Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net

Yes, I have had them for many years now, of course my car has been idle for two of those years

I had custom mounts made to use spherical bearings, so this is strictly a track setup. I am sure I could get them copied. I have thought about having a second set of the rear ones made now as I am pulling the transmission, so the rear suspension "might" be coming apart. I might be able to pull the transmission backwards by disconnecting the upper mounts since with the fuel cell out there is straight back access. As it is my car is more apart than together, so I am hoping to get to the point where I start putting things back together soon.

If I don't already have photos, I could get them easily enough for the rear anyways. My setup was copied from Mark A's old setup when I bought the shocks and springs from him.

drnick

im onto my third generation of coilover carried across three different cars. i read some good advice here from people with experience on the track. here are my observations:

i agree that what works on the street does in the end become too soft at the track, most of the racers have front springs north of 750lb. the bilstein shock is not IMO strong enough to dampen a spring firmer than 500lb - i have had mine revalved to work with 650/425 springs. the koni shocks can dampen 500/350 springs no problem as rebound can be increased but i think they might struggle with bump at higher spring rates. when i next change the suspension on my track car i will go for stiffer springs and ajustable shocks.

Sab

So on Carl's racing package with 500/1000 and Konis, the springs are too much for the shocks?

Also, is there anything in between spherical bearings and old worn out rubber bushings? Are there teflon bushing replacements?

I guess the whole suspension issue is going to be work in progress, since it is unlikely that the first choice will perfectly fit the bill.

I wish I could find a decnt used set from someone that is upgrading his. I hate to spend big bucks on something that almost certainly needs to be changed again.

Lizard928

is it not an option to have the Konis custom valved by the factory for the spring rate you choose?

drnick

lizard, that could be an ideal solution if its possible.

Lizard928

I will see if I can find a local Koni place on this side of the border, and see if they are able to custom valve them for the higher rate springs for a reasonable amount. Though I am pretty sure that they have centers in the US which will custom valve each shock for $60 plus shipping.

Lizard928

Just got off the phone with Koni, they have about 4 centers around the US that can revalve the shocks, takes about 4+ weeks to revalve. Cost is $110 + cost of parts. (shipping on top of that)

so in other words if you are using the shocks in the car, the car will be off the road for 4 -5 weeks at least while you wait to get them back. This is the same for warranty work as well.

Now I remember why I didnt want to go that way!

Bill Ball

Yes and yes. Excellent for the street, very good for the twisties, OK but not great for very high speed open road racing turns (145-170), not stiff enough for the track. Bilsteins, although not adjustable, can be revalved to taste for $65 per corner.

drnick

bill, i have to say that i was apprehensive about buying koni shocks after reading about the bad experience you had. but... my experience has been the complete opposite. ive got revalved bilsteins on my track car with 650/425 lb springs and i was thinking about what to put on my 79 street car. i had some 550/350 hypercoils lying about so i used these, last time i had mounted them with stock bilsteins i wasnt impressed as there wasnt the rebound damping they needed. so i opted for the koni shocks and set them about 75% stiff. i have to say they are working very sweetly indeed on the 79, i love driving this car on the street.

FlyingDog

I was told that revalved Bilstein HDs can handle over 1000lb springs. Stock Koni Sport (yellow) and Special (red) shocks can only handle 450, and revalved, they don't do well over 600 or 650.

FlyingDog

If you look at Koni's site, the cost is ~$155/shock for twin-tubes (Sport/Special/8xxx-series) and $110 or $115 for monotubes (30xx-series, 28xx-series).

Peter F

Does anybody know what Carl deliveres if you order his hypercoil package with 600lb front springs?
A std Koni or revalved to match the higher spring value?

/Peter

Bill Ball

Yes, my bad experience with 2 set of Konis appears to have been an odd anomaly. The shocks were very bad with not enough compression dampening for a ball point pen spring. Glad yours worked out. Other friends have gotten good Konis as well.

fraggle

I have the external adj Koni Red's/hypercoil (600/400, I think) package (from defunct DEVEK). Love it. Dupe it somewhere else! CAr was off the road for 8 months so a re-valve is a quick option in my opinion.

Of course I came from sacked shocks and springs.....

adrian928se

Nick, the Bilsteins can be re-valved to cope with 700lb plus springs - I've had that done on my 'CS' and they work well - the trick is to get the right settings for your car, weight and spring set up.

Adrian