For anyone interested, I just placed an order for a set of Koni Reds and was told that my order could not be filled because Koni North America stopped supplying them. I looked at many other sites and none of them offerred the Reds anymore. Apparently, it is now Yellows or another brand. Does anyone know of a site that still has them for my '91 TA?
Part numbers are front, 8741-1030 and rear, 30-1265.

Since I can't get the Reds, how do the Koni Yellows compare to the Bilstein pieces? I do not race my car but like a firm but not so harsh ride. I have read many comments on this site about the Koni Yellows being great for handling, especially road track, but very harsh for a street car. Anyone have a preference they would like to share between these two manufacturers or any of the other manufacturers now that my first choice Koni Reds cannot be bought?

 

You might want to look at KYB shocks and struts also. I have them on one of my cars and I'm pleased with them. I've seem a number of discussions about shocks in the past 6 months or so. Do a search and will probably see a lot of your questions already discussed.

 

Thanks. I did many searches and researched many products here and other places. KYB's were my 3rd choice behind Koni and Bilstien. I really like the Koni Reds and I am still trying to find someone that has some in their inventory for a reaonable price. I was getting all 4 pieces for $600 and free shipping. I will probably just go with the Yellows and move on.

 

Well, if you haven't already, you might want to search ebay if you have the part numbers of the Koni's you need. I've found a lot of recently discontinued NOS car parts there.

 

I wouldnt think twice about getting the yellows. I have cut factory springs and I think they're very comfortable. To be sure I asked my girlfriend, and she doesnt think my car rides harsh either.

On the other hand I have a buddy with a 91 RS and some Moog replacement springs and Koni Reds, and he thinks his car rides like a skateboard. He's running on 17's, me on 16's.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...og-5662-a.html

Read my thoughts on Bilstein vs Red vs Yellow before purchasing, as well as my thoughts after going with the yellows. You and I tend to think alike in the before phase. But I have ZERO regret going with the yellows.

 

Reid - I can't believe I missed your post when I did my initial research. Probably passed it by late at night when getting confused and frustrated. Very well written and a great help.

I am at the point where the Yellows seem to be my best choice and your post helped me come to that conclusion. Roads here are acually pretty decent and the winters are mild. I no longer use the car as a daily driver but it gets 3-5K a year on some specific trips (mostly car shows like Cruizin the Coast in Miss) and grocery gettin' around town. Not much of a challenge for any strut/shock combo but I still think it is worth the swap.

I'll also be putting in solid bearing J&M strut towers and can't wait to get the parts in and get the car back on the road. Thanks for the info.

 

Have you tried Sam Strano (stranoparts.com)? His site still shows them.

If the reds really are completely unavailable, you'll like the yellows. Might like them better than the reds anyway because the adjustability is so much easier and so much better. FWIW, I put the yellows on my '08 Mustang a year or so ago and haven't looked back (yeah, I know, but it's a V8 RWD 3500-ish lb car with struts and coils, so it's not all that different as far as the dampers and their design team are concerned).


Start them out full soft to maybe 1/4 turn up from full soft. Work your way up from there if you find that you want the suspension feeling like it's moving around a little less or if you want a tighter feel while cornering. Go easy - you should be able to feel the difference that 1/8 turn makes, definitely the 1/4 turns. And if you find yourself adjusting them very often to suit other passengers or car activities, fab yourself your own adjusting tool from a short length of steel strap with slots cut to suit the adjusters (it'll be easier to use and way more durable). I'll post a picture of mine when I can get to my laptop.

Edit - I had the camera with me, see thumbnail pic. Front and rear adjusters may be of slightly different thickness.



Norm

 

KYB's would be my 4th choice..

Koni yellow's
Bilsteins
Tokico Illumina's
KYB AGX

 

Norm - Thanks for the info. I purchased the Yellows today and will get them soon. I think I made the right choice but I don't know any other owners around here that have them in their cars. I wish I could have driven another car before the purchase.

The tool looks pretty simple to fab but I will wait until I do the install for that. I doubt if I will do many adjustments beyond what you have described. Once I dial them into what I want, I probably won't change them.

 

Well, got the yellows today and was extremely disappointed. The rears did not have an adjustment **** in the box and, more importantly, the box for the front struts only had one unit in it! Now I need to go back and work with them to get the 2nd strut delivered.

In the strut box there are two white plastic "washers". By their size, they are probably meant to either go between the top of the piston canister and the bottom of my strut bearing or they are meant to sit on top of the strut bearing but below the piston rod nut. Anybody know what they are for and where they go? There were no instructions in either box. Their diameter is the same as the strut body and the hole in them is the diameter of the piston shaft.

 

The rears are "off car adjustable." You adjust them by pressing the button and twisting the shock. I found it helped to use a socket extension to hold the button down.

http://www.koni.com/193.html

The washers sit on top of the front struts, underneath the upper strut mounts.

I wouldn't worry about not getting instructions. I've seen two sets of Koni yellow fronts. One set had instructions. The other didn't. However, the instructions are about the size of a post it note and simply has a picture of a car with up/down arrows (softer setting) and another picture of a car with less arrows (firmer setting).......In other words, the instructions tell you nothing.

Now the instructions for the rear are worth having. There is a good diagram as well as a picture showing what is too tight and what is right. I'd phone up Koni and have them mail you the instructions.

That really sucks about only getting one strut delivered. These are premium products. Not some no name brand $10 throw away part.

 

Following are the instructions that arrived with my Reds back in 07 :

JamesC

 

It is much more convienient to install 4th gen rears as it allows you to adjust the damping with a **** on the top inside the car.

 

I have read that the third gen rears have more aggressive valving (for stiffer springs) than the 4th gen units so I went with the thirds. I only got this information second hand though so if you know otherwise please share.

I run mine on full stiff on all four corners btw. I think that's how you will end up if you have enough spring and tire to really corner well.

 

The 3rd gen rears are monotube, the 4th are twin tubes

 

The page 2 "adjustable part" with the sin waves is the only part that came with mine. Everybody above that on page 2 didn't come with it. Nothing on page 1 either.

I thought about it. But it's still a pain to have to pull that carpet area up from behind the back seat. I find that the rear end needs very little in terms of adjusting. My rear is set in the 0 click position (full soft). I have no plans to change that.

Whereas the fronts can take advantage of more or less adjusting. I run the fronts anywhere from full soft to 1 full turn. Currently running at 1/2 turn from full soft.

 

Thanks to everyone for the adjustment documents. I think I now know what to do but I am surprized that a company like Koni would make their information so hard to get and difficult to understand / interpret. Working on my TA is a hobby and I enjoy doing the work myself. Without good product documentation, this only makes it harder.

Koni has sent the missing strut but I won't have it until next week. Guess they thought I had nothing to do but wait for it to get here. Next Day Delivery must not be in their vocabulary.

I am also contacting them tomorrow to see if they will replace the one I did get as well since it rattled around loosely in the box when it was shipped to me this past week. It has a slight fluid leak from the adjustment fitting that concerns me. I'll take the time to request all printed info they have at the same time and validate I have all the right hardware.

Stay tuned. I hope they live up to their product's reputation and try to take care of me.

UPDATE: Spoke to KONI rep today and they are sending a replacement for the leaky strut. All available documentation will be included as well.

UPDATE: Got both struts today and plan to do the install next week. Koni held up their end and replaced, at no cost to me, the leaky unit. I installed the rear shocks yesterday and they give a much improved sense of control on the rear end. Hope the struts and strut tower/bearings do the same for the front!