#1  
Old 05-31-2020, 06:26 PM
crustysarge crustysarge is offline
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Default Another Shock Question

I need to get new shocks for the 70 Lemans. Car is lowered about 1.5" and has an LS2 conversion. Street car, want something for rough country roads.

Koni are on sale right now and Summit is $367 for all 4 or Bilsteins at $298. I have Koni on my 2nd Gen and they have are OK. I have had them for so long I can't really make a comparison with anything else. They are adjustable but a pain as you have to remove them to do it.

Any recent experience with Koni over Bilstein? I just don't see the advantage on the Koni adjustment as you have to remove every time.

What about the Koni STR.T non adjustable, anybody use them? They are twin tube. They are $198 for all four.

  #2  
Old 05-31-2020, 06:48 PM
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shaker455 shaker455 is offline
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Get these Beltech
I've used them quite a few times now and made for lowered cars

These fit your car

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/bel-10102i

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/bel-2209ih

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  #3  
Old 05-31-2020, 08:30 PM
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ZeGermanHam ZeGermanHam is offline
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Koni and Bilstein are both excellent products made by companies that dominate the damper industry, so I don't think you can go wrong with either brand. I installed UMI Street Performance monotube shocks on my '66 GTO, but only because they came with my suspension kit. My GTO is currently disassembled for restoration, so I can't comment on the performance of the UMI shocks. If my suspension kit hadn't included shocks, I'd certainly be looking at shocks from Bilstein or Koni.

I have Bilstein Sport shocks on my BMW track car and they are excellent. I know many people in the German sports car world who use Koni Yellows, and they always speak highly of them. As far as being a pain to adjust goes, I don't think it's a big issue. They are designed to be set to your desired damping and then left alone. Not that big of a deal. If you desire to the ability to frequently change damping settings, you should be shopping for a proper coilover setup, not trying to do it with Koni Yellows. That said, 99.9% of us don't truly need the ability to adjust the damping on our cars, so it's a feature that I personally wouldn't prioritize. The Koni STR.T is a non-adjustable, softer, and more budget friendly option, but they are still a high-quality product with a lifetime warranty. Definitely a solid choice.

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Last edited by ZeGermanHam; 05-31-2020 at 08:36 PM.
  #4  
Old 06-01-2020, 09:56 PM
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I have Bilsteins on my Judge.......I live in a province where the roads really suck....The bilsteins stopped my headers from hitting 95% of the time...love them

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Old 06-02-2020, 02:42 AM
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We have Koni's on the 2+2 and they always felt too soft, and two of them started leaking after a year. When it came time to put new shocks on the GTO I went with Bilstein's and really like them.

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  #6  
Old 06-02-2020, 05:59 AM
Will Will is offline
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One of the first mods I ever did to my Formula was a set of Koni shocks. The red gas ones. Had them on that car for several years then put them on my Nova. Loved the way they rode and really firmed up the handling without being harsh or bouncy. They are adjustable for rebound stiffness and I found that lets the suspension absorb impacts (fairly soft on compression) while keeping the ride really well controlled and reducing body lean. I adjusted the fronts to 1/2 turn from full stiff and the rears to 1 turn and never felt the need to readjust. I also had HO Racing front springs and '79 WS6 4 speed spec rear springs.

At one point the bushing in one of the front shocks failed. The other one was looking a little worn, so I sent them back to Koni for repair. I got a call from them and they said both shocks had failed their tests and they sent me a brand new pair. This was after several years of service, so they definitely stand behind their warranty and have excellent customer service.

I've never run Bilstein but I've only heard good things about them.

I tried a set of KYBs on my Nova and discovered they're terrible with stiff springs. Made the ride really bouncy and truck-like. I swapped them out for the Konis and all was well.

My '73 esprit had stock springs and KYBs on it when I bought it and it rode okay. I think the idea behind KYBs is that they are a stiff 50-50 shock designed to firm up soft, stock suspensions. They're just too much/too stiff on compression for use with stiff aftermarket springs.

I don't know how relevant it is but I put a set of the Koni STR.8s on my Honda Accord and they worked really well. Gave the suspension a nice controlled but compliant feel. I didn't know they made those for old cars...?

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  #7  
Old 06-02-2020, 07:07 AM
crustysarge crustysarge is offline
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I had a Koni go bad on my TA after about 20 years and still had the receipts from where I bought. Koni replaced but honestly was a PITA as I had to mail in the old one and wait for a new one. Car w/o shock for 10 days.

Those Beltechs look interesting, just wonder how they ride?

The Koni STR.T are looking very interesting on sale, they are twin tube vs the Bilstein monotube, not sure which way to lean that issue. Not a lot of old car info on the STR.T out there, mostly imports but people seem to like them. Some 4th Gen owners like them. Compromise between street and sport shock.

  #8  
Old 06-02-2020, 08:31 AM
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STEELCITYFIREBIRD STEELCITYFIREBIRD is offline
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What do you have on it now?
What do you want you don't have in feel?
An excellent shock is the AFCO stock mount racing shocks.


https://www.summitracing.com/search/...s?fr=part-type

  #9  
Old 06-02-2020, 09:41 AM
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shaker455 shaker455 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crustysarge View Post
I had a Koni go bad on my TA after about 20 years and still had the receipts from where I bought. Koni replaced but honestly was a PITA as I had to mail in the old one and wait for a new one. Car w/o shock for 10 days.

Those Beltechs look interesting, just wonder how they ride?

The Koni STR.T are looking very interesting on sale, they are twin tube vs the Bilstein monotube, not sure which way to lean that issue. Not a lot of old car info on the STR.T out there, mostly imports but people seem to like them. Some 4th Gen owners like them. Compromise between street and sport shock.
I've used all the other brands mentioned here & these ride & work the best.
The oversized 55mm body provide a firm smooth stable ride
Go for it!

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  #10  
Old 06-02-2020, 03:48 PM
crustysarge crustysarge is offline
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It is being built now, bought in pieces so have no experience with car.


Quote:
Originally Posted by STEELCITYFIREBIRD View Post
What do you have on it now?
What do you want you don't have in feel?
An excellent shock is the AFCO stock mount racing shocks.


https://www.summitracing.com/search/...s?fr=part-type

  #11  
Old 06-04-2020, 02:31 AM
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Stripes Stripes is offline
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I've had 3 sets of shocks on our 69 fb convertables. Intially the car came with KYB white shocks. Terrible stiff like a go cart ride. I switched to red Koni's and they made a huge improvement. While adjustable, they were much softer. We liked the ride, but compression was a little too soft. Next switch was Blistien yellow shocks. Ride was much more controlled, but not harsh like the KYB, and much firmer that the Koni's. We like the Blistiens.

  #12  
Old 06-05-2020, 03:03 PM
crustysarge crustysarge is offline
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Ordered Bilsteins. Hopefully they are OK and not too harsh.

BTW, I contacted Koni and was surprised to when they told me their front STR.T shock does not come with mounting hardware, not rubber bushings or washers, only the stem nut.

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