Koni dampers for Legacy

[dan_m]

I'm still waiting for mine............not even a tracking number yet.

Two weeks shipping was what I was promised, and paid extra for. that would be 7/9.

 

I'm hoping to find them on the porch soon.

 

no tracking number FTL

 

maybe your seller underestimated how quickly he

can have them shipped over... I really hope you get

them soon and post your review cause I'm really

eyeing these shocks for my GT (!)

[hifiandmtb]

Hey guys - a mate ordered Konis for his MY04 GEN4 Liberty wagon through Wholesale Suspension in Sydney.

 

Here's a pic of what they supplied:

 

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h208/sublibwag/Miscellaneous/KONIs.jpg

 

Points to note:

 

• The rear struts are based on some Nissan Pulsar replacement model. The collar up top ensures the OEM tophat fits properly. The shaft extension is identical to the OEM strut. The lower bolt hole needs to be drilled out about 1mm larger - no big deal.
  
• The front Konis are simply inserts that fit into the OEM strut body. The full extended shaft length is 10mm longer than the OEM damper, but the OEM spring is still captive & it all fits together just fine.

Some random fitting pics:

 

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l199/Wasp_Hunter/Cruises/7JulyMeet/DSC_0058Medium.jpg

 

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l199/Wasp_Hunter/Cruises/7JulyMeet/DSC_0086Medium.jpg

 

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l199/Wasp_Hunter/Cruises/7JulyMeet/DSC_0095Medium.jpg

 

Lousy photos I know, but at least they prove Konis do exist

 

How does it drive? Well, we set the dampers at only 1/4 turn off full soft (the fronts are externally adjustable, the rears internally...unfortunately) but pitch & dive is hugely improved over the OEM dampers.

 

Secondary ride seems more supple than my Bilsteins but that's all I have to report right now. My mate will supply more information in the next day or so.

 

Part numbers? I'll try & get them for you too...but there is light at the end of the tunnel - hooray!

[wcbjr]

Great news for you!

 

Bad news for most of us that want complete external adjustability.

[NewScooby]

Great news for you!

 

Bad news for most of us that want complete external adjustability.

 

You can pay an extra $100 and Koni will make the rears externally adjustable per their website.

 

I believe in set it and forget it, so the rears are not a deal breaker for me. Playing the waiting game sucks, I want mine now.

[hifiandmtb]

What is it that you guys are waiting for? Is it for the front struts to be USDM top-hat compatible?

[NewScooby]

What is it that you guys are waiting for? Is it for the front struts to be USDM top-hat compatible?

 

cliff notes:

I ordered mine June 24th or 25th, paid extra for air freight and was promised to get them in two weeks or less in order to make a track day on July 21st and 22nd.

 

Now they are telling me that I will have them around July 26th. Vendor just told me what I wanted to hear to make a sale, nothing against Koni. I'm sure the struts will be fine, even though I would take my money back and order coilovers in a heartbeat right now.

[hifiandmtb]

Ah - ok. Are you one of the first U.S. guys to order Konis?

[minimalistic]

subscribe, very interested.

[xr7kid]

You can pay an extra $100 and Koni will make the rears externally adjustable per their website.

 

I believe in set it and forget it, so the rears are not a deal breaker for me. Playing the waiting game sucks, I want mine now.

 

That's awesome news that you can have them made externally adjustable! I can't wait until I save up enough "allowance" (I'm married:lol:) to get these!

[NewScooby]

Ah - ok. Are you one of the first U.S. guys to order Konis?

 

I'm not sure, but I ordered them within a week of hearing they were available.

[VTGT]

I'm not sure, but I ordered them within a week of hearing they were available.

 

Hang in there cannot wait for a review. I am stuck between these and Tokicos.

 

What springs are you matching with these? Also what does externally adjusted mean?

[OhBe1]

Encouraging, nonetheless. Now for the Outback version....

[NewScooby]

Hang in there cannot wait for a review. I am stuck between these and Tokicos.

 

What springs are you matching with these? Also what does externally adjusted mean?

 

I will be using these with ION Springs, Cusco F&R Swaybars, Superpro offset LCA bushings and 18x8 wheels with 225/40/18's.

 

 

From KONI's site: Many of the KONI Sport dampers are externally adjustable by means of a knob, so they need not be disassembled from the car. The fine-tuning of the damping forces to personal driving style and to different driving conditions is therefore not more than a matter of seconds.

http://www.koni-na.com/pics/knob.jpg

The Koni's for the rear of the Legacy GT must be removed to be adjusted. The fronts are externally adjustable

[VTGT]

I will be using these with ION Springs, Cusco F&R Swaybars, Superpro offset LCA bushings and 18x8 wheels with 225/40/18's.

 

 

From KONI's site: Many of the KONI Sport dampers are externally adjustable by means of a knob, so they need not be disassembled from the car. The fine-tuning of the damping forces to personal driving style and to different driving conditions is therefore not more than a matter of seconds.

http://www.koni-na.com/pics/knob.jpg

The Koni's for the rear of the Legacy GT must be removed to be adjusted. The fronts are externally adjustable

 

That is sweeeeeeeeet So it only takes a few seconds with the turn of the knob:). And you can have the rears externally adjustable for 100 more?

 

I really like the sound of these now.

 

And what all is included with the limited lifetime warranty?

 

Cannot wait for the review :)

[dan_m]

is that 100 more for each or total? where's the link to the 100$ for externally ajustable option, is it on Koni's website?

[VTGT]

Why would they only have the fronts externally adjustable anyhow? Do they make more a of difference in handling?

[NewScooby]

Why would they only have the fronts externally adjustable anyhow? Do they make more a of difference in handling?

 

see link in post 313

[NewScooby]

Why would they only have the fronts externally adjustable anyhow? Do they make more a of difference in handling?

 

OK, I googled KONI INSERT and read about every post that came up. I did read that "compress to adjust" shocks can be upgraded for $100 to adjustables.

 

I'm not sure where I saw it. But I did see it on the internet, so it might, possibly, could be true:redface:

[wcbjr]

I believe in set it and forget it, so the rears are not a deal breaker for me.

 

Not when you auto-x a daily driver.

[KartRacerBoy]

Not when you auto-x a daily driver.

 

+10

[lawl]

I have Konis on the miata. They're good but not automotive sex as many are trying to make it out to be.

 

I'm a little worried about quality. One of the shock adjustments in the rear only turn 3/4 as much as the other ones, so it's hard to get all the shocks to be the same stiffness.

 

And judging by similar offerings these are not going to come cheap.

 

i would just buy a decent set of coilovers for the money, IMO. i dont feel like the konis on the miata match well with the stock springs with anything more stiff than full soft. (which is totally not the reason i wanted them to start out with)

[emlevins]

I'll be interested in hearing how the Konis compare to the various Bilsteins (especially the HDs) and the Tokicos.

[hifiandmtb]

Konis >>> Bilsteins for initial suppleness (i.e. the Billies seem to suffer from excessive stiction - this is my experience after 70,000km on B6 Sports).

 

Bilsteins are definitely valved more firmly than Konis set to soft. Much firmer.

 

Here's another update from my mate with his GEN4 MY04 GT:

 

Let me prefix this by saying first that I was mostly happy with the OEM shocks and Whiteline swaybars combo in typical day to day driving. (read: share JD’s preference for floaty setuphttp://www.carandimage.com/forums/images/smilies/tongue.gif)

It was only once you up the pace that OEM setup falls short. On that note I actually find the lib GT in standard setup to be a bit of an odd combination/contradiction – the engine can feel a bit lethargic and laggy below 3000 rpm and is only happy at higher revs yet once you get it going you find that suspension and brakes (to some extent) are underdone. Luckily there are aftermarket bits to fix these flaws.http://www.carandimage.com/forums/images/smilies/8thumbsup.gif

 

Back to the suspension: the car has whiteline front & rear swaybars (set to hard) strut brace, Fulcrum LCA bushes and of course KONI struts paired with OEM springs. KONIs are adjustable and are set to approximately one quarter of the turn of the maximum damping or quite soft given there is another 75% to play with. Softest setting I am told is approximately 20% firmer than OEM. Both front and rears are externally adjustable but rears need to be taken of the car to be adjusted. Given this is the first example of the struts being hand built and extensively modified both internally and externally there was a good chance that something would not fit properly or that something will go wrong. My fears proved to be unfounded and installation (thanks largely to Steve’s previous experience,) was a breeze. (Thanks mate!)http://www.carandimage.com/forums/images/smilies/8thumbsup.gif

 

OK, the car hasn’t been driven in anger as yet (something to do with other cars/general traffic acting as obstacles and getting in the way on my “private” test track (while I was on my way to work that is) but first impression of the setup is good: Considerable reduction in roll and pitch, overall car fills stiffer than OEM (doh) but not by a huge margin, ride quality does not seem to be affected at all. Cornering stance feels surefooted, in corners car seems to be sharper and feels more neutral when changing direction/shifting weight. Bumps I’ve encountered so far with suspension loaded while cornering did not throw the car off line (maybe I should up the speedhttp://www.carandimage.com/forums/images/smilies/cheeky-smiley-013.gif)

In medium to fast speed corners with smooth road surface car feels great. It has been raining yesterday and today so grip and cornering speeds at which the car was driven were not high.

 

The only negative so far is a noticeable increase in noise when hitting expansion joints (and there is a lot of them on the stretch of Victoria road I had a pleasure of driving on yesterday). I am not sure how much can this be reduced by using new and/or different tyres ( I have 65% worn Falken Azenis ST115s with 40 PSI in them all ‘round). Now that stiffer dampers have been installed I may be able to drop the pressures a little bit (previously 40 PSI seemed to be the norm with squishy OEM dampers). Apart from the nasty short sharp expansion joints there is no excessive suspension noise, typical potholes and road irregularities transmit just a muffled “thud” much like the OEM suspension.

At straight ahead and speeds above 100 km/h the car no longer pitches and wallows as much after hitting potholes, feels much flatter.

 

As far as comparison to stock Bilstein setup is concerned: It has been a while since I’ve driven a Bilstein equipped liberty (also missed to take the pinnacle of handling goodness the 2.5i-B for a spin on Saturday) so forum RB drivers who attend the next cruise/meet up can take the car for a drive and see for themselves how they compare.

 

More feedback to come as I clock up more kays and try out few more combinations (thinking of resetting springs or maybe getting STI “pinks”). Also given the adjustable nature of the dampers there is probably quite a few different permutations that I will need to try out (suggestions welcome). I may end up spending quite a few hours in the garage playing with the (adjustment) knob.http://www.carandimage.com/forums/images/smilies/5crazy.gif

 

So to sum it up so far – in it’s current setup (and normal road going speeds) it is a subtle change from OEMs, slightly firmer with no adverse affects on ride quality bar the small issue of noise that may be in part attributed to tyres. Owner happy. http://www.carandimage.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

Almost forgot: I guess I get to call it GT-K now?

[rporter]

I'll be interested in hearing how the Konis compare to the various Bilsteins (especially the HDs) and the Tokicos.

 

This is an apples-to-oranges comparison, as the Konis and Tokicos are adjustable.

 

Now for street-only folks who never track the car, the adjustability isn't worth it. Personally, I wanted the Tokicos, and would have probably gone with the Konis since they seem to be available before the Tokico HTS006. FWIW, I punted and went with the Ksport coilover deal, which will work perfectly for me.

[emlevins]

Interesting. I have Ions and had been waiting for Konis as Jack (at Ion) had indicated that Koni was using the Ions as a basis for their development for the Legacy (if I remember this correctly). But.....couldn't wait any longer and bought the HDs.

 

I do find them firm....and firmer than I prefer. But I am 55 and bought and traded an STI because it was too harsh. Actually, the Ions and the stock struts were about perfect for me (until the struts wore out). The HDs are not far off from that setup but they are firmer .The car handles very, very well though, and I have enjoyed my spirited driving on all sorts of roads. But, something softer would work better for me I think.

 

If I had adjustable struts. I would adjust until I was comfortable and that would be it.

 

Will still be interested in comparisons from folks who have had several setups (and how varous settings on the adjustables compare to the various Bilsteins and others..).