I wasn't really sure where to post this, so it might need to be moved.

For all those looking at installing Koni Yellow front shocks, I've got a small but hopefully helpful piece of advice for you - don't try to fit these to KYB front struts.

I spent last weekend building/installing Koni shocks and King springs, using a pair of wrecked (stripped piston thread) KYB struts.

As some of you may or may not know, the front Koni shock absorber suitable for the Magna is a cartridge type insert. In order to fit them, you'll need to cut 70mm off the top of your existing front struts. After you've done this, the insert should slide down inside the body of the strut, where it can be fixed through the base of the strut.

The problem that I was unfortunate enough to encounter was a result of the 4mm wall thickness of the KYB strut; it's too small internally to accept the insert. To successfully build these struts, you'll need to use the factory Monroe strut, as it has a 3mm wall thickness.

I'm not sure if any other brands will have the same problem, but to play it safe it's probably best to use the factory installed struts.

Hey Andrew,
I had a feeling this might be an issue, so I got me some OEM struts sitting around just incase (which funnily enough, came off my car into another AMCer's car, then back to me).

Good info to share mate, will probably save someone a headache or two down the track :)

What springs are you using with the konis?

Btw apprently it's not uncommon for each strut to have a significantly different level of rebound for the same position of the adjuster, so if possible it might be a good idea to use a shock dyno to "tune" them so they are matched.

Though if you have already fitted them, the hassle probably aint worth it, if there is a MASSIVE difference between each side you'll probably notice it and adjust accordingly.

Thats why on the koni website/catalouge it says the insert cartridges only suit mitsubishis OEM (monroe) strut bodies. :)

I wasn't really sure where to post this, so it might need to be moved.

For all those looking at installing Koni Yellow front shocks, I've got a small but hopefully helpful piece of advice for you - don't try to fit these to KYB front struts.

I spent last weekend building/installing Koni shocks and King springs, using a pair of wrecked (stripped piston thread) KYB struts.

As some of you may or may not know, the front Koni shock absorber suitable for the Magna is a cartridge type insert. In order to fit them, you'll need to cut 70mm off the top of your existing front struts. After you've done this, the insert should slide down inside the body of the strut, where it can be fixed through the base of the strut.

The problem that I was unfortunate enough to encounter was a result of the 4mm wall thickness of the KYB strut; it's too small internally to accept the insert. To successfully build these struts, you'll need to use the factory Monroe strut, as it has a 3mm wall thickness.

I'm not sure if any other brands will have the same problem, but to play it safe it's probably best to use the factory installed struts.

yeah mate it says specifically that they require the OEM monroe shock to use with the inserts.

Hey Andrew,
I had a feeling this might be an issue, so I got me some OEM struts sitting around just incase (which funnily enough, came off my car into another AMCer's car, then back to me).

Good info to share mate, will probably save someone a headache or two down the track :)

What springs are you using with the konis?

Btw apprently it's not uncommon for each strut to have a significantly different level of rebound for the same position of the adjuster, so if possible it might be a good idea to use a shock dyno to "tune" them so they are matched.

Though if you have already fitted them, the hassle probably aint worth it, if there is a MASSIVE difference between each side you'll probably notice it and adjust accordingly.

King Low SP. They seem fairly well suited, I've got the rears at 360* and the fronts set at two clicks. I'm not sure if it's just my mind telling me that there's a difference, but the car feels just as firm as it did with OE springs and dampers, although cornering roll is almost nonexistant.

Jasons VRX and magna00: Not to have a shot at you guys or anything, but I had very limited web access over the weekend. In hindsight I probably should have checked more thoroughly, but it doesn't really worry me much, as we got it all done in a day.

My personal experience.

My feeling is that Koni Yellows were developed to work with standard springs.

I have King Lows on my AWD Sports and the bounce settings feel underdamped both front and rear.

Rationale is as follows.

Did the springs first using the original AWD sports Monroe shocks.
Very fluttery ride. Especially the front of the car was not that well controlled.

Got the Koni Yellows, brand new, Thanks Possie!.
Much better but the control did not really seem to be there. Have progressively wound up the rebound setting, being carefull not to overdo it.
My overall feelings are that the Kings Lows are really too low and do not have a high enough spring rate for spirited driving in an AWD.
If the spring rate is increased then this will highlight that the Koni settings are not really suitable for higher spring rates.

Chisholm is mentioning this when he is talking about matching shocks to much higher spring rates for track work. This makes life difficult as the only real answer is to spend the big bucks and get the shocks revalved to suit the spring rates.

Get it right and the results will be outstanding. Back in the 70's one of my friends was lucky enough to score a job at in the Ford Rally set up at Boreham. He raced an MGA, got banned because he was so quick. Reason was that his car handled and stopped. he did not have any more power then the other guys. Just that he got the spring rates, suspension geometry, roll bar settings and shock absorbers to work in harmony.

Don't forget that only recently have Mitsubishi and other manufacturers actually worked towards are more handling biased suspensions in their cars, i.e. European settings.

I am basing this on my UK experience with things like Escort XR3i, Capri 2.8 Injection with Bilstein suspension and the original Sierra Cosworth.

Compare the drining experience in a Honda Accord Euro to a standard Magna and than you will realise how badly set up a standard Magna is.

I am planning to change the lows for King SP's. This should at least stop the suspension bottoming out on the awfull dips around Sydney and then I may also stand a chance when driving through school and not scraping the bottom of the car on the innumerable speed humps!!

Gerry

According to Topperformance (Aus koni distributor), the default valving on the koni yellows is generally ideal for springrates 30-50% above OEM. However it does come down some extemt to personal preference, which is why the rebound adjustment is a nice feature.

Keep in mind often what seems to feel good isn't necessarily the best performance wise. Having too much rebound can feel "good" to an amateur, but is very counter-productive to on-the-limit dynamics. Clasic mistake people make is to wind their konis to max rebound with off-the-shelf King Lows or whatever - that's WAY too much rebound.

This can feel good, but in reality too much rebound means your suspension isn't returning to full height, and/or is returning too slow. This does terrible things for weight shift - e.g you come off the brakes and turn-in into a fast corner, and the nose still hasn't come up fully from its dive.

I believe the reason people do this is because they are trying to substitute a lack of springrate with extra rebound, which can feel "good" up to 7/10ths, but does bad things to on-the-limit handling. The bottom line is the springs provide the roll resistance, the damper's job is to simply control the oscilating forces in the spring (in other words stop it from bouncing around like it naturally wants to). Having way too much damping can give the illusion of stiffer springs, as you are basically forcing the damper to do some of the work of the spring.

The bottom line is a good suspension setup means using the right spring rates to achieve what you want, and then add dampers valved to suit.

Chisholm,
Too right.

Why does a Lotus handle so well?

Answer, relatively soft springs, good anti-roll bar rates and very well damped suspension.

Agree that it is not good to have the rebound tied down too far.

I have a nicely awkward bit of road close to home.
50 limit, big dip down into and out of a small valley.
Just as the car bottoms out downwards than there is an undulation in the road surface that causes a secondary dip.

Standard AWD sports. Dips out at 65 ish kph.
With King lows and standard shocks. Worse at about 60. Major rebound out the far side.

Down the road a bit - mini roundabout. Turning left, nice bit of bad trench repair work in the line to turn left at approx 20-25 kph.
Again the SP23 just eats it up.
Suspension just runs out of travel under these circumstances.
This is why I am going to change to King SP's first. Then it will be to bite the bullet and get the valving increased.

With King Lows and Konis. Better, After adjusting rebound 50% , then the rebound doesn't snap back, just rises back under control and flattens out as the car is pushed down onto the suspension during the climb up out of the dip.
However not as good as a Mazda SP23. Hence my comment about basic spring rates.
Elsewhere in a sweeping bend with undulations, taken very fast. Here the control is very good, The car sits very flat.

Given that I drive pretty much exclusively in Sydney, which has abysmal roads, I didn't want anything too deadly. 3 days after fitting all this kit, which isn't really a lot of testing time - things seem pretty good. I'd almost say that the springs feel a little bit too soft.

What I'd like to do though is a run down the Pacific Highway between Gosford and Sydney - and hopefully Wakefield one day.