I'm sure everyone knows that I just got the Hotchkis TVS kit (Link). So I was doing some research and saw these: Tokico's D-Specs. What do you guys think? Are these a good product or should I opt for the Koni Sports???

If you vote please explain why.

 

D-specs have served me well over the last 14 months and 13,000 Miles. Great ride, handling and feel.

 

Tokicos are decent, but Konis are better. IMO, well worth the difference in price. They are also easier to access for revalving.

 

Go with the Koni's
There the best, always have been, and always will be....
My .02

 

Koni all the way!

 

One thing you might want to consider is who has actually had one or the other and who has had both....

 

I have the Konis on right now and the Tokicos sitting idle. I plan on running the Konis for a few autoXs then switching if I get bored to compare the difference. I have not voted in this poll yet, but so far the Konis are great. I have them on mid way bet. soft and stiff (5 turns rear, 1.75 turns front) for the street with Espelir Active GT springs. Ride is great and the handling is also nice. Again, no track experience yet with this setup, so we'll see.

 

Guitman... Please keep me informed on what you think of both.

 

Both shocks are great products with much superior valving vs oem, especially anyone coming off of oem 03/04 shocks, you loose compression stiffness with the Koni's, but gain proper rebound control and better valving. Keep in mind that the two shocks adjust differently. Koni's adjust rebound only, D-spec's adjust compression and rebound. How you need to tune the shocks to meet your goals should be the biggest factory in which one you go with. Koni's can be revalved, but what you change them to may be a tuff bulleye to nail since their are several aspects to pin down in order to make a positive change vs negitive one's.

Koni's vs 03/04 shocks: less compression dampning, but superior rebound control/valving control

Koni's vs 04.5+ shocks: simular compression dampning, superior valving.

D-specs vs 03/04 and 04.5+ shocks: your choice of compression dampning level's, from less to more then, superior rebound/valving control

I have driven on D-spec's and owned the Koni's, don't see the choice between them as super easy. How they adjust is the key IMO. I'd get TcKlines before I'd bother revalving a set of regular Koni's.

 

Thanks for the info Gsedan35.

 

My vote is not based on knowledge, but hearsay. I've been autocrossing a lot for two years. I've heard "Koni Sports" a hundred times. I've never heard Tokico.

This doesn't mean they're better, just more popular. If you're not road racing or autocrossing, I'm not sure it even matters which one you pick.

 

Will do. I am extremely curious myself!

 

I voted for Koni, having recently had to make the damper-upgrade decision myself, between these 2 brands (although I'm pairing my Konis with the Eibach Pro-Kit, instead of the Hotchkis springs that you'll be using them with). GSedan35's post has pretty well summed up the feature differences. My particular reasons for going with Koni:

- Experience with this particular setup on track. From driving dkmura's car, the Koni's seemed to control the movement of the Eibachs extremely effectively, and made the car feel very well planted. After installing these on my own car, that opinion hasn't changed. I've read some comments that the Konis don't work well with a drop of over an inch, but you shouldn't have to worry about that with the Hotchkis setup (and for the record, I haven't experienced any shock-travel problems with the Eibachs).

- Reputation. Tokico is certainly a well-reputed brand, but Koni has always been (and probably always will be) the top name in racing shock absorbers.

- Method of adjusting. The front of both brands adjust in the same way (the top of the shock body...easily accessed from under the hood). The rear Koni's adjustment mechanism is located at the top of the cylinder, on the outboard side, but is (relatively) easy to access after jacking the car up. The rear Tokico adjuster is located on the top of the shock body, which requires you to either A) unbolt the top of the shock and compress it, or B) drill an access hole in your rear strut tower cover under the hatch, to fit the adjusting key in there.

- Opinions of others who track their cars...I had read tons of feedback on the Konis from those who have driven them on a road course, and 99% of those had only positive things to say. I had a very hard time finding ANYONE who had much experience with the Tokicos on a road course, which might say something in and of itself.

Note that I have nothing particularly bad to say about the Tokico's performance, and I'm sure that it's a good unit, but it's tough NOT to choose Koni for a performance shock application.

Let me know if you decide on the Konis, as I can recommend a good vendor. And if you decide on the Tokico, I'll be curious to hear your impressions of them.

 

I always love it when you chime in Gary. The Koni's were my first choice untill I heard of the Tokico's. I think I'll stick with my guns on this and go w/ the Koni's. Thanks guys!!!

 

Their is one other thing to mention in regards to the Koni's rebound only control. Better control in corner's where stiffer, sometimes A LOT stiffer sway bar setting's ask for more rebound control. D-specs will up their rebound control too, but you may not want the additional compression dampning that come's along with that (TcKline's of course solve that little issue). Though their's a certain irony in the fact that I sold my Koni's because I needed more compression dampning and didn't trust my judgement or the judgement of other's concerning a revalve.

 

Good choice, Robert. When you get ready to buy, you should contact Driven Performance (http://www.dpeweb.com/). They're a board sponsor, they've got great service, and they had the best price on the Konis that I was able to find when I got mine a couple of months ago.

Konis also come up every once in a while in the member classifieds, but it doesn't seem to happen too often.

 

Thanks Gary! I think it will be a nice set-up with the Hotchkis springs and sways.
BTW: That is a smoking deal on those Konis!!!

 

I have Tokico's + Hotchkis waiting to be installed. I've heard from other board members that this setup is pretty good. We'll see though!

 

Is the difference between the koni's and the tokicos noticible on the street. This is a street car and I occasionally mess around on exit ramps :-D Saving a few bucks on something i'll never change again wouldnt be too bad. I looked up the tcklines and they're like 2 grand for a set.
With this said. I wont be changing the setup on the struts that often. Ill probably put the front to medium and the rear to medium-hard and leave it like.

 

I tried both set on my other vehicle - a honda. The tokicos are currently on the car while the konis sitting in the garage collecting dust. I would opt for tokico again for my Z. Given they can be adjusted to have stiffer ride ( due to the adjustability on compression) and that can make your car feels like having a set of racing springs even with soft aftermarket or factory springs. simply put - Tokicos give luxury and track ready ride, but konis can only do the luxury or factory ride.