bilstein vs koni for autox
 

i plan to run cs next year and want opinions on these. i have raced circle track for 20 years and always ran bilstein so my heart leans that way, but koni may be the better way to go for cs? anyone ran both?

I've run the Bilsteins out of the box, ran them revalved more aggressively and I've run the Cuscos (rebound adjustable similar to the Konis). I'll probably stick with the Cuscos moving into next year, but I did really like the Bilsteins. If you do the Bilsteins, you will want to have them revalved to work with the TRD springs. I had mine revalved before the TRD parts were part of the scene, so with the TRD springs, they were just too stiff.

Bilstein is definitely a better quality shock but their out of the box valvings for autocross and road racing aren't great. The Koni stock valving will be better.

I was trying to figure out the same thing, and I decided to go with Koni's for one reason: all of the Continental Series cars ran Konis because local shops can rebuild them, versus you have to send Bilsteins out to California. My buddy worked for a race team in the series a year ago when I was in the market for dampeners and that's the observation he made.

Typically it is the Koni's that you cannot have rebuilt locally. Koni does not sell its internal parts, unless you are a certified service center. I think other than Koni USA, there are only like 2 other shops (ProParts and Truechoice) in the nation. Bilstein is the shock most circle track guys use, as you can easily purchase their internal parts for revalving and rebuilding. Koni was at one time the sponsor of the Continental Series, so it is likely the race teams got access to parts. If you are the ordinary Joe, you will have no such luck.

If you want a set of adjustable Bilsteins, try to contact FRSport. They have a double adjustable set for the C-Street Twins. If you are running a higher prep class, their kits may be cheaper as they dont need the custom bodies and mounts for Street Class:

http://www.frsport.com/index.php?tar...0176ef9a4bfb0b

Good to know, thanks!

Those looks like some nice shocks for stock class autox :o

Do you need to have the TRD springs on the car when it was purchased, or can you order them separately?

For Street class the TRD Springs are a line item factory/port option, so you can add them later, no problem!

Nice! I heard there were some other TRD parts like sway bars and things? I need to familiarize myself with Twins in CS as I am used to the STX rules.