Vesaijan

iTrader: (1)

...And rear upper mounts of course. I got questions though for those that have Koni struts:

1.) What do you guys set the rears to?

I would like to know what the general consensus is for a controlled, yet pliable (read: comfortable) ride before I do the install so I don't have to mess around too much with it.

2.) What bolt do I use for the rear/front upper strut mount point?

I've tried stock on the rears and it don't fit too good. The fronts seem ok, but I can only screw them on a couple turns before the strut piston starts spinning.

3.) Are you jealous (except for the cost, of course...)?

RL

Kevin Wong

aw man, there goes the potential group buy of 3 From what I heard, these mounts are pretty darn cool. According to Nissanperformancemag.com, they are a "great bang for the buck part...will dramatically improve travel for rear suspension components."
http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/...vational.shtml

Sport Compact Car had good things to say about Motivational Engineering
http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/pr...scc_proj200sx/

I'm looking to swapping out my AGX's and going with Koni. Hopefully the rebound and dampening will be better (more controllable adjustments). I'm also planning on getting the rear Motivational mounts and having the front struts shortened. Hopefully, I'll have the perfect ride....and get praise on my suspension...just like Chunger.

GlenH

Kevin, have you considered trying out the Motivational shortened Konis in front plus your existing AGX w/ Motivational upper mounts in the rear?

I recall reading a couple of messages where 1 or 2 people have this set up. It is convenient because you retain the easy adjustability of the rear struts, yet retain 100% of the suspension travel by combining the rear upper mounts w/ shortened bumpstops. For the front, you would also have 100% suspension travel thanks to the shortened Motivational struts.

I wouldn't be too concerned about perfectly matching the dampening rates of the front struts and rear shocks as both have a fairly wide range of adjustment.

I think by simply adding the rear upper mount to your AGX, you will notice a difference in ride quality and handling b/c the shock is essentially running at the stock height and moving through the full suspension stroke.

The best thing about this is, if you like this set up, you save the cost of having to buy the rear Konis. If you don't you can simply add the rear Konis later on.

GlenH

Are you talking about the top nut that you bolt onto the top of the strut piston? If so, I was able to get it on w/ an impact wrench in my past installs. Alternatively, I recently used a pair of Robogrip pliers to hold the shaft still as I bolted the top nut on. ***BE SURE TO INSULATE THE PISTON SHAFT BEFORE CLAMPING ON W/ THE PLIER*** Even a very small scratch on the piston shaft will cause premature wear of the strut and will void your warranty (lots of people had this problem in the past on the SE-R mailing list). I used a piece of my old dustboot/bumpstop bushing. It worked perfectly. I was able to hold the strut piston tightly to torque the top nut to spec, yet not leave any mark at all on the piston.

Kevin Wong

Wow! That sounds like a great idea. If I were to just buy the front Koni's shortened, that would be perfect. But if I get a complete set, I'll just sell my AGX's...it's be awkward to sell a front set of AGX's with rear Koni's. So I read your post about the mounts and you sound pretty happy with them. That pretty much sold me...I did a little more research and now it just seems like the best thing to do in terms of suspension now.

Vinipux

hmm.... interesting, I have never even heard of their product, can you explain more about the mounts please, I looked at their site and they only say that they have the mounts for the sentra, I don't see it for the maxima, also, I have a Ground control+Koni coilovers, do they have something that will help my suspension? all the would is apreciated

K

Vesaijan

iTrader: (1)

Yeah Glen, that is what I was talking about. I'd thought about that, but didn't know if the grip would be enough with insulation. Thanks for the tip though.

But wait, how much does an impact hammer cost? I might want to get one for this install.

RL

Chunger

iTrader: (1)

I won't clamp the piston even if insulated...

The nuts will screw on ok once the car is back down on the ground.

Just be careful with the seating of the rear shock upper rubber insulator as you lower the car back down. IIRC, they took a little finessing to center them...

GlenH

Again, be sure to use ALOT of insulation the piston shaft. I cut the stock bumpstop that I wasn't going to use anymore (cut vertically so I could put it on and take it off the piston shaft w/ the full strut assembly together) and Robogripped that around the piston shaft. I wouldn't use anything thinner as there should be absolutely no mark on the piston shaft.

As for the impact wrench, I bought an electric Dewalt impact wrench for about $150 about 3 years ago. The Dewalt and Craftsman electrical impact wrenches appear to be identical. Do not buy a cheap one as they do not have much power and will not hold up. Having an impact wrench will easily reduce the time for a strut/spring install in half.

GlenH

You're right. It is best to avoid clamping the piston if at all possible.

Of all the spring/strut installs I've done, I only had to clamp the piston this most recent time - even with the car dropped back on the ground.

Kevin Wong

Oh I see now. So when you try to tighten the top nut on the piston, the whole piston starts turning? My sister's Accord is the same way (both stock and the AGX's). On the stock shocks, the top part of the piston shaft has an allen wrench screwtop. On the AGX's, I have to use insulation and Vise-grips on the top while using and open-end wrench to tighten the nut. Wish that the engineers would have designed something more installation-friendly.

1MAX2NV

iTrader: (5)

There was an issue of SCC that described how to tighten that top strut piston nut. They stated using an impact wrench was a "NO..NO". They used a soft piece of metal to sandwich between the vise grip to hold the strut piston. ie brass or aluminum. They also used Red loctite thread locker on top piston nut. I got lazy so I just used red loctite and the Sear's Robo grip with those rubber sleeves. Worked like a charm.

Vesaijan

iTrader: (1)

You guys are doing a great job of answering my questions. However, you still haven't told me what Koni setting you run your rears at.

RL

Chunger

iTrader: (1)

That depends really WHAT you plan to use the car for...

A lot of people have the rears set the same or stiffer than the fronts...

For me I left it on almost softest point as I feel that most of the dampning can be accomplished by tightening the fronts... My fronts are at about 75% and my rears about 20%. But I don't compete and ride comfort comes first.

Vinipux

so what's the verdict, are there mounts for the front that I can use for the coilovers or you guys don't know???

Chunger

iTrader: (1)

Only for the rears... front's layout isn't the same... but you can ordered the shortened Koni/strut assembly... check it out yourself:
http://www.motivational.net

1MAX2NV

iTrader: (5)

Too bad they don't do the threaded version for the maxima. I would consider getting that and mate them with some GC.

Chunger

iTrader: (1)

Tony, call Mike up... he works from his house and he does his own work (For the most part)... Maybe he might make a custom one for you or us if there are enough that are interested... Couldn't hurt to ask. He's a cool guy.

~Chung

Vesaijan

iTrader: (1)

Softest huh? I am with you in this boat. I want comfort, but still good handling, and I don't race. So 2 clicks/turns you say?

Any other people out there have an opinion? Come on Koni owners...

RL

But wait, I tried to adjust the rears and nothing clicked and nothing turned. What gives?

ryz

how strong are your arms ?
Mine were set to the firmest ,for a while the car had this weird bounce when I went over stuff ,it was fine though .Now its on the softest setting & as soon as I have some time it going in the middle 3 -3 1/2 turns or 1 turn away from the firmest .Koni is not that firm of a shock

Vesaijan

iTrader: (1)

OK, so I tried to put the rear upper piston nut on and tried the insulation with robogrip technique, and still not go. The stock nut goes on OK, turns once or twice, and then gets stuck and locks up. The whole piston spins with the wrench then.

So who do I call to get nuts that will fit? Do you have the phone numbers?

RL

GlenH

I think you already have the right ones. You can either reuse the stock ones or the ones that came with your new struts. Either of them should thread right on (unless they are stripped). It's just a PITA sometimes to get that nut on due to the fact that the strut piston freely spins. How much force are you using before the piston spins? Can you Robogrip the piston shaft any tighter w/o damaging it? If all else fails, try taking the whole strut assembly to a good mechanic to see if they can get it on for you.