I'm running Sportlines and wanting to swap new struts and shocks again. I have previously run Bilsteins and loved them but wonder if there are newer or better options available?

I built the car for road course use but seem to find my way to the drag strip more and more frequently these days so they need to perform okay in drag use as well. If it wasn't for the drag strip I'd get the Koni yellows and not think twice.

Thoughts?

 

Id go with Koni yellows anyways. Top notch struts and shocks. Since youre lowered, youre gonna love them. They are firm, yet soft. The perfect balance if you ask me!

I drag race my car once in a while (well, when it was on the road) and they performed flawlessly.

 

One vote for Koni yellows anyone else have experience/thoughts?

 

Still have the orignal Bilstien Struts & Shocks and still as good as ever. Original owner of 1987 IROC-Z, so I would recomend Bilstiens

 

I dont have any first hand expieriance with KONI Yellows, but I plan on getting them for my car in a month or so (when the snow is gone). But then again, I will be autocrossing my camaro.

 

You may want to replace those. I recently installed a set of new Bilstiens on my 1987 IROC. The original stock struts were shot! I removed them compressed them and they did not rebound.

 

These still rebound and I have been the only driver of this car so I known they are still good for a lot of miles.

 

How can you tell if they still rebound?

I didn't know that mine were toast until I removed them from the car. The coil springs were the only thing rebounding, the struts were just going along for the ride. They weren't damping much...

The new Bilstiens are awesome! They have a lot of resistance and rebound when compressed by hand. They seem well built and have a much better ride!

 

I can second Bilsteins durability. My original Bilsteins were fine until I slammed the car and ruined them. I didnt know then that lowering would kill them. They worked great on the stock springs and lasted for ages and ages. I had a Porsche once that had them too and again great shocks. I hear great things about Koni's and all and the adjustable aspect sounds nice but I have haad adjustables before on a sled though ( snowmobile ) At first I played with them all the time but after the first season once I had them set where I liked it I left them there. This has me thinking because I really liked my last set of Bilsteins so maybe I should just not mess with success and stick with them. I certainly dont think that is a poor choice at all. I'd still like to hear more. Thanks guys

 

I just sold my NIB Carerra QA1 rears and Koni Yellow front struts. I am lowering the car and wanted something that is designed with the goemetry in mind, plus I wanted to be able to adjust for track or street, ect. I am going with the Tokico Illumina adjustable shocks/struts and lowering springs on the advice from a few people that I respect.

 

i dont know much about the konis (if they are adjustable or not), but i would get some adjustables. i have kyb agx's on my stang and they are really nice for the price ($300), however i KNOW that there are better adjustables out there.

 

Bilsteins. Had my 85 since new and Bilsteins that you buy today are much better than OEM bilsteins. OEM rears are not Bilsteins so I upgraded rear to Bilsteins. Again, much better results.

 

Yeah the Bilstein HD's ( sports in my case ) I have heard are valved a bit tighter than the stock Bilsteins.

Anyone know if there are any shocks available that are remote adjustable?

 

Alright so I've done a fair bit of research and from what I've read it seems the Bilsteins no longer come valved as aggressively as they used too so a revalve is nec. This has me leaning towards the Koni's now and I especially like the adjuster **** on top of the strut tower.

I'm wondering is anyone knows whos got the best prices on the Koni's?

 

Hotpart.
http://www.hotpart.com/index.php?&ke...d=63&catcount=

He also makes one of the best upper strut mounts. $200 for the pair, and new stock-style ones are $90 each. Might as well go aftermarket for $20.

 

KONIs are what I have and I like them. They are adjustable as well.
And you might as well get the shock mounts like HotParts or Spohn while you are at it.

 

Ya I will be getting the mounts too. Shame I bought new stock ones last season in a rush to get it out ( I lost my stockers during the LS1 swap somewhere )

Do those hotparts ones raise the height of the strut like the Spohn ones do or do they keep the strut at the same height as stock?

http://www.spohn.net/?action=product&pid=1148

anyone?

 

Just bought a pair of Koni Yellow sports from jegs for 445.00 for the pair, cheaper than hotparts and free shipping

 

Cool thanks! Anyone know about the strut mount height on those hotpart units?

 

I'm not sure, but mine (being the old design) don't have any clearance issues with the Pro-Kit I'm running. Plenty of travel, and I've never hit the strut on the mount. The new ones should offer at least as much height as the stock pieces, if not more. I'd send HotPart an e-mail and see what they say, though. At least you would be getting the info from the source.

 

Good point. Sounds easy enough *wonders why i never thought of it*

 

Wow blazing fast replies over there at Hotpart. Heres what they said

Only thing i wonder about is I killed my stock shocks/struts by lowering the car. They didnt bottom out or anything but I read somewhere that it messes up the shock when you lower it because it cycles the shock where it wasnt designed to run. Seeing as Koni's are 250 a pop I'd like to figure this out before laying out the coin. I'm running Sportlines so I am waaaaay low

Thoughts?

 

Quite a few folks running the hotpart mounts at lower heights, under harder conditions, and with higher spring rates...that being said, do what they recomend...cycle the suspension and make sure your bumpstops prevent you from bottoming the suspension.

 

I'm not at all concerned about bottoming out the suspension I can make sure that wont happen. I just dont want to prematurely cook my struts from running them in a less desirable neutral position and cycling them in a stroke pattern that they are not designed for

 

I guess what I'm asking is do Koni Yellows really need the raised strut mounts? Will it damage them at all ( providing I avoid mechanical collisions ie; bottoming them out ) if I run them in such a low position?

 

I've been wondering the same thing about them for a while now. I've had them on my car for about two years or so...I think. I've not noticed any change in performance, but that doesn't mean it hasn't occured. Might be worth looking into. I wonder if KONIs tech support is as good as HotParts?

 

I had 1 7/8 spacers made to run under the stock strut hat. So there is no loss in travel for the front damper despite the vehicle being lowered. I'm running with Tokiko Illuminas (love them) and I figured this measure would save killing them over time. The only thing is that the stock threaded studs that come up from underneath the "strut tower" are not long enough. As it happened, I had a set of the Hot Part camber plates and used their stud bracket.

I decided against the HotPart CC plates because using the provided spacers (beefy washers) you now have a big gap between the plate and the chassis of the car. The engine would have always been coated in road grime etc. Also, they alow for so much positive camber that I would have had to hack of a piece to align the wheels and still close the hood. It's not that they are a poor part but, to my mind, really more for the track than the street.

If you can afford the down time, I say, remove the strut hats (mounts-whatever you want to call them) and for the same price a machine shop can CNC you a spacer that will look better and allow greater strut travel.

 

Good points Jonathan. I heard back from Hotpart again heres what they said

 

Looks like its all good. Heres a quote I received in response to my email to Koni straight fromthe horses mouth;

Thanks for the help guys