ice Needed on Front Shocks/Struts, Koni/Boge, Early vs. Late Options

[andys]

Got one good opinion "over there". Soliciting others.

I've got two options on shocks if indeed they are interchangeable. I'm doing a 911 front swap from a '89 Carrera. These are Boge struts with gas shocks; the black ones in the photos below.

When I disassembled the 914 struts, I found Koni adjustable inserts. The red shocks in photos below.

Should I consider trying to adapt the Koni inserts into the Boge struts? I seem to recall someone did a nice write-up on the different interchanges, and I think Koni inserts fit the Boge struts with a certain mix of parts (retaining spanner, spacer, etc). Since I have a machine shop, I can make whatever spacers I need if the adaption is even possible or worthwhile.

Another question I have has to do with which shock would be better suited to my setup. My car is a LS1 V8 swap with 6 speed trans. I have Koni double adjustable (Yellow) rear coil overs with 200# springs, Engman chassis stiffening kit and suspension ear reinforcement. The front T-bars are stock Carrera (18.8mm?). I would prefer to get the shocks reasonably close to matching the T-bars and the weight of the car. This is mainly a street car with of course a couple of visits to Willow Springs for a HPDE or two. Opinions?

Thanks,

Andys

[Richard Casto]

First, I can't speak to what might work well for your car. But if I was me and you already had Koni Yellow/Sport in the rear, I would consider putting Koni Yellow/Sport in the front as well.

Regarding the Koni Red, 911 Boge and 914 struts. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but aren't most 914 struts Boge? Have you tried removing the OEM Boge inserts from the 911 Boge strut and putting the Koni Red insert into the 911 Boge strut and use the hardware from the 914 Boge strut?

Basically I am thinking you may already have the required hardware in hand. I believe that the Koni strut inserts are sold on the assumption they are going into a Boge strut (as that was the most common style). And that you get a centering ring and a gland nut that work with the Boge strut. On the 911 and 914 Boge struts, at a minimum the spindles are different, but maybe the tops (diameter, thread, etc.) are the same? This way you might be able to use the same centering ring and nut on either strut. If for some reason the tops are not the same (such as maybe there is an early/late Boge gland nut?), I think you could probably find someone who might have the correct ring and nut but are not using them.

Worse case I would talk to Koni at their tech help line or Jason at Paragon to find out what works.