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General TR Koni Shocks

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glemon

glemon

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I took the plunge last week and bought some Koni front shocks for my TR250. They are installed as of tonight and I went for a ride.

I had the cheapo generic black ones the usual suspects sell on before.

I have to say subjectively I am pretty impressed, I was in my newer subdivision so roads weren't so bad, but there was no "thump" that I got with the old shocks going over small potholes and such. Felt very smooth, almost transformed actually.

Koni classic red shocks,, set on the softest rebound setting.

Will see if there is a discernable handling difference when I do the autocross next weekend...
 
Yeah, I have them on my 6. You did the right thing by setting them soft for starters.

Cheers
Tush
 
Yes, I probably would have set them medium hard if left to my own devices, but luckily read up in the archives of this and other forums the concensus was to use the softest setting unless you have heavier springs and such.
 
I'm a fan. Think you'll find the longer you drive with them, the more you'll be impressed. They have great rebound control. Lowest setting here also.
 
Koni Classic 80-1784, thought I posted this last night, but guess it didn't take. Less than $100 each if you shop around online, I got mine from a place called LMP. Greg
 
Thanks for the tip about LMPerformance. I had tentatively decided on Konis for my TR4A, but the $165 price from the usual suppliers really bothered me.

Konis are pretty popular among the air-cooled Porsche crowd. They also suggest starting with the softest setting. I ended up with Blisteins for my 912, though. they made quite a difference, although I replace a set of KYBs, which are not the best choice for a 912. Still, it showed me how much difference a good shock can make.
 
They are a very well made shock. I have them all round on the 4A with GoodParts springs and the ride is fine. They are also on the softest setting. I have them on the Holden also and they have done about 250,000 km and are still performing perfectly. I might adjust them to the next setting when they hit 500,000. :wink-new:. You gets what you pays for.
 
Malcolm, the shocks and springs are mounted about half way along the wishbone, so the travel at the wheel is more like 4". You sometimes need to use a fair bit of force to get the full travel. Do they have a bump rubber inside the shock?
 
Guys...The Koni compressed length is 237mm..extended is 289mm..[factory measurements]...therefore 52mm travel.
I have ordered a pair of shocks that have 100mm travel. Not the same quality of Koni or similar, but does afford some leeway when determining my preferred ride height.
 
malbaby said:
...therefore 52mm travel.
Click to expand...
If the Koni's travel is just a tad over 2", how is my TR4A's front wheel hanging this low when it's jacked off the ground? Not certain what's what, but something isn't right.

 
As 'Foura" mentioned, 2" of shock travel is equivalent of about 4" at the road wheel.
What does your ride height look like when free standing.
 
Heck I thought if the Koni shock had only 52mm of extension, the unladen suspension would only be able to travel down by about half that amount...if even that. No doubt I'm mis-understanding something...won't be the first time?






 
Jay, the 4A looks great, love the wheels and tires, what size? I just went from a 205/65 to a 205/60, I am liking the change so far.
 
Glemon, Hey thanks...that first shot (with the wheel hanging) is an older photo and you're seeing 205/60's. In the last photo taken yesterday, they're 195/65's. Of the two...I think I prefer the 195's. The 195's don't "stick" quite as well as the 205's but the steering is noticeably lighter and I like the look of the taller side wall. Those wheels aren't seen too often on TR's. They're EMPI 8 spokes.
 
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Luke Skywalker...you have an unbelievable garage....very jealous of the tidiness etc...lol.
I would not be concerned on how the wheel is when suspension is unladen with the Koni's.
More interesting would be to check where your shockers are at when sitting laden at road height....centre of travel or otherwise.
The ratio of available compression/extension of the shocker will be different if off centre....conceivably there could be 1"/3" at the road wheel.
Therefore possible for the shocks to take the full brunt of the compression/extension of the wheel when driving over an uneven road surface.
 
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While I had the car on stands last night to take pictures of the prop shaft and the UJs, I measured the difference in height between full droop and standing on the ground. It was 2" front and back. Assuming that full bump would be another 2" it seems to have 4" of travel front and rear. The only time that I can remember the car actually bottoming out on the suspension was when we hit a VERY bad rail crossing on one of our trips with a full load of luggage on board.
 
IMHO..
Full droop is not the best way to test shocker travel
More accurate would be to check where your shockers are at when sitting under load at your on road height....centre of travel or otherwise?.
In an extreme example case...let's say that the fitted Koni shock travel is off centre of its compression/extension length....eg already compressed by 1", then there is no compression left for the spring on road use....same scenario on extension.
There are a number of variables to consider when choosing shocks...spring length and pressure, and are any spacers used to alter the wheel arch/top of tyre height.....the primary determining factor for what shock to be used is the distance between the top and bottom fixing points for the shocks when the car is sitting at road height....this should be relative to approximately the centre of the chosen shock travel.
 
You are right Malcolm, but I was not attempting to measure total shock travel. I was simply getting an approximate figure for the wheel travel. You had mentioned earlier that you were concerned that the 2" travel of the Konis was insufficient. IF the shock is at the middle of it's travel at normal ride height, and the total wheel travel is about 4" then the shock should be OK. I am suggesting that you could use the Konis that you have without any major concern about travel. They are the model of Koni which has been supplied by Rimmer, Moss and others for many years and I have not seen any adverse reports. It is also the model that Koni specifies for our cars.

The only accurate way of checking the shock travel is to remove the spring and put the shock back and test the travel after measuring the ride height with your chosen spring.
 
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