,
i've got some DMS gold's going on in the next two weeks replacing standard sti stuff, so will drop you a mail and let you know what i think etc.
I find the standard stuff is a little too hard as over series of bumps it seems to unsettle the car and feel like its 'skipping' over the bumps, so am hoping to cure this pogo'ing sensation.
I think 24 might be a bit hard for uk roads, but will let you know.
The stuff i have is this one -
http://www.dmshocks.com/docs/dms40.html
Interesting ou put this tho, as i was just about to post saying who's got dms and what settings are they running
[Edited by ptholt - 1/20/2002 9:20:28 PM]
i've got some DMS gold's going on in the next two weeks replacing standard sti stuff, so will drop you a mail and let you know what i think etc.
I find the standard stuff is a little too hard as over series of bumps it seems to unsettle the car and feel like its 'skipping' over the bumps, so am hoping to cure this pogo'ing sensation.
I think 24 might be a bit hard for uk roads, but will let you know.
The stuff i have is this one -
http://www.dmshocks.com/docs/dms40.html
Interesting ou put this tho, as i was just about to post saying who's got dms and what settings are they running
[Edited by ptholt - 1/20/2002 9:20:28 PM]
21 January 2002, 12:26 PM
#4
I too have DMS 40mm's fitted to the P1, I've done 5 track days since having them fitted and have set them on full 30 clicks, firmest setting, my opinions are this;
On my current set up I have a rear roll cage affixed to the top mounts of the rear struts, I also have uprated anti-roll bar bushes/links along with front anti-lift kit and lower strut brace. The car as you can imagine is very rigid. On track the suspension is very good but not fantastic ! I am still getting an amount of body roll that I'm not pleased with, on right handers I am also able to rub my tyres (17" x 210 x 620's) on the arches when pushed hard, I'm currently running 2 neg front and 1.5 neg rear !
Now suggestions have been made that I may need to increase the spring rating to eliminate this....std DMS Golds come with 185lb rear and 225lb front....it has been suggested 225 - 250lb rear with 300lb front to sort this problem out.....however....for road use then it will be a teeth shattering experience....so I s'pose at the mo it's the best of both worlds and just may have to live with it.
I have also found that there is a crunching feeling to the rear...again, Nigel from AVO (UK Distributors of DMS) has inspected my car , has stripped the rear units down with nothing found and has simply put it down to the rigidity of my car amplifying the movement of the strut/springs etc... !!!!
So in conclusion, an excellent set up, great on track but could be better (depending on how hard you drive) and superb on the UK roads......by the way, I leave mine set at 30 clicks full firm all the time and find it no problem at all
On my current set up I have a rear roll cage affixed to the top mounts of the rear struts, I also have uprated anti-roll bar bushes/links along with front anti-lift kit and lower strut brace. The car as you can imagine is very rigid. On track the suspension is very good but not fantastic ! I am still getting an amount of body roll that I'm not pleased with, on right handers I am also able to rub my tyres (17" x 210 x 620's) on the arches when pushed hard, I'm currently running 2 neg front and 1.5 neg rear !
Now suggestions have been made that I may need to increase the spring rating to eliminate this....std DMS Golds come with 185lb rear and 225lb front....it has been suggested 225 - 250lb rear with 300lb front to sort this problem out.....however....for road use then it will be a teeth shattering experience....so I s'pose at the mo it's the best of both worlds and just may have to live with it.
I have also found that there is a crunching feeling to the rear...again, Nigel from AVO (UK Distributors of DMS) has inspected my car , has stripped the rear units down with nothing found and has simply put it down to the rigidity of my car amplifying the movement of the strut/springs etc... !!!!
So in conclusion, an excellent set up, great on track but could be better (depending on how hard you drive) and superb on the UK roads......by the way, I leave mine set at 30 clicks full firm all the time and find it no problem at all
21 January 2002, 02:42 PM
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Chris
Firmer springs will not be teeth shattering. Our units run 325F and 225R and they are very compliant. My RA used 700F and 400R, even this was bareable on the road.
If you are using the full range of damping on the road, its time to get some different valving rates installed. The car should be almost undriveable on the road, at its optimum track settings.
Firmer springs will not be teeth shattering. Our units run 325F and 225R and they are very compliant. My RA used 700F and 400R, even this was bareable on the road.
If you are using the full range of damping on the road, its time to get some different valving rates installed. The car should be almost undriveable on the road, at its optimum track settings.
21 January 2002, 06:21 PM
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Mellow, the crunching feeling ... yup, I couldn't find the word, but that's exactly what I have. I'm hoping (in vain probably) that it's the rubber top mounts, so I'm having them replaced in a few days.
When I drive at < 5 MPH, you can even feel the car going "cloink" from time to time, as if the spring is stuck to the damper (maybe that's what it is ?), and really feel the back "drop" a half inch or so (I have a sensitive bum). All that is gone as soon as you drive faster than 10 MPH.
I thought I just had to live with these things. Am I wrong ?
When I drive at < 5 MPH, you can even feel the car going "cloink" from time to time, as if the spring is stuck to the damper (maybe that's what it is ?), and really feel the back "drop" a half inch or so (I have a sensitive bum). All that is gone as soon as you drive faster than 10 MPH.
I thought I just had to live with these things. Am I wrong ?
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21 January 2002, 09:40 PM
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I emailed DMS about some baseline settings yesterday and had this rather curious reply :-
Hello Peter,
I would start with 20 clicks there are 30 clicks available (30 clicks is full soft) Follow the ride heights that are on the instructions. Regards DMS Head Office.
Hello Peter,
I would start with 20 clicks there are 30 clicks available (30 clicks is full soft) Follow the ride heights that are on the instructions. Regards DMS Head Office.
22 January 2002, 09:49 AM
#11
EvilBevel,
Sorry mate, changing the top s dont sort it....you have to learn to live with it....at least we both know there's nothing wrong with the units.
For people in the UK try speaking to Nigel at AVO (Northampton) distributor for DMS, he's a nice chap with lots of useful info and advice
Sorry mate, changing the top s dont sort it....you have to learn to live with it....at least we both know there's nothing wrong with the units.
For people in the UK try speaking to Nigel at AVO (Northampton) distributor for DMS, he's a nice chap with lots of useful info and advice
23 January 2002, 11:46 AM
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Hi Trout
I don't want to put words in Nigel from AVO's mouth but I think he was thinking of knoocking DMS on the head due to difficulty in obtaining the level of aftersales support he would ideally like!
The product is excellent but parts and spares supply can be a little sporadic IMHO
Hope this helps
Cheers
Paul
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