Shocks for AutoX with Stock Springs
 

Hi,

What shocks would you recommend for stock class AutoX with OEM springs? Bilstein or Koni or Mazdaspeed? (changing springs would bump me up a class) I don't want to be overdamped.

I'm also concerned with longevity with Mazdaspeed shocks.

Additional consideration, my other half also travels in the car and due to illness is sensitive to harsh ride.

Thanks.

I use KONI yellow DA's. Ride is still fine between events and they work well for CS.

Roughly how stiff do you have your Konis adjusted to?

Another factor is price. Mazdamotorsports has a pretty compelling price on Mazdaspeed shocks.

I have a used set of Konis available. $350 OBO.

Mine are Double Adjustable's. Jim's set that is for sale are SA's IIRC.

I reset all except the rear rebound to full soft for street and the ride is fine. The rear rebound is not adjustable without removing the shock so common wisdom is to leave it set at 50%. Jim can tell you what he did and he drives his car on the street more than I do.

The yellows work great. My rears are set at ~75% stiff; the front settings vary. I drive my car daily, including driving my 5-month old to daycare every morning. No problems; it's a little stiff than with the OE shocks, but not anything approaching harsh. For an off-the-shelf solution, the Konis are probably your best bet.

I have a set of customized double adjustable Konis that are just laying around, they need to be sent in and rebuilt

The mazdaspeed shocjs are harsher and non-adjustable; what you feel is what you get

I'm still having trouble making up my mind.

I had Koni yellows in my old TII and I can't say that I was adept at adjusting them. I played around a bit, but honestly didn't have the ability to dial them in. The spring perch thing bothers me a bit by the Konis too...

Here's the thing about the Mazdaspeed shocks, they're _really_ cheap through Mazdamotorsports. Are Koni yellows @ 75% that much different than Mazdaspeed? The shocks were dynoed by a member on the forum who said:
"The Rear rebound runs about 75% stiffer. Rear compression is actually softer by 15% or so once 3 in/sec is hit but the same as stock before that speed. Front rebound and compression is about 25% stiffer."

25% doesn't sound bad, but 75% scares the crap out of me.

Comparing D-spec Tokico to Konis, Konis seem to be much stiffer...
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ilstein&page=4

Thoughts?

I used to run them at 50% all around which I thought was comfortable. Later we tried 100% stiff and felt the car was faster, so I drove like that for two years with just the fronts softened to 50% between events. I DD my car including intermittant carpool duty, and only my wife complains about the ride. :dunno: Roads around here are pretty smooth though.

The Koni perches are not adjustable on the RX8 like some of the RX7 versions. They are welded onto the body like the OE shocks

If you don't want adjustables I'd suggesting calling Shaikh at FatCat Motorsports. He can make you some great non-adjustable Bilsteins, but they won't be any cheaper than the Koni Yellows.

And, the Tokicos are softer than Konis when both are set to full soft. At full stiff, they give similar levels of damping. Not that "stiffness" should be a single-minded objective.