PhoenixDownVII

As some of you know, I have my car on stock springs, stock rims (with bridgestone SO2's) but with Koni Adjustable Shocks.

I posted about keeping a smooth ride for the street even when lowering the car and going up to 17's and one complaint I had was about my car already being really rough.

I went out and adjusted my Koni's, and realised that yes, they were set on a really HARD setting (As they would call it "Gran Turismo" setting). I used the adjuster to move the pins fully Clockwise to get to the most "Soft" settings.

Nonetheless, I went on a short 5 mile trip (over train tracks, some rough roads to feel the difference) and didn't really notice much difference! It was kind of dissapointing, because I really wince when I hit bumps in my FD, it sounds loud and reacts harshly. And I was spoiled last week, on vacation, because we drove a lowered (like 2" drop!) Type R integra on stock rims/tires from NY to SC and it's improved smoothness over my stock ride height FD felt so great.

Does anyone here who uses these shocks find that such an adjustment (from hard to fully soft, or vice versa for arguements sake) takes a good 20 mile trip or so to actually "settle"? In other words, should I give the shocks more time to find their place?

I suppose I could let another owner ride in my car and tell me if it feels too rough for what I have, perhaps my springs are bad or getting weak?

DamonB

The adjustment is instant and takes no time to "settle".

I dial my car in all the time when at the track and the Konis always respond as they should (stock springs and stock ride height). I leave them full soft for street use and find them slightly firmer than the base model shocks but softer than the R1 shocks. Full hard is of course much, much firmer than any of the stock shocks.

rynberg

There is something severely wrong with either your shocks or your ride-quality detector if you cannot tell a HUGE difference between fully hard and fully soft on Konis. Are you sure you turned it to full soft on all four shocks?

PhoenixDownVII

LOL Yes. I went to all four and turned them Clockwise to their full "Soft" setting.

Perhaps its my "Ride-quality detector" (I.E. ME), which is why I'd love a ride in a stock suspension'd FD. I really think it could be my 60k stock springs if anything else.

What could be very misleading, is the small creaks/rattles that my 94 Rx7 has over a 2001 Acura, even though we both have 60k miles on our cars (he actually has 64k)....

But I tried going by feel alone, not just how "loud" everything was in reaction to bumps...hmmm....

PandazRx-7

iTrader: (18)

Uhhh...I think you turned them the wrong way. I'm pretty sure that clockwise is going hard not soft. And yes, it's very noticable from full hard to full soft.

PhoenixDownVII

I have like 4x copies of the Koni Manual and it says to turn it fully clockwise until you can't any longer to get to "City Driving" mode, as they outline to be the softest setting, whereas counter-clockwise is towards "Gran Turismo" setting.

I'll double-check, but I *did* triple check the manual before even going out to my Rx7, then had it with me as I did it.

hmmm

rynberg

The point is that you should have felt a HUGE difference, I mean it's not even close to subtle between the full soft and full hard ranges. I think you definitely need to compare with another FD owner. This is a very strange situation, because you would hardly expect all four shocks to have a problem...

DamonB

I'll double check my adjustor to be sure but PandazRx-7 is right. Turning fully clockwise = fully hard. Turning fully counter clockwise = fully soft.

WidefootRacing

iTrader: (3)

Hi Phoenix,
I used to have modified double-adjustable Koni's on my track car, yours are single
adjustable, which if I remember correctly controls rebound rate, not compression.
So you could expect the "bump" loads to stay the same, while rebound would be
faster (softer) on the "city" settings.

Perhaps you should check your tire pressure settings? Also, if I understand
correctly, you did change back to stock wheels/tires/springs, but you could also
look for a 16" tire that performs better in "comfort" ratings. You could also check
that the spring isolators were put back too, that the springs are sitting correctly,
and that you don't have really worn bushings that might be interfering with the
ride and handling.

Last, you may want to check the padding in the seats. Over time foam degrades,
and it may be that you need to replace the seat stuffing...

HTH,
David

PhoenixDownVII

No. Absolutely not. I have the manual sitting right in front of me, and I just drove my car and had the dial in my glove box and it even points COUNTER clockwise and says "Hard" or something too.

Widefootracing is probably right. I know it says that I am adjusting REBOUND, which is Reacting to what the springs or shocks do initially, which is probably where my problem lies.

Springs are in order to lower the car anyways, how much are bushings? And right now my tire pressure on it is pretty high, like near 40 (38 probably)...it could come down.

Thanks

rynberg

WHY? That is most of your problem right there! Cold tire pressure should be 32 psi. Why are you running them so hard?

DamonB

You're right. I just checked mine too.

alberto_mg

Rynberg hit it on the head. Decrease the tire pressures and take her for a spin. Try 32 front and 28-30 rear. Measure when cold.

On another note, I expect to have a set of PFS comfort springs for sale soon. These lower the car about 1/2 - 3/4 of an inch and are not as stiff as other aftermarket springs. PM me if interested.

PhoenixDownVII

You know, it could make sense, but as I've read in another thread, changing the sidewall height (going from 16 stock rims to 18's lets say...) was not noticably "rougher" than changing the springs/shocks, which have much more effect (it seems) on the overall ride and response to an unflat road.

I don't know if 10 psi out of each tire will be Night and Day for ride smoothness, but we shall see when I try it tonight.

Thanks for all the input guys.

alberto_mg

I sincerely doubt that the above statement is true. Especially on our roads here in NY. It is subjective, but from personal experience the more sidewall the more comfy the ride. This also varies according to tire manufacturers. The Toyo T1S feel more comfortable than say a Michelin Pilot Sport (same size) due to sidewall construction. Each thing you change will *feel* different and changes to springs aren't necessarily directly comparable to changes in rim size or shocks and shock valving.