I need new shocks, Koni or Bilsteins? Options

[Jeroen]

I'll be shopping for a new set of 911 front struts soon, so I'd like to decide on what brand of shocks to use...

I'm still undecided. It'll be either yellow Koni's or Bilstein sports

I currently have the B-sports on my '87 carrera and I like them
But I've also driven Koni equiped cars, and couldn't really find much difference between them

Pro on the Bilsteins are the 'upside down' design and they won't be damaged when the suspension bottoms out.

On the other side, I think the adjustability of the Yellow Koni's would be nice feature too...

Whadda ya think???

cheers,

Jeroen

[ChrisFoley]

I guess there's room for one more opinion on this subject:

Starting with shocks- Bilsteins add spring rate since they are high pressure gas. Using them with stock t-bars and 914-6 rear springs (100lb) improves the ride tremendously. I like the fact that they are non-adjustable, one less thing to think about. The way their function was described to me is that their rate is speed dependent. They act stiffer as the bumps hit the tire faster. Sounds like a good thing to me.

Also, its not hard to AX with this setup. I have done this in one of my 914s with no sway bars and done fairly well. The body roll is a little unnerving but not a problem. The only problem is applying power coming out of turns, but by adding a front swaybar this is also improved a bunch.

Whats wrong with investing a little at a time, instead of dropping the whole bundle at once? Nothing! As long as the car remains balanced you can upgrade slowly. By adding a 19mm adjustable front sway bar you can tune the suspension to the other changes being made. I do suggest using the same shocks all around and changing them at the same time though.

BTW, the Bilsteins on the rear of my FP race car are the same ones I bought in '85 when it was a street car! I will probably send them back to Bilstein for revalving since the rest of the suspension is quite stiff now. The fronts would still be the ones from '85 if not for some major damage I did in a crash 8 years ago.

If the Bilsteins and stock T-bars/100s aren't stiff enough then just add 140s at the rear and stiffen the front sway bar. Then later on add the 21mm torsion bars and soften the sway bar to rebalance things.

As far as bushings goes, the Weltmeister plastic crap sucks big time. They are the inexpensive way to go, but require a lot of fitting for them to work. Even after careful installation they may (will) bind and squeek. Sometimes they are loose in the housing instead of on the shaft, so they pivot on the wrong surface. The needle bearings are great if you want to spend a bundle, and plan on occasional maintenance. The Weltmeisters will need replacement at nearly the same intervals as the bearing maintenance. BTW, I think Shine Racing has a lifetime warranty on their needle bearing kits.

I came up with a compromise that is cheaper than needle bearings for the rear. Still haven't done a front setup. I have Delrin bushings and trued up shafts in stock for replacing the rubber, that gives smooth, non-binding suspension travel, but it is not a DIY deal. It takes special tooling that I have.I think even with shipping it is less $$ than the needle bearings, and your only labor is removal and reinstallation on the car. If the trailing arms have the boxed reinforcement my way is definitely better. The bore in the trailing arm will not be round and requires reaming, which my upgrade involves anyway. I have found that unreinforced arms also are not always round enough to install the needle bearings properly either. I also install grease zerks with the bushings so they never have to come apart.