E30 Shock Option Thread

[Philo]

http://www.koni-na.com/pdf/ShockValueSalerules.pdf

So this means Koni sports, made for the E30, are like $515 IIRC.

[Moto-Mucci]

google search the part numbers.

[Jean]

It is posted right above our current convo. lol

Ooops, not sure how I missed it! What do the 8611 series inserts go for?

[Moto-Mucci]

Ok Mucci. I'm wanting to go to coils and cut out the middle man (GC.) Which inserts do I need to order? With Koni's 25% off, this could be a good deal. I'm looking to go low and still have some damper to sit on. Suggestions? It doesn't look like the "Race" dampers are part of the deal; maybe i'm misreading it.

It's not necessarily cutting out the middle man from what I've gathered from researching.

GC's versions of the Corrado and Mustang shocks are revalved to better suit our cars.

I imagine the Corrado G60 front shocks are revalved to be stiffer considering the G60 motor is a lighter weight 4cyl compared to our 6.

And from what I've heard, the Mustang rear shocks are also revalved to be stiffer. (Read what I posted above)

As far as I'm concerned, this is all speculation and hearsay so far - not to say it doesn't make sense, because it does. I'm going to call up GC when I get the chance just to clarify a few things before I make any purchases.

It'd also be good to hear from some guys running the Mustang rear shocks to see what they say about the stiffness.

Also, where are you finding Koni's for 25% off? I know NAMotorsports has the G60's "on sale" right now for "42.5% off" however Neuspeed sells them a few bucks cheaper all year long...

[Moto-Mucci]

Here's a conversation from a different thread with some interesting info:

From all of my reading and searching....

Koni does not specifically make a top adjustable rear shock for the E30. The ones that GC and TCK use are custom rears for the Mustang (the PN listed above) The "stock" Koni unit produced for the Mustang is supposedly too soft to use on an E30 as it was designed/valved for a Mustang solid axle as opposed to the IRS on the E30 so GC and TCK revalve/rework(don't know how) the Mustang shock for E30 use. Using the top adjustable versions from GC and TCK require the special RSM because it uses a 12mm tube instead of the stock 10mm tube...


That's what I gathered from a night of searching.

Where did you find this information? interesting...

Reading every thread I could find in the search on R3v and E30tech.


I found one fairly old thread that apparently was one of the fellas from GC talking about having used the Mustang shocks but found them to be too soft for the high E30 spring rates so they didn't offer them as an option anymore. Since GC can either actually revalve/adjust their koni's to match the springs I only assume this is what they do for the top adjustables they currently offer. Also the p/n that TCK lists on their website for their E30 top adjustable is the Koni number for the Mustang SA rear shock.

Since the mustang rear shock works, it makes more sense to revalve the mustang shock and create a custom RSM for the larger damper tube then to figure out how to make the "Koni factory" 10mm adjustable from the top instead of having to remove it.

Again though, that's what I gathered from reading tons of different threads and putting the pieces together my self. Nobody has come right out and said this is the "secret".

[Gooch]

I don't remember exact length but I THINK from the bottom of the strut housing (not inside) to the top was almost 16".

[Philo]

Only the race models seem to be listed.

http://www.koniracing.com/8611.cfm

It is posted right above our current convo. lol

[Jean]

Hmm.. where are you getting this from? Link please? :)

[Philo]

Looks to be. . .

[Jean]

8611-1258-Race (#5) can be verified. I have them as they are what TCK uses for their coils and obviously the strut housings must be shortened.

How high are these? My GC modified strut housings are 15 and 3/4" in height (inside from the bottom to the top of threaded end).

[Philo]

Ok Mucci. I'm wanting to go to coils and cut out the middle man (GC.) Which inserts do I need to order? With Koni's 25% off, this could be a good deal. I'm looking to go low and still have some damper to sit on. Suggestions? It doesn't look like the "Race" dampers are part of the deal; maybe i'm misreading it.

[Gooch]

Only the race models seem to be listed.

http://www.koniracing.com/8611.cfm

[Moto-Mucci]

Diameter is 1.71" according to Koni's website. They fit snug in the strut housing, there is no play.

Where did you find casing dimensions on their site? I'm wondering if the Jetta/Golf shocks fit better then the G60 ones. # 8641-1198-Sport

[Gooch]

Diameter is 1.71" according to Koni's website. They fit snug in the strut housing, there is no play.

[Moto-Mucci]

Verification and details updated*

Gooch, what is the diameter of the casings? Do they fit snugly into the housings, or do they have about 6mm of play like the G60's?