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Debating Strano springs vs Stock springs paired with Konis
Just bought the Koni 4x4 SA shock set from Sam.
But I see that he has even a little more savings if you bought the shocks and springs together.
My car is my daily driver, but I desire it to be lower than the stock look.
Questions is how harsher would Strano springs be over the stockers.
Yes I do know ANYTIME you lower a vehicle you do lose comfort. But I've heard Sam's springs work well with Koni's...By "working well" I'm not sure if he means handling or comfort.
Anyone had a setup with Konis plus Stranos, and Koni's with stock springs and preferred stock springs over stranos for daily driving????????????
My car has strano springs and stock shocks. The car rides very well for having lowering springs on it. Can't wait until I can afford some koni's. Konis and stranos are an outstanding match from what I read on here.
Yes I do know ANYTIME you lower a vehicle you do lose comfort. But I've heard Sam's springs work well with Koni's...By "working well" I'm not sure if he means handling or comfort.
They mean handling, you can definitely feel the road more, its not a jarring ride but u can feel it. It all goes away once you start hiting some nice turns and the car feels like its on rails Find someone in your area and get a ride in that set up, everyone is diffrent on what is harsh and what is not.
You can try your koni on the lower perch and do the heater hose mod it will lower it a bit with your stock springs.
Set ups i had.
eibach prokit stock decarbo shocks
koni sa, stock ss prings, lower perch and heater hose mod
koni sa and strano springs and sway bars
^^^ Good advice right there. If you live in the south where snow, ice, salt, and high usage are not much of a problem, you may wonder what other's, who complain about the ride, are talking about. On the other hand if you live in or near Boston, New York, Philadelphia or Chicago you may or may not like it.
SSpewtm6. With the experience of your setups which one would you recommend for the daily driver with the koni 4/4? How much lower if any was the pro kit w/decarbons than the konis 4/4 on the lower perch and heater hose mod?
The Strano/Koni setup is stiffer than the stock suspension, but it's not really harsh. The car feels tighter, where the stock suspension feels like the car might fall apart. It mostly has to do with the shocks. The Konis help make up for the additional stiffness of the Strano springs.
If you want the best ride, go with Konis and stock springs. If you want far better handling than stock with an acceptable ride for a DD, definitely go with the Strano springs.
Lower perch is like 3/4 inch drop in front and heater hose is 1/2- 3/4 inch rear drop.. I have front konis in the mail along with strano springs. Can't wait to bolt em on!
I say try the Konis with the stock springs for now, lower perch/isolator mod or not, and see how you like the ride/stance. The Konis really button the car down and make the car much more responsive. The car follows road undulations more than stock shocks, including the Bilsteins. Konis are performance oriented shocks. More than the others I mentioned, so figure not as floaty for sure. Not jarring or harsh but you will feel the road more for sure. If you feel the need for even lower ride height and an increased level of handling, uprade the springs then. Btw I went from stock decarbon to SLP Bilstein/Eibach to Koni Strano springs. The handling is greatly improved over the previous setups by far. The car feels much better planted, less pitch/roll and NO FLOATINESS AT ALL - EVER! You will feel the road all the time, which in a 300+ HP vehicle is a good thing. If you like a softer ride in general, maybe this is not for you? If you have any doubt, try the Konis you have with your springs imo.
Agreed, stick with stock springs for now unless you feel that you can deal with a bit more road feel/want better handling. These shocks alone really improve the handling/stability of these vehicles, even with stock springs.
Is there a preferred set of konis? SA, DA, 4/3, 4/4? what does the 3/4 and 4/4 mean?
SA means single adjustable (compression is set, rebound is adjustable), DA means double adjustable (compression and rebound).
4/3's mean it's the 4th gen front, 3rd gen rear, where 4/4's mean it's the 4th gen front and 4th gen rear shocks. The only differences on the rears is that the valving is slightly different (I always hear the 3rd gen rears are better for aftermarket rears due to the different compression valving, but either will work well for a stock rear vehicle), and that the 4th gen rears can be adjusted from inside the car....plus they're infinitely adjustable instead of having preset adjustments.
EDIT: I should say, SA's are fine for almost all vehicles, and basically the choice between 4/4's and 4/3's come down to price....the 3rd gen rears are about $100 or so less for a set than the 4th gen.
Also, if you're interested in learning more if you're thinking about getting some, give Sam (that's his website) a call and talk to him, he knows a ton about this stuff plus adds his own tech support if you're a customer.
Thank you all for the advice. Some very good insight based on personal experience.
I think I'm just gonna try the shocks for now with the stock springs, and then the extra money I have will be going into new tires.
As much as I want the strano springs, I think right now the extra money should go into replacing the somewhat balding tires. I have decided on the Continental DWS all season tire. Not cheap, mounted and everything will be another $800 for the set. So that is close to 2k for shocks/tires alone. Ouch!!!
[QUOTE=jthunderz28;14460951]Thank you all for the advice. Some very good insight based on personal experience.
I think I'm just gonna try the shocks for now with the stock springs, and then the extra money I have will be going into new tires.
As much as I want the strano springs, I think right now the extra money should go into replacing the somewhat balding tires. I have decided on the Continental DWS all season tire. Not cheap, mounted and everything will be another $800 for the set. So that is close to 2k for shocks/tires alone.
Thread revival.... I just gotta say for a stock auto trans am ws6 the dws tires for summer didnt work too well and my front continental contacts squeal everywhere. I would look into pilot sports for front and a better tire for the rear. Cornering i would go with like pilot sport etc something along that tier and for drag any radial pretty much. The dws wore pretty quick. And i got motivos after on the back...they suck bad. Im going to either get mickey streets or radials next. As for shocks im conversing with sam about ride techs, kw, or koni 4/4 and his springs. Hope it helped.
Just so everyone knows; the double adjustable Koni Sports (new) are now discontinued for our cars, so it is ONLY the single adjustables (new) now for our 4th gen f bodies.
Keep the shocks on the softer side of the settings and you will be fine with springs. It is not going to be a harsh ride, it just wont feel like a boat anymore. Best thing I have ever done to any car as far as how satisfied I was afterwards.
I have Strano springs & Koni 4/4s on both my birds. The Hawk is set to full hard & I feel every bump in the road. Car is on rails, too. The WS6 is set to full soft for a much more forgiving ride. The rails are not as firm, but still way better than stock. Also, the stance is perfect. Very fitting for the f bodies.
I have Strano springs & Koni 4/4s on both my birds. The Hawk is set to full hard & I feel every bump in the road. Car is on rails, too. The WS6 is set to full soft for a much more forgiving ride. The rails are not as firm, but still way better than stock. Also, the stance is perfect. Very fitting for the f bodies.
supper late to the party here but I have a quick call. After I lowered your car, how did you correct the negative camber? I have the same set up as you Andy the alignment shop ran out of adjustment. I have a ton of neg camber. Looks like crap. Thanks.
Since 2007 4/3 full Strano/Koni with front and rear sway bars and bushings. Only think I didn’t like after awhile was the rear springs are a little soft and would bottom out with the slightest bump so I took them out and installed the original back on.
02-04-2011, 10:37 AM
Debating Strano springs vs Stock springs paired with Konis 
Find someone in your area and get a ride in that set up, everyone is diffrent on what is harsh and what is not.
