The word on the street... or erm... forums, is to get Koni Yellows for performance and Bilsteins for ride comfort.

To those guys who run Yellows on the street... how hard is the ride? The streets in NJ are riddled with potholes, railroad crossings, etc. I'm all about performance but I still want to enjoy the car.

How do Tokico's fit into this equation?

(Yes I've searched, but haven't found exactly what I was looking for)

Thanks!
Bill

 

id like to know too

where in north jersy are you?

 

I don't have the yellows but I do have the reds in my iroc. They are awesome. The ride is a bit stiff, thena gain I do have spohn's coil over setup with 325 pound srings. Smooth roads arent all that bad, just the big dips and what not tend to be a bit harsh. They are set to full up front and half way in the rear.

 

86TA, I'm just outside of Morristown, just under an hour from Ringoes. Let me know if you wanna go for a cruise sometime. Do you have AIM?

Kat, thanks for your response! I heard the yellows are even stiffer than the reds.

 

Ive had kybs, then bilsteins, now yellows. Kyb's are a waste of money. Bilsteins give a very good ride, firm but not harsh. Best non adjustable shock out there IMO. Yellows are similar to bilstein ride on the softer settings, but can be adjusted for higher rates for open tracking, which is why I got them. On the street the ride is taut, but not overly harsh. The one thing the yellows get upset on are very suddon, sharp bumps. You really feel those. This is also a daily driver.
Reds will also be fine for a DD

Heres my list:
Daily driver budget: Tokico HP
Daily driver performance (perhaps an auto x): Bilstein/Reds
All out: Yellows

 

I installed koni yellows in my camaro last summer (got a spring & shock package deal) and enjoy them immensely. I live in Winnipeg, where the roads are cracked and broken (the city's water pipes routinely burst). They are without a doubt the best thing I've done for the car. I run them on the softest setting and driving has yet to set my teeth on edge. At the time, the price difference between a set of Koni yellows and tokico HP's was marginal.

 

I have KONIs and really like them. Sure, the ride is rough when you have them set stiffer, but on soft they really aren't that bad. That is to me at least. It will mostly depend on your preference though. Personally, I wouldn't run anything else on my car.

 

does anyone know the part #? of the yellow and reds? thanks also can you give a price range? i tryed to check summit but couldnt find them

 

HotPart.com has the cheapest price I've seen (other than the occasional luck-up on eBay). I bought my front ones from them. Great people to deal with. Here they are. They only sale the Yellows, though. They are $663.60 for all four shipped (if they still offer free shipping like when I got mine).

 

This age old question again.I have Koni Yellows. The car is stiff for performance but I would not in the least bit describe the ride as ever being harsh.Don't like performance cars then buy a Cadillac.My car is probably lighter weight than anyones on this board and it also probably has one of the most stiff shocks on it also- that combination makes it definately the firmist riding car on these boards and it is so smooth my wife drives it daily and loves it. It's generally not about what you have put on the car, it more about what else you still have not fixed or upgraded that is the true problem and is being blamed on the shocks and struts.

 

what do you have? and whats the wieght of it got pics?

 

87 Camaro V6rsr (its very well known on these boards)800lb front springs. Rears get complicated but the bassis of the setup is progressive springs and Koni shaft progressive bumpstops. Car weights in around 3100 lbs and the nose is extremely light weight compared to V8 cars. I need to revise this list but its close enough.http://www.cardomain.com/ride/518752/7
Some video of the car in action.http://www.zippyvideos.com/681124941...farn_010/Autox run on worn street tires and street alignment- I was 4 seconds ahead of the next 3rd gen out of 8 3rdgens that day if I recall. This car is smooth and carries it speed- no raw acceleration HP, it was built for the wife for daily driving.http://www.zippyvideos.com/8464669705208156/d3/

 

It's my understandig that normal red or yellow Koni's are factory pre set!
You only have to adjust to compensate wear (after many miles...!)
By pre adjusting when new, the (oil) seals will blow.....!!
Koni does make special series, adjustable ones with a remote adjuster on them...!!

 

Your understanding is wrong.Shock adjustments are simply that- adjustments. You have to set them to your car with what modifications you have.Yellows have adjustable rebound setting only, compression is preset. The only problem (if you want to call it a problem) with Koni yellows is the rear shock compression is a tab on the stiffer side (and reds do not have the high enough rebound adjustment range). Once you try and strip a car's(sprung) weight for racing as well as increase the spring rates, the compression valving needs to be dropped about 10% on linear spring applications.-Hence why I tinkered around and found a great combination using progressive rate rear springs. Playing with my LCA angles and lengths, rebound rates, lower shock mount height (length of shock with the Koni progressive shaft bumps on them), swaybars, and rear roll center height- I tried a few different combos and feel in love with the progressives on the rear. I have also striped polar weight off the rear of my car by removing my heavy rear dual exhaust muffler and utilizing a custom made I pipe muffler. This dropped about 40 lbs off the rearmost of the car which is alot of leverage on the rear springs. i induce squat upon corner entry rather than lifting and transfering massive weight over the nose which the V8 cars are notorious for pushing then snap oversteer.Koni reds would never properly damper my 800lb front springs, I needed yellow to control them on rebound.

 

Well, maybe Koni makes different shockes for USA applications.
As Koni being a Dutch manufacturer, I used a lot of them ( I live in Holland!)
They were ALWAYS factory pre set....!! (red and yellow!)
There came a written warning with them, NOT to adjust them when new....!!!
B.t.w., Koni has lost most of it's good name overhere, because there was a time, not to long ago, when new Koni's were already leaking in the pakkage....!!

 

Please note that I am not trying to argue or offend you in any way- just a friendly discussion
When you buy something with an adjustment range and the manufacturer would say do not adjust it 'when new' how on earth is anybody going to ever get the performance level of it or how on earth is anyone ever going to adjust it in the future to stiffen the rebound without it leaking then and THEN try and get an exchange or refund. This is still wrong and I have never in all my years dealing with Koni products ever seen a pair of adjustable shocks come with such a tag affixed to them. I have some 35 year old Koni's on my racecar that have been sent back 5 different times over the years for revalving after appropriate wear- always came back great and I set them to my liking.
Koni's own website disputes what you say when they explain to customers how to setup your car utilizing the compression adjustments if any first, then going to the rebound adjustments next- check it out some time.
Valving range is just that, a range of valving damper. It may range from 100 lbs force pressure to 258 lbs force pressure- you may need 195 lbs force pressure to resist roll of your vehicle and weight transfer based on what spring choice you have, what swaybars you have, your grip coefficient, your roll center heights, etc. A bolt on shcok is fine for a street enthusiet that wants a little more sporty ride, but adjustable shocks are made for the reasons I listed above.

 

I went to the Koni website and you're halveway right, de yellow so called "Sport" versions have remote ***** for in-car adjusments, de red Koni's or "Special" has not en is not intended do be adjusted when new...!!
They have a device for compensating wear, this is not an adjuster!
I never have used yellow ones, they where not available when I used to use Koni.
But after having several bad experiences with Koni ( leaking!!) I don't use them anymore. ( even the "lifetime" warrantie was a joke)