Mikelikes2drive

so the only thread about the Koni's are in the competition thread and was wondering if i could get any clear cut facts on these new shocks... i.e. price, availability, externally adjustable, difference compared to stock... etc. I'm pretty sure everyone would benefit from this information :D thanks!

R Exotic 8

DITTO

dknv

Alot of this information is in the Competition forum threads; were you wanting to see it in this forum since some people don't go to the Competition forum? Should those threads just be linked here?

My Koni Sports were around $650 with shipping from Strano Performance Parts, however, I got mine from the early order batch; I heard the price was going up after that. I understand retail is $232@ for the fronts and $208@ for the rears. Tirerack apparently carries them also.

The fronts are externally adjustable although since the tops sit under the front swaybar you'll need to use the adjustment tool they provide. The rears shocks have to be removed in order to adjust them.

Mine were initially set to the half-way setting, and they feel much stiffer than stock, the ride on the road is bouncy and I do feel like I'm driving a race-prepped car. But, driving the car on a twisty mountain road is now even more fun because the car really sticks in the corners. Imo, if you don't drive your car in some motorsport or if twisty roads are fun enough and you don't feel you need more cornering forces there, you'll be happier (and so will your bladder) keeping your stock shocks.

djmano

thats alot of money for shocks. couple hundred dollars more and you can have a fully adjustable coilover suspension. but koni has a great rep and im sure they do wonders for dampening.

TheDosDog

I'm putting mine on Saturday. I got them on-line from proamauto.com. Free shipping if you get all 4. As mentioned, the rears do have to be removed to adjust but the fronts can be adjusted from the top. I put in my order mid April and they shipped when the rears became available. If you can't find them it will probably be a few more weeks before they are again available. I was told the warehouse has shipped all they have and receives another shipment in 2 weeks. I'm not too fond of school bus yellow so I may paint them before the install. I have RB suspension and since these are slightly firmer than our stocks at the lightest setting they should be a good match. They are infinitely adjustable reaching double the rebound at Max (very very firm). I plan to start with the lowest setting. I'll post impressions after I have them broke in So Voodoo if your up for it you'll know where I'll be

Mikelikes2drive

thats good to know :D thanks for the info! so wat kind of rebound and settings are u putting on your shocks? did it drop your car's height at all?

theDosdog plz post pics after u get theminstalled! haha i have the rb suspension as well

is it true that uhmm uhh hotchkis is coming out with shocks for our car? ne word?

Mzdarx8

Any idea of how much for the install! Can't wait for your thoughts on them.

I have tein springs, wonder how that combo would work?

TheDosDog

With BrotherVoodoo’s gracious assistance I had the shocks swapped out in about 4 hours. I’m glad I had RB’s instructions from the spring install because the instructions KONI provides are worthless. I had 1 minor problem on the rear because the KONI’s are not the same thread as OEM and the rears did not come with nuts. Make sure you have (2) 10x1.0 nuts with flats. The fronts came with all the required hardware. Since the front shaft is 2 mm larger you have to drill out the bump stop plate to 12mm. Other than that it went right together.

As for performance, I’ve only tested at the lowest setting but I can say there is good improvement. I have the RB springs so the ride was at times a bit harsh. With the KONI’s installed it feels more like stock at slower speeds and improves on the RB suspension when driven hard. Road noise is reduced noticeably. I would assume the KONI’s are of higher quality / technology than the OEM shock but more than that I think they are probably a better match for the RB strings than the OEM shocks.

Picture 1 is Front and rear shocks. KONIs are on the left. I painted them black. They come school bus yellow. Picture 2 is the rear installed.

Moostafa29

Nice, I'd like to hear your impressions after you've driven on it hard. I was thinking about getting these as well. I'm wondering how they will match up with the Tein Stechs.

brothervoodoo

more...

brothervoodoo

installed..

TheDosDog

Here is the front external adjuster (top) and below is the special key used to make the adjustment. Clearance between the adjuster and the strut bar precludes using KONI's plastic adjustment ****.

ULLLOSE

iTrader: (1)

The new Koni adjustment key is a POS. The center slot is very sloppy and the end groves are to small to fit the top of the shock. Nice work guys.

TheDosDog

Agreed. I called KONI and they are sending me the standard adjustment *****. I ordered the MS bar which I had planned to get anyway. The standard ***** should clear it fine.

TheDosDog

I turned the KONI's up half a turn in the front today. The only way I can describe the change from OEM is more solid and smooth at the same time. Bumps that used to transmit a definite bang are now felt as a muffled thud with a reduced effect on the car. I feel significantly more control during spirited driving. Like with RP's short shifter you have to wonder why the 8 wasn't set this way to begin with.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

What is everyone running for springs?? All stock? any suggestions for a good match for the KONI's. Don't care about staying B stock legal.

Mikelikes2drive

apparently racingbeat recommends their strings with koni's. apparently racingbeat tested the shocks out for them :D

any news on the bilstein shocks?

Razz1

Please give us more feed back after more adjusting.

We are all running RB springs.

Mikelikes2drive

i thought they were suppose to be koni yellows? guess not? or are they just the same thing?

TheDosDog

Koni Sports are yellow. I painted them black because the contrast with the RB springs was more than I could bear.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

I paint mine black too

TheDosDog

I ran the fronts up to 1.5 turns for a run up in the hills yesterday. The ride was at the edge of stiff but amazing in the twisties. It feels almost cart-like in that the steering is quick and precise and the handling so neutral. The rears seemed a little weak at the lowest setting so I'm going to pull them this next week and run them up 1/2 turn.

I spoke with KONI again about the adjuster. Sports come with 2 different size adjusters depending on the model (either 4mm or 5mm rod) The adjuster KONI supplies is so sloppy I suspect it may be the bigger size. When I get the standard adjusters from KONI I should be able to tell which size we have. Does anyone know?

TheDosDog

The front shock adjuster access is much improved with the MazdaSpeed strut bar. With this bar I can use the standard adjusters (when they get here) and not the funky little key. I've been wanting this piece anyway and woulld stongly recommend an aftermarket strut bar if you go the KONI route.

TheDosDog

Well Koni came through and sent the Standard adjuster. It is easier to use than the little key they provide but there is no way this could work with the OE tower bar. It just fits in the little coin compartment . And for the record, the correct KONI adjuster is the 4mm size (Not 5mm). The black cap in the last pic is the part of the packaging for the shock I trimmed down for use as a dust cap.

rotarenvy

why do you have to remove the rear shock to adjust them?
is it just the interior trim that gets in the way?