Hi

I have the following suspension mods:

Hotchkis swaybars
BMR torque arm
Spohn lower control arms
Spohn panhard rod

My car has stock springs and shocks. I have a chance to get rear Konis SA at a good price. Is it a mistake just to do the rears now and wait until later to do the fronts? Any input appreciated.


Thanks JA

 

My opinion would be to do it all at once, however you could possibly set the fronts rates to something similar to the stock decarbons, if that's whats mounted in the rear, or you might opt for the SA fronts with some revavled Bilsteins in the rear, but you won't have the rebound adjustability that's designed with the Koni's.

If you shall get those rear Koni SA's that you mention are offered at a good price, be aware that if and when a situation arises, you might need some technical and/or warranty support. Again, whatever service may or may not be offered should be a considerable decision making factor.

 

Forget what anyone esle tell u. I had about the same mod as u in the rear. My girlfriend told me just the rear shocks made my car faster than any other mod. That included headers and a tune. It will cost 140.00 if the shock have to be repaired at koni. Compress the shocks and and let them extend. If they feel OK buy them. Put them on and have fun u will nor be sorry

 

Because nobody else's opinion matters.. Ok.

First, there are a number of Koni's out there that can fit a 4th gen. Nobody as asked *which* shocks you are talking about. And it amuses me how folks say things like "forget what anyone esle tell u" and to run them without having a CLUE about which shocks they are.

Second, what's a "good price"? You can buy some Koni's brand new that will fit the rear of car for under $100 each. So maybe your good deal isn't so great (or it might be, I can't tell you as I don't know what shocks we are talking about).

Third. compressing them and seeing if they extend doesn't tell you if the shock is broken or not. It only tells you if it has gas pressure or not.

Fourth. You can get Koni's rebuilt by Koni. It takes, on average about 6 weeks, and would cost as much as a brand new shock.

As for installing them on the rear only, that's fine *if* we figure out the shocks are right for you (by figuring out what they are). You take you chances with them being in good shape...... If it's a good deal, and they happen to be fine, then you'll see a huge difference and realize just how truly bad the OEM shocks are, and being looking to change fronts ASAP.

Notice the amount of "if's".... Buyer beware.

 

Sam the guy said good deal. I bet he knows what new ones cost. I could be wrong. How can u tell if if a shock is good other than a shock dino? Maybe I should have said turn the shock to full soft and the full hard it should change will that work?

Plus I did not want someone to tell him that he could not get used shocks for just the back, and then tell he need 4 new shock all the way around. As i posted before, I did this worked well for me. An I saved alot of money.

 

He might know what a new 4th gen Sport costs, and if he's comparing a 3rd gen Special, or even a 3rd gen Sport to that 4th gen price it's not comparing apples to apples.... I prefer to work in facts vs. assumptions. I spend a good deal of my day fixing things that were done by way of assumption.

You can't truly tell if a shock is 100% right without a shock dyno. That's why you take you chances with old stuff. Even changing the adjuster from soft to stiff won't tell you. It will slow the rate the shock re-extends, true enough... but guess what.... you can't move the shock fast enough to get it into it's true valving. You are simply seeing the adjusters effect vs. gas pressure.

Bottom line.... Used is used. Used cars, used computers, used anything. Might be great, might be junk. And I've witnessed more than a few broken rear shocks that physically looked and "hand tested" fine. Some folks didn't even KNOW the rear shocks were broken, until they were fixed.

 

Hi

Actually they are brand new from a local Koni dealer. They happen to have them in stock and offerd me a great discount. Why, because I have dropped tuns/tuns/tuns of money with them in the past. So used quality or support is not an issue. These guys always take good care of me and the Konis will have a lifetime guarrantee.

Stan, actually when I am ready, I plan to buy CG coil overs from you. Then do my Konis front and rear at the same time as the coil overs. I do not want to buy the Konis in the USA, because it will cost more to import them into Canada (money exchange, shipping and UPS fees). It is a lot cheeper to buy them from my local dealer.

However, the situation is, I will have a brand new set of rear Konis sitting in the bottom of my closset until I get enough cash to by the GC coilovers and front Konis. It will be hard to let them sit there, knowing I can spend 2 hours on the weekend and have them installed.

I am just woundering I might unbalance my car. I just want to keep my car safe. The stock shocks are so crappy, it seems to me I can only imrove upon matters.

Thansk JA

PS, they are the current 4th gen rear shocks.

 

sam we were both wrong lol

JA I had them in the back of my car for the same reason u want to. They made the car alot better. try em. If u dont like it put the others back on. It took me about an hour to put them on. It took wiggle out of the back. The hardest thing was to get the carpet up. I set mine about 1/3 of the way from soft. What spring rates r u getting for the gound control? and why? I got my GC stuff for 360.00 US.

The back ones made my car so much better I wondered about what the front ones would do. Once I put the fronts it made the car alot better again.

 

I still don't know what a good deal is. And the fact I'm not hearing that makes me wonder. I also don't see a part number, which I'd like to verify what they are. So far we still have the same questions except we now know they are new....... That is all that has been answered here.

You've been told that rears are ok to put on alone already, twice at least. So I'm thinking maybe you aren't really taking your time and reading these answers. In the end you'll do what you want to do. I've said my peace.

And it's SAM, not stan. Sam.

 

While I usually don't like to quote sponsors or board experts, the reason I did it is because I agree 100% with this statement. NEVER assume that used will always be a "great deal", especially on an item that is not recommended to be rebuilt by the end user.

I had purchased used 8242 DA's a long time ago for quite a "good deal", and guess what? Even though I had them dynoed, they turned out to be alright, but it still was taking a chance on inheriting someone else's problems and abuse. If they needed to be rebuilt, the total cost could've ended up being more than new ones. If they're old and have leaks and worn seals, the same situation can apply also.

I know that it seems tiresome to read these comments (sometimes blunt), but what people like Sam and myself are trying to let you know is to use extra precaution when hooking on to "good deals."

The point? Try to buy them new, and know exactly what you're getting, both model number and condition.

 

Hi Sam
8241-1140 Sport (yellow)
List $186.82 ea CND
Price with discount $161.82 ea CND
I am confussed. Koni only list one part number for a SA 4th gen rear shock. It covers 93 to 2002. If there were other part numbers I might understand. I have yet to put any 3rd gen part on my 4th gen car and never plan to. It seems only common sense to me.

Don't take the price thing personally. Understand that importing into Canada from the web, is far more expensive then finding a local source. I am not trying to compair prices with you or anyone else. I am just giving a little history behind my rational for doing the rears only.

As for taking the time to read the text, I have read it. This forum is all about the discussion and a little recreation. I am not too worry about being articulate. If I want to ask/answer the same question twice, I will. Most don't mind. You obviously use this forum more as a marketing tool, which is expected (as you are a sponsor), but relax a little. I apologize for the name, thats twice I have gotten it wrong.

Thanks JA