Koni SA Rears - So Awesome!
#1
TECH Apprentice
Thread Starter
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I installed a pair of 3rd gen (off-car) Koni single adjustable rear shocks today, and they made an unbelievable difference in drive quality over the factory DeCarbons. I may have to replace the fronts now!
My current suspension setup is:
Eibach Pro-Kit springs
DeCarbons in the front, Koni's in the rear
BMR adjustable panhard bar
BMR chromoly LCAs with relocation brackets
My car only has 20,000 miles, but the rear shocks were allowing the rear to bounce too much, and the right rear had developed a squeak. I wasn't positive I wanted to drop the coin on the Koni's, but I'm super glad I did.
Whole job took me about 30 min. I had access flaps in my carpet behind the rear seat so I didn't have to remove anything. It was as easy as an oil change!
I know the Pro-Kit has received a lot of negative reviews on this forum, but my rear doesn't sag, my bump stops are perfect so it's clearly not bottoming out much, and they've done a nice job of being a balanced race vs street drive spring setup. I'm very excited to put more miles on these Koni's, the difference is night and day.
My current suspension setup is:
Eibach Pro-Kit springs
DeCarbons in the front, Koni's in the rear
BMR adjustable panhard bar
BMR chromoly LCAs with relocation brackets
My car only has 20,000 miles, but the rear shocks were allowing the rear to bounce too much, and the right rear had developed a squeak. I wasn't positive I wanted to drop the coin on the Koni's, but I'm super glad I did.
Whole job took me about 30 min. I had access flaps in my carpet behind the rear seat so I didn't have to remove anything. It was as easy as an oil change!
I know the Pro-Kit has received a lot of negative reviews on this forum, but my rear doesn't sag, my bump stops are perfect so it's clearly not bottoming out much, and they've done a nice job of being a balanced race vs street drive spring setup. I'm very excited to put more miles on these Koni's, the difference is night and day.
#3
TECH Apprentice
Thread Starter
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Originally Posted by HCI2000SS
I know the feeling. You don't realize how crappy the DeCarbons are until you change them
Are you going to the track anytime soon? The air has been better, so I definitely want to go soon. A buddy just bought a 17 5.0 and he wants to run. I should take him by a bit, but those things are surprisingly quick.
#4
TECH Apprentice
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Completely forgot to mention, I'm running the shocks at one click from full soft. Full soft was nice, but one click up was exactly what I was looking for...At least for spirited street driving. I hope to have some track times soon. My launches will be soft with the 10 bolt, but I'm hoping to avoid wheel hop and get some 1.8ish short times.
#5
TECH Enthusiast
iTrader: (2)
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You should totally replace the front ASAP. :-) Your setup is sort of weird now with stiff springs but not enough damping in the front. Sounds like you mostly drag, but a good handling car is fun any time, and the front carries a lot of weight so proper damping is a must for good handling. You might have some excess nose dive or more bounce. Not sure how it drives, but when I replaced my stock shocks with Koni's all around it was like a whole new car!
#6
TECH Senior Member
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I installed a pair of 3rd gen (off-car) Koni single adjustable rear shocks today, and they made an unbelievable difference in drive quality over the factory DeCarbons. I may have to replace the fronts now!
My current suspension setup is:
Eibach Pro-Kit springs
DeCarbons in the front, Koni's in the rear
BMR adjustable panhard bar
BMR chromoly LCAs with relocation brackets
My car only has 20,000 miles, but the rear shocks were allowing the rear to bounce too much, and the right rear had developed a squeak. I wasn't positive I wanted to drop the coin on the Koni's, but I'm super glad I did.
Whole job took me about 30 min. I had access flaps in my carpet behind the rear seat so I didn't have to remove anything. It was as easy as an oil change!
I know the Pro-Kit has received a lot of negative reviews on this forum, but my rear doesn't sag, my bump stops are perfect so it's clearly not bottoming out much, and they've done a nice job of being a balanced race vs street drive spring setup. I'm very excited to put more miles on these Koni's, the difference is night and day.
My current suspension setup is:
Eibach Pro-Kit springs
DeCarbons in the front, Koni's in the rear
BMR adjustable panhard bar
BMR chromoly LCAs with relocation brackets
My car only has 20,000 miles, but the rear shocks were allowing the rear to bounce too much, and the right rear had developed a squeak. I wasn't positive I wanted to drop the coin on the Koni's, but I'm super glad I did.
Whole job took me about 30 min. I had access flaps in my carpet behind the rear seat so I didn't have to remove anything. It was as easy as an oil change!
I know the Pro-Kit has received a lot of negative reviews on this forum, but my rear doesn't sag, my bump stops are perfect so it's clearly not bottoming out much, and they've done a nice job of being a balanced race vs street drive spring setup. I'm very excited to put more miles on these Koni's, the difference is night and day.
I remember the front Koni SA making a bigger difference than the rears as well...
#7
12 Second Club
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I recently put koni sports on my ride and yes even with stock springs they made a huge difference. The car handles and rides so much better. As said above wait til you get the fronts on..i did the fronts first and they definitely made a bigger difference then the rear ones did.
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#8
TECH Senior Member
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The Koni's are about 30% thicker than the skinny DeCarbons too. I was surprised to see the difference in the size between the two.
Are you going to the track anytime soon? The air has been better, so I definitely want to go soon. A buddy just bought a 17 5.0 and he wants to run. I should take him by a bit, but those things are surprisingly quick.
Are you going to the track anytime soon? The air has been better, so I definitely want to go soon. A buddy just bought a 17 5.0 and he wants to run. I should take him by a bit, but those things are surprisingly quick.