Koni Yellows/various suspension advice

[Alex L]

hey all,

between getting my arse consistently whooped by Tim in CP auto-x, wife eyeing my koni reds due to her ready-to-blow-at-any-moment current struts (this is the #1 priority here folks, she wants to go faster, and i must oblige), and execution of operation get-on-with-it!, im looking for some suggestions on possible shock 'upgrades' from the koni reds. been eyeing the koni yellows, but really like the road feel of the koni reds with the stock springs; we do drive 2 hours to-from Dave's on auto-x weekends, and I've got lots of fillings.

with the thought that everything regarding suspension configuration is a tradeoff, the questions:

are the koni yellows an acceptable fit for the stock springs?
are there better-cheaper alternatives?
should i suck it up and look at alternative progressive rate springs while i got everything apart?
how much of a dent is this going to put in my pocketbook?
who should i have apply said dent to said pocketbook?

thanks in advance,

--Alex

[Patrick]

Yessss.

[Bob Holmes]

What Pat sssssays.

[Raven855]

If you are looking at the Yellows and are thinking about getting them from M&M try here instead. http://www.artsperformanceparts.com/
Send Artie a note and tell him what you want, he sells M&M stuff. M&M just finished their Koni shock sale, he may be able to get you a good price still.

[MikeFleming]

+1 for Art. Always got me a great deal on MM stuff.

[Alex L]

he may be able to get you a good price still.

just got an email back, artie says he sells no konis. :confused:

edit: fyi, koni will rebuild non original owner reds for $165 a pop up front, and $125 each out back, +parts. figure $700 after all said and done to your door. didnt ask about quadshock rebuilds.

[Raven855]

I'll give him a call and see what is going on.

[Alex L]

I'll give him a call and see what is going on.

ever get word? looking to pull the trigger on a set of reds.

[Raven855]

In fact I did. Artie in fact does not sell Konis. However he can sell everything from M&M. I have not gotten M&Ms recommendation for the stock replacement for shocks and struts on the SVO. If you are looking at the Koni SA, DA or SRT.T, you are good to go though. After I hear from M&M I will let you know.

[Raven855]

I had an opportunity to spend some time on the phone with Jack Hidley with Maximum Motorsports today. We went over their current offerings of the replacement Koni struts for the SVO. The best replacement strut that he carries for the SVO with the stock springs is the Koni 8741-1401S. That strut also works with the H&R Sport springs. He actually spent quite a bit of time on my project, figuring out what the best springs would be for the SVO with all the weight juggling, IRS, moving the battery, ect for me would be. In the end, his guess was .06% different than my guess. So I'm finally feeling good about the spring, and shock/strut choices for the 2R. Time to start a project!

The yellow Koni 8741-1401S should be a better adjustable replacement based on what Jack Hidley told me. The range of movement and its frequency should be better fit than the stock Red Koni. I don't have a good source for a exact red Koni replacement. I use to say I had good service and decent price from PPI, but can no longer make that recommendation based on the service I received from them on my last purchase.

[Boosted_2.3]

sadly i had a broken spring on the driver side of mine and the strut was also bad :(. so i went to the spare coupe i have in the back and pulled some cast and camber plates/ and the strange engineering drag struts with 175lb springs ( think i am going to put a taller spring on ) and its nice up front. i also dropped the 7.5 rear end and put an 8.8 with 4.10 gears. ( on the 8.8 all the original svo stuff from the 7.5 bolts right on )

[Larry_S]

I did not find in search but I know the Knois are specific to the SVO but can a SN-95 or Fox Koni work if spindles are slotted to provide a little adjustment or are they just too short. Question is specific to a stock front suspension i.e. SVO control arms and K-member.

[MikeFleming]

The standard FOX front strut housing/shock will directly bolt-in to the SVO suspension. It will have less total droop for a standard ride height and will have ~1.5 degrees more negative camber (at stock upper adjustment setting). You should also verify that the strut bottoms before the tyre hits the fender or liner. May need to add some soft stops to the strut shaft.

You can adjust out the camber issues totally with CC plates. Be sure to check wheel/tire-to-strut body clearance is using a deeper offset wheel or wider tyre.

[Larry_S]

Thanks for the response Mike. I am just weighing my options but it sounds like a SVO strut is the way to go. If I buy new it is just easier to find Fox and they are a little less but I am going to be selling car so want to get it stock like and the design issues using a Fox I would not want to explain when selling. As for the rear shocks are they all the same?


The standard FOX front strut housing/shock will directly bolt-in to the SVO suspension. It will have less total droop for a standard ride height and will have ~1.5 degrees more negative camber (at stock upper adjustment setting). You should also verify that the strut bottoms before the tyre hits the fender or liner. May need to add some soft stops to the strut shaft.

You can adjust out the camber issues totally with CC plates. Be sure to check wheel/tire-to-strut body clearance is using a deeper offset wheel or wider tyre.

[MikeFleming]

Yes, rear all same.

The shock in the rear does not control the suspension geometry like the strut does in the front.

[brsvo]

Continuing on this subject, I searched 8741-1401S on MM's site and they came up 94-04 V8 single adjustable yellows. I thought the SVO yellows were double adjustable? The only double adjustable yellows on the MM site are for 87-93 $301 each! Yikes!

[Meotchh]

Bruce, call & ask to speak with Jack Hidley. Make sure to tell him Flat Bob sent you. He'll take care of you & give you the correct part number.
Jack is also on the forum from time to time.

[MikeFleming]

Continuing on this subject, I searched 8741-1401S on MM's site and they came up 94-04 V8 single adjustable yellows. I thought the SVO yellows were double adjustable? The only double adjustable yellows on the MM site are for 87-93 $301 each! Yikes! Most DA units from KONI are considered "Race Only" and come with a 90-day warranty. Yes, the DA units are indeed more pricey.

[Jack Hidley]

Koni stopped making SVO specific DA struts quite a while ago. The only DA struts available for that application are the standard 1987-1993 models (8742-1121S). Koni recently stopped making the 1994-2004 DA strut model due to low sales volumes. Unless you are building a racecar, I would not spend the money on the DA models. Just use the SA model.

The non SVO Koni struts do have a different camber angle built into the strut ear holes. This can be compensated for with the use of c/c plates.

The Koni sale that was on for about six months was done by Koni, so there is no chance that you are going to find them on sale as cheap as they were, now.

[FoxBuddy]

The Koni sale that was on for about six months was done by Koni, so there is no chance that you are going to find them on sale as cheap as they were, now.

Glad I got a set of STR.T's for my '82 a few months ago! Thanks Koni.

[brsvo]

Will the non SVO struts give more or less tire clearance?