Installing Koni Sport Struts. Any useful advice?

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TrentS13
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Jul 21, 2004 10:03 pm
Car: socializing

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On shox.com, there is are koni yellow's for my 89 240sx. Anything I should know before installing those struts? Things such as something about sleeves for the front struts, issue's installing the struts because they are Koni's and such. This will make my installation of my struts less of a headache. My mechanic friend and I will install it just to let you all know.


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Ligouri Rd
Posts: 449
Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2002 9:02 am
Car: '96 Nissan 240SX

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You and your mechanic friend are gonna have fun. I'm not bashin Koni, they are great handling struts, but I just want to warn you about the level of work to install them.

Basically you have to drain the old struts of oil, cut off the top of the strut body, and pull out all of the guts. The Koni's then slip inside of the origonal strut bodies (well after a little grinding of some interior welds). You are looking at about 2 hours to do each front strut.

The rears are easy in comparison they are just bolt on. But to adjust the rear Koni's you have to fully compress the shock shaft and turn to set the valving. You can only do this when it is completely off the car and disassembled from the spring. You can however send the rears to Koni and have them modified to be externally adjustable by a knob on the top of the strut. I plan on doing that just in case my Kyb rears wear out.

TrentS13
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Jul 21, 2004 10:03 pm
Car: socializing

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The thing about grinding and welding for the front struts, my car came with some type of no name coilover in the front. The coilover can not be adjusted because the owner before me installed them, but can't adjust it because he said something about cutting the strut body. Will this cause any problems because of missing pieces?

I am going for handling first before I go to engine swapping. My engine is stil in great condition w only 101,000 miles on it so far. I have a $1,000 spending limit for my suspension tune-up.

By the way, I was deciding Koni's because I heard they are a great quality brand to choose. Are the KYB AGX's great quality also? Sorry about adding all of this additional information, but what is a great quality coilover & damper set to get? Also if anyone knows, will that brand of coilover's be a simple bolt-on?Thanks for the information about the Koni's.

Meantime
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Joined: Thu May 08, 2003 3:51 am

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I would say Koni's are better quality, but depending on the spring you're running with, AGX may be an easier and equally effective shock to install.

If you're planning on running a high rate or a very low spring I'd probably go with Koni's over AGX.

TrentS13
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Jul 21, 2004 10:03 pm
Car: socializing

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Hey, are the installation of KYB AGX easy to install? (such as remove old struts and bolt them on w/out grinding anything). How long have you guys with KYB AGX's have it installed in your cars? How long do they last before you notice that they are starting to go?

Meantime
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Joined: Thu May 08, 2003 3:51 am

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They're bolt-out, bolt-in...no modifications necessary.

I've had the AGX for about 4 months now. I don't notice any problems yet - I'm running a spring that is not recommended for use by KYB (5.0/4.2kg rates) so I can't really comment on their longevity, again it depends on the spring you're running. If you have something like an Eibach Pro-kit or Tien S-tech, they should last as long as OEM shocks. If you have a low spring like Sportlines or a hard spring like RS*R's, they'll likely have a shorter life span.

TrentS13
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Jul 21, 2004 10:03 pm
Car: socializing

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Ah, thanks for the info about the spring rates. I will keep that in mind for future references.

I have been doing some research on the best prices for suspension and struts. So far, it is a coin flip on buying the eibach pro kit and KYB AGX (sorry, Koni's seem like an overkill for just a daily driver at the moment) from either Ebay or Shox.com.

What do you think about the two? Or perhaps, there is a better place to get it from.

LiU
Posts: 683
Joined: Tue Aug 06, 2002 4:11 pm
Car: Cars

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prokit + agx = true and tested street suspension set up,not hardcore, decent drop, good ride quality ;]if you want to handle better there are better springs,suspension techniques, rsr, tanabe ;] there's a list of springs and their info under the tire/wheel/suspension forum FAQ


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