We got the Konis here this week for eval purposes and installed them Thursday.

I like the basic concept - they are single adjustable (rebound only) and firmer damped. Koni is an excellent shock, and the front struts worked excellent. The issue I have is with the rears.

There are two things:

First, to adjust the rears, you really need to remove them altogether. The adjustment **** goes on the top of the shock tube, which is inaccessible unless you take down the shock. This isn't really as bad as it sounds, but doesn't compare to the fronts or other systems in convenience of adjustment. You have to remove the two 13mm bolts on the top mount, then take out the 21mm bolt on the bottom, and not forget the ABS line and brake line mounted on the bracket of the shock. Once you have it out it's a breeze to adjust.

Second, and the bigger issue for me because it was never mentioned, is that the shock tube is a larger diameter than the stock tube, so the stock hardware must be drilled out to fit the new Koni. This means that you cannot return to stock wihtout replacing the top mount hat and the top washer. It also means that some fabrication is required to make the units work on the rear.

Here are some photos of the difference in size and the parts that must be modified:

The Koni shock tube


The stock shock tube


Top washer on the stock shock tube


Top washer (unmodified) on the Koni


Upper spring perch on the stock tube


Upper perch on the Koni


Once modified, everything bolted up nicely, and the fit on the fronts was excellent. We have the adjustment settings that work best with the Madness rear bar, and would be happy to share that over the phone.

The units on the fornt are very simple to adjust in the car - you just put the **** on the top of the strut (accessable easily in the engine compartment) and turn it toward stiff for stiff, and soft for soft.

The ride is very nice. It is firmed up without banging your teeth out. It also provides some adjustability to fine tune the set-up wihtout going to the full expense of coilovers, and they are legal in stock classes for the most part. They also look stunning!

These units are using the H&R springs - purchased by the test car's owner before the H-Sports were available. Now, I think short of going to LEDA coilovers, the H-Sport springs and the Koni Yellows are the hot set-up.

I'm still debating on whether to offer these or not because of the rear issues, but I'm leaning toward offering them and then just providing the information on the required mod and letting the customer decide if they are right for their personal application.

The pricing is:

Front $157 each
Rear $143 each

Here are some shots of them:

Front




Rear


Let me know if you have any questions.

Randy
720-841-1002

 

Randy, Sounds good. I might have to look into getting some of these down the road. Again, Great Information.

 

Are the Konis oil or gas? I'm very tempted to get a set, as I am sure they are infinitely better than the stock units, but I am not too anxious to tackle the front strut removal again.

 

You grew an extra arm!

 

Randy, will Leda be offering a stock application as well? I know on Subaru's they had both a coilover and stock fitment. To bad about the rear fit issues with the Konis, that could put a damper on sales.