KONI Sports shocks for the AE86...

[jondee86]

I have recently picked up some 8641-1146S top adjustable AE92 inserts
for the front, and now I am looking for some short stroke Koni shocks for
the rear. Currently I have the Camaro AGX and they bolted right in with no
modifications, but I read that the Koni 8041-1186S from a 99 Mustang
might be a better choice than Camaro ?

My present spring rates are 3.0 front and 2.8 kg/mm rear.

So the question I'm asking is, has anyone actually used the 8041-1186S
Mustang shocks on their car ?

Impressions welcome, and/or recommendations on any other Koni Sports
short strokes that have been proven to fit and work on an AE86.

Cheers... jondee86

PS: I have already read 843 threads about shocks for the AE86, so I am well
aware that: HTS / TRD / KYB / Bilstein / Tokico / random shocks you found
in a dumpster, or any kind of home made or factory coilover is awesome and
far superior to Koni regardless of road conditions, weather or whatever I am
thinking of doing with the car

[chohdog]

As I'm sure that you're already aware, anybody that told you that those other brands are better than Koni are retarded.

Anyways, I didn't use a Koni but used a Tokico Illumina in the rear of my AE86 (still mustang, but I used one from a Fox body). It was shorter than the Camaro shock, but the eye bushing had to be replaced with a smaller one. Other than that they fit just fine.

[assassin10000]

There were 1 or 2 guys in canada that did iirc. They said they were good but possibly too soft for more than a 4-5k spring rate.

Also iirc van86 ran them on his autox car with anywhere from 300lb-600lb springs.

That's an overgeneralization though. They could be perfect up to 8k. As it was put to me by koni, there are too many variables to give a shock a rate range without taking them into all into account. Have to experience them to know.

Andrew

[jondee86]

Thanks Andrew. Since I'm running 3 kg/mm springs at the moment, and probably
won't ever go higher than 4 kg/mm, that sounds good. I was more concerned that
they might be a too stiff for my car.

Cheers... jondee86

[oldeskewltoy]

have you looked at 1st Gen RX7(SA12?) rear shocks? From memory their specs are almost identical to the Corolla rears....

[jondee86]

The biggest problem with trying to crossover shocks is the extreme reluctance of the
manufacturers to make dimensions and valving rates available. I've had an AE86 that
was fitted with a Koni suspension kit... springs and inserts/shocks selected and supplied
boxed by Koni. The springs were lower and slightly stiffer than stock, and I believe that
the inserts and shocks were the standard Koni yellows for the AE86, but with the spears
factory shortened to give a better margin on the lower ride height.

That kit worked great !!!! If it was still available I would have bought another one.

So, now that I have got hold of the AE92 top adjustable front inserts, I am looking to
match them up with some top adjustable rears. I have no doubt that if I was able to get
hold of a Koni catalog with rates and dimensions, I could find any number of "close enough"
shocks... but I can't. Which leaves me looking for a tried and proven selection, and right
now that is looking to be the Mustang shock.

Bonus from using the Koni's is that if I decide to up the spring rate up to 5/4kg/mm or
similar, the shocks will be able to handle it with a turn of the knob

Cheers... jondee86

[gotzoom?]

jondee,

I've been doing quite a bit of rear shock testing and tuning over the last year and my conclusion is that you should not use a fox body shock under any circumstances. Even craptastic oem replacement Mustang or Camaro road shocks are way overdampened for our application. I'm currently running QA1 Promastar single adjustable rears (fox body shocks) and only 0-3 of the available 12 clicks are usable on the car, with 3 being marginal. The only Koni shock that I have found that is close to what we need both in damping characteristics and in size are NA or NB Miata front shocks. The NB shock shafts are more suitable for our application, but you can make the NA ones work if you only run one bushing on the upper mount (inside wheel well side). The biggest problem with them is that you will need to make your own lower bushing. The rings that they use are too large for any standard bushing to fit, unfortunately. Making poly bushings is pretty easy, though. Dimensionally, the Koni 60-1159 is a perfect fit for 5-6kg/mm TRD springs. They are short enough to keep the springs in place, but long enough to not introduce preload. The shaft threads, unfortunately are the shorter NA design. Given your springs softer rates and presumed longer length, you might look at the normal 8041-1251, since the body is 1 inch longer. Koni has tech sheets with all of the external dimensions available if you call their customer service line. I had a bunch emailed to me from Koni USA.

[jondee86]

Gotzoom... thank you !!! I am going down the Koni path simply because I got
the front inserts at a very good price, and because I have had good experience with
Koni's in the past. Top adjustment would be nice, but not essential. So now I shall see
if the local Koni guy can do me the standard AE86 80-2347SP shock with a shortened
spear. I'm sure that will work just fine with 2.8kg/mm rear springs. Thanks again

Cheers... jondee86

[gotzoom?]

Koni Motorsports here in the US partners with a race shop to do that type of modification. Koni USA only does standard rebuilds. Hopefully you have the same type of service available where you are too. Good luck!