Konis vs. Bilsteins - Why would you choose one over the other?

[Alfred1]

Are Konis more suitable for the track than the Bilsteins? Are they any better than the Bilsteins on the street?

[Acox914]

front or rear?

konis on front.
billsteins in the rear.... koni reare require a threaded collar to get the car out of pre runner mode.....

billsteins can adjsut ride height just fine....

[jhadler]

For what use? Track or street?

For street? I'd probably go with the B's. But for track, I'd take Koni. Why? Koni's are adjustable ( or at least the adjustable sport models are ), and when you're trying to get every tenth of a second out of the car, the ajustability of the Koni is key.

-Josh2

[mattr_914]

For track I'd go with a good set of Ohlins. $3k per corner

[jhadler]

Well, as long as we're spending more on the shocks than most of us spent buying our cars, you could also get a set of custom built Moton's or Penske's... $$$$

The point is, for the street, shocks like the Bilstien are great. For the track, adjustability is worth the premium. Koni's just happen to get you there the cheapest. Are the Konis superior to shocks like the Ohlin, Moton, or Penske? No, not really. But they cost around 1/10th or even less...

-Josh2

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Koni Gas Sport rear shocks have a three-position lower spring perch. It's a collar that slips over the shock, but when I bought mine (lo these many years ago) they did come with the collar.

I am told that Koni Gas Sport shocks on their softest setting are softer than the Bilstiens. On their hardest setting they are harder. Some people really like the Bilstien's ride/handling compromise, while others like the Konis. I like the adjustability of four Konis--even though I haven't actually adjusted them in a long time.

--DD

[Plays with cars]

As stated in previous posts, "it depends on what you are doing". I've been running my car in the SCCA stock autocross class where there are very few changes that can be made to the suspension to gain adjustability. Tire pressures and Koni sport shocks are what I use to balance the car. They're subtle, but you can loosen or tighten the front or rear by using them. W/o the Konis a significant amout of adjustability would be removed from the setup allowed in my class.

[schosh]

Of course if money were no object you may wish to try this suspension...


New Suspension

[tat2dphreak]

$$$ is always an object in these decisions, fact is, Koni will cost about $200+ more for a set than bilsteins... is Koni $200 better for a street car? I dunno... is $200-300 enough to argue about for you? it is for me... does the fact that the Koni's are pretty much a lifetime replacement worth the $200 difference... maybe, if you have the extra dough... otherwise that $200 can be used on something else, and then, maybe next time the price difference will seem less of a factor...

[mattr_914]

The initial post said "track", so I gave my opinion on the track dampers. Bilstein makes expensive dampers too (more then Ohlin)... if he wanted a specific answer, he should have given specific information. Do you mean Koni reds versus Bilstein sports?