My KONIs have arrived this morning. I'm planing on installing them next weekend.

The original KONI packaging had a lot of holes in it and there are a lot of paint chips, but otherwise they are fine.

The great news is that customs didn't charge me this time around as well

In the mean time here are some pics.




Rear shock adjustment:

Bent:

 

are these adjustable?? (as said on the box)

 

You can adjust the rebound, they are exactly the same ones as covered in this thread

 

Congrats, bet you were pleased when the package came


Why are they chipped? Are they second hand?

Will you be doing the springs as well?

What made you decide to upgrade the shocks?

 

Well, it came 4 days early, so it was quiet big surprise.

According to the other KONI posts the chipping is because of the crap packaging, if you take a closer look at the pics, there's lots of holes in them. In the second last pic, the brace which holds brake line (I think), is bent as well. I alredy have straighten it up.

The other reason is because of new environmental rules in EU the paint used on the Konis is crap and it just flakes off. If you take a look at the last pic, you can see there few bubbles that i've scraped with my finger nail.

And the biggest reason behind upgrading the shocks is the dreaded bounce, aparently they fix it. They should also improve the ride a bit.

the reaseon behind me getting them is they were less then half price of most coilovers, that includes shipping from USA. And I don't need the adjustibility offered by coilovers. Also KONIs can be rebuild and I think they should be more relible then stock shocks as well. In my opinion all pluses and no minuses.

As for springs, right now I'm keeping the stock ones. I'll see what the ride is like and then I'll think about upgrading them, right now I'm thinking about RS*R TI2000 or hotchicks, but I've to see how the KONIs perfrom first.

I'm also considering getting 350EVO sways.

 

Congrats !
Let us know what the ride is like when you get them on.

 

Ok cool,

It will be interesting to see how they change the handling. I heard the stock shocks are pretty good and but the stock springs are too soft. This might have been refering to the overall performance not the bounce specifically. Look forward to the write up.

What was the cost?

 

Nuff,
Looking forward to your impressions. I am having mine installed at the 350Evo shop mid May. I also plan to do their sway bars. It seems the OEM shocks valving are the main problem with the suspension bounce. I plan to stay with the OEM springs. The Konis also have a lifetime warranty as well.

 

mchapman, the cost was US$800, including shipping, it worked out to be around AU$1130.

I had a better look this morning at the shocks and to my surprise both of the front shocks are right side version. I've sent email to Eric Hu and I'm waiting for response. The bad news is it might delay my install by at least a week.

 

I've talked to Eric and he mentioned that it shouldn't make any difference.

I'll take a look at the front suspension later tonight and see if the mounts will cause any problems by being on the wrong side.

Update:

I've just taked to Eric again, and he wants to know if any one in australia is interested in KONIs. It would be a lot less hassle for me to send one of the right shock in australia then sending it back to USA.

PM me for details.

 

Nuff,

Sorry about the inconvience that this has caused I will try to get this taking care of for you as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, if anyone in Australia is interested in the last set of Konis that I have, Please PM me.

The next Koni delivery will be around early June. If you don't want to wait, let Nuff or myself know. Thanks.

 

wz350,
Do you know why they have delayed the next Koni shipment till June? Is it due to demand? From the parts # there is a right & left front shock. Rears are the same #. What are your impressions of the Konis? I plan to run them with the OEM springs & 350Evo sway bars.

 

According to Gordon with Koni demand is exceeding supply.

 

I like the ride a lot and it got a lot smoother after alignment. I am not sure how much stiffer the ride will be after you installed the sway bar.

 

Nuff,

Any updates on the Koni install?

 

I got the Konis all sorted out, thanks wz350.

They are going in tomorrow morning, so you should see some sort of report tomorrow night (sydney time).

I might include some photos if I've time and few comments from my girlfriend, since she hates the current ride.

 

The KONIs are in, it took me and a friend of mine around 2 hours to get the right front strut in, but the left one took only 45min. The rears took around 15min - 25min each. There was also no need to cut the strut like others have done, but i guess spring compressors came in handy.

I've only drove on the M4 and parramatta rd from Blacktown to the city so far and the ride has improved a lot, I can actually see things out of the rear view mirror without it shaking. The shocks are set to full soft at the moment by the way. Also my girlfriend didn't complain about the ride this time around, she always lets me know that she feels sea sick when driving the Z. The ride is still very stiff, but i think the shocks control the springs a lot better.

I still haven't pushed it yet through any corners to see how if the bounce is totally gone, but for now I think it is. Also I think that I get a lot more feedback from the steering wheel or it could be that there's less vibration in the cabin.

For now, I feel like it's a great mod, I'll let you guys know how it handles the corners next weekend.

 

Parramatta Rd would've been a good test. Looking forward to further impressions.

 

apsilon, I know, parramatta rd is rough, ther further west it goes the worse it gets, I was quiet surprised that my kidneys were still in place when I was driving with the Konis. The ride was a lot more refined.

 

Thanks nuff! Good to hear the Konis work.