Finally had a chance to install the front Konis I put together last weekend. I installed new boots and "spacers" (look like gaskets to me). My old boots were...detroyed. Looked like slinkys.

Handling, even with the old Tokicos in the back, is much, much (etc) improved. Wow. Whoever said Konis are harsh are...wrong. At nearly the lowest setting (1 half turn out of 5 max), the car absorbs bump worlds better and has farrr better turn-in that compared to my old, tired Tokicos. And the ride is perfectly comfortable. In fact, it's better due to the fact the large bumps are actually absorbed for a change, and you don't get the weeee carnival-bumpy ride.

I turned the adjustment **** up to 4/5, but at that setting, it was a little too stiff. The suspension started feeling a little jittery and the car "skipped" in bumpy turns. Not uncomfortable, but too much stiffness for the H&R springs and chassis.

I dialed back a 1/4 turn (now at 3.5/5 stiffness). That setting felt the best tonight. The jitteriness is gone. The front of the car feels very tight. During long, straight, high speed crusing, the car tracks DEADDD true, even on mild bumps. Jambo, your complaints about wandering with the 225 tires will be GONE with these Konis. Turn-in is also very, very sharp. There's also a lot less steering input required to get into your line. I took a lot of the nightmare-bumpy roads that in the past have frustrated me so much because the car become so unsettled; now, just with the front Konis, the car is very composed and soaks everything up. Very nice.

To be honest, the car feels very good even with the rear Tokicos, but then again I've always felt the rear Tok's were alright, just the fronts sucked. Still, I noticed on one mild uphill sweeping turn, the car didn't quite follow as tight a line I would have thought...I think that may be the mildly soft rear Tok's. I'm more worried about making the rear Konis too stiff than anything now...those are a pain to adjust, and too stiff is not a good thing...traction is reduced and it feels crappy.

Oh, and the front of the car passes the "push" test now...push on each front corner of the car when parked, and the car is much stiffer than before. No more Cadillac plush. (Yeah, like that's soo important!)

I'll post later with my impressions of the rear Konis as well...probably next weekend.

[Edited by Keven97SE on 09-02-2000 at 12:10 AM]

 

Keep me informed about the rear Koni's. I'm curious to how stiff they can get because I am getting really tired of my *** end hoping up and down on my shifts down the track plus with the end squating so much it's killing my 60'. How do you make the adjustments with these things.

Dave

 

Glad to hear that you got things put in ok, and that you're happy with the results!!

I've been wondering how much longer my struts are going to last....I honestly thought they'd have died by now, if not 9 months ago at least. I've been trying to scope the options....ie, Tok's, or Koni. But man, those Koni are $$$. I wonder what would happen if I did Koni's on the front, and kept the stocks on the rear till they died (they should last longer anyways, wouldn't they? since there's less weight [no engine], meaning less wear?). Just a thought...

Glad to hear that things went so well. Keep us informed!

 

so the only adjustables are konis?? are there applications for the 5th gen?? and how much?? will eibachs pair up better with koni's or tokicos? or h&r's??

 

them in... I made the mistake of setting them to the lowest position... i still need to reset mine (have to remove them to do it) to about 75% tight....

 

How much did those front Konis run you? How much for the custom fab work to mount them?

 

Cost me $480 through Cattman. shox.com has them for ~$470-480 as well. I did the front strut mod myself, so no extra cost there...and to be honest, there is no reason anyone with a drill and a hacksaw couldn't do it themselves, either. It's quite easy...messy, but easy. Took 2 hrs.

 

Konis should pair up well with any of the aftermarket springs (stiff coilovers setups, I dunno about). Since the rebound is adjustable, you can match the struts to the springs...so Konis should work well with Eibachs as well. I only have the fronts set to ~75% stiff, and that's marginally too stiff. With Eibachs, which aren't even 25% stiffer than H&Rs, I'd think you should be able to dial in the stiffness perfectly to match.

 

I'll let you know how the rears turn out. Unfortunately, adjusting the rears is a massive pain in the azz. You have to totally remove the strut, then fully compress and rotate it to adjust. It's a pain. Most guys seem to like them adjusted to ~75% stiff, so you should be able to dial it in pretty close before installing.

One other neat thing is you can adjust the rear ride height, also. You can add another ~1/2" by moving the spring perch up on the strut body. I plan on trying that out also...may help increase traction...might get rid of the weird butt-sag Maxima-look, too.

 

Hey Keven


last week i took off my rear Koni's to replace a bushing. Anyways, i found out that the Rear right isnt working rite. It compresses but then doesnt rebound. I hope they arent dead. Can you check to see how your Koni's work at the stiffest setting? thanks, any info appreaciated. later

 

They just rebound very slowly at the firmest setting. Somewhere along the lines of 1 inch per second if I remember correctly. I'll check tonight.