Without a doubt, check out quick Carls new package (928 Motorsports)

 

I had the externally adjustable Koni's and Eibachs on my 89GT. Not to hard or uncomfortable for long drives, set full soft. For spirited driving or DE's I would crank them up about 3/4 in the rear and 1 turn in the front. Handled great. Now I have a 93 GTS (both 5 speeds) with Bilstein/Eibachs. The ride is not as comfortable as the Koni's at full soft and about the same as the Koni's when cranked up. BUT I had 17" wheels/tires on the 89GT, 235's and 275's and now I have 18's on the GTS, currently 235 and 285, (I have had 295's on the rear, but that's another story). If I could do it all over again I would go with the Koni's and have the best of both worlds.

Jim Mayzurk
93 GTS 5-spd

 

Hi Richard,

on my 81S i have Bilstein/Eibach adn think they are great.
Like Nick says they feel a bit hard, but it is so much fun to drive after the upgrade that I can live with it.
Not so sure if the weight is so much different, my 81 weighs 3350lbs 1520Kg
and my 90GT weighs 3440lbs or 1560Kg.
You must be prepared to accept a little less comfort with a harder setup.

Cheers/Peter

 

Thanks Guys,

I think I have an idea which way I'll go with it...!

I'll post pics when done..

Regards,

 

Hi Blau,

I had bilstein eibach installed two weeks ago... with new rebuilt upper ball joints, new lower ball joints, ..

I did the sterring rack tie rods motor mounts and pan gasket myself less than 300 miles ago..

I love the new suspension... Devek rebuilt, installed and aligned....

they are definitely a little hasher on torn up roads but no more cadillac feel... bouncing in the springs that is... it ride like it on glass on good roads...

I think that it is all a matter of taste and the kind of driveing you want to do...

but new is always better than worn out!!!

LO

 

My experience with the internal Konis on my 89 S4's stock sport suspension springs - too soft regardless of setting for driving in the twisties. Increasing the rebound damping just makes the ride harsher with no better control in the twisties.

 

Good to know Bill,

Thx

 

Bill,
I could never describe any Konis as 'soft', regardless of how hard they were driven. If yours are truly soft, Koni have a good warranty replacement deal - or they can run them through an accelerometer test and rebuild if req'd.
The konis on my S4 are 'softer' that those on the '80; however, I'm sure the difference is the spring - not the shock. The compression valving is fixed and reacts to the total mass, while the adjustable rebound valve only deals with the unsprung mass: Perhaps you need a stiffer spring set ....

 

I've sent mine back and gotten new ones. One was noticably softer on compression than the other. You have to be the original owner and prove it, but they replaced them.

Bill,

Harsh ride but handles poorly? That is a poor outcome. You might look into the state of your roll bar (bushings, links) front and rear. If that's OK then get a stiffer bar or steroids. Maybe stiffer springs would get you where you want.

Stiffer sway bars is a better route to nimble handling, while keeping ride comfort, than going to hard springs and shocks.

 

Everybody tells me the Koni's aren't soft. Mine feel like they are broken, but they have been that way, all 4 of them, since day-one. With my original sport shocks, the handling in the twisties was excellent. I wouldn't have expected my sport suspension springs to be weak, especially since they were OK with the sport shocks. It's a bit hard to believe all 4 Koni shocks were broken on delivery, but that is what I am hoping is true. I'll find out when I take them off. I can't stand driving on them much longer. In the meantime, my experience, counter to prevailing opinion, is that the Koni internals are terrible.

 

928 specialists has an UNBELIEVEABLE deal on heavy duty adjustable sway bars right now.

If i had the extra $500 for the complete set i'd be bolting them on this weekend.

 

One of my attempts to improve handling after my disappointment with the shocks was to install a DEVEK front swaybar. Certainly, that helped compensate for the soft compression damping in turns, but overall the ride is still terrible. Rear swaybar and links are OK. I'll take the shocks off soon and see if they are as bad as I feel they are.

 

Bill
So the Konis are only adjustable for rebound? That seems pointless, even the externally adjustable ones are the same way? What are you going to put on...Bilsteins? Bilsteins are the OEM sport shock right?

Heres another question? How hard is it to change the shocks-springs? Do you need to align the car immediately afterwards? Sure you need a special tool to compress the springs, but what else?

 

changing the shocks/springs isn't 'hard' per se, just extremely labor intensive.

I did mine myself and my alignment seems fine.

As far as special tools, you'll need a spring compressor and a spanner wrench. Beyond that just a really good basic metric tool kit. Air tools make the job go a lot quicker.

 

The actual alignment should not be disturbed by changing the springs/shocks. BUT the height will most certinaly change and this will disturb the alignment, so I would recommend to do an alignment after the change. The toe will change as the height changes and your tires will get ruined quite quick.

Btw I run Leda on my car and is very satisfied with them. They are adjustable on the outside with a **** which makes it easy to change from track setup to street setup. I'm running 800lbs springs in front and 525 at the rear, this might be a but hard for a pure street application but is excellent on a street/track car. 600/400 might be more suitable for a street car.