Shock recomdations

[KCinBR]

I have a 88 Carerra with Koni adjustable sport shock up front and regular Boge shocks rear. I ended up with this combo because I got a fairly good price on both sets.

The car does not handle like I think it sould. And I have the Koni's set at the softest setting.

If I choose to leave the Koni's on the front what should I put on the back. I'm thinking Bilsten HD sports.

I dont have the money to replace both sets especially since both are nearly new probly 6 months old.

The car is driven only on the street, no tracks. Also the car has entirely stock suspension.

Thanks................KC

[IROC]

For street driving only on an otherwise stock suspension, I would remove and sell the front Koni sports and replace them with Boges to match the rear. The Koni sports are overkill and not matched well to the stock springs, IMHO. The Boges aren't bad shocks, really.

Mike

[crashmy911]

I have the koni's in the rear. i'm going to put the koni's on the front also which i think will even everything out. do you have the stock torsion bars. i have bigger bars to go in but I think i'm going to try it with just the koni's on and see how stiff it is. Its a tight ride with just the koni's.

[bigrubberjeep]

Boge's all around are good shocks if you like a "smooth" ride.

[gabenheimer]

The Koni Sport shocks (Yellow) are generally regarded as much too stiff for the street. I have Koni Specials (Red) front and back on my '86 Targa and they work very well. If you are only going to replace one set of shocks, definitely get rid of the Koni sports. If you search this forum, I believe most Pelicans prefer Bilstein shocks.

While you are under the car, be sure to check the rear sway bar mounts. Targas have a reputation for breaking the mounts where they attach to the body. Broken mounts will cause excessive body roll and result in poor handling.

Randy

[KCPSG]

I have the Koni (yellow) sports front and rear adjustables......and I love how the car drives/rides. The car is stiffer than it was before but also much more responsive, the new shocks have taken out much of the body roll I had before. @ 1st I would say you should get the rear Koni adjustables to match the set, but if you feel that it is too "stiff" now, you might be better going back to something like a Boge HD/sport combo like most on here do.

[KCinBR]

First of all thanks for the input from all who responded.

Second, I checked a little closer and discovered that I have the "Red" Koni front struts inserts and according to the koni website these are the "special" (#8641-1039)series and are a little less sport like. So I'll leave these on the front and replace the back with the same type Koni specials for the rear. This way I'll have a matching set which is what I need/want anyway.

I had been noticing that the rear of the car would roll much more than the front and it kinda handled like a pickup truck, kinda sorta.

Any suggestions on whether I should adjust these new rear Koni's a little stiffer than the fronts or set them all the same?

Main use of this car( as far as wanting correct handling is concerned) will be busting these Carolina mountain roads.....and OH YES we do have some very challenging roads here in western South Carolina, and North Carolina......and even Northern Georgia.

KC............

[Nine9six]

"While you are under the car, be sure to check the rear sway bar mounts. Targas have a reputation for breaking the mounts where they attach to the body. Broken mounts will cause excessive body roll and result in poor handling."

By what I understand, this is not only typical for targa's. Have this checked if you feel you have to much rear end body roll.

[JonT]

I think you should sell your current shock set and purchase a set of Bilstein sports all the way around and get a full corner balance and alignment. If shocks are all you want to replace now, then this is all you should do. Hard to diagnose your problem without more detail on how your car is handling and how you think it should handlle. Just replacing the shocks may not make your car handle up to your expectations. Tell us your budget and we can help further.

[Wil Ferch]

Look what I say in this post and the embedded post within.....

Shock Confusion

- Wil

[anthony]

I have Koni reds all the way around. I set the rears to 1 turn (out of 2.5 turns of adjustment). I usually run the fronts at 1/2 turn towards stiff.

The car rides well. The greatest improvement in my cars ride came from raising it to Euro ride height. The DAPO slammed the front height adjusters as low as they would go. The car had too much rake front to back and there was little suspension travel in the front. Fortunately he didn't put his hands on the rear suspension so it was easy to undo his handywork with little effort.

[74goldtarga]

Agree, Koni Reds on all 4 corners and very pleased with ride and balance. Can someone say what the difference between Koni and Bilstein is in terms of damping or quality?

[gabenheimer]

Keep in mind that the shocks are not there to control body roll. The shocks only dampen the spring movement as the suspension travels up and down. Body roll is managed by the spring stiffness and anti-roll bars. If your car has more roll than you would like there are a few things you can do. First make sure that a sway bar is installed and mounted properly. Second, search this board for info on the various suspension upgrades available. Third, figure out how much you want to spend and how harsh you want the ride. My $.02.

Randy

[KCinBR]

I guess I need to clarify my description of the way my car handles, it is by no means "like a pick up truck" that's just a southern-ism.

What I'm trying to say is that the front and rear have a different feel in a curve, the front seems much more planted to the road and the back feels softer or a little mushy (this is the body roll that I described).

My car has the sway bars in tact, I've been under the car many times and haven't noticed anything broken or having the appearance of excessive wear, but now I'll take a much closer look at the suspension parts soon.

I am probably going with a matching set of rear Koni's (the red ones), I know the Bilsteins come highly recommended and I'm not doubting those who have said so. But to replace all 4 would mean much more $$$ and then I'd have to sell the old shocks for what ever I could get out of them.


Thanks yall......................KC