AWolf

I recently found a local racer who has a suspension setup he pulled off his 944. It has koni front struts w/400lb springs, koni rear adjustable shocks w/ helper springs and the matching torsion bars. All of this was installed new on his car in 2002. One of the front struts collapsed so it needs to be re-valved but other than that they are almost new condition. I mainly autocross my car at this time but would like to potentially get into some track racing. I rarely street drive my car so the harsh ride would not be an issue. I can get the entire setup for $400 should I go for it? My only dilemma is will the 400lb springs be too much for auto-x. My car is pretty sloppy right now as far as suspension components go so I will have to be upgrading them soon anyway. Should I go for it? Thanks for the help guys.

-Andrew


P.S. I am posting this in the autocross section also but I tend not to get to many responses over there.

tifosiman

A bunch of people are going to respond telling you "Why do you need to go that stiff", "400lbs is too stiff for the street, autocross, blah blah blah."

I say go for it, if it is what you want, and you can do the swap yourself and have the $$ for the needed proper alignment afterwards. I have 400lb front, 300lb rear (plus stock t-bars) and my car is not too harsh for the roads around where I live and handles like a dream.

That sounds like a good deal...........

AWolf

Thanks Tifo,
Like I said this is not my daily driver so the harshness of the ride is not an issue I am mainly interested in the performance aspect. So if it will perform well on an auto-cross track (or at leat a significant amount better than stock) then than is what I am aiming for.

-Andrew

tifosiman

It will blow the stock set up away. Of course, a lot of it is the driver, but I will never look back after switching mine. A few people have been in mine since I did all the work and it is suprising to them how well it is stuck to the road. 944Pete and SEAN MCMANUS have both been in it lately...........

Jason_86_951

I've got 350lbs front and the 968 (cup??75lbs??) helper springs on the rear. Handles better than me........ Great for autoX, little bumpy on the street but not so bad.
Do it!

AWolf

Do you guys know how much Koni charges for a re-valve?
-Andrew

AWolf

Ok so here’s what happened,
I got a call from the guy and it ended up that he wanted $400 for just the front Struts and springs, and the rear was somewhat more so I had to pass on it. It kind of inspired me to look into suspension though. Could I manage to get something like, Koni Strut inserts, 250lb springs, and rear shocks for under $600? Do the Strut inserts Koni makes have any adjustability to them? And on later year cars (post 85) do you still have to drill out the assembly to get to the cartridge? We could make this a group challenge: "Best suspension for under $600" ...........(possible second thread).....

-Andrew

MTM

I think that's impossible. Just the struts/shocks alone will cost like $500 (Koni yellows - $100 each for rear, $150 each for front).

AWolf

Is there a decent alternative to the konis? I am kind of new to the suspension on these cars but still on a budget. I can't really see spending more on the suspension than I did on the car. How are KYB as far as performance. I have heard that they are pretty stiff almost as much as the Bilstein's stock. Has anyone had any expierence with these?

-Andrew

Skip

Just under $700 for the Konis and Welt 250's. I would recommend only 200# in front unless you go with a 19mm 968 M030 sway bar.

All Koni Red and Yellow shocks are adjustable for rebound, some are available with bump adjustment. www.koni-na.com has more info regarding the specifics to each application, and also what it means to have an adjustable damper.

You do not have to drill or cut anything to install inserts in to the 85.5 944.

If Konis are Lawyers, and Boges (OE) are Law students, then KYB's would be young school children who think being a lawyer would be neato.

AWolf

Haha,

"If Konis are Lawyers, and Boges (OE) are Law students, then KYB's would be young school children who think being a lawyer would be neato."

Very nice quote Skip, So the only really decent alternative, same price range, to the Koni's are Bilsteins? I already have turbo front and rear sway bars on my car and that seemed to make a pretty big difference so I am sure anything will be an improvement on my existing setup.

-Andrew

Skip

Yes, Bilstein is Koni's opposing counsel.