Koni 30 Series Shock/Damper Review
09-29-2016, 01:29 AM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Koni 30 Series Shock/Damper Review
Just thought I'd throw in my experience so far with these dampers as there really isn't much out there on them.
When I originally planned on refurbishing my S2's suspension, I was pretty torn in which direction I was going to take. Being new to Porsche ownership and at the time only just really getting to really know the car, I felt like my only choice was to go with larger torsion bars, stiffen up the bushings a little and essentially do an M030 conversion.. After several talks with Jason from Paragon (really nice guy and tons of help) and lots of reading on here I decided to not choose the 'infinitely' adjustable Koni Sport Yellows for the rear. Why? Well the 30 Series has a couple of things going for it over the Yellows as follows:
* For starters, they're a true coilover meaning I could actually get a meaningful (and cheaper!) corner balance and not mess around with setting the ride height via indexing and the eccentric bolts (I've heard it isn't as bad as it's told to be but I was just glad I didn't have to go through it). It's essentially an install and done job other than getting the ride height right and to your liking. In addition, by the nature of it being a true coilover spring change is far quicker and less of a hassle then having to re-index if your springs aren't to your liking.
* Secondly, they actually have 4 pre-set adjustment "clicks" for the rebound (they're the same in that regard as the Yellow's in that they only adjust rebound and have no effect on the compression) meaning it's just a bit simpler, a little more set and go. However in my opinion, the biggest advantage over a standard Yellow is actually the mechanism itself on the 30 Series because the damper doesn't need to be compressed to be adjusted. This means the upper part of the damper can remain fixed to the car while only the bottom portion has to be undone from the trailing arm when being adjusted. With the Racer's Edge adapter in place (required if you removed the torsion bars like I did as the coilovers now support the weight of the car), you don't need to worry as much about stripping threads in the trailing arm when reinstalling something like a Yellow. I'm not sure which damper would actually be faster to adjust but I think the 30 Series is the more convenient as you don't have to mess around with re-securing the damper at the top, which is a massive pain in the ***. It does mean however that you have to jack the car up to adjust it as it takes the weight of the car but you'd have to do it to get under the car to totally remove a Sport Yellow anyways. Not a massive inconvenience IMO.
* Lastly, they hardly cost anything. If I remember correctly they're almost always under $200 US/unit.. Mine were a bit more as they were purchased as coilover units. The other neat thing about these dampers is that they don't have to be a coilover, meaning you can leave your torsion bars in if you don't want or need to go the coilover route but maintain the extra bonus of a quicker and easier adjustment over a Yellow. The 30 Series can also be mounted inverted.
Have I had any regrets? Well yes and no. You ultimately get what you pay for and I think these are actually pretty great. They ride maybe a tad firm but definitely not harsh (and I've got delrin bushings everywhere) but they're definitely not KWs or Motons or any of the higher priced units. I've never been in a car or driven one equipped with those but from the praise I've heard I'm sure the price is worth it. I'd assume the adjustment on them makes the process required on the 30 Series look a little like a circus act. KWs etc would be a massive bonus if your car is a track only vehicle or just sees lots of track time solely on the basis of adjustment. Maybe it's stupid to compare them as the 30 Series is significantly more affordable and not a direct competitor but it is worth mentioning if you need to adjust your settings on a semi regular basis. Again, these 30 Series dampers are easily good enough for most people. I know there's a couple people on here also use them on their cars that only see DEs and have yet to hear of any complaints. My car is a double duty car as it's both my main vehicle but sees weekend backroads, autocross and hopefully some DE time in the future. In that regard, they work great and are probably better for me as there's less to mess up because of there only being 4 settings. You can adjust the fronts much easier too (you cant use these on the front so I spec'd Yellows as they're pretty close if not the same internally but I may be mistaken, no problems with them anyhow) so it's easy to balance it out. I just have to make my adjustments the night before or during lunch break at track/autocross events if I want a change in the rear.
Edit: I found they actually ride quite a bit better when at one click from full soft.. Also forgot to mention, these come as part of Ground Control's coilover kit however I'm not aware if there are any differences. Probably just depends on which spring rate you choose.
Anyways, I'm sure I'm forgetting something but that's pretty much it. Would like to thank Jason at Paragon products again for all the help from several months ago. I was all over the place with what I wanted to do originally but he talked me through it and it all turned out well. I'm really happy with the car. It's made the car more enjoyable and I've run down plenty of much much "faster" cars on the road with total ease, much to their surprise. Definitely makes all of the work worth it
When I originally planned on refurbishing my S2's suspension, I was pretty torn in which direction I was going to take. Being new to Porsche ownership and at the time only just really getting to really know the car, I felt like my only choice was to go with larger torsion bars, stiffen up the bushings a little and essentially do an M030 conversion.. After several talks with Jason from Paragon (really nice guy and tons of help) and lots of reading on here I decided to not choose the 'infinitely' adjustable Koni Sport Yellows for the rear. Why? Well the 30 Series has a couple of things going for it over the Yellows as follows:
* For starters, they're a true coilover meaning I could actually get a meaningful (and cheaper!) corner balance and not mess around with setting the ride height via indexing and the eccentric bolts (I've heard it isn't as bad as it's told to be but I was just glad I didn't have to go through it). It's essentially an install and done job other than getting the ride height right and to your liking. In addition, by the nature of it being a true coilover spring change is far quicker and less of a hassle then having to re-index if your springs aren't to your liking.
* Secondly, they actually have 4 pre-set adjustment "clicks" for the rebound (they're the same in that regard as the Yellow's in that they only adjust rebound and have no effect on the compression) meaning it's just a bit simpler, a little more set and go. However in my opinion, the biggest advantage over a standard Yellow is actually the mechanism itself on the 30 Series because the damper doesn't need to be compressed to be adjusted. This means the upper part of the damper can remain fixed to the car while only the bottom portion has to be undone from the trailing arm when being adjusted. With the Racer's Edge adapter in place (required if you removed the torsion bars like I did as the coilovers now support the weight of the car), you don't need to worry as much about stripping threads in the trailing arm when reinstalling something like a Yellow. I'm not sure which damper would actually be faster to adjust but I think the 30 Series is the more convenient as you don't have to mess around with re-securing the damper at the top, which is a massive pain in the ***. It does mean however that you have to jack the car up to adjust it as it takes the weight of the car but you'd have to do it to get under the car to totally remove a Sport Yellow anyways. Not a massive inconvenience IMO.
* Lastly, they hardly cost anything. If I remember correctly they're almost always under $200 US/unit.. Mine were a bit more as they were purchased as coilover units. The other neat thing about these dampers is that they don't have to be a coilover, meaning you can leave your torsion bars in if you don't want or need to go the coilover route but maintain the extra bonus of a quicker and easier adjustment over a Yellow. The 30 Series can also be mounted inverted.
Have I had any regrets? Well yes and no. You ultimately get what you pay for and I think these are actually pretty great. They ride maybe a tad firm but definitely not harsh (and I've got delrin bushings everywhere) but they're definitely not KWs or Motons or any of the higher priced units. I've never been in a car or driven one equipped with those but from the praise I've heard I'm sure the price is worth it. I'd assume the adjustment on them makes the process required on the 30 Series look a little like a circus act. KWs etc would be a massive bonus if your car is a track only vehicle or just sees lots of track time solely on the basis of adjustment. Maybe it's stupid to compare them as the 30 Series is significantly more affordable and not a direct competitor but it is worth mentioning if you need to adjust your settings on a semi regular basis. Again, these 30 Series dampers are easily good enough for most people. I know there's a couple people on here also use them on their cars that only see DEs and have yet to hear of any complaints. My car is a double duty car as it's both my main vehicle but sees weekend backroads, autocross and hopefully some DE time in the future. In that regard, they work great and are probably better for me as there's less to mess up because of there only being 4 settings. You can adjust the fronts much easier too (you cant use these on the front so I spec'd Yellows as they're pretty close if not the same internally but I may be mistaken, no problems with them anyhow) so it's easy to balance it out. I just have to make my adjustments the night before or during lunch break at track/autocross events if I want a change in the rear.
Edit: I found they actually ride quite a bit better when at one click from full soft.. Also forgot to mention, these come as part of Ground Control's coilover kit however I'm not aware if there are any differences. Probably just depends on which spring rate you choose.
Anyways, I'm sure I'm forgetting something but that's pretty much it. Would like to thank Jason at Paragon products again for all the help from several months ago. I was all over the place with what I wanted to do originally but he talked me through it and it all turned out well. I'm really happy with the car. It's made the car more enjoyable and I've run down plenty of much much "faster" cars on the road with total ease, much to their surprise. Definitely makes all of the work worth it
Last edited by DasSilberWedge; 09-30-2016 at 02:34 PM.
09-30-2016, 10:30 PM
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10-03-2016, 07:33 AM
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Your Porsche Parts Superstore
Parts | Tech-Session | Facebook | Youtube
Jason Burkett
Paragon Products - Porsche Parts & Accessories*- 800.200.9366
Tech Session - Porsche Tech & Info*- 361.289.8834
jason@paragon-products.com