Koni Yellows

[evil_O]

As some of you may know... I turmoiled over what to do with my suspension. Well I made the decision today.

I purchased the Koni Yellows from TireRack. They should be here around Monday of next week. I am hoping they will be in the car by the end of that same week.

In speaking with Koni they suggested the following setting:
3/4 to one full turn from full soft for both front and rears

I spoke with another tuner and they recommended the following:
Mildly aggressive - 50% front and 60% rear
Good DD - 20-30% front and 25-40% rear

With that said, I am not sure what I am going to do At the moment I am leaning towards one full turn in front and rear. I like a bit more of an aggressive setup and I don't think it can be that uncomfortable at that setting... but that is at the moment and that thought could change.

Keep in mind the Konis will be paired with H&R Sport Springs. I love the height so I am hoping this will settle the ride up a bit more.

There may be a wide body RS4 in my area that will be willing to give me a ride. He has the same setup and loves it. At any rate I will let you know more in the next couple of weeks.

Please feel free to add any suggestions or thoughts. No COs for now... but feel free to suggest settings for the Konis. Especially if you have had experience (any) with them.

[FastB7S4]

Let me know what you go with and how the ride is. I just ordered mine today and hope to have them on in 2 weeks. I'm thinking I might only do quarter turn since I want a more comfortable ride and just slightly stiffer than stock.

[ZEUSROTTY]

I have them and I love them... I have mine two turns out all around... Rough ride day to day but they do soften up a little... That or Im just getting used to it. But they are excellent on the track.

[likewater]

I have them along with the H&R's and love the way the car drives. I believe mine are 50% front and rear. Just took the car on a canyon run last weekend for the first time with this set up and it seemed to do real well.

[evil_O]

Wow... I was starting to wonder if anyone was running this setup. I was really hoping to get some input on settings... and now that I have a little bit more, I am leaning towards one full turn... or right around 50% for all four (I guess there is anywhere from 2 to 2.5 full turns from soft).

^^Fast... not sure, but I think a quarter turn might be too soft. Just my opinion. Koni stated they felt the ideal setting was 3/4 turn from soft. I want just a tad more aggressive setting hence my one full turn. Give me a chance to get them set and on and I will give you my driving impressions. Those will be from high speed bumps to the behavior of the car while creeping forward slowly and hitting the brakes (right now she bounces and I am hoping this will eliminate that).

[FastB7S4]

Sounds good. I placed an order last night from puremotorsports.com not realizing that they dropped shipped (product is shipped directly from manufacturer). I was told by another vendor that Koni is out of stock on these. I called Koni and they verified that the front shocks are on back order for 4-6 weeks, but rears were in stock. I did notice that Tire Rack had like 1 set left in stock at their Indiana warehouse so I quick cancelled my order for the fronts and placed an order on Tire Rack (I think I bought the last set because when I checked again they were no longer in stock, whewww!).

Anyway, I should have everthing next week, springs and shocks, and have them installed the following week. Hopefully you'll have yours on and you can guide me in the right direction as to what to set them as.

[darbyfam]

The adjustment on Koni Sports is for rebound only (how fast the shock returns from an extension), not compression (how fast it compresses). Your not going to see allot of change in ride quality from the adjustment on the Konis. Most of your "harshness" will come from the spring rates you chose. "Off the shelf" spring kits tend to be much more "soft" than what you would see on coilovers or custom setups. My Ohlins use 700/1100 lb springs - while TIENs springs are in the 200/400 lb neighborhood.

Bottom line, you will see improved performance from the Koni and I don't think the ride will be too harsh regardless of the rebound setting.

[evil_O]

Sounds good. I placed an order last night from puremotorsports.com not realizing that they dropped shipped (product is shipped directly from manufacturer). I was told by another vendor that Koni is out of stock on these. I called Koni and they verified that the front shocks are on back order for 4-6 weeks, but rears were in stock. I did notice that Tire Rack had like 1 set left in stock at their Indiana warehouse so I quick cancelled my order for the fronts and placed an order on Tire Rack (I think I bought the last set because when I checked again they were no longer in stock, whewww!).

Anyway, I should have everthing next week, springs and shocks, and have them installed the following week. Hopefully you'll have yours on and you can guide me in the right direction as to what to set them as.

Yea.. I got mine from TR too. Some of the last ones left.

I will let you know what I find out/think once they are in.

[evil_O]

The adjustment on Koni Sports is for rebound only (how fast the shock returns from an extension), not compression (how fast it compresses). Your not going to see allot of change in ride quality from the adjustment on the Konis. Most of your "harshness" will come from the spring rates you chose. "Off the shelf" spring kits tend to be much more "soft" than what you would see on coilovers or custom setups. My Ohlins use 700/1100 lb springs - while TIENs springs are in the 200/400 lb neighborhood.

Bottom line, you will see improved performance from the Koni and I don't think the ride will be too harsh regardless of the rebound setting.

Right now I don't think my ride is harsh at all. The one thing I don't like is the bouncing caused by the stock sport shock not being matched at all to the spring rate.

[likewater]

I was told by another vendor that Koni is out of stock on these. I called Koni and they verified that the front shocks are on back order for 4-6 weeks, but rears were in stock. I did notice that Tire Rack had like 1 set left in stock at their Indiana warehouse so I quick cancelled my order for the fronts and placed an order on Tire Rack (I think I bought the last set because when I checked again they were no longer in stock, whewww!).

Anyway, I should have everthing next week, springs and shocks, and have them installed the following week. Hopefully you'll have yours on and you can guide me in the right direction as to what to set them as.

If I remember correctly (not sure if this applies to the B7) the rears are more readily available because they are the same shock that's used on the A4. The fronts are specific to the S. I had to wait a little while to get the fronts as well.

[FastB7S4]

If I remember correctly (not sure if this applies to the B7) the rears are more readily available because they are the same shock that's used on the A4. The fronts are specific to the S. I had to wait a little while to get the fronts as well.

Ahh...that makes sense, different front shock for the heaver S front. I'm sure the B6 is the same as the B7. The rears are definitely readily available everywhere. Luckily, I was able to snag one of the last, if not the last set of fronts that Tire Rack had in stock. They've already shipped and I should get them Monday or Tuesday next week. I've already made an appointment to get everything installed next Friday. Just waiting on evil_o's imput as to what settings to use. I'm thinking 40% front, 50% rear for a slightly aggressive daily driver.

[FastB7S4]

On a side note, evil, your sig says "bone stock". Are you forgetting all those nice mods your car came with?

[evil_O]

On a side note, evil, your sig says "bone stock". Are you forgetting all those nice mods your car came with?

LOL.. nah... that is the plate I am thinking about getting bonstk to be exact

As far as install goes I am getting to it just a day before you. I will get you as much input as I can regarding ride quality and settings.

[evil_O]

Well they came in yesterday and they were installed today. I just got back from about an hour drive. I just had to stop and come home for a bit (I was in training all day) and get situated.

FastB7S4^^
All I can say is what a HUGE A$$ difference in the way the car rides and handles now. I cannot make a comparison to stock as my car was not set up as stock from my initial purchase. However, I am utterly thrilled with the new set up.

I spent about 2 hours just dicking around with the settings on the shocks last night. So much so my hand hurts from compressing them and readjusting em so much. I am kind of anal/obsessive about those kind of things. I am still grateful I did not get COs for that exact reason - I would still be messing around with them!!

At any rate, I set ALL four to one full turn from soft. I could not be happier. The ride is firm yet compliant and the best part....... I have no more bouncy bouncy!!! The car settles itself nicely going over spots that made me kind of kick up out of my seat.

I went into an area here in Colorado called Highlands Ranch. TONS of expansion joints. Prior to the Konis I would get a weird undulation in the car. You could tell the shocks just were not matched with the spring rates at all. The ride would just sort of beat you up until you got back onto asphalt. Not so now. While you still feel the road, she glides right over these expansion joints.

FastB7S4... I would recommend this setting for you. Quite honestly I think a half turn would be too soft... but that is just me. Even my fiance got in the car and liked it. She noticed a big difference in the ride quality and she is NOT a car person.

At highway speeds she is flat. Hard lange change at 75MPH planted me in the next lane with no noticeable body roll. Next summer I will look into sways and see what kind of affect that will have on this setup.

All and all... I am also very please with the install and the cost. Here is what I had done for a grand total of $309.09

• Oil change (I provided the oil and filter)
• Shock install (set at my settings prior to dropping them off)
• 4 Wheel alignment

I would have done the oil change myself but with my situation right now it was easier to have them do it for $20. Just the disposal of the oil is worth that!!

If anyone is in the area and wants to know more about the shop I used, PM me and I will let you know. Great guys and excellent prices!

Just as an FYI:

-With the exception of Camber, everything in the front (to include Cross camber, Cross caster, Cross SAI, Total Toe, and cross turn diff) was dialed in. The specified range for front camber on the S is -1.03 degress to -.04 degrees. My front left is currently sitting at -1.7 and front right is -1.5. Both just outside the range.

Rear camber and toe (to include Cross camber, Total Toe, Thrust angle, and axle offset) is spot on.

I will be rotating every 5K miles so really I am not all that worried about it. At any rate, the front camber cannot be adjusted. It can be evenly balanced out within the specification/tolerance range by moving the subframe (which was done in my case).

Sorry this is so long winded but I want to give as much initial info as I can to FastB7S4 as I know his install is coming up quick. This is just an hour impression. As things move along I will see if I can add more later. I have a G2G tomorrow and I will get my other car buddies input as well.

[FastB7S4]

Wow, great write-up. I appreciate your input. I'll probably do one full turn as you recommend. That sounds like the type of ride I am looking for. I'm excited to get mine installed now. I got my front shocks today, the springs should be here tomorrow, the dealer ordered the rear shocks for me (don't ask why I didn't get the front and rears together, long story). Anyway, I'll be sure to tell them to set it at one full turn from soft.

I'm surprised you did an alignment right away. I was thinking of waiting a week or two for the suspension to settle a bit. At any rate, you got a great price for all that work considering alignment usually runs about $100.

Thanks again. This helps a lot.

[evil_O]

Wow, great write-up. I appreciate your input. I'll probably do one full turn as you recommend. That sounds like the type of ride I am looking for. I'm excited to get mine installed now. I got my front shocks today, the springs should be here tomorrow, the dealer ordered the rear shocks for me (don't ask why I didn't get the front and rears together, long story). Anyway, I'll be sure to tell them to set it at one full turn from soft.

You know, I would do the setting yourself just to make sure it is done right - unless of course they have installed these shocks before and know what they are doing. You have to compress the shock fully, feel it sort of click/snap into place... make sure you are on full soft (all the way to the left), mark the shock (I did it with a sharpie) and then turn. Play around with them a bit. You will figure it out and it is very easy. Ensures they are set right where you want em.

I'm surprised you did an alignment right away. I was thinking of waiting a week or two for the suspension to settle a bit. At any rate, you got a great price for all that work considering alignment usually runs about $100.
Thanks again. This helps a lot.

I don't think I really needed to wait. My springs (give ride height), have broken in and settled as far as I think they will. Those who I talked to said I would be fine to do it. Besides, the alignment is guaranteed for 30 days!!

[FastB7S4]

That's true, I forgot that your springs have already been on for a while.

[SpfldS4]

Just the info I was looking for!! Great write up, thanks.