OEM Boge, Koni and Blistein, what was the difference?

[bigrubberjeep]

Why so many variations form the factory?

Does anyone have specs on the differences or opinions between the 3 brands from back in 1985?

[Wil Ferch]

No company wants to "lock-in" to ONE supplier....what if they ( the supplier) goes belly up or has a factory fire or equipment problems during the model year ??

Generally accepted that Boge is good OEM quality but Bilstein and Koni are steps-above. Bilsteins are compliant with control and Koni's are "bit" more harsh but can generally be "tuned" for rebound damping. If your car was hydraulic Boge from the start....any replacement OTHER THAN certain Koni's ( low pressure gas front...hydraulic rear)...will likely raise your car another 1/2" or so. Requires lowering and maybe re-indexing of torsion bars....doable... but a pain.

Wil

[dd74]

BRJ - I can tell you that I have felt a huge difference between Boge and Bilstein struts, plus the fact the Boge had Bilstein HD shock inserts and the Bilstein struts that replaced the Boge have Sport shocks. The control and responsiveness is much better. The difference between my Bilstein struts and others was the PO of these struts had them reinforced and decambered, so I'm running a bit more front negative camber than I think one can get out of standard Bilstein struts. Nonetheless, those who say in the suspension world to deal with struts before torsion bars and anything else suspension related (except for a good alignment/corner balance) are dead on. I truly don't think I'll need new torsion bars for a while after installing this strut/shock combination.

[450knotOffice]

What do you mean by "re-indexing" the front t-bars? I thought only the rears were indexed. Are you talking about removing the cap on the rear of the t-bar that allows the adjustment to be made and re-positioning it?

[RickM]

Originally posted by Wil Ferch
If your car was hydraulic Boge from the start....any replacement OTHER THAN certain Koni's ( low pressure gas front...hydraulic rear)...will likely raise your car another 1/2" or so. Requires lowering and maybe re-indexing of torsion bars....doable... but a pain.

Wil

This stinks! My ride height is perfect now.

[Wil Ferch]

I meant to focus on the rears when I said reindexing...that the rears are a pain to do if required.

The fronts are more easily adjusted without the need for re-indexing...but even if you find that to be the case....it's still much easier for the front.

Rick...your concern mirrors my own when the time came for shocks.. I had hydraulic Boges. Went with low pressure gas Koni ( red) front and an obscure part number .... yellow/sport ...... hydraulic Koni rear. BOTH have rebound damping adjustment available from a removable top-plastic knob ( unlike gas Koni rear which demands you to unbolt one end). Also...this rear shock body is 2" shorter than stock so if ever I go lower...or firmer...I'm all set !

- Wil

EDIT. Look what I say, here---> Front Koni reds/Rear Koni Yellows?