Today I went in to get the wheels aligned and the mechanic said he could do it because the seal on the passenger front strut was damaged.... he was able to move the wheel back and forth into/out of the body. He wrote up an estimate for new struts (Monroe...hah) and said I should also change the rear shocks - total for parts, labor, alignment, somewhere around $450... I just laughed and left.

I get home and check the email the previous owner had sent me containing all the info on the car. Says that there are Koni Yellow Sport Adjustable shocks... Now I don't get this at all. I know there are supposed to be shocks on the rear and struts on the front, but I can't find anywhere anything about adjustable struts?!? I know I am totally missing something as I have no clue about suspension really, but I do know that at the top of the strut tower there is the **** for adjusting the shock/strut, whatever it is.

The only thing I can find info about is the Koni Yellow Sport adjustable shocks (w/ the white adjustment **** on top..)... now are the shocks/struts assembled as one, or what?? Sorry for my ignorance, but I'd like to get this fixed as soon as I can. So if anybody could enlighten me as to what is going on here, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks

What you have Is a strut (only) front suspension. A strut is actually doubles as a dampener and a suspension control point. In other words, without it the front of your car would collapse to the ground. In a shock type suspension, the shock acts only as a dampener so the car will maintain its own stance or height if the shock were removed.
On strut cars, the strut assembly top mount is an asjustable point as which the car's caster and camber alignment settings can be positioned. On most other suspension, the front has an upper control arm that would be the adjustment point based on its relation to the lower a-arm. Strut cars dont have an upper control arm.
Hope this helps you.

yeah i get where i can adjust the camber/caster from the strut... but on mine there is also another adjustable part. It looks identical to this pic right here (even have the white cap to adjust it w/) but this is a picture of Koni's Yellow Sport shocks...thats the thing I don't understand :\



I'll snap a few pictures tomorrow and post them cuz I am still confused as to what the hell is on my car...lol

the adjustable shocks usually have a **** you can adjust it with on the side of the strut...ive never seen an adjustable strut tho.

thats the thing i dont understand... i've never heard of them either, but when I pop the hood, sure enough there is the little slot which you fit the adjustment **** over (white **** seen in pic above). Not sure if this helps any, but the previous owner had the car built strictly for autocross. So who knows.... pics tomorrow.

The white **** on top does just what it says, it firms the dampening rate of the strut. Dial it firmer for performance, and softer for comfort. If you have higher rate springs on the car then you don't want it too soft however because the spring will overpower the dampening/rebound force of the shock, making the ride uncomfortably bumpy.
The alignment mechanic was unable to align your car because of too much slop in the wornout strut. They need to be either rebuilt ( if that model allows for rebuilding) or replaced inorder to maintain a solid and accurate alignment.
Also keep in mind when purchasung any shock or strut, that the more dampening adjustments on them ( compesion & rebound as opposed to non adjustable or prevalved) the faster they will wearout. They are great features to have for multi-use cars such as daily driver/ Auto-x car, but just expect they will wearout faster. A better quality Koni adjustable will however outlast a poorer quality KYB fixed valve strut thogh. You get what you pay for.