Unexpected poor handling with Konis

7878 Views 30 Replies 7 Participants Last post by AlanBDahl, May 9, 2015

AlanBDahl

Discussion Starter · Apr 14, 2015

I ran my first event of the season yesterday with my newly-installed Konis and the results were poor. I'm now trying to figure out what to do next.

Setup: 2014 ST with Dirizza ZII 225/45-16 on OZ wheels. Porterfield R4S brake pads. Koni yellows front and rear.

1st run: Shocks full stiff rear, 1/2 turn from soft front. 38 psi front/42 rear.

Car was all over the place, I could not keep the rear end planted. All I can do to make it through the course with just one cone. 3 seconds behind Des in his ST.

2nd run: Shocks the same, pressures 38/38.

Much better to begin with but still eager to rotate. Entered a fast three-cone slalom with a short braking area into a right-hander. Car snap spun on me and sent me off course into the grass and a side taxiway. Day over per our 4-wheels-off rule with a DSQ on the score sheet.

From my perspective the common wisdom of Koni shock settings is way off. I'm thinking the middle setting rear and half-way to 3/4 front. Am I right and everyone else is wrong or did we goof up our install some way?

Des does have a Cobb front bar but that doesn't explain the 4 second difference between us. I road with Des and his car had very good turn-in but tended to loose grip in hard sweepers. My goal is the best of both worlds, high grip with good turn-in. I think it's doable, it's just figuring out how...

Save

1 - 12 of 31 Posts

AlanBDahl

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 14, 2015

It sounds like you have double-adjustable Konis on the rear? Where did you get them? I have the three-way adjustable standard Koni Sports.

I'm thinking of dumping the Porterfields for another set of stock pads. What do you think?

Save

AlanBDahl

Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 14, 2015

TRev said:
I have Koni Yellow singles.

I am going to wait a month or so until (hopefully) Hawk has HPS pads available.

You said you had the rears set 1/8 turn off full stiff rear. The normal Konis are click-to-turn with three settings so they can't be adjusted in the way you describe, they are either soft, medium or hard. Which of these did you use?

You agree with me that the Porterfields just don't work, correct? My previous experiences (admittedly 10 years ago) with the HPS were not good and I dumped them for Carbotechs in a couple of months because of so-so performance and massive brake dust. At this point I know the Ford pads work so I think I'll just go back.

Save

AlanBDahl

Discussion Starter · #8 · Apr 14, 2015

TRev said:
This is what I have:
http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/suspension.jsp?make=Koni&model=Sport+Shock&group=Sport&cat=Shocks

They are adjusted by fully compressing the shock and then turning which requires removal from the vehicle.

Yes but there are only 4 positions as show below, right? Or am I mistaken, my mechanic adjusted them when he installed everything. Are you on +2 then?

See less See more

Save

AlanBDahl

Discussion Starter · #12 · Apr 14, 2015

Thanks for the clarification and the video! Do others agree that full stiff is too much? I'm thinking about 3/4 stiff at most and maybe as little as 1/2.

Save

AlanBDahl

Discussion Starter · #17 · Apr 16, 2015

Des, I wasn't talking about your rear end coming out entering turns but rather the chattering loss of grip mid-sweeper. This tells me the rear tires aren't generating peak grip in that situation. Ideally I'd like tail-out on turn-in but max grip once the turn is entered. in to.

Save

AlanBDahl

Discussion Starter · #18 · Apr 16, 2015

I got into an accident of sorts this AM when someone tried to merge into me when we were side-by-side. We didn't touch but were only inches apart when he forced me into the curb. RF wheel and tire are toast, will find out tomorrow if there is more damage or not (I don't think there is but you never know). Glad I decided to skip Crows now!

Save

AlanBDahl

Discussion Starter · #20 · Apr 24, 2015

Toe knocked out a tad but no other damage. New wheel and tire installed so it's all fixed. Gonna back the rear shocks off a tad for the next event which thankfully us at s site with lots of runoff

Save

AlanBDahl

Discussion Starter · #21 · Apr 27, 2015 (Edited)

We removed and readjusted the Konis last week. I was quite surprised at how much of a difference even a quarter turn down from full stiff made. We went with a half turn down as an experiment and on the street at least handling (and ride) is much improved. We will see how it works this weekend (at a location with a lot more runoff, just in case

Save

AlanBDahl

Discussion Starter · #23 · May 7, 2015

My car was much better this last weekend. I played around with the settings a lot and I'm still not complete dialed-in but getting there. I might try changing the rear shocks from -1/2 to -1/4 but I want to get another event under my belt before I do that. I drove Des's car for one run and I'm not convinced yet that the front bar is needed but I'll keep that in mind as I move forward with my setup.

Save

AlanBDahl

Discussion Starter · #25 · May 7, 2015

38F/47R seemed to work best at this last event on asphalt at 70 degrees

Save

AlanBDahl

Discussion Starter · #31 · May 9, 2015

I’m still not sold on the front bar for asphalt though for concrete like Crows it might be just the ticket. Des’s car understeered a fair amount at Packwood compared to my car on the one run I took. However Des and I have very different driving styles and what works for me might not work for him or vice-versa. Also I like to take a slow approach to setting a car up so although I may get there eventually for now I am content at attempting to maximize the set up as-is.

Save

1 - 12 of 31 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month