Koni rear shocks on early 944 question

[p-talk]

So I finally installed my Konis and 18mm bar on the rear of Mathilda this weekend. Everything went pretty smooth, except the shocks keep knocking. I put some washers/spacers on the bottom bolts to keep them from moving around, but they still knock a little.

It sounds like the bolts aren't quite big enough for the bore of the Koni's mount holes. I haven't had time to disassemble it (again) to measure yet, but anyone run into this issue before?

BTW, the old shocks were OEM Sachs/Boge units, approximately 6 years of age.

[Rasta Monsta]

Hmm, maybe you got late shocks (14mm lower holes/aluminum arms) instead of early (12mm/steel)?

[p-talk]

Hmm, I didn't even think of that. Is there any reason I shouldn't use them on my early car? Any reason they might bind or something? I have no problem getting the larger hardware to make them fit it they'll work OK.

Originally Posted by Rasta Monsta

Hmm, maybe you got late shocks (14mm lower holes/aluminum arms) instead of early (12mm/steel)?

[Rasta Monsta]

No reason not to use them if you can get them secured. I have heard of people sleeving the lower hole in the shock to take up the slack. . .guess you could also hog out the mounting holes.

[p-talk]

Hmm good idea, I could sleeve the lower hole on the shock and then not have to worry about boring out the mounting holes. Do you know if the upper hardware is larger too, or just the lower bolts that are a different size?

Originally Posted by Rasta Monsta

No reason not to use them if you can get them secured. I have heard of people sleeving the lower hole in the shock to take up the slack. . .guess you could also hog out the mounting holes.

[944Spec_bound]

I put late Koni's on my early car once by adding a nylon sleeve to make it fit the bottom mount.
Not sure if it was related to the adapting a late shock to early car, but the car instantly had pretty bad oversteer, no matter where I had them adjusted. It wanted to drift anytime I cornered hard and I spun it twice in the same day on the track. It totally screwed up the handling. I put correct new shocks on it and it was normally balanced again.

[p-talk]

Hmm, what was the rest of your suspension like? (sway bar sizes, front strut type, wheel width, etc) This is all part of my turbo suspension upgrade - 25.5 front bar, 18mm rear bar, Fuchs 16x7 front, 16x8 rear.

Originally Posted by 944Spec_bound

I put late Koni's on my early car once by adding a nylon sleeve to make it fit the bottom mount.
Not sure if it was related to the adapting a late shock to early car, but the car instantly had pretty bad oversteer, no matter where I had them adjusted. It wanted to drift anytime I cornered hard and I spun it twice in the same day on the track. It totally screwed up the handling. I put correct new shocks on it and it was normally balanced again.

[944Spec_bound]

At the time I had Turbo sways 25.5F / 18R, early Koni front struts on medium, later model rear Konis, stock springs and t-bars, running 7" & 8" x 15 Fuchs with Toyo RA-1 tires.
I pulled all the Koni's and went to Bilstein HD's all around, problem went away. Though I was pretty gunshy for a while going hot into corners. Did some auto-x to get the feel of it again.

[p-talk]

Hmm, I'm wondering if the late shocks are substantially shorter than the early ones. I did notice they were shorter than the Sachs units I took off, but didn't think much about it (and didn't measure how much different). Or maybe they bottom out sooner? They do have those foam inserts inside the sleeve, you wouldn't hear them bottom necessarily.

Originally Posted by 944Spec_bound

At the time I had Turbo sways 25.5F / 18R, early Koni front struts on medium, later model rear Konis, stock springs and t-bars, running 7" & 8" x 15 Fuchs with Toyo RA-1 tires.
I pulled all the Koni's and went to Bilstein HD's all around, problem went away. Though I was pretty gunshy for a while going hot into corners. Did some auto-x to get the feel of it again.

[jcommin]

I didn't experience the same problem. I have an early car and I put adjustable Koni's shocks with no issue at all. I also replaced the stock sway bar with one from a 951. That went on without issue too.

Sure you got the right shocks?

[krystar]

ditto. 83 here and no issues.

u got the 26-1209 Sport for rears right?

[p-talk]

Poked my head under the car last night to pull the part number, but I wasn't able to read it. Hoping to put her on ramps tonight so I can pull the number, but I'm pretty sure at this point I DON'T have the right shocks, that I got late rear Konis. I'll post what I find . . .

Originally Posted by jcommin

I didn't experience the same problem. I have an early car and I put adjustable Koni's shocks with no issue at all. I also replaced the stock sway bar with one from a 951. That went on without issue too.

Sure you got the right shocks?

[p-talk]

A quick update on this topic:

Thanks 944Spec_bound - I had the exact same oversteer problem once I got the late Konis installed on my early car. A quick drive around the block found MAJOR oversteer that I did not experience with the stock Boge/Sachs units. My theory is that they don't have enough travel for the early geometry, and hit the stops on corners (possibly at full extension and full compression). There's a reason Koni sells different shocks for early vs. late cars!

I installed a new set of early Konis and all is well. Here's my rear suspension upgrade thread: My rear suspension upgrades

Anyone want to buy a nice clean used pair of late Koni sports? (early car owners may NOT apply ).

Originally Posted by 944Spec_bound

I put late Koni's on my early car once by adding a nylon sleeve to make it fit the bottom mount.
Not sure if it was related to the adapting a late shock to early car, but the car instantly had pretty bad oversteer, no matter where I had them adjusted. It wanted to drift anytime I cornered hard and I spun it twice in the same day on the track. It totally screwed up the handling. I put correct new shocks on it and it was normally balanced again.

[944Spec_bound]

No problem. That's what this forum is for...sharing info.
Just wish I'd found out about it sooner. If you think yours was oversteering bad going around your block, my first spinout in Swurvenwagen was in a fairly slow corner at Thunderhill Raceway, thought it was just my driving so I did another session and then had an estimated 75 mph snap oversteer and almost rolled my car! People said my passenger wheels came up about a foot or more when I slid into the soft the dirt, and I felt it slam back down when it stopped sliding. I had the adrenaline shakes half the way home and I was picking dirt clods and little rocks out of it for weeks.

[p-talk]

Holy crap!!! Glad you didn't get hurt, and even managed to save the car. Thanks again for sharing your experience. Hopefully people can find this post while searching for shocks or struts and not make the same mistake we did.

Originally Posted by 944Spec_bound

No problem. That's what this forum is for...sharing info.
Just wish I'd found out about it sooner. If you think yours was oversteering bad going around your block, my first spinout in Swurvenwagen was in a fairly slow corner at Thunderhill Raceway, thought it was just my driving so I did another session and then had an estimated 75 mph snap oversteer and almost rolled my car! People said my passenger wheels came up about a foot or more when I slid into the soft the dirt, and I felt it slam back down when it stopped sliding. I had the adrenaline shakes half the way home and I was picking dirt clods and little rocks out of it for weeks.

[Grandad#3]

Hi p-talk, What is the number stamped on the rear shocks? What are you wanting for them?

Cheers,
Larry

[p-talk]

I forgot to get the numbers off them, but here's a pic:



I'll pull the numbers tonight and post them.

I'd like to get $125 plus shipping. Shipping weight is 10lbs, so shipping shouldn't be too bad.

Originally Posted by Grandad#3

Hi p-talk, What is the number stamped on the rear shocks? What are you wanting for them?

Cheers,
Larry

[p-talk]

Stamped on the shocks - 8040 1035 SPORT.

Originally Posted by Grandad#3

Hi p-talk, What is the number stamped on the rear shocks? What are you wanting for them?

Cheers,
Larry

[Grandad#3]

Hello p-talk, You have a PM.

Cheers,
Larry

[Grandad#3]

Hi p-talk, You should have your payment for the shocks. If you still have the instruction sheet to adjust the shocks please put it in the box.

Cheers,
Larry