Suspension PerformancePost Suspension related modification information and/or questions here.
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Several members have asked about the combinatiion of Eibach Pro Kit springs and Koni Sport adujstable shocks. I finally had mine installed yesterday and here are the initial results.
First of all, to make for a slicker installation I bought a set of front struts froma a salvage yard for $125 shipped. The struts arrived along with springs in great shape. The parts look new and still had all the Honda number stickers on them. I did the mods to the sturts, cutting off 40 mm at the top, drilling out the bottom, removing the guts and oil and installing the Koni shock cartriges. This way I was able to take the assembled struts along with the rear shocks to the shop all ready to be installed.
Installation cost $167, not counting alingment, which was $37 for front and rear. The guy who runs the shop said that the alignment was ok with the new setup and only minor adjustment needed. This says that you won't need a camber kit or anything with the Pro Kit and Koni setup.
I had removed the front and rear tower bars before taking the car to the shop. The Koni's were left at the "softest" setting as they come from the factory. So I tested the car in that condition for the first tryout.
The first thing I noticed was that on a sharp turn or going around a street corner, most of the understeer is gone. At first I was actually turning the wheel too far, being way the car used to try to plow out on turns. I can't say that the car oversteers now, but is sure has much less understeer.
Tail hop over bumps and rairoad tracks, etc is much reduced. Where I used to get one and a half bounces, it is now just a little bounce and levels right back out. The rear dip on turns is almost gone. There is stlll some body lean, but the car is much flatter.
For the final test with no adjustments I went up a 3 mile mountain road that I travel frequently. I ususally try to make 80 MPH around all the hilly, sweeping turns, and that has always been a bit uncomfortable, like being at the limit of my "seat of the pants" feel for the road. With the new setup I made the entire mounain at 80MPH and felt quite comfortable. The limiting factor was power as I can't really pull that mountain any faster. Coming back down the mountain was even better. I'm usually braver going uphill than down. "Speeding" down the hill again was quite comfortable, much faster than I usually go.
That's about it for the initial try outs. Today I put my strut bars back on and plan to increase the Koni settings. I will report on that when I have some "results".
Cost for this whole deal was.
$515 for Koni Yellows.
$190 for Pro Kit
$125 for the salvage struts
$167 for installation
$37 for front and rear alignment.
Plust I have my OE shocks and struts intact, should I ever want to change back.
PS. The intial drop before settling was 1" at the front tires and about 1/2 to 3/4" at the rear. I expect these will settle to maybe another 1/2, but I don't know how long that takes.
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PSS: The ride with the lowest Koni settings is very good. It is not harsher, but the sway and soft bonciness is pretty much gone. In my opinion the ride is better since the car is mucn more controllable and not reacting so much to bumps and uneven pavement.
Thanks for the post man, keep us updated to how they perform for you in the comming weeks and months, cause I have been thinking about putting some coil overs on as well as new springs and shocks so I am not sure what I would like or want.
<< Where did you order your Koni's from, and is that $515 shipped? Or from a local dealer?
Mike >>
I got the shocks from Modacar when they were on sale. The price was $515 plus shipping. You just have to kinda shop around for price. Maybe call them and see if they will give you that price.
I just turned the shocks a half turn (180 deg) both front and rear and reinstalled the strut tower bars. Seens ti gave improved the front a little, but the rear is too harsh. The ride deteriorated through the seat with the rear shockes stiffened. So I have left the fronts at a half turn and put the rears back to the softest settting. Seems to be fine for everyday driving and definitely improved damping and handling.
Location: Portland,OR / Vancouver,WA, Washington, US
Posts: 1,512
nice bartkat.........
Ill be investing in those soon......my struts have been taking a beaten.....still going though....
Whats the process of cutting the strut????.......
I wasnt aware of any further modifications..........
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There used to be a DIY in the Tech Thread, but I get an error message now.
The Koni instructions cover this. What you get for the front basically a shock insert, not a full strut assembly.
1. You drill a 3 mm or so hole in the bottom of the original strut. This gives you a starter hole for attacching the Koni later. This also releases the gas pressure inside the strut. You will get some oil spray so be careful.
2. You measure 40 mm from the top of the strut housing (cylinder) and cut that top part off. You just cut about 2.5 mm all around and the top piece will come off. They say use a hancksaw, but I used a tubing cutter for a cleaner job. There may be a lip from the cut that you can file or grind off to make the opening in the tube smooth inside.
3. Dump out the oil where you cut off the top, and then just pull out the OE piston assembly. You are left with the strut attaching bracket with the strut tube welded to it, with an open top.
4. Drill out that 3 mm hole to, I believe 14 MM. Then you stick the Koni insert into the tube and run the supplied bolt and washers up through the hole you drilled. The bottom of the Koni is drilled and tapped for attaching. Torque this bolt, and you have a complete Koni insert/OE strut assembly.
5. Of course you have to use the suppled rubber sleeve over the top of the tube and the original sleeve and bummp stops. This is all pretty well explained in the instrctions.
One word of caution. If you do this yourself you will need a spring compressor and use it correctly. Those springs are under high compression and can expand with deadly force. I didn't have a spring compressor so I tied the springs together with nylon rifle slings and pulled them tight. You just don't want that spring to suddenly expand when you unbolt the top mounting plate.
That and the lack of a hoist is why I paid a guy to install mine, after I had done the pre assembly work.
Bartkat, can you take some pics of your car with the Konis and Pro-kit installed. Do you have rims if so what size do you have[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG]
