Learn me Koni shocks

mndsm wrote: Hmmm. Seems Koni yellows win. Now to find springs. Tein S-techs are in the lead, because they give me an appropriate drop, and Tein isn't known for making junk products.

I prefer to pay more attention to the spring rates, rather than the drop. I also wouldn't be so sure that anything Tein isn't junk, but I'm mostly talking about their dampers. Unless you use inferior materials and/or coatings springs are pretty hard to mess up. (I'm apparently a lot more forgiving of springs than some though). I would look up their rates to make sure they're "better" to you than the prokit. I'm pretty sure they're mild and progressive as well.

92CelicaGT2 - do you know the spring rates of those Megan pieces? Did you use the same dampers before and after the spring swap? If so, which ones? Just curious.

Matt B wrote:

mndsm wrote: Hmmm. Seems Koni yellows win. Now to find springs. Tein S-techs are in the lead, because they give me an appropriate drop, and Tein isn't known for making junk products.

I prefer to pay more attention to the spring rates, rather than the drop. I also wouldn't be so sure that anything Tein isn't junk, but I'm mostly talking about their dampers. Unless you use inferior materials and/or coatings springs are pretty hard to mess up. (I'm apparently a lot more forgiving of springs than some though). I would look up their rates to make sure they're "better" to you than the prokit. I'm pretty sure they're mild and progressive as well. 92CelicaGT2 - do you know the spring rates of those Megan pieces? Did you use the same dampers before and after the spring swap? If so, which ones? Just curious.

Agreed on the S-Techs. They're a dubious step up from the Pro-kits. They're for looks. Not much else. My take on them, Prokits, and Sportlines... They're lowering springs. Lowering is for looks. Treat the springs as such.

The rates on the Megans on the Escort are 300/250. Using Tokico Blues on that car, and had the same dampers on with the Prokits. The dampers are in working order, not blown or anything, and are doing their job. Now, i don't know that i would go any higher in spring rate on these Tokicos, i feel like i may be SLIGHTLY underdamped, but for a primarily street-driven car, it's a nice setup that feels very at home being thrown around when the mood strikes.

I had prokits, and then sportlines on the Celica when i bought it. The prokits felt like stock, and were on stock dampers. The sportlines were on stock dampers at first, which promptly blew, but even with blown dampers, were heads and shoulders above the Prokit springs. Rode about the same, and felt way more controlled. I then installed GR2s. (shouldn't have bothered) The GR2/Sportline setup was fine for a street car, felt and handled decently, but the itch appeared, and went with the Megan adjustable setup. I'm running 550/400 on the Celica.

The MX6 probably isn't a great example in terms of comparing what was on there before, but i will say that i have no complaints with the springs on it, either. They're just underdamped with the stupid GR2s that are on it. (They were cheap, and i don't care how the car handles THAT much.) Also interesting to note, and another reason why the MX6 isn't really relevant, is that Megan Racing doesn't have an application for that car.

On the subject of Konis: Two versions I want to know more about a) STR.T are they low end junk? b) FSD - I thought these would be the best double duty setup, but I don't hear anything about them.

btw Koni is having a sale on their site

In reply to 93celicaGT2:

Thanks for the review. I'm using the prokit springs with konis on my aw11 (along with poly bushings & TRD strut mounts) and the car is pretty dern firm. I certainly don't have the same complaints with this chassis/spring/strut combo. I'm honestly wary to go any stiffer if I'm going to keep it as a street car. The Megan 300/250 rates are probably reasonable on the street for a relatively light front engine car. Linear I expect? I've considered switching to a 200f/250r GC setup to see how the car would react. I'm pretty sure it would handle a bit better, but I'm just not convinced it would be worth it as I still daily drive it every other day.

GTwannaB: I'm also pretty curious about some of Konis other offerings, especially the FSD. I was considering using them on my road trip car. Anybody have any experience with these yet?

Yeah, the only concern I have with the prokits or the sportlines is the level of drop we're talking. Yes, I want to lower the car some. I'm going -1 on wheel diameter (to a 17) but +1.5 on width. I worked out the offset so the inside will clear most basic suspension upgrades, but it's the outer fenders I'm concerned with. I could have gone to an 8 inch wheel and landed the thing on the pavement, but Im a sucker for looks and wide wheels look minty fresh. I am positive it will clear on the inside with a mild to moderate drop, but I don't know about the outside, mostly because I haven't juggled the numbers. I know my EXACT setup has been fit on my car before, but I don't know the specs of the dampers/coils he was using. Camber rates look to be -1 at MOST which is livable in my world. I just don't want it looking like some freaked out cut spring VW. I considered going full coilover, but the manufacturers are reluctant to get me the measurements I need so I can figure out if it will clear a full coil over suspension on the inside. That brought me to the Koni's, which should retain overall stock SIZE of the suspension, while being better equipped than my stock crapola dampers that Mazda gave me. Springs are next, and all I see are eBay junk, Eibach, and the Tein stuff. I already have sways sorted, and will be putting in adjustable camber links both front and rear should the need for shenanigans arise. Eventually, I'll do sway bar endlinks, but I need a downpipe and tuning more than I need adjustable endlinks at the moment. From what I've seen, the Hotchkis sways I ordered are about the best ones for the car. Anything I'm missing?

Have you considered custom rate Ground Control coilover sleeves? Their OTS rates have always seemed on the harsh end of the spectrum to me personally, but since you can pick your own for the same price it's gravy. There is a minimum rate for any application (dependent on spring length), but the examples I've seen are mild enough (like 200-250lb/in).

GTwannaB wrote: On the subject of Konis: Two versions I want to know more about a) STR.T are they low end junk? b) FSD - I thought these would be the best double duty setup, but I don't hear anything about them. btw Koni is having a sale on their site

Koni doesn't make low-end junk. Even their entry level stuff is good stuff.

I've had yellows on 2 cars and they're worth every penny.

I'm considering the STRs for my next beater, but will probably go w/ the ebay DropZone combo that is budget friendly and is said to ride very well (no plans to auto-x or track that car).

Sleeves are you best bet in terms of getting the ride height you want. I can say that my 99 Civic Si has Koni Yellows and Neuspeed SofSports and it is a perfect combo for street/auto-x/track. Nice ride--very little roll, not too harsh. The yellows have some adjustment in the spring perches, so the car still sits nice and low.

My '95 Civic hatch has yellows paired with 450/380 Ground Controls and it's a bit too stiff for a daily driver (and my aging butt). They're still in decent shape after 100k miles on that setup.

I've never used the STR's, but I'd have 100% faith in them just because of the Koni name on them.

gamby wrote: Sleeves are you best bet in terms of getting the ride height you want.

Not only that, but you can mix and match the springs to get the performance characteristics you want. Used Hypercoil / Eibach springs in the 2.5" diameter, 7 - 8 inch length (pretty standard for "coilovers") are all over honda-tech, scca forums, ebay etc for about $75/pair used.

I've heard about this but what do people use for a sleeve that works w/ those springs? I'm assuming there's some generic ebay stuff that fits that diameter.

I've never had a problem with Konis in 20 years of usage on various cars I've owned over the years. On the other hand, I have blown 2 sets of Bilstein Sports on my e36 BMW (twice in fact) and my first A1 VW. Happened every winter. I also had Bilstein Sports on my Mercedes SLK. While they didn't blow on that car, I thought the ride quality sucked - same when used on the e36.

I've also never had a problem with Eibach springs and have used them and H&R springs on many cars over the years. Eibach makes the Mazda offered Mazdaspeed springs for the NC Miata, RX8, Mazda 3, Mazda 6 etc.