BJ,

What's your feelings after driving on the Konis for a couple of weeks now?

 

Tried calling koni today but i think a lot of them might still be out or are going to PRI show.

 

Good keep after them. I hope they can still make the changes we talked about. I want these shocks to be right. If they can satisfy you the rest of us should be happy. I emailed Gordon and mentioned you had some questions & possible tweaks to the settings on the Konis. He hasn't responded (normally emails me that day) so he may be off or out of town too. I think the # of views of this thread show how much interest there is in these shocks.

 

Boomer, we have talked about your situation before, and I understand what you are saying. I do understand how these shocks will help eliminate bounce and keep your tires in better contact with the road. I just have yet to see anyone say how only these shocks will improve your performance. When I think performance, I think about more than rebound.

 

littlerod shocks/stuts are like 90% of the suspension characteristic.

 

I agree, obviously, but the easy way to visualize a car w/o shocks or struts is the wobble head doll. It is a spring only, so it has nothing to control its motion. A weak shock/strut will not control the wobble of a spring very well. High performance shocks/struts from a reputable company, you can't get much more experienced than Koni(Formula 1, CART, SCCA, etc.), are MUCH better than a stock part because a car manufacturer can't spend the $ to match a specialty part, unless they are Ferrari or some other exotic.

The Konis are the best of both worlds, a supple ride and firm control of any wobble in the spring. A street Koni will give me this and will work better for me than the poor performing stock struts. I say again, you do not have to endure a harsh ride to get excellent handling that will be much better than stock, IMO. You are entitled to think differently, but I don't believe you will get a lot of support from others who have experienced the difference. I'm just pissed to be forced to buy now, rather than at 30,000 miles, which is my usual practice.

 

You don't have to buy now. Just substitute a drive in the Z for horseback riding.

 

 

Well, like I said, I am not an expert in this, I wanted more info and I got that. Guess I am hesistant and rough on them cause I just don't see the price of $600. You can get some Tein basics for $800 with height adjustability. Is it just me, or does this seem like a whole lot of money for shocks and are they worth that much??

 

There will be alot of happy Koni customers out there. I am not knocking Tein by any means. I personally have never used them. If ride height is really what you are looking for then that is a good way to go.
With the Z suspension geometry playing with the ride height can have some unwanted effects. Next week we do plan on throwing on some Eibach sprt springs to drop the car just a little bit. Right now....bang for the buck the Konis are the way to go......if you want it lowered just a bit put on some differnt springs. The other thing these offer is simple adjustability which allows you to dial in the car a bit more without being to overboard. Koni has a great reputation all over the world and has been around a long time......little known fact but Koni's biggest market is train and railway system suspension.
For a performace and everyday driver shock this is a good deal.

 

Duh! I realized you were speaking to me. My Quarter horse, Shorty, had a better ride than the Z. Some horses have an easy gait, w/o bouncing!

 

BJ, you DA MAN! Little rod, this is why the Konis are worth their price, I won't drop my car from stock, ever, unless H&R builds some OE springs for it. They are close to stock height, but are progressive, I think, and would be a perfect complement to the Konis. The Basics are a good product, but I have been told they would not provide the ride I want, the Konis will, with the stock springs. Their price is fair for the return you get, a lifetime guarantee with adjustability to go racing if you want.

 

Cool, sometimes we just take things for granted here, and I wanted a more in depth reason, thanks dwnshift. From my understanding, these only provide compression adjustment. How hard at they to adjust, I assume you need the car on a lift, jacks, or something?? I will be buying something for my suspension cause I love to hang corners, probably more than straight line speed. Problem is, I know more about the engine than suspension, so this trend helps.

This is solely a fact finding mission for me, thanks to who helped. From what I have gathered, the basics would be a lot stiffer than the Koni setup, but not as stiff as the softest setting in their Flex. Just trying to get the most for my money, and I know if I went with the konis, then got some mild lowering springs, I would still be looking at camber issues, of which I don't want to bother with. Really, I would only lower my car around 0.5" to look better with my 19s. But it sounds like the konis will provide a much better ride, and that might outweigh any lowering.

 

I would buy these shocks and the front adjustable anti-roll bar as long as the shocks are legal for SCCA Stock AutoX. Will these be legal? It looks like the adjusatability won't be an issue, but what about the compressed and uncompressed lengths?

You can count me in as long as it meets that Stock requirement.


Thanks,
D'oh!

 

The Konis are rebound adjustable only.

 

D'Oh
The Koni's keep the stock ride height and use the stock springs so I am assuming that they are legal for SCCA auto x.
The other alternative for the legal auto X shock is the Penskes we have. They were built and designed for around the SCCA pro solo and T2 rules.

The Koni's are rebound adjustable and not compression. They are easily adjuststable. I will try and take some pictures today.

 

BJ,

Did you have chance to try the changes Koni suggested? Any more news as far as pricing or availability of the shocks? I assume you got my email request for one of your first sets of Konis. Looking forward to the pics. Thanks.

 

The big question is "When can we purchase them?"

BTW BJ, thanks for getting that short throw shifter, cup and **** out to me so quick!

 

We talked a little yesterday and I am trying something when I get the part.
BJ

 

Cool. Let us know.