Koni vs. Bilstein sports?

[RedRacer]

Can anyone confirm that this chart is for E30 Konis and Bilsteins? Front or Rear?

To explain everything I just said, and take note, Bilstein HD and sport have the same exact valving, just different length shock bodies. If you have trouble reading the graph, let me know and I'll explain it:

[808BMW]

Most Koni's are single adjustable.

The top adjusting rears kickass, I have those.

I've been running GC's with my koni's for about 3 years and I have no complaints.

[b*saint]

I had Koni Yellows in my 325is and they were AWESOME. I loved them so much. The way I had them setup, my friend with an E36 M3 compared my ride to that of his ride. So I am a diehard Koni fan for life.

[Mystikal]

1. Bilstein's do not outlast Koni's. As long as shocks/strut inserts are matched to the springs, they'll last the same.

2. The reason they ride is so rough is because Bilstein sports have a very rough initial compression, whereas the Koni sports have a softer initial compression but have a steeper compression valving curve. Then the bilstein sports have too soft of a rebound which causes you to go bouncing up and down on stiff springs.

3. You can get your bilstein's revalved to match your spring rates, but the initial compression will still be rougher and not ride as well as koni's. What you will notice is they'll stiffen up the rebound so your ride isn't so bouncy with stiff springs.

4. Get Koni's if you can afford it. They're a better shock/strut for your application.

To explain everything I just said, and take note, Bilstein HD and sport have the same exact valving, just different length shock bodies. If you have trouble reading the graph, let me know and I'll explain it:

Yes. Real, solid info.

After my many years of E30 knowledge building...this post is the truth.

[wazzu70]

The Konis adjust REBOUND, compression is fixed. TC Kline sells double adjustable Konis which made to work on our cars. TC K also has the rear top adjustable Konis as well. Also to answer your question most of the run of the mill places offering Konis have the rear shocks you need to remove to adjust. Don't go down this road, it looks to be a real PITA by the instructions.

Edit. I just relized in a prvious post I thought he was referring to Sa konis when he probably had DA. My bad.

[Bimmerfanatik]

back off biatch. I called dibs.

Dibs on what man?? Armando sent me a PM with very extensive and detailed descriptions of different e30 suspension setups.

[2002maniac]

pm sent

back off biatch. I called dibs.

[Tim Flat4]

I've owned Konis before (on my Impreza matched with Prodrive springs) and I have to say that I disliked them. Reason being that I don't like to guess where I stand on compression and rebound based on the number of degrees I rotated the little dial. It feels cheap.

[SchnellerVert]

Bilstein will tell you that info.

[Bimmerfanatik]

Wow, thanks Chris - looks like you know what you're talking about. Been down this road before have you? :)

I'm going to try and buy a set of konis. My next question - are there specific konis for a vert, and do I need GC rears in order to have top adjustable compression?

[IS]

1. Bilstein's do not outlast Koni's. As long as shocks/strut inserts are matched to the springs, they'll last the same.

According to? Since no one would actually be able to make a koni SA match the springs just by "feel" and the fact that the compression is fixed, wouldn't it make more sense to get bilsteins custom valved. By your logic, they would outlast the konis, no?

Did you run the shock dynamometer yourself? Cool that your school has one.

You also mention HD and sports have the same valving. How do you know this? The rear shocks have equivalent shock bodies, but different part numbers. I have also heard from word-of-mouth sources that the sports are valved a little stiffer.

[volgapower]

i got one question... are shocks on 318, 320, 325 all the same???

[SchnellerVert]

Can be debated for years on this. Both are good quality equipment that have differant charteristics.

It's harder to compare a 325ic to a mouse engine 318ic. Lighter so the chassis dynamics will be differant.

[C ///M]

1. Bilstein's do not outlast Koni's. As long as shocks/strut inserts are matched to the springs, they'll last the same.

2. The reason they ride is so rough is because Bilstein sports have a very rough initial compression, whereas the Koni sports have a softer initial compression but have a steeper compression valving curve. Then the bilstein sports have too soft of a rebound which causes you to go bouncing up and down on stiff springs.

3. You can get your bilstein's revalved to match your spring rates, but the initial compression will still be rougher and not ride as well as koni's. What you will notice is they'll stiffen up the rebound so your ride isn't so bouncy with stiff springs.

4. Get Koni's if you can afford it. They're a better shock/strut for your application.

To explain everything I just said, and take note, Bilstein HD and sport have the same exact valving, just different length shock bodies. If you have trouble reading the graph, let me know and I'll explain it:

[volgapower]

send me the PM as well PLZ... i am willing to buy a pair of used (good condition) front billy sports