curik_euro

Hi, for those who have fitted Konis, what damping settings are you guys using?

- 0 turns (softest)
- 1/2 turns
- 1 turns
- 1.5 turns
- 2 turns (firmest)

Please put down the settings for front and rear. All your opinions are appreciated. Thanks

Zasker1

In the Rear I run 1 turn and in the front I alter between 1 and 1.5. Two is just to firm for street driving

TheMirror

Is that with stock springs?

TheMirror

Nevermind, I read your profile.
Cheers,
-Mirror

TSXTuner

curik, I understand that increased turns lowers compression damping
and stiffens rebound. With the comptech 110-160 progressive rate,
I find that the springs get very stiff on compression and need
high rebound damping

I run 1 3/4 front and 1 turn rear.
It gets harder on compression with a lower setting up front and I
feel the comptech springs need the rebound damping more.

curik_euro

Now that I run 1 turns all around, I still can feel the coarseness and lack of shock absorbent over rough tarmac. Is it possible to minimise this by using the softest setting? Or is it just because of the 19" setup im running on? Thanks

Zasker1

Running on 19's I dont ever think you are going to get a supple ride.

TSXTuner

The way I understand the koni and my experience is,
you may need to run max setting up front to soften the
compression damping and increase rebound.

With 19 you have a stiffer spring rate all around and the comptech's are progressive.

In other words, the progressive spring rate will decelerate the compression
impact inherently, you don't need more compression damping, you need rebound
damping. Turn the front to 1 3/4 to 2 turns and see if impact is softened.

curik_euro

What about the rear settings? Should I try 2 turns as well? Before installing the shocks and the pro kit, I played around with one of the shocks. It was noted that at softest setting, the shock rod was rebounding to its original pos quickest. But some people actually finds that the car will be bouncier if using this setup.

TSXTuner

1 turn seems to be the concensus for the rear shock. I was at 1-1/2
and thought 1 was better. Because of the accesability I haven't experimented
as much with the rear. Start with 1 turn.

AlterZgo

The speed that the shock rod rebounds to its original position doesn't really have a bearing on the damping force being exerted on the spring/suspension. Remember that the shock's primary function is to damp the suspension motion, not to act as a spring. There is very little spring force being exerted by the damper. For example, you can easily hold the shock body in one hand and the top of the shock piston in the other hand and prevent the shock piston from coming out further. Compare this to your Eibach spring which I guarantee you wil not be able to hold by hand when the spring is compressed.

The reason why people find the car being bouncier with the softest setting is because the rebound damping is at it's weakest on the softest setting. So, what happens is, when you hit a bump or dip and the spring compresses, the shock does not exert a lot of damping force on the rebound (upward) stroke of the spring. Thus, the car bounces up and down and up and down in an oscillating action like a pogo. I would describe this as more of a "wallowy" or loose and unstable feeling.

OTOH when a car is well damped, when you hit a bump or dip, the suspension will compress and rebound to it's original height w/o any further suspension oscillations. This is because the shock is exerting more damping force against the spring, dissipating the force of the spring on the upward (rebound) stroke.

curik_euro

Thanks for your post AlterZgo! What would you recommend to use for the most compliant ride on the konis?

TSXTuner

Damping is a function of velocity.

The shock will have maximum damping force at the peak velocity,
approaching none at very low velocity like by hand.
You can see this when you move a shock rod slowly by hand,
and then attempt quickly by hand, keeping in mind you will never
approximate the speeds of the suspension over a bump by hand.
You can at least experience the velocity function of damping.

Anyway, in the koni sport, increasing the turns increases rebound and
softens compression damping.

My experience with comptech progressive spring rate, increased turns
in necessary to maximize rebound damping. As the suspension compresses
on a bump, the spring rate is increasing and then rebounding from a higher compressed spring rate. You need the maximum rebound damping.

I think you will experience the least compression impact and better ride
with the higher setting on the koni shock. A stiffer shock is going to carry more compression force and reducing the spring deflection, the force balance
never changes, just diverting more force to the shock mount from the
spring. The total force is the same but the time is changed. A
stiffer shock in compression localizes the impact in a shorter time vs
a longer time of suspension travel allowing the spring to compress. A stiffer shock in compression will feel rougher.

If your compaint is ride you probably want lowest compression damping
which is higher turns on the koni.

With the comptech progressive rate spring, the spring will get stiffer
with compression, reducing the need for high compression damping
to divert force from the spring to the shock mount.

AlterZgo

I've never tried Konis w/ Pro kit springs so I'm not sure what would be best on your car.

I'm running Comptech 110-155 springs w/ my Neuspeed Koni shocks and I'm at 1 full turn at all 4 corners. But, the Comptech 110-155 springs are fairly soft and don't require a whole lot of rebound damping to control. If I were to *guess*, I'd probably say 1.5 turns front and 1 turn rear would be good on Pro-kit springs.

curik_euro

Thanks for the advice. The adjusting knob is actually to big to squeeze into the tiny space at the rear. What did you do to it to make it fit?

AlterZgo

Here's what JTso did. He trimmed the adjustment knob down so it would fit by just removing the side bolsters:

[/QUOTE]

curik_euro

REBOUND ADJUSTMENT DIRECTION

* Clockwise = Softer
* Counter Clockwise = Firmer

COMPRESSION ADJUSTMENT DIRECTION

* Clockwise = Firmer
* Counter Clockwise = Softer

This is what I read at the Koni site. I contacted the service rep and they said to increase rebound damping and reduce compression. By looking at the instructions, I guess more clockwise turn will only increase compression and reducing rebound?