I am still deciding what kind of struts I want to go with my eibach springs. On a scale of 1 to 10, rate your struts if you own kyb, tokico, or koni. I want something that will substantially improve handling and am torn between tokico and koni. However if I decide on koni, I may very well have to wait 6-8 weeks if I get them from Brian...Haven't checked with other distributors yet. More specifically, I'm wanting to know if tokico will live up to my expectations, or if konis are REALLY worth a 2 month wait and almost double the price. And yes, I've already done some searching.

 

I've been on here for awhile, and it's been consistent that Tokicos and KYBs have blown seals with lowering springs.

As far as waiting for Konis, I only have to wait on the rear set as they're currently out of stock in the U.S. I have a feeling that if you order soon, you might get in on the same shipment that mine are coming on.

 

kyb gr2

between 1 and 10, 10 being the best


5

 

i cant rate my struts because they have only been on my car when its been lowered. but heck ill give them an 8 just to make myself feel better

 

what kind of springs you got, gregg?

 

Intrax (1.7" drop all around) FTW!!!!!11!1one!!1

 

Trust me because I've had both ToFreakos and Konis.

When I pulled my used ToFreakos out, 3 out of the 4 were blown. This is after only 40-50k miles at most.

I put in USED Konis adjusted to about 1/2 stiff. WAY better handling than the Tofreakos.

For reference I was on Eibachs that are stiff but lower the least.

 

i have kyb's and ebiachs. great combination. i would give it about a 6 for the ride. but the cost and not waiting thing probably helped my decision. i also had blown rear factory struts.

 

Well, I can't help myself. After much consideration I have decided to go with konis. Haven't heard anything but good comments about them.

 

Well worth the wait my friend and the headache of installing. Use the time after you order to buy a drain pan, a drill, and some cutting tools.

 

I'm getting the fronts from brian and the rears from ebay, so I should have everything by next week. What will I be needing to drain, drill and cut?

 

The struts are actually strut Cartriges. You have to cut out your old struts from the housing, and insert the new cartriges inside. You have to drill the bottom out to bolt the cartriges.

There's a How-to somewhere, I'm just trying to find it.
http://www.koni-na.com/pdf/boltstrut.pdf
It's only the front struts that you have to do it.

 

Blue Tokikos, stock GXE springs, suspension techniques swaybars. The mods made a very huge improvement over old stock soft/worn out stuff, but getting the Tokikos instead of springing for the Konis was a huge mistake, I know what a good set of shocks feel like and these are just average. I'd rate them at 4-5 out of 10. They do not contorl the car very much in transitions like the Konis can with their stiffer low-speed valving.

 

youre on stock springs what do you expect?

 

Well, I just bought some eibachs and (rear) konis today. But I still need to find time to install all the other **** I've been collecting.

 

IMO a shock that just barely adequately dampens stock springs is going to be be severely underdampened and very poor performing when mated to even stiffer springs. The cool thing about the Konis is they have built-in adjustability.

I have autocrossed many cars in SCCA Solo2 stock racing class in which the springs aren't allowed to be altered, but any shock absorbers can be used. In these classes, good quality shock absorbers are absolutely vital for competitiveness.

 

Im rolling on
KYB GR2 struts all the way around
Arospeed 1.75inch Drop Springs.

Rides MUCCCCCCH better then stock!
No bounce, smooth ride. and it take hils and awesome.
1.75inch drop is perfect. I dont scrape much. If it was any lower I might have clearance problems

 

go konis.... i just replaced my tokikos, all 4 absolutely gone, wished i had never ignored the orgs reconmendation. and yes i must have put in 40k or less of totally brutal pounding and they are destroyed. i had the intrax springs but now i have the konis /eibachs ( both used) and adjusted to full stiffness (from the kid before). i love them, not too soft like the tokikos were. those drove me nutts cause i ended up bottoming out alot, wiped out the upper strut mounts, and constantly scraped my sway bar all the time. that probably help kill the struts but oh well. dead is dead

 

I was very happy with my GR2s

 

 

So how far across the ocean are my struts now Brian?

 

Koni just claims in march

 

Did they ever arrive? What's the verdict?

 

Wow, this is an old thread...Car rides and handles very well. A good wheel/tire package is also important.

 

koni makes great performance shock but idiotic in a senses that it's overpriced and too much hassle to mess with. as one poster pointed out, you'll have to cut your fronts houses for fitting. if you lost your orginal factory houses, you're screwed. those struts are impossible to find, even at most junkyard. once they go bad, people just replace them with aftermarket. if you're lucky enought to have your org struts, go for koni. otherwise, cutting most gas operating struts will kill you. careful!

 

That's why you drill a hole in them first to relieve the pressure (read the disposal instructions that come with most new struts)

 

I still don't get what makes Koni so special though. I know they are adjustable, but aren't the Toks as well? More sporty bound/rebound characterstics?

 

Koni's are built 10x better than the Tokiblows.

 

Screwed? What are front strut housings harder to find then Labo's? No, there are plenty laying around org'ers houses and junkyards. struts F or R are easy to find. If they arent around you, I can grab some from the pick n pull near me any time of the year. there are always 2-5 3rd gens in there.

~Alex

 

I'm really glad i read this thread because i had tokicos on order, opted to get the koni's for 100$ more =). And in doing so saved myself a week on the order time.

 

$100 more? Where were you ordering from? From what I've seen the Konis or twice as much as the Tokicos. Besides don't all struts ware out over about the same time (50-60,000 mi.)?

 

Konis have a lifetime warranty.

 

tokicos have lifetime warranty too.

 

So do the Gabriels

 

EXACTLY!
warranty means nothing

 

I wasn't talking about warranty. I was wondering how many miles a set of Toks would last with the Eibach springs, and how many miles would the Koni's last?

 

I would guess it depands on how you drive and where you drive. And since Koni is better quality.....

 

yup just about. maybe a 5.5

 

ummm average life span for tokikos = 1 year. for most people that dont do all their own work this is very costly. yes you have a lifetime warrenty but what about all the labor cost of replacment once a year or more. its just better to wait rather than rush to get on a suspension for cheaper. id rather pay more for it once compared paying less twice or more times

 

1 Year!? You mean about 12,000 miles? That's rediculous! That can't be right. How long (mileage wise) do OEM struts last? Of course, we are talking about with lowered suspension (1.2"), but still that seems awfully short! The roads here in Florida aren't bad, at least if you stay on the pavement. The limerock roads can get a little rough, but still aren't that bad. So, I'm sure they would last for longer than 12,000 miles.

I would like to hear from someone who has direct experience. Anyone out there?