Koni Yellow Sport Adjustables

25596 Views 94 Replies 21 Participants Last post by TRev, Apr 20, 2015

Smokin

Discussion Starter · Aug 26, 2014

They have arrived in the USA and my set are on the way! Just in time for the Solo Nationals...
And the course maps are out. After spending two weekends up there and having 12 runs I think I am all prepped. Will still be smoked by FoSTs but it will be a great highly competitive T&T!

Thank you Koni NA!!

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Slowclimb

· #81 · Apr 3, 2015

2

Had my konis installed yesterday.

Couple of observations from my friend doing the install.

Fronts:
Getting to everything in the front was a Pita...needed to remove a bunch of stuff to get to the front bolts and hardware.
They work, but it is not a perfect fit with the springs.

Rears:
Awkward to make setting changes since you have to remove the Koni and then pull it apart to adjust settings. He said it reminded him of the old 80s Civic set up.

Set up:

I have the fronts half way to soft and the rears on full stiff. You can definitely feel them in the rear. Car definitely feels more planted and even with full stiff in the rear the ride is okay in the short time I have driven it. Tomorrow's first event will be the test.

He made some changes to the positioning of the brake reservoir which gives easy access to the drivers side shock adjustments. It is hard to see with the shadows, but the adjuster is wide open.

Also with a bit of trimming he did not have to zip tie anything.

Between the shocks, wheels, tires and alignment changes it feels like it should be much better. Tomorrow will be the first even so we will know more.

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AlanBDahl

· #82 · Apr 3, 2015

Questions:

What do you mean by saying that the springs do not fit perfectly? Is there a difference in the lower spring perch? If this is the case the shocks would be illegal per SCCA rules. I've been through this before with Koni and I managed to get them royally ticked off when I pointed the issue out to them and they had to redesign the shocks.

BTW moving the brake reservoir is not legal either, you are going to have to come up with a solution that does not relocate it.

Any other installation advice? I'm getting mine done Saturday afternoon.

Couldahadav8

· #83 · Apr 3, 2015

The stock strut has a tab that holds the spring, and the koni does not have that. There is a rubber isolator on the spring that fits in the strut perch. The tab on the stock strut holds it. They are different. I thought the perch height was the main concern though?!?!!

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AlanBDahl

· #84 · Apr 3, 2015

The perch height has to be correct, yes. In addition for spiral perches like the current Miata the height has to be the same as stock all the way along the spiral, it is this aspect Koni got wrong on their NC shocks. I don't think the missing tab is an issue for the SCCA however if all other dimensions are correct.

Reactions: 1

Slowclimb

· #85 · Apr 3, 2015

what Couldhavdav said....just did not fit like a glove.

If the brake reservoir is a rule breaker I can pivot it back the 45 degrees if I get nitpicker at a local event. It is rotated, not really moved.

AlanBDahl

· #86 · Apr 3, 2015

The brake reservoir is not an issue at local events but I'd make sure it's in the right place for Impound at national events.

AlanBDahl

· #87 · Apr 5, 2015

Couldahadav8 said:
The stock strut has a tab that holds the spring, and the koni does not have that. There is a rubber isolator on the spring that fits in the strut perch. The tab on the stock strut holds it. They are different. I thought the perch height was the main concern though?!?!!

Now that we’ve done mine I saw that small isolator and I don’t think it’s really needed. It’s definitely part of the shock and doesn’t seem to affect the spring location more than a tiny bit. It seems pretty obvious to me that Koni doesn’t expect you to use it.

Couldahadav8

· #88 · Apr 5, 2015

I kept mine in there because I thought I should. But they have probably worked off by now. It probably lowers the car by .5 mm to take them out

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AlanBDahl

· #89 · Apr 6, 2015

Any advice on how to adjust the rear shocks without totally removing them? After driving around on full stiff I think my family would appreciate it if I softened them up when I wasn't racing

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Impala SS AutocroSSer

· #90 · Apr 6, 2015

AlanBDahl said:
Any advice on how to adjust the rear shocks without totally removing them? After driving around on full stiff I think my family would appreciate it if I softened them up when I wasn't racing .

Unfortunately, you have to remove them. No way around it.

I'm getting better at the rear RnR

. I know Navid just went the route of building "spare" rear shocks out of Koni STRTs and is using those for street duty and the adjustables for autocross.

My car has developed a squeak in back that I THINK is the right rear lower spring perch isolator. It looks like it got mangled a bit. Already have another one (and a couple spares, being it is a well under $10 part) on order. Also have a spare upper shock mount (already in hand) to throw at it if that is the cause. Sure hope it isn't the shock itself!

Brake reservoir : what some of us West Coasters have done is informally agree to leave on only the (lot easier to get to) single nut that is closer to the battery, and throw the other nut in the car somewhere (i.e. glovebox). So the reservoir is easier to remove but still in the stock place. That said, I think protesting for either of these configurations while technically right is also a "Protest committee reserves the right to kick the protestor hard in the nads" kind of protest

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Impala SS AutocroSSer

· #91 · Apr 6, 2015

Other advice from Navid : if you drive around on the street with the rears on full stiff, then go set the fronts ALSO at full stiff. It seems to "even out" the oscillations of the car over bumps a bit. I did this driving down to LA a week ago for the Pro, and it was a surprisingly "not horrible" ride despite I-5 being pretty choppy in spots.

AlanBDahl

· #92 · Apr 6, 2015

I'll try that tonight. I was actually thinking the same thing, that setting the fronts stiffer would help. The problem is our roads suck and whatever setting I go with has to please my wife too as the Fiesta is our main family car too (I have a Miata and she has a C230 hatchback as our other cars).

WRT the brake reservoir I went with the one-bolt solution too. The bolt is in the glove box if anyone cares.

TRev

· #93 · Apr 16, 2015

The tool listed below allows adjustment with the reservoir in its stock location. If you have really big hands it might still be a bit tricky reaching in there but the tool fits on top and allows the shock adjustment to be turned without hitting on my car.
http://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda-Performance-Part/61-1272.html

AlanBDahl

· #94 · Apr 20, 2015

TRev said:
The tool listed below allows adjustment with the reservoir in its stock location. If you have really big hands it might still be a bit tricky reaching in there but the tool fits on top and allows the shock adjustment to be turned without hitting on my car.
http://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda-Performance-Part/61-1272.html

Do you have the tool permanently attached in some way? It would be great to leave it attached full time.

TRev

· #95 · Apr 20, 2015

AlanBDahl said:
Do you have the tool permanently attached in some way? It would be great to leave it attached full time.

No, I have been tossing it in the glove box and using as needed.

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