blackandgold

iTrader: (2)

Current mods are in my signature, I've already talked to UMI, and I'm waiting to hear from Sam. I'd like to get some forum opinions that I'll likely disregard and do what I want anyways. Either of the 3 will get strano sways and all new control arms up front. Street car with some Auto-x and the rare trip to the drag strip where I'll fail to get traction and blame my shifting for bad times.

1. Koni yellows with Strano springs
2. Ridetech Level 2
3. UMI and Strano's new coilovers

hokeplaya05

iTrader: (3)

I voted for the new UMI/Strano afcos, looks like a pretty sweet package to me. I am thinking I will be ditching the Vikings I have on now and go with them in the next year or so

M4N14C

iTrader: (3)

I'd love to hear review of the UMI/Strano from someone who had Koni/Strano.

dailydriver

^^^Same here!

Are the Ridetech Level 2s double adjustable, or just single (rebound) like the UMI/Strano/Afcos, and current Koni Sports?

Corvett z07

iTrader: (2)

Other: KW or Hoosier Performance Engineering double adjustable Afcos. Hoosiers are more money, but are spot on with their own testing with their dyno that they do in shop.

Thread hijack here. Better yet... here's an interesting idea. I might pull my old Koni/Strano setup out from my car and sell it for a decent price, say you buy it, run around with it for a little while, sell it again, and then get whatever you want from there and compare the two. You'll have a direct comparison between 2 different setups and can voice your own opinion on the classic Koni/Strano setup with something else. It'll be more work for you but it'll give a back to back comparison that gives good insight on different setups. Anyone else interested???

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

I will say that a few folks are using AFCO for shocks, but they are not all the same. In fact I kind of forced a change on UMI to get a particular shock I thought was better.

As for a comparison. Well I've driven both. Frankly the ride quality of the coil-overs is better. The damping is there. The low speed force on the Koni's makes that a slightly more crisp shock when just yanking on the wheel but because of the ride more spring rate is possible if you want it to help with that.

There are 3 reasons to look at the new stuff. Ride quality, works a little better on really rough surfaces, and coil-over/height adjustable where Koni's are not.

blackandgold

iTrader: (2)

Sam, after our email convo, I know what direction I'm going to go there is too much new hotness baked into those coilovers to ignore. I was pretty ignorant to Afco in the handling category of shocks, but it sounds like they make a solid product. Hoping I can snag the new version of the boxed lower control arms too

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Uh, well that's because they don't do handling, that's where I come in.... do work on valving. A shock isn't rocket science it's how you make it work.

As for the new control arms, that's cart in front of the horse. I don't have all the details there.

blackandgold

iTrader: (2)

Fair point. If the front LCAs are going to delay it that much I may just roll with the current design. Looking forward to you call back

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Tag you're it. Monday I guess.

dailydriver

I would like to see a comparo between the above and the new Strano/UMI/Afco set ups, even though those are rebound adjustable only, with a similar spring rate/valving rate used on both.

I suspect that the HPEs might be a hair better on an all-out, fully set up/prepped road course car on gumball tires, but that the Strano/UMIs would be a better 'dual use' damper set up, and therefore MUCH BETTER when the car has to be driven on the street with lower spring rates than an all out racing damper would use/be valved for.

Corvett z07

iTrader: (2)

That's quite possible with the HPEs, I really don't know though. I'm going to some more events this summer and I'll ask if I can hitch a ride in the Hoosier car for a couple runs.

I remember last summer I asked if he was running Koni yellows on his 4th gen Trans Am that he runs, and he said that he did for a little while but he didn't like them. So whatever he did to those Afcos, they're better than the Konis, at least to his taste. That and the fact that he's always the fastest running 4th gen by a large margin at every event

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Well here's the thing. I like the guys over HPE. I sell their bearing kits and all and folks can make their own opinion. I specifically veto'ed doubles in this case because in the price range we wanted to be in I was not happy with or impressed with that shock. Had it been cost effective to move to a remote double, which is a mono-tube we would have offered that option. Now that's not to say I hate all twin tubes, I don't. But these are not even pressurized to the point the shock will extend on it's own, which is ok for a street shock that's not being pounded on but part of the point of the gas charge is to pressurize the shock and help keep the oil from foaming the shock from fading. Hence one reason for my decision to go wtih the Mono-tube.

There are others ranging from the shock running cooler to the fact most folks screw up having a compression adjustment and think, somehow, it's spring rate. It is not.

As for the valving. I'm pretty sure it's different as we went through many, many revisions of it until I was happy.

Now because this is the internet and things always get blown out or proportion here are some notes. I don't hate all twin tubes. I don't think that you have to have a mono-tube just because, in the case where the valving of a twin is better I'd rather run that, but that's not the case with say a Bilstein vs. a Koni. It's a balancing act to what the car is going to be used for.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

As a side note I've been thinking about getting another 4th gen. But I have to get rid of something else. Mostly thinking about it because there are some products I want to work on that are hard without a car.

Results. Matter. They do, but so does context in which they were generated. Winning something is very different depending on who you beat.

blackandgold

iTrader: (2)

Order placed, going with the new hotness. UMI/Strano/Afco on the way.

As a funny (to me at least) aside, I was out on a tinder date with a girl and to quote her: "at least your car hobby is cheap since you like older ones"

dailydriver

Thank you for clarifying that Sam!

IF I have enough for your current, rebound adjustable Afco front set up when I put a new power plant and clutch in this thing, I will get them put in while the k member is down for the engine R&R.

Are my used Koni Sport doubles with a GC coil over conversion on them worth ANYTHING at all??

Would you ever even consider doing a single tube Afco remote reservoir double adjustable, or do you think the price point would make it prohibitive, and no one would spend that kind of coin?

blackandgold

iTrader: (2)

If you had caught me before I had a disposable income I would have thrown you an offer. I'm not sure what you should ask for them, but I'm sure someone would pick them out of the classifieds here.