Anyone here using Koni 8611 shocks? Options

[Jeroen]

I'm friggin' breaking my head over which shocks to use for my track car...

I want some kind of adjustable shock. I don't want (revalved) Bilsteins!

First choice was yellow Koni's, but... after inquiry, I was told these shocks are only good up to double the original springrate
Which is about 100# and means I could run springs up to about 200# max

I've been browsing the Koni sites till my eyes bled
www.truechoice.com
www.koni.com
www.koniracing.com

I want to convert the fronts to coilovers and raising the spindles (use either Koni or Bilstein struts)
And use spring rates somewhere between 300# and 450#
(starting at 300# but keeping my options open to go higher)

Is anyone here using the 8611 double adjustable dampers from Koni?
And if so, what are you using in the rear...

the www.koniracing.com site states that most Koni dampers can be changed to double adjustables and be custom valved
Anyone have experience with this?

Any other good options besides revalved Bilsteins or a mega-bucks-remote-canister-dampers (which I prolly won't be able to dail in anyway)

cheers,

Jeroen

[groot]

Actually, I don't recall what the second half of the number is. They're sealed up, but I'm taking them apart in the next few weeks. The a-arm geometry is dependent on the knuckle height, not the length of the strut. So, the normal rules apply.

There are two ways to deal with the bump adjuster. One, drill an access hole to get a screw driver in the bottom of the strut. The other is to have Koni (or whomever you buy the dampers from) switch the bottom adjuster to a pinwheel style (similar to the top of a Koni 30) and make a slot in the side of the strut. With the 914 setup and the first option, you'll have to remove the balljoint to adjust bump. With the second option you should be able to adjust bump without removing anything.

What did I do? Glad I asked. My balljoint setup is a little different, see pic. I actually drilled a hole in that bolt and then again through the bottom of the strut. So, I can get a screwdriver in from the bottom without removing any suspension components... but I do have to take a wheel off.

Don't worry about getting a matched set for the front and rear, but do make sure the damping is set right for your car. The rears are easy to find options that work, not so for the front, as you've found. I am changing my top and bottom mounts on the rear for the new dampers...... which I highly recommend. I've ranted about this before, but I'll go again...... The rear dampers on a 914 bind. It must be fixed. I have a set of Bilsteins with bent shafts because of this. There's a stupid rubber bushing at the trailing arm end that should be a rod end and a top mount that doesn't allow enough missalignment. Take a look at your rubber top mounts some day. I can almost gurantee that the damper shaft is trying to go to one side or the other and it's putting a side load on your damper shaft... BAD, BAD, BAD.



BTW..... I used Koni yellows in their original configuration on my ITB Rabbit for years. The spring rate in the front was 450 #/in and the stock rate was ~110#/in and they had no trouble providing enough damping for that spring rate. My experience has been that the Koni yellows are good for much more than 2x the stock spring rate. I'm not trying to talk you out of the 8611s, but I think you'll be fine with the Koni yellows. My recommendation is start with the yellows as is, rebuild/revalve them in ~2 years when they need to be freshened anyway.