Da Groj

I have a spring compressor you can borrow if necessary.

Koni instructions are just plain cryptic and bad, btw. Their instructions for adjustment consist of a pictogram that is vague at best. Here's what it means:

The adjustment range of the shock is from full soft to two full turns from full soft. 2 turns from soft IS full stiff.

What they don't tell you (and should) is that there's about another 1/4 turn you can turn the adjuster beyond the 2 turn "design limit". You can go there... but nothing good comes from it. If you want to understand why, try it before you install the shocks. Crank the knob all the way to the stop on the "firm" end. Then compress the shock and watch it NOT extend. First time I tried it, I was sure I'd broken something! But, if you turn the adjuster back to soft, the shock will extend as it should.

The other thing that they don't tell you (and should) is that if you were to install these shocks without a bump stop, or on a car that's been slammed too low, or for any other reason BOTTOM OUT the shock, it will instantly destroy the adjustment valve that is located at the bottom of the shock. I'm pretty sure they won't cover that under warranty.

As Jamie said, you MAY have to drill out your bump stops and upper shock mounts. (instructions aren't always real clear on that, either) On a Miata, for sure, the stock shocks have a 10mm shaft and the Konis have a 12.5mm shaft and drilling is required. On a FWD car... I'd expect you might have a similar issue on the rear. The front will have McStruts and the shaft size might not be any larger than stock.

And the little plastic split washer that comes with the shock is important. It goes at the top of the shock, below the bump stop to prevent air trapped inside the bump stop from being forced past the shock seal when the shock is compressed.

That's about it for Koni's, I think.

Thanks Loren, and everyone who commented on this thread for the very thorough information before & after my decision to take the plunge with the Konis.

I may take you up on the offer of borrowing your spring compressors if I don't find a decent set at Advance Autoparts. My experience with their loaner tools varies from brand new to practically unusable so it's the luck of the draw.

Now I just hope everything turns up in time for next weekend. It will suck if the parts don't get here in time.
Dan.

It's cool to be able to do one's own wrenching. Makes the beers taste so much better at the end of the day!! Everytime I lay on my back anymore some asshole calls 911. It's embarrassing so I pay people now.

twistedwankel wrote:It's cool to be able to do one's own wrenching. Makes the beers taste so much better at the end of the day!! Everytime I lay on my back anymore some asshole calls 911. It's embarrassing so I pay people now.

It's actually therapeutic for me, work is so crazy these days, working on the car gives me a chance to focus 100% on what I'm doing and forget about everything else. Just about the same reason I am already getting hooked on autocross
People who aren't mechanically inclined think I'm crazy for doing all my own wrenching, but I have the ability, the tools & I just plain enjoy it - so why not? Not to mention I learn something new every time I tackle a project.
Dan

dbeng wrote:

twistedwankel wrote:It's cool to be able to do one's own wrenching. Makes the beers taste so much better at the end of the day!! Everytime I lay on my back anymore some asshole calls 911. It's embarrassing so I pay people now.

It's actually therapeutic for me, work is so crazy these days, working on the car gives me a chance to focus 100% on what I'm doing and forget about everything else. Just about the same reason I am already getting hooked on autocross
People who aren't mechanically inclined think I'm crazy for doing all my own wrenching, but I have the ability, the tools & I just plain enjoy it - so why not? Not to mention I learn something new every time I tackle a project.
Dan

"Precisely why I got into autocross @ 46. Stress relief. Focus on something other than life for a minute at a time = awesome."

You will do very well at this sport for many years.

The Mayor

twistedwankel wrote:"Precisely why I got into autocross @ 46. Stress relief. Focus on something other than life for a minute at a time = awesome."

At first I read this as "I got into autocross in '46, but realized you'd be lying about your age.

Jamie wrote:

twistedwankel wrote:"Precisely why I got into autocross @ 46. Stress relief. Focus on something other than life for a minute at a time = awesome."

At first I read this as "I got into autocross in '46, but realized you'd be lying about your age.

Born the same year as DP. My dad was a sailor. Racing with #46 for years until someone stole it.

Even Gymkana didn't exist back then. They called it dirt track racing in Hudson hornets probably.

Just playing devil's advocate, but isn't giving Koni Yellows to a novice similar to giving him Hoosiers?
Should be working on smoothing out his inputs manually and not with dampers.

I get what you are saying. But, if the car needs shocks and he's going to spend money on shocks, anyway, it only makes sense to get decent ones. It's not like we're telling him to buy custom-valving.

The final parts came in yestrday
Just in time for me to avoid all the black Friday craziness tomorrow and spend the day installing the new dampers.
Loren, thank you for your offer of spring compressors, I picked up a loaner set at Advance Auto in great shape so I'm all set.
Thanks to everyone who helped share their collective knowledge of Koni's and shocks in general, some more constructive than others . It all helps.
I'm going to start off adjusted mid way on the rears to see how they feel. I will use Loren's trick on the front and leave some room to soften them up after first impressions.

Can't wait to see how it feels once it's all done.
Dan

50% is likely too stiff on Koni's. It sounds crazy, but it's true.

Start with them at full soft. See what they feel like. (should feel about like "fresh" stock shocks, maybe a little better)

Then dial them up 1/2 turn all around and feel the difference.

You don't want or need more damping than is necessary. It can actually cause strange problems that you're probably not experienced enough to really detect or understand.

From 1/2 turn all around, on a stock-sprung FWD car, you can start going stiffer in the rear to help dial out some understeer. You DON'T want to go stiffer in the front. In fact, you want the front to be as soft as you can tolerate.

Good luck!

The Koni yellows are installed, everything went fairly smoothly. It was quite a task to separate the struts from the lower clamps but apart from that no real issues. One operator error along the way was I forgot to install the plastic split spacer ring on the first of the rear shocks , luckily l noticed when installing the other one and went back and fixed the problem. I set the rears at half a turn (180 deg) from full soft based on feedback from the forum. The fronts I set at one turn (360 deg) from full soft just because . I know the rears are supposed to be set firmer than the fronts but I was interested to see how firm the ride was at one turn knowing I can dial it back to full soft very easily.

So how does it feel? Well, bear in mind the original passenger side front had been leaking profusely and was pretty much shot, the car immediately felt much tighter and much more responsive to steering input. The ride is firmer than before but certainly not excessively so. I was very impressed with the way the car felt.

I asked Tammy to take it for a test drive as she drives the car every day and I was interested in her comments. She immediately noticed the ride was more controlled and more "sporty" but not too firm.
So based on initial feel from both of our test drives, I plan to basically reverse the settings to 1 full turn at the rear and half a turn at the front to achieve the firmer rear / softer front as recommended for a FWD car.

Now I can't wait to try it out at the event next weekend. Hopefully the new dampers will also help with traction off the line as I was getting a lot of wheel hop during launches at the novice school. I didn't realize at the time that one of the front struts was shot although I did think that worn shocks may be a culprit. It will be interesting to see what difference the new Koni's make. So far, first impressions are very positive.

Thanks,
Dan

Yeah, good shocks will definitely help reduce/eliminate wheel hop.

Glad all went well!