M2's or Ohlins

[fordsrule]

Now that I have been convinced traction control is a waste of money, what are your opinions on the gas pressure shocks (M2'S or Ohlins) vs regular plain old Afco shocks? What are the pros & cons? Can I get faster by changing? I would appreciate any help & advice you can give me to help me decide if this is for me. Thanks.

[Rocket Bonehead]

Gas shocks are definitely a step up. The biggest thing they will add is consistency to the handling of your car during the course of a race. On top of that, the tuning ablility you get with the shocks is also a step up over twin-tube shocks.


As far as which brand is better, hard to say at this point. Afco and Ohlins both make a quality product, but Ohlins has been on the market a while and their track record is tough to beat right now. I am sure after a few years there will be a solid record behind the M2's.


If I was going with adjustable gas shocks, those would be the only two brands from which I would choose (my personal opinion), but I am sure there are going to be people who come on here and say how great and wonderful brand "x" is and how you won't be able to win with out them. Just remember to take each opinion, including mine, for what they are; just an opinion.



RB

[cc_3234]

I agree with RB on this one. I run Integras that I build myself. It's nice to be able to make your own shocks whenever you please but i do wish i had the on the fly adjustablity the Ohlins and M2's have. Another new company is Genesis shocks. I've also heard real good things about them, but the overall winner in popularity are the Ohlins. It's up to you but you do have alot of good options out there.

[Chris Steele]

I agree with you guys as well. Both are really great shocks and are priced in the same range. If you were a beginner, I would recommend the M2's. Simply because of the $75/shock 12 months crash warranty. If you crash your car and bend 2 shocks, don't fret...just send them back and get your shocks fixed under warranty. Otherwise this would have been up to $1300 replacing 2 shocks. Like the others...this is only an opinion.


Oh, and another great thing about the M2's a lot of people don't know. If you don't use ANY of your warranty during the 12 months, right before it is up, send all 4 of your shocks back to AFCO and the will completely go through them and replace any worn parts. Like getting a rebuild for FREE! This is what the dealer told me when I bought mine, but unfortunately I bent the RR the very first night!

[ScottyRocket]

The best thing we did was get some "racer rebuildable" shocks...they are not gas shocks and use linear pistons. They were cheap and on the budget that the car owner is working with and where the drive was when i started helping them, that's all they needed. We have really played with what each adjustment does... split valves ect. I think this is the best way to go if you are just starting out or are working on a tight budget. Also, they are great if you race at one track that is pretty consistent each night and you don't make changes very often.

Now, where we are at with our program.... we are traveling more, the driver doesn't tear up equipment much and can feel changes in the car, so at this point i would suggest something in the adjustable gas shock....depending on your budget here, i would look at just about any double ajustable shocks...mainly for quick adjustments...and since you learned early what each one does, you can make quick educated changes. These would be the AFCO, Ohlins, Integra and some others.

Shocks are like TC, they won't take a back of the pack car and make it a winner, shocks are only part of the equation. Shocks can take a top 5 car and get them a little closer to the front and possibly win.... 10ths of a second gains here....which i belive is what you are looking for at this point.

[hhillbillydeluxe]

check your pm fordsrule

[shadow]

Billetbirdcage,
What are your thoughts on this? I know you work with Mark "AFCO" and Al have had anything bad come from the m2s. I read the articles Al Purkey wrote and found them very interesting.
Shad

http://www.alpurkey.com/dlmarticles/0706.htm
http://www.alpurkey.com/dlmarticles/0806.htm

[pinionangle]

I own a set of Ohlins and after running them the last seven months or so Im glad I spent the money. However, the tech support you get from AFCO and the tech sheet they send you is Ten times anything you will get from an Ohlins Dealer.

If I had to do it all over again I would go with the Afcos. I like the crash warranty idea, and their set-up sheets will help a "green" team 10 fold. With the ohlins your kinda at the mercy of whichever dealer you bought them from.

One other thing to remember, they will compliment your racing program if you understand when and what to change. Until you have the basics down and your running good I would spend money in other areas. Thats just my opinion. Good luck.

[billetbirdcage]

I feel pretty much like AL, they are a very good shock. If you have the money to get by all means get them, but if you are lacking in other departments (engine, spare parts, knowledge, or ETC) you will likely see more gain in those departments. These shocks (any shocks for that matter) can improve your car but you can also dial yourself out if you don't know what your doing. You can't fix a bad car with shocks alone, I think some people try to fix too many problems with shocks that you can't fix with shocks and actually mask problems with the shocks by gettiong clear out in left field with them.

If you are using STD non adjustable shocks and don't have all the valvings you need, then I would seriously look at them. The price of 4 of these aren't that much more then buying all the different valvings you are likely to need (4 M2's verses say 10 or 12 STD shocks). Now if you have a set of twin tube adjustables you really have every vavling you would likely need, so spending the extra money to get the M2's is justified only if you have the resources and all the other things that you need already.

I would base alot of your decision off of:
1. Can I afford them and still have the other things I need first.
2. Where is my shock program now and do I have all the valvings I need now.
3. Is my car up to speed and is my knowledge where it should be or could I spend some money on testing or hiring someone to come help my for a couple of weeks.

These are answers that only you can answer. I do believe that gas adjustable shocks (ohlins, M2's, ETC) are similar to T/C and are commonly used as an excuss to not winning. We won alot of races on the supposidly out dated twin tube D/A's against ohlins and other for several years. Were we just that much better on the rest of the set-up or did those high dollar shocks not make as big of a difference? I can't answer that.

[Jimmy Judd]

Hey guys,

Don't mean to be a parts pimp, But if any one is interested in a used set of Ohlins with just over 100 laps on em, Give me a shout.

These shocks do come with a cheat sheet, as well as tuning info..

I don't need, or nessessarly want to sell these, I just have no idea when I'm going to get back out again. So if a new set is out of your budget, someone may as well put these to good use! Otherwise they will become a expensive wall ornament collecting dust.

Again, sorry if this post is out of line! If so please delete, or move

JJ
402-740-8685

[pms]

Hey guys,

Don't mean to be a parts pimp,

Again, sorry if this post is out of line! If so please delete, or move

JJ


JJ,
Unlike other sites, It appears that the moderators and administrator of this site are allowing us to police ourselves. And in saying that I will have to give high 5's to everyone so far! Not sure about the top half of the site but the tech section is turning out to be the best on the web!!! Thanks to all!:D

[bizkit]

Good shocks JJ.....Yawl would have to pry my ohlins out of my dead hands before I went back to twin tubes, Yes they made may car feel that much better. I can pin point adjustments needed to a particular part of the corner so much better now. I'm sure the AFCO's are great and I'm not sure if I had to do it over again that I wouldn't go that direction, but I do know I love my ohlins

[Rocket Bonehead]

My driver made the same comment as Biz when we switched to gas.



JJ, what's the deal? You all done? Or just for the season?




RB

[Chris Steele]

JJ,
Unlike other sites, It appears that the moderators and administrator of this site are allowing us to police ourselves. And in saying that I will have to give high 5's to everyone so far! Not sure about the top half of the site but the tech section is turning out to be the best on the web!!! Thanks to all!:D

I agree 100%! High 5's all around! This will be the best tech site...period. I have learned a lot on here just by reading other people's questions and the replies to them. I know a little about the crate stuff, but not shocks and set up stuff, even though I set my own car up.

[Jimmy Judd]

My driver made the same comment as Biz when we switched to gas.



JJ, what's the deal? You all done? Or just for the season?




RB

Naww, Just the season "for now". We just had a baby girl on 6/30 and mad did that through a major halt to our plans.. I guess you could say I was naive in thinking that things wouldn't change much.

The welding shop is going strong (thanks to you guys) to where its made my work week jump to 60 +... Just trying to juggle work and our little 1 has made it darn near imposable to even work on the car, let alone be gone for a weekend racing it..

Thanks for asking though bone...

JJ

[Thick55]

I don't know anything about the M2's but we did run the gas shocks before them and are now on Ohlins. It's a night and day difference between the 2. The adjustments are alot easier and your not completely out in right field. Our driver is about like what Biz said "prying them from something" LOL

[Rocket Bonehead]

Naww, Just the season "for now". We just had a baby girl on 6/30 and mad did that through a major halt to our plans.. I guess you could say I was naive in thinking that things wouldn't change much.

The welding shop is going strong (thanks to you guys) to where its made my work week jump to 60 +... Just trying to juggle work and our little 1 has made it darn near imposable to even work on the car, let alone be gone for a weekend racing it..

Thanks for asking though bone...

JJ


Congrats on the new addition to the family...



RB