Koni shocks + King springs

man the reason not many people run Koni's are the price. They're a fantastic shock if you want it stiff all the time I'd see if bilstein do a shock for it. Koni's are as hard on full stiff as bilsteins are but in my opinion a shock that's valved to be that stiff and that stiff only works better then an adj shock turned up to full stiff.

 

Premature tyre edge wear is most likely due to your alignment. Go to an alignment/suspension specialist (not your local tyre shop) and get a front and rear alignment done.

If you want firmer springs do the alignment afterwards obviously.

 

Yes, get an alignment and then get told it's 'within specs'. Or maybe 'within specs as good as the adjustment will allow'.

It's all a waste of time if you don't fit camber, caster and toe adjusters so the alignment can be made RIGHT. For this you need the bushes made by K-Mac and as fitted to the V8 Utes racing out on the circuits. They went to K-Mac because they couldn't find anything else that would do the job, provide the adjustment and stay in one piece.

Have a look at their website, K-MAC: Camber and Caster Adjustment, Strut Bushings kits, Camber and Toe Kits, Camber and Caster Kits

 

Who said Konis are stiff? Bilsteins are generally stiffer than Koni! What Koni do have going for them is their progressivity so that they provide the kind of resistances that are required at different suspension velocities. On top of that they are adjustable, Bilstein aren't.

 

Lol, don't think he's got a dedicated track car.

I'm not bagging K-mac, but I reckon they are too over priced. Plenty of other better competitors out there with affordable options.

Why would he need toe and caster adjustments when he already has them from factory?

 

If you read what I wrote was that koni's on full adjustment are about as stiff as bilsteins BUT I wouldn't go bilstein if you don't want full stiff. I've owned a few cars with fairly modified suspension running Koni and Bilstein, Koni yellows on full stiff are pretty close to bilstein sprints.

 

Correct Koni's are adjustable, but Koni recommend running them on the softest setting, go figure...

 

I'd choose Bilsteins any day for the price you gonna pay anyway.

 

Thats cause Koni consider them an adjuster for wear.

That way, you can expect consistent damping over the life of the unit.

 

lol, are you serious?

 

Correct, they are adjustable to compensate for wear, but they are also adjustable to vary suspension operation according to needs. But their greatest asset is their progressivity in operation.

 

You are bagging K-Mac because you're ignoring the fact that they alone have the attributes that really do the job. You don't need to have a 'track car' to necessitate accuracy in your wheel alignment.

Remember, all cars are made to a price. There are compromises in the design and original equipment and these days it means that most suspensions are not adjustable as might be needed. Alignments have become a rip-off, in the past you could wheel your HQ or HX into a wheel aligner and for the flat rate the guy would adjust the camber, the caster and the toe to get it right. Most cars today you wheel in and he does the toe adjustment and still charges you the flat rate.

How good is that?

 

In his defence, not many road cars require 4 deg of negative camber

 

I've had Koni Yellows (Adjustable) coupled with Eibach springs on a previous car I owned - Wasn't a Holden though - & I thought they were a great thing.

My suggestion would be to look at a Bilstein set up. I'm pretty sure you can obtain Eibach springs as well for the Holdens these days. From what I've been told, this is pretty well the Walkinshaw suspension upgrade.

 

Koni black is pretty cool, got them from Africa with a few abducted kids

 

Sure, that's the basic idea, though a shock with plenty of bump resistance might help a bit too... but it might also create problems at other times.

You say, however, that your primary problem is inner edge tyre wear. So you need to stand the tyre up more, that's where camber kits come in.

 

Hi Mate,

I fitted kings and Koni yellow adjustables to my near new SS-Z two weeks ago so i think i am the man you want to hear from. Firstly the ride height, will get to the damper later. If you want the car to sit with a fairly even gap over the front and rear guard then you need a higher spring in the back as the way they set mine up initially was super lows all round (HD's in the front) and i found that the yes whilst the sill was horozontally level with the ground the back end looked like it was way too low with the guard over the wheels. So I had them fit the Low HD in the rear and now the front to back proportions are to my liking re the ride height. Dont let any suspension shop tell you the v8 HD king spring will be too firm, that is garbage, i found the suspension shop to be pretty conservative re this. Anyway the Koni's. Note that the rears cannot be adjusted while in the car, only the fronts can so rear shock adjustment is critical. Initially mine was set up with a quarter of a turn up from softest in the rear and softest in the front. This provided a very comfortable ride (like OEM comfort) but the whole thing felt more ties down and that floatiness was gone. It was also more responsive. I wasn't happy as it wansnt sporty enough for me. I played with the fronts and found that putting a full turn on the front adjustment took most of the body roll out of the front, turn in was very crisp, lighter, and whilst definitely alot firmer than the softest setting, it was not in any way uncomfortable or harsh. Rough stuff was still relatively smooth therefore showing how good a high quality damper like the koni's are, not only is the ride very sporty and direct, it also retains a level of quality and smoothness you just wont get in cheap tein coilovers or monroe GT Gas etc. Anyway, when i had the rear springs changed to the taller HD's, I had them tweak the rear shocks to one full turn from softest and i run 1.25 turns on the front. Its not harsh at all, it just handles fantastically for a street car and I reckon this setting will go allright at the track too. I also have a front castor kit in so they could get the alighment right. The Bilstein is a great product but will be firmer that described above and does not have any adjustment. I'm really glad I went the Koni's, they are brilliant and i'm happy with the front SSLHD and rear SLHD spring combo. bloody big reply, sorry mate, take what you will from my experiences with it.