Koni's or Bilstein's??

[Stewie]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

Koni vs Bilstein is almost Coke vs. Pepsi. I'd be happy with either but lean towards Bilstein.

I just switched from Koni to custom valved Bilsteins on my Mini and they're very good.

- Andy

I'm gonna end up going with rce springs. I think I remember reading on here some where that the yellows paired better with the non "sport" bilsteins.

Since I'm thinking tarmac springs because they were designed with the notion of being paired with higher/better performing shock/struts, which shock/strut do you think they pair best with Andy?

[M23]

Bilstein...then have RCE or Blistein custom re-valve them (for around $420) to perfectly match your Tarmac springs

[Stewie]

Originally Posted by M23

Bilstein...then have RCE or Blistein custom re-valve them (for around $420) to perfectly match your Tarmac springs

That sounds like a great idea. Thank you.

[Racecomp Engineering]

Honestly you could go either way. Most go with the B8 shocks for the tarmac springs.

- Andy

[M23]

After doing some simple cost calculations; I think you'd get the most bang for the buck by just getting RCE T0 (cheaper/same-price..and at the same time already built (no down time) and valved perfectly) than re-valving B8/B6s.

Swift Spec-R or Tarmac: $375 or $330
B8 or B6 shocks: $900
Total: $1275
Revalved Total (+$420): $1650-1695

RCE T0: $1700

[BRZZZZZZZZZZ]

I have B8s with RCE Yellows. Harsh for our roads here but no complaints otherwise.

[makinen]

I have RCE Tarmacs with Konis.
After some adjustment phases, I've stuck at some points with easy DD-able setting. But when I went to the track, same setting worked fine.

[AZP Installs]

As RCE said, Coke v. Pepsi...

Konis are nice because you can adjust them for when/if you need to install Wife/MIL in car...

You can't go wrong with either setup IMO.

-mike

[Hyper4mance2k]

Originally Posted by Stewie

Non adjustable. But the Koni's are only adjustable for rebound if I'm not mistaken.

Correct. I inquired with Koni about specifications and this was their reply:

Thank you for contacting us her at KONI NA. The struts and shocks are not shorten and are similar in stroke and min and max length to OE dampers. The optimized valving and rebound adjustable damping allows for the use with lowering spring and increased spring rates. When designed by KONI engineers, the sport valving is selected based on performance and ride using the factory springs. If the car has performance upgrades (springs, wheel/tire packages, etc.) or the driver wants the car a bit more aggressive, most people find the optimum setting in the 1/2 to one full turn from the full soft range. Over the extended life of the damper or if the driver wants a specific firm handling characteristic, the dampers can be adjusted up higher. One of the great advantages of KONI adjustable shocks is that there is no specific spring for matching optimum performance. Instead you can adjust your KONIs to match your springs. Most performance springs have a higher spring rate than the vehicle's original springs.Since the shock controls the motion of the spring, increased spring rates require more rebound damping for control and that is one of the reasons why KONIs are rebound adjustable (and some are double adjustable). The KONI adjustment range is typically about 100% (twice as firm at the full firm settings at the full soft setting) to allow for proper damping of OE springs and high rate performance springs.

I wish Tokico made Illuminas for our cars as the adjustment adjusts compression & rebound together.
I'm still trying to get more info on the Cusco's before I make my decision to go with the Bilsteins.

[Racecomp Engineering]

No warranty on the Cuscos makes the choice easy for me. And I (generally) like Cusco.

- Andy

[Stewie]

Originally Posted by M23

After doing some simple cost calculations; I think you'd get the most bang for the buck by just getting RCE T0 (cheaper/same-price..and at the same time already built (no down time) and valved perfectly) than re-valving B8/B6s.

Swift Spec-R or Tarmac: $375 or $330
B8 or B6 shocks: $900
Total: $1275
Revalved Total (+$420): $1650-1695

RCE T0: $1700

True...but I liked some of the points made regarding being able to adjust the rebound, so I looked up what ft86speedfactory.com had going on

Rce tarmacs 330
Koni complete set 865
Total= 1,195

Seems that without the revalve, it's Coke vs Pepsi like Andy and others have said. The benefits of the Koni's adjustability might just be the deciding factor. There's a meet coming up next month. Gonna see if I can go for some short drives with 86 owners to see which will be best for me.

Thanks for all the input thus far. Please keep the opinions, thoughts, and experiences coming.

[M23]

Decision Decisions.

Bilstein's awesome quality, warranty and affordable serviceability/rebuildability

or

Koni's, or Cusco's, adjustability

[Sleepless]

I've had both on the same car in the past and prefer the Koni's. Not only are they adjustable but they are less harsh than the Bilsteins. I've had Bilsteins, even custom valved, and always find them to be harsh on the street. Even their PSS9/10's are pretty harsh. The supposedly "greatly tuned" Bilsteins on the Lotus Elise were stupid harsh on the street.

So, yeah, not a fan of anything from Bilstein that I've tried.

[Koa]

Originally Posted by Stewie

True...but I liked some of the points made regarding being able to adjust the rebound, so I looked up what ft86speedfactory.com had going on

Rce tarmacs 330
Koni complete set 865
Total= 1,195

Seems that without the revalve, it's Coke vs Pepsi like Andy and others have said. The benefits of the Koni's adjustability might just be the deciding factor. There's a meet coming up next month. Gonna see if I can go for some short drives with 86 owners to see which will be best for me.

Thanks for all the input thus far. Please keep the opinions, thoughts, and experiences coming.

Gotta ask- why do you need adjustable dampening?

Koni's are cool for that and all, but the quality is outwardly subpar to bilstein's. Who knows how the two's valving quality compares, as few have dissected those shocks and compared them.

Originally Posted by Sleepless

I've had both on the same car in the past and prefer the Koni's. Not only are they adjustable but they are less harsh than the Bilsteins. I've had Bilsteins, even custom valved, and always find them to be harsh on the street. Even their PSS9/10's are pretty harsh. The supposedly "greatly tuned" Bilsteins on the Lotus Elise were stupid harsh on the street.

So, yeah, not a fan of anything from Bilstein that I've tried.

I have B8s & sportlines on my rig, perhaps you'd like to take her for a drive sometime and see how you like it? I'm pleasently surprised given the sportlines' less-than-stellar drop and rates. "Harshness" is definitely subjective, but the real question is how the two shocks perform. Not saying Koni's don't perform as well, they very well may.. just want to underline that performance and harshness aren't mutually exclusive