Suspension Koni Or Bilstein

stykthyn · Oct 14, 2015

getting ready to redo the front suspension and in the purchase of coil overs I need to decide which brand strut I want to use. I've never had a bad experience with bilsteins but I've never had them on a fox either. I am also completely unfamiliar with koni. I currently have tokico struts/shocks and I am not overly impressed so I will not be buying those again.
The car will be a street car with probably no track time in its future.

MFE92 · Oct 14, 2015

In the case of your intended usage, I'd go Bilstein.

stykthyn · Oct 14, 2015

Just out of curiosity what's the difference?

FoxMustangLvr · Oct 15, 2015

stykthyn said:
getting ready to redo the front suspension and in the purchase of coil overs I need to decide which brand strut I want to use. I've never had a bad experience with bilsteins but I've never had them on a fox either. I am also completely unfamiliar with koni. I currently have tokico struts/shocks and I am not overly impressed so I will not be buying those again.
The car will be a street car with probably no track time in its future.

What coilover kit are you going with? I know MM c/o kits are designed specifically to work best with either of those struts your considering.

stykthyn · Oct 15, 2015

I am going with mm regardless of strut choice, but bilsteins are larger than most other brands and require a different kit. I can't stuff a koni/tokico strut in the bilstein coil over or vice versa

FoxMustangLvr · Oct 15, 2015

If Billy's are larger than other struts then will you have clearance issues with them?

2000xp8 · Oct 15, 2015

I've had both, I prefer koni red adjustables.
Fair price, you can physically tell the difference when you turn the knob.
They are also user friendly, pop the hood turn the knob, only 3 settings so they are perfect for the casual user.

Edit: after looking, now they look to be yellow sport adjustables (guess i'm getting old)
Like $250 for koni's at American muscle as opposed to $225 for the bilstien.

I'd spend the extra $50 (if that is indeed what it turns out to be).

I don't love or hate bilstein, I just don't think they are anything special, especially at $225 each.

MFE92 · Oct 15, 2015

stykthyn said:
Just out of curiosity what's the difference?

Bilsteins are great right out of the box. I like them both, and I personally run Koni's, but it's easy to get the adustments wrong on the Koni's and if you're not tracking it, there's no sense in screwing with them.

HotFox · Oct 15, 2015

Check out the strange adjustable. I think there more resonably priced and 10 way adjustable.

MFE92 · Oct 16, 2015

HotFox said:
Check out the strange adjustable. I think there more resonably priced and 10 way adjustable.

They rattle like hell with most c/c plates and they bug people who know better with their 10 "way" adjustable. They mean, their adjustments have 10 positions. Fools the ricers, so hey. "Way" refers to ranges of damping, e.g. Koni single-adjustables are adjustable for rebound only and double-adjustables are for rebound and compression (2-way). Super high-end adjust high-speed and low-speed shaft damping, which is more "ways".

A5literMan · Oct 16, 2015

MFE92 said:
They rattle like hell with most c/c plates and they bug people who know better with their 10 "way" adjustable. They mean, their adjustments have 10 positions. Fools the ricers, so hey. "Way" refers to ranges of damping, e.g. Koni single-adjustables are adjustable for rebound only and double-adjustables are for rebound and compression (2-way). Super high-end adjust high-speed and low-speed shaft damping, which is more "ways".

Mine don't rattle with the mm plates/coil over kit. And they are cheaper with nice street manners. Never ran the nice konis or bilsteins. Just stating my experiences.

Noobz347 · Oct 16, 2015

Adjustables for the average guy? Set once and never touch again.

Honestly, my car is driven 99% of the time on the street. It's been more then 2 years since I've been to a track, 3 since I've driven on one. I think that a set Gabriel or Monroe shocks are about as good as it gets under those conditions.

A good set of lowers, some nice new bushings in the uppers and a set of torque box reinforcements should about cover it. Spring to taste.

rbohm · Oct 16, 2015

while i have no practical experience with the bilsteins or konis as yet, from everything i have found either one is an excellent choice for most applications.

HotFox · Oct 18, 2015

MFE92 said:
They rattle like hell with most c/c plates and they bug people who know better with their 10 "way" adjustable. They mean, their adjustments have 10 positions. Fools the ricers, so hey. "Way" refers to ranges of damping, e.g. Koni single-adjustables are adjustable for rebound only and double-adjustables are for rebound and compression (2-way). Super high-end adjust high-speed and low-speed shaft damping, which is more "ways".

OK I guess I will take your word for it, you would know best with your road course experience. It makes sense you get what you pay for, im sure the Strange are not the best but seemed to be a improvement over my Lakewood 90/10. With 150lbs springs, MM caster plates they do not rattle. Plus for me its all black or silver on the front so it looks sharp if color matters, which did for me.

stykthyn · Oct 18, 2015

Noobz347 said:
Adjustables for the average guy? Set once and never touch again.

Honestly, my car is driven 99% of the time on the street. It's been more then 2 years since I've been to a track, 3 since I've driven on one. I think that a set Gabriel or Monroe shocks are about as good as it gets under those conditions.

A good set of lowers, some nice new bushings in the uppers and a set of torque box reinforcements should about cover it. Spring to taste.

I put Monroe's on a foxbody one time. They were the single worst damper I have ever seen. I wouldn't put them on a lawnmower.

Noobz347 · Oct 18, 2015

stykthyn said:
I put Monroe's on a foxbody one time. They were the single worst damper I have ever seen. I wouldn't put them on a lawnmower.

I'm not even sure what shocks are on mine now. I know that they are WAY past their due date and are scary to drive around on. The tired ass bushings probably have something to do with that too though.

I don't think I could bring my self to put a set of Bilsteins on it for driving around here. My wife lovingly refers to Bilsteins (for Mustangs specifically) as "Boob Jigglers".

stykthyn · Oct 18, 2015

Don't get me wrong, but I love anything that make boobs jiggle.

Noobz347 · Oct 18, 2015

Well ummm... There was this time I'd asked her to show me what she was talking about.

I was going to leave that part out of the story considering I have no pics to reference and we're in tech.

stykthyn · Oct 18, 2015

Noobz347 said:
Well ummm... There was this time I'd asked her to show me what she was talking about.

I was going to leave that part out of the story considering I have no pics to reference and we're in tech.

In all honesty the worn bushings/joints/springs in my front end could have a lot to do with my dislike for my tokicos. Just seems that they have worn an awful lot for a car that has spent the majority of its time tucked into the garage.

Noobz347 · Oct 18, 2015

stykthyn said:
In all honesty the worn bushings/joints/springs in my front end could have a lot to do with my dislike for my tokicos. Just seems that they have worn an awful lot for a car that has spent the majority of its time tucked into the garage.

That's going to be the description of mine if I don't do something soon. I at least need to take it out and run half the tank down. New gas, more Stabil, and should be good for the winter. Oil drain and refill for kicks.

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