Thaddeus

Hi,

I'm putting in Koni Red Internally Adjustable shocks this weekend, front and rear.

Because I don't want to have to disassemble everything to "dial in" the stiffness, I'd like peoples input before they go in.

I am running the stock springs. I will run it at stock height. I have Dunlop tires.

I want a compliant ride, but firm through the twisty stuff. A little harshness does not bother me: I want the car to be more nimble, less prone to wallowing. On the other hand, I don't like losing fillings or feeling like somebody's compressing my spine with repeated jolts.

Full soft? Medium? Full stiff? What do you all think? My first impulse was to set for full soft, but some threads I read seemed to imply this would make the ride too harsh ( contrary to my hunch).

Thanks in advance.

GlenL

I've got my Konis set 3/4's hard but with stiffer springs. This is great on the track and smooth in-town highways. Brutal on expansion joints and potholes.

One of the keys to good suspension tuning is to match the resistance of the shock to the strength of the spring. So my recommendation is less than 3/4s. Maybe 1/4 to 1/2. When I was setting mine, I measured 2 and 1/2 turns of available range so maybe 1 full turn.

Here's a couple of tips: The shocks don't like being compressed upside down. (At least mine didn't) Also, you should match the rebound rate of the bare shock. That is, compress the shock and watch how ilong it takes to extend. The pairs should match, but not front/back as the front springs are stiffer.

Paul D

Try a search using "Question about Koni Reds". This thread has some useful information about a Koni/Eibach setup. Koni Reds

Garth S

For a balance that I like for spirited driving on twisty country roads, I settled on a rebound adjustment of +5/8 turn ( of the 2.5 available). Your teeth and fillings will be OK ....

Thaddeus

I'll start with 1 full turn. We'll see.

Thaddeus

1 full turn is certainly not too stiff. Feels OK. I might want to go stiffer, but I'll have to wait until the fronts are in to really decide.

On hard cornering with old Boges in the front and new Konis in the rear, I got some squealing in back. The front mooshes down too much and the inside rear corner starts to lose grip. More or less what I expected.

Carl Fausett

The adjustment you speak of only affects the rate of rebound - the rate of compression on the internally adjustable Koni's is not adjustable.

I dial mind completely closed, then back it out 1/2 turn in the fron and 3/4 turn in the rear. That's a good auto-cross setup.

We now market a Koni tool on our website that allows you to change the valve adjustment of these Koni Reds in about 3 minutes per shocjk - while they are in the car!

John Pirtle

That adjustment tool is pretty neat!

In my experience the Koni's at 1/2 turn clockwise from soft stop is close to the Boges.

My PO had put on Koni's (used) and one of the front's went bad. I freeway commute and wanted a softer ride so put new Boges on front. He had the rear Koni's about 60% which was too firm for Boge's on the front. I'm pleased with the ride - it's comfortable but remains composed. However the car was much more rock solid performance-wise when I had all Koni's. The PO had them set at 60/40% front/rear. That really kept the car flat and tight, not really too bad for street driving. But my commute is a concrete freeway....