Koni Adjustables ?

[-J-]

Anyone run them?

The Konis offer damping adjustment as do the Higher end Coilovers (Such as the KW V2's at nearly twice the price)

What makes the Konis 'worth' £560 odd?

Are they any good?

Is it just a case of Coilovers offer more height adjustability but the Konis are filling a gap in the market somewhere between standard and Coilovers?

Just wondering where they fit into the market?

 

[Black Phoenix]

This will interest me, because I'm thinking also in put some Koni on my Clio ST.

 

[mloncar]

I have Clio coilovers on my 1.4 16V and they aren't worth such €€€. Springs are too soft (when I changed front springs with 70kg/cm one it was much better), shocks are adjustable (just rebound).

 

[-J-]

TBH I am not interested in fitting them (I have KW V2's on the cup) I'm just interested in the functionality

 

[Jonff]

I run them with Eibach Sportlines. I've found them to be really good. Offer really good handling without making the ride quality unbearable.

One negative though is the set camber on them, because there's no adjustment on them I tend to go through front tyres pretty quickly as it wears the insides of the tyres.

 

[Ian_s]

One negative though is the set camber on them, because there's no adjustment on them I tend to go through front tyres pretty quickly as it wears the insides of the tyres.

Camber bolts?

 

[Kam.]

Camber bolts?

Camber bolts would sort the problem and are adjustable even if the holes are not elongated. we have Eibach camber bolts in stock!

 

[shiftspark]

I run them with sportlines and the rears are revalved so I can make them alot stiffer.

I was told that coilovers kw etc weren't as bigger stepup as it seems.

However coilovers are easier to change springs and ride heights and given the choice again I would go for them for that reason alone.
I am going to have some springs made later this year but it becomes quite involved esp trying to workout the progressive spring rates of the eibach.

 

[theduck]

Koni Yellow and Eibach springs = best road setup for a clio

 

[Kam.]

I run them with sportlines and the rears are revalved so I can make them alot stiffer.

I was told that coilovers kw etc weren't as bigger stepup as it seems.

However coilovers are easier to change springs and ride heights and given the choice again I would go for them for that reason alone.
I am going to have some springs made later this year but it becomes quite involved esp trying to workout the progressive spring rates of the eibach.

a coilover is in reality just a damper and spring. Coilvers do not therefore always equal better. What you can do is run lower and stiffer than a standard mcpherson strut setup as well as being able to adjust ride height and corner weight the car to get a nice balance. A cheap and rubbish coilover setup though is just as poor as a cheap and rubbish spring setup.

 

[Sir_Dave]

The adjustable koni's are very good apparently, & if you want lows, just buy FK Konisports, which use adjustable Koni dampers ....

Great setup, Ollie82 & NickAsboShed run them. JamesJMS used to as well, before he moved to the dark side.

 

[drhowser]

From what I can remember, Koni's use a seperate valve for compression and rebound, compared to a lot of cheaper setups which use one valve to handle both cycles.

I've definately been out in a few clio's running them and been impressed. I'd have these over a lot of coilovers to be honest.

 

[Black Phoenix]

So In you opinions, the Koni Ride Height and Damping adjustable plus the Eibach Pro Kit are a killer application, am I right?

 

[theduck]

Yes.

 

[-J-]

My kw v2s are feeling a bit tired. Would it be worth buying a new set or going Koni plus springs.

Car sees a couple of track days a year and I have been happy with the current set up but am I getting more for my money over the konis?

 

[ForceIndia]

My kw v2s are feeling a bit tired. Would it be worth buying a new set or going Koni plus springs.

Car sees a couple of track days a year and I have been happy with the current set up but am I getting more for my money over the konis?

Just get the V2's rebuilt. Bear in mind you already have KW spec'd koni adjustables on the rear.

 

[.Kev.]

So In you opinions, the Koni Ride Height and Damping adjustable plus the Eibach Pro Kit are a killer application, am I right?

Sport lines.......yes.

 

[Gardus]

I'm fitting Koni and Sportline (red) Eibach in a few weeks, with camber bolts, as the car is a bit unstable at high speed and not very accurate, plus it doesn't absorb potholes and irregularities very well with the old oem dampers I got now.
How do you suggest to adjust them? All soft and start from there? If anyone have a road setup to suggest...

 

[-J-]

Just get the V2's rebuilt. Bear in mind you already have KW spec'd koni adjustables on the rear.

By Whom?

KW in the UK are absolutly useless in my experiance

 

[ForceIndia]

By Whom?

KW in the UK are absolutly useless in my experiance

I think Fred may know somewhere.

 

[mishmish]

I'm fitting Koni and Sportline (red) Eibach in a few weeks, with camber bolts, as the car is a bit unstable at high speed and not very accurate, plus it doesn't absorb potholes and irregularities very well with the old oem dampers I got now.
How do you suggest to adjust them? All soft and start from there? If anyone have a road setup to suggest...

i like to go 1-1.25 turns from full soft at the front and 1.5-1.75 turns from full soft at the rear.
makes her nice and neutral:approve:

 

[Gardus]

How is it on poor surfaces with this setup mishmish? I hope the Eibach aren't too stiff for daily driving.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[mishmish]

forgot to mention i'm on stock springs. my bad.(Eibach sport lines to be purchased soon)
but anyways the shocks seem to handle rough surfaces pretty well considering their sporty attitude.
it's not exactly comfy, but not torture too.
if you would like you can always adjust the shocks for a softer ride. whats great about the KONI's is how easy and quick you can adjust them to your preference.

IMHO it's a very good compromise for every day use.

 

[Gardus]

I hope so, thanks!
On oem springs? Aren't they designed to work on lowering springs (as they are supplied alone or with koni -30mm springs)?

 

[mishmish]

apparently it works OK, didn't give it any thought at the time..
today i wouldn't have act the same.

 

[Black Phoenix]

Thats why I prefer to use the Eiback Pro Kit that goes at the -25–40mm instead of the Sport Line. Also are the only springs designed to my car version.

 

[Gardus]

Pro-kit springs on nonsport car lower more, in fact I have a set on my Mini Cooper R56 and it's spot on.
On the 172/182 they lower the car for 20 mm in front and 15 rear and I think that's not enough, BUT they work well with the oem dampers, so it's ok.
The Koni are designed to work with a -30 mm setup, so the sportline are perfect!
On other cars the sportlines are -50mm and that's just too much.

 

[Teds]

Camber bolts would sort the problem and are adjustable even if the holes are not elongated. we have Eibach camber bolts in stock!

I've been running this set-up for about 4 yrs. You do have to file a notch in the struct to take the camber bolts.

Road use they are good. Although I run them flat out damping front 3/4 rear.

I have snapped 2 rear springs though. Eibach prolines. So rear is now on standard spring, which seems to work better with these dampers IMO.

Although my set-up is now near its end of live. Corrosion has taken its toll and the rear dampers are done now. So a new set-up is required for me.

Might even go back to standard to be honest.

If not KW http://www.kw-suspension.co.uk/salt-spray-test.htm due to their better constuction for road use and are rebuildable.

Hope that helps with you purchase.

Si

 

[GeorgeReeson]

a coilover is in reality just a damper and spring. Coilvers do not therefore always equal better. What you can do is run lower and stiffer than a standard mcpherson strut setup as well as being able to adjust ride height and corner weight the car to get a nice balance. A cheap and rubbish coilover setup though is just as poor as a cheap and rubbish spring setup.

I believe this as well, Eibach sportlines first for me then koni adjustable dampers when I can afford them. Plus, how easy is it to adjust the height and dampening on koni's when there on the car, what do you do?

 

[Gardus]

You can't adjust the height as that depends on the springs, so if you use standard springs you have standard height, if you use prokit -1,5 cm, sportline -2,5~-3, if you use others springs even more BUT Koni dampers are made to work between standard height and -3.

The adjustment on the koni is on top of them, if I understand correctly you should be able to reach the "metal clip" and turn it with the white knob even when they're fitted to the car.

I'm fitting them tuesday, I'll take a few pictures.

 

[Gardus]

I've been running this set-up for about 4 yrs. You do have to file a notch in the struct to take the camber bolts.

Please can you explain this in detail?

 

[xoldog400]

my previous setup was koni adjustables + standard springs...i tried them from full hard to full soft, every posiblle combination, the setup was ok.
i had them for cca 3 years, now i changed to ap coilovers (with camber adjustment) and i must be honest, this setup is much,much better than my previous.
compared to konis the hardness of ap is like 180 degrees of koni dampers but it also better absorbs bad roads.

 

[Gardus]

Many people make the same mistake with suspensions and tyres: thery compare the old worn ones with the new ones, so the next tyres/suspensions are always better than the last ones.
I'm not saying xoldog this is your case, just saying something I noticed.

 

[xoldog400]

it's not the case because i bought these koni shocks new before 3 years, they are still ok.
i wouldn't go for ap coilovers if i didn't get them + powerflex set for a silly price. now the konis are stashed in my garage.

 

[Teds]

Please can you explain this in detail?

If you enlarge the diagram in the link.

http://www.advancespeedshop.com/eib...8-chevrolet-cobalt-front-581250k-p-15139.html

You can see the locating washer has a small tab, which needs to fit into the bolt hole on the strut. So a small file has to be used to help locate this.

Hope that helps.

Si

 

[Macca_172]

You can see the locating washer has a small tab, which needs to fit into the bolt hole on the strut. So a small file has to be used to help locate this.

I never needed to do this when I ran that combination, are you sure you have the correct size bolts and/or fitted them correctly?
I used the same bolts with the standard shocks and again no need to file the bolt hole.
Col

 

[Teds]

Yep correct bolts used..

I think the locating washer has changed in design over time. Thats the only thing I can think of.

Si

 

[Gardus]

I've got the Eibach camber bolts now, on the oem shocks...no need to modify them so why should I do that on the Konis?
Anyway, is it true that the koni already give more camber than oem?
I'm bringing the car to the garage this evening.

 

[Gardus]

Fitted...1st impression is very good! Firmer but not unconfortable, very stable and roll/pitch has decreased.
I think I'll leave them as they are for now. I'll try on a few very poor roads, if they are good there they are spot on!

I tried the car on a private road at ~200 kph and it's so much more stable and gives you a lot of confidence.

The eibach camber bolts went on with no modification, so now I have 2° of camber on the front wheels, around 0,9 rear, front toe is at 0, rear a bit closed (1,8° each side)

The adjustment is very easy to do when fitted. I need to cut a small hole in the rear rubber mount covers as they won't fit as they are.

Sadly I fitted them with new top mounts and the creaking is not cured...

 

[Wobba]

By Whom?

KW in the UK are absolutly useless in my experiance

I go straight to their German branch when wanting info, they get back within an hour usually.