iloveporsches

I'm thinking about replacing the rear shocks ( )in my car. They looked pretty old when I was under there. I have an 83 with the "sport package" if that makes a difference. Anyway, I'm looking for something that's firm, but still gives a decent ride. There's yellow Boge shocks back there now. Also, when they list a price for shocks/struts, is that per side or a pair?

IMB951

944's only have shocks with torsion bars in the rear. There are many different brands of shocks made, but I think that the most preferable choice would be Koni Yellows. They are fully adjustable to give you whatever quality ride you want. I have mine set to medium and I can feel the road so much better but it doesn't rattle my teeth out when it gets bumpy.

osu944

WOW!!!! you've got struts in the rear (couldn't resist). those are shocks buddy boy. struts are in the front. i'd say go with the koni yellows. the price is per shock ususally. should be about $120/shock.

IMB951

youd probably be better off finding a nice used set from someone here or on ebay if price is an issue. Mine were from ebay off an '89 turbo

one thing, if you do get them used, make sure the bump rubbers are in good condition, because if they aren't.... <img border="0" alt="[icon501]" title="" src="graemlins/icon501.gif" /> just get new ones from paragon if thats the case.

Mark Parker

I am SO torn by this question. I actually got a set of used Konis off eBay, but when they arrived, they had absolutely no bump damping at all, so I returned them and got my money back. Now I'm determined not to buy used, but at the same time, I've seen a lot of people who have blown Koni shocks. One of the guys I worked with for many years has a shop of his own, specializing in VWs. The concensus among this group is that Bilstein, although a good deal more expensive, is a far superior shock which rarely fails. I asked if he thought the Konis were simply being run at too stiff a setting, and being blown out that way, but the bump side is what seems to go, and it's not adjustable on the shocks most commonly used. Comments anyone?

Skip

If you know, who are "a lot of people", and what was the evaluation Koni gave when they were returned under the lifetime warranty?

Have you ever seen that Discount Tire commercial where the dissatisfied customer throws the tire thru the window... well, you're just down river from Koni-na (Hebron)... I've always wanted to try that... usually with anything from Wal-mart

Mike B

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by Skip:
<strong>If you know, who are "a lot of people", and what was the evaluation Koni gave when they were returned under the lifetime warranty?

Have you ever seen that Discount Tire commercial where the dissatisfied customer throws the tire thru the window... well, you're just down river from Koni-na (Hebron)... I've always wanted to try that... usually with anything from Wal-mart </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Skip has point...I like Koni...maybe that's why I ordered a set from Jason (Paragon) today...By the way: If there is a more easy-going, reasonable person to deal with then I would like to meet him...Jason gets an A+ from me and I have yet to "get the goods"...

Mark Parker

Skip: Yes, Hebron is merely a skip and a jump from here,,,not that I skip mind you <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> , but it wouldn't do me any good with a pair of used units. One of the fellas I was at autox school with last June had a front strut lay down on his RX7 (spit,,spit)in mid turn. All the bump damping went away, but nothing external could be seen. The two I got online looked perfectly good, but if you held either of them upright, they'd close up under the force of gravity. The mysterious VW ones whom my friend spoke of, as well as the boy with the RX all seem to have chosen just to s**tcan the dampers rather than be without while Koni had a look at them. I assume you've had good luck with the brand. So do you think it could be a matter of everyone wanting to dial in the max damping ? Even though again, the action which goes out is bump, which is not adjustable in most cases anyway.

Skip

Mark, I am truly not trying to be daft.

When I hear that "everyone I know" or "a lot of people" are having problems with Konis, or any other brand, I have to ask for perspective. Koni shocks and struts do have some amount of admitted failure. If you hang out in racing circles where ~50% of the cars either run or have run Konis, you're bound to find a dissapointed customer or two. While unfortunate for the victim of failure, it is hardly a concern that a few dampers do fail every now and again - especially when used for racing duty. Yes, many failures can and are traced back to improper use, installation, or adjustment - and then there are also inexplicable failures of the damper. Koni is very committed to quality control - they do in fact use industry standard measures of performance (ISO). Every Koni strut or shock is tested before leaving the factory, and when returned for warranty it is torn down for diagnosis (unless failure is obvious) and claim evaluation.

I'm pretty confident in saying that the odds are against you ever having a problem with a Koni.

Skip

Danno

", I've seen a lot of people who have blown Koni shocks."

Typically this is due to improper settings. A lot of people run their shocks adjusted too stiffly. Sometimes, it's the low-velocity (shock) compression-damping that needs to be adjusted, and they keep on twisting that rebound **** with no effect, so they twist it some more!

Lowering a car too much without stiff-enough springs is another problem. It can bottom out the shock and smash the valving internally.

Mark Parker

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Skip:
<strong>I'm pretty confident in saying that the odds are against you ever having a problem with a Koni.

Skip</strong>[/QUOTE
That is just the kind of endorsment I like to see . Shocks are my next upgrade, and the Konis are so much more affordable than Bilsteins. I think Dannos post right after yours is also helpful in that he agrees that misuse/misadjustment might be the cause of failure in a lot (another of my generalizations )of cases. Although as of right now, I'm hesitant to make ANY changes because the car is working very well. After yesterdays second place out of 9 E Stock entries <img border="0" alt="[king]" title="" src="graemlins/r.gif" /> I am looking at trimming hundreths of a second. MUCH better than this time last year.
What I feel I need is a way to hold the inside wheel down so that I can roll on the gas a little sooner when coming off the corners (no LSD ya' know). Is there something else I might consider, or do ya' think shocks will help?

Luke

Koni's part to part variation is like more than 10%. I would not reccomend.

Skip

Luke, we'd love to have a debate on that again, but it's in the archives. Larry should really come back someday and finish the open-ended statements left in the various posts along the way.

Opinions being what they are, we'll continue to rely on the facts. Thanks.

Skip

944CS

Ok, u bought used shocks off the internet and you're trash talking koni...something doesnt seem right. Also, the ones you buy from Porsche are differentfrom the ones you buy from Koni. Get the ones from Porsche, they are better.