FYI: Status of Koni Sports
 

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...highlight=koni

Updated today. 7 of the first 10 sets are spoken for... those first 7 + the next 3 get free shipping. Ordered 4 more sets too, but those won't get the freebie shipping.

And I hear they are actually on the way stateside. Hope to see them in the within the next 4 weeks. Hopefully customs doesn't think they are dangerous.... :)

Thanks for the updates.

I'm excited for mine :)

Nice! We ordered a bunch of sets as well and were told 2/10 for delivery.

I hope I have them and the sway bar in time to use the 2/26 SCCA event to dial them in, 3/9 for real practice before 3/16 for Dixie!

1 set left with free shipping/and on the very first shipment. 4 sets left w/shipping, arriving about 1-2 weeks after the first batch shows up.

fyi, according to KONI NA the first shipment of these shocks are on the way
with an ETA of Feb 11.

i wonder if Sam can have my order drop shipped to me? :)

Nope, part of they deal is that they are stocking parts, meaning they have to be shipped in bulk to my shop. I hope the ETA is right, if not sooner. :)

Do you have a dyno on hand? I'd love to see how matched (or unmatched) a set of 4 really are.

I've never worried about it. I've pretty much won all my Championships, both National and ProSolo on box stock off the shelf Koni's. Nothing production is every 100.00% the same unit to unit, including our engines, tires, etc. I really see no reason to bother. But I'm sure if you wanted to pay for it Koni would be happy to do it.

I saw TIC received theirs and they aren't too far away from PA. Does this mean Sam will have his to ship to us very soon (I hope!)?

I will call Koni tomorrow. I'm guessing mine are in transit, as I am back from CA. :)

Due to be delivered to me today... but too late to ship them back out. So I will do that on Monday!!!!

10 sets rolled in the door today. All 10 sets are, and have been sold. 3 more sets are due soon... and I have an order for at least one of those sitting on my desk as I type this.

Teaser:
http://stranoparts.com/data/images/p96615155246.JPG
http://stranoparts.com/data/images/p96615155135.JPG

Have you gotten a chance to run on them yet?
Also how did you dial them in on your past cars that were RWD?

Soft in front medium in rear?

I was wondering if someone can post the installation instuctions for the inserts. I was wondering if using a pipe cutter was the easiest way to cut off the top.

Pipe cutter is probably the best way. Here is a good install guide:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1219607

I don't have the Konis yet. How far down do you make the cut and from what point do you measure down?

Ok, all the first 10 sets are outta here. And today, 4 more complete sets showed up!!!!!

So if you are in the market....... I'm going to keep the $770/shipped price on for these 4 sets as well. Don't wait if you want them, who knows how long until more show up.

Mine are in. Cant install until next week but Im excited :)

I'm excited, but the wait is killing me! :D

3 sets left....... When they are gone the free shipping goes away too.

Well, since Sam posted a 'before' shot, I figured I'd post an 'after' shot - converted and ready to install:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...23_172943a.jpg
(clickable thumb)

thanks for the link - lots of good stuff in there

Just to add a couple points:

• with the struts inverted I got zero fluid spray from the first and just a small mist (just enough to dampen the drill chuck) from the second - pumping out the fluid through the initial hole worked great
• I could not believe how tight the fit was between the insert and the ID of the strut - I scraped off a lot of yellow paint pounding them in
• the second one was so tight, I had to go pick up some 1" pipe to better drive it down to the retaining bumps - totally destroyed the plastic impact/protection ring
• you will definitely want an 8mm hex drive socket and torque wrench for the bottom bolt - 55 ft-lb is pretty tight and I would not have wanted to try it with a hex key
• and I will definitely take the smell of fork oil over used manual transmission fluid any day! (maybe I'm just used to it from tearing apart forks?)

I measured the bumps as ~46mm down and the instruction chart gives the cut point for that measurement as 40mm. I measured from the very top of the strut and cut with the HF #2 pipe cutter (only ~$15) and it worked great.

cheers!

I'm wondering if initially using a longer bolt on the bottom of the strut to pull the insert down into the strut would work better than pounding. Might be worth a try.

That was my thought as well. Unfortunately, the longest M12x1.5 my local hardware store had was 100mm, which was not long enough to reach the insert at the point where it initially got difficult. I bought the 100mm and a big stack of washers, but with the more even loading of the pipe, it went in without too much difficulty and I ended up not using the bolt.

They made the inserts as large as possible so they could use the biggest piston and have the greatest oil volume possible in this type of damper. Funny that one was tighter than the other, I'm guessing it had thicker paint. :)

What I'm looking forward to is the report when you guys get them on the cars.

BTW.... Down to one set. More are coming in, but I have one set left in the shop available for purchase.

Can you give an estimate on install time?

Well, I'm waiting on a front swaybar to do the actual install, so I can't give you any first hand info on installation. (The struts above are take-offs I purchased ahead of time so I could do the conversion at my leisure and also to be able to go back to my stock struts if I want to later.) For just the conversion, assuming no hardware store runs to interrupt you, I'd say under an hour. For the overall installation, see the DIY lowering spring installation link here - the OP says two hours, but that sounds a bit optimistic to me. I'd budget at least 4 for the whole process including converting the fronts.

I measured the bumps as ~46mm down and the instruction chart gives the cut point for that measurement as 40mm. I measured from the very top of the strut and cut with the HF #2 pipe cutter (only ~$15) and it worked great.

cheers![/QUOTE]

In your opinion, is it safe to cut mine with this measurement ahead of receiving mine? I wouldn't think there would be much variation.

I think it's not worth getting ahead or yourself....

You're right, I'll wait.

Thanks Sam

Heads up.... found a tiny little glitch, which we are remedying ASAP.

Koni is making spacers that fit around the very top of the front strut rod and fit inside the strut mount bearing to take up a small bit of play that has been found. They are due to arrive Friday, and they are shipping all my customers the spacers ASAP when they arrive. I've already given them the list.

No worries if you installed the dampers already, it's not going to cause a failure or anything. And the spacer should be pretty easily slipped in from the top after you take the nut off the Koni, then it'll slide down the strut rod into the mount's and between the rod and bearing itself. Worse case you might have to jack up the car just slightly to unload the mount a little bit.

Anyway, I wanted to give you guys a heads up, and we're all over getting the spacer's sent out!!!!

My shocks are going on right now. What is the downside this causes until the spacer is in?

Nothing in the short term. It's just the rod isn't as tight a fit in the bearing as it should be. Maybe a little bit of a clunk long term. Note that it isn't ok for them to hammer the hell out of the top nut to get it "tight".. that will break the rod.

This is no big deal, and the spacers will be on the way direct from Koni as soon as they arrive.

Wow, thanks for the heads up.

Mine went on today as well. I'm gathering that it would be safe to auto-x the car even without the spacers?

Will this affect the alignment? I don't think it will but figured I'd ask. I have an appointment for Friday to get the car aligned after my install.

It will affect your alignment in most cases.

Mine are on, as well as my Strano bar. Car feels good but Im on the DD tires. Thursday night, I have a large skidpad to myself and I will be testing on the RS3s

On Prius tires, they felt good but it was mostly highway so I couldn't play too much

I found this out last night from my son. He works in technical support at the Tire Rack. As Sam mentioned it's no big deal. I'm still waiting for my donors to show up so I haven't installed mine yet.

I'm still debating on whether or not to install them before getting the spacer. They are scheduled to arrive today and I have RCE springs waiting for them. I took a day off from work to do the install since my work schedule has been a little hectic lately.

Mine are doing well with 50+ miles, no noise. Installers read that post and said it doesn't sound like any issue mine is having.

Ride is slightly firmer than stock but not jarring. I'm starting at 1.25 turns up front, 1 turn in the rear. A little easier to snap the rear out but that's on nearly-dead OEM tires. Should feel good on the RS3s tomorrow night