FD shocks, need advice on replacements
 

It looks like I may be needing some new shocks on my FD to replace the OEM ones. I do autocross it, I have the Eibach Pro-Kit. All other suspension is stock. I do not want coil-overs. I'm looking at the Koni's and Tokikos. Both are the adjustable kind. Is one substantially better than the other? Should I be looking at another brand? I've considered just finding some good used OEM shocks after reading how excellent Howard Coleman thinks they are. I just looking for some advice before I make a purchase of any kind. First hand experience is greatly appreciated. Thanks fellas,

Adam

I'd probably go with the Konis. For a street driven car, they are pretty good, and you can adjust the perch height. My experience with the Eibach Pro-Kits was that they lowered the front too much, and the back not enough... so you can at least even it out a bit by lowering the back to the middle perch.

+1
Good luck finding a decent set of low mileage OEM shocks...

Tokico HTS: http://tinyurl.com/d25ggok

I have the konis with sport springs, and do like them. For street driving, I have them on full soft, for Autocross I have them 1/4 and 1/2 turn (F, R) from full hard.

+1 for the konis, no experience with the Tokico.

Majik you read my mind, I've been seeing the Tokiko HTS shocks and was wondering if they were worth a look. Do you know if the spring perch is adjustable as in the Konis?

Yeah I thought maybe there was a good reputable seller that I could confidently buy from but at the same time all the OEM shocks are going to be old, regardless of mileage. I think a few of mine may be leaking oil and they have had a pretty easy life.

The perch is not adjustable. For a good low cost setup, the HTS shocks with some Tein S-Tech springs would give you an aggressive look with good handling without going full coilover. You could always add Ground Control coilovers sleeves at a later point to the HTS shocks.

It looks like I better go with the Konis since I already have the Eibach springs. It would be helpful to be able to set the correct ride height. Thanks guys for the advice.

They are not infinite adjustable like coilovers, they are perches so you have 3 options (low, med, high). So you still might not get the "correct ride height".

I've read a few places the that eibachs are a high in the back so the Konis could possibly solve that. Aside from not being adjustable, have the Tokiko HTS surpassed the Konis in how they function.

The HTS are a newer technology and a better overall shock than the Koni's (currently). The main benefit Koni's have is that you can get them re-valved into a racing shock (for around $1500-2000) later if you decide to get serious with road racing. If you never plan to do that, the only benefit is the adjustable perches to provide "some" ride height adjustability. You can set the Koni's to low in the rear and medium in the front to help even out the Eibach's. IMO, I would just get different springs all together and that's exactly what I did as I used to own Eibach's.

I just bought these springs new a few weeks ago, I hate to go shopping for new ones. I'll never be getting the konis re-valved. Autocross is probably all I'll do. What springs would you recommend? I thought the Eibachs were the right thing to have, I sure did a lot of reading before I got them.

Eibachs are great for stock shocks. They aren't much stiffer than stock springs which make them a good match to not kill the stock shocks. When going with aftermarket shocks, you open yourself up to a new world of springs. I've used several different kinds over the years on the street and track. I recommend either H&R Springs or Tein S-Tech springs with aftermarket shocks. Both will give the car an aggressive yet even stance, with improved performance. H&R's will be a little more street friendly.

FYI revalves

FYI revalved konis are about $100-150 each shock. Nowhere near your estimate...

Not for the full all out track versions. A simple re-valve for a slightly higher rate, yes is around $150 per shock.

Just an FYI: https://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php...9&postcount=24

I wasn't referring to just a basic re-valve as they can handle most off the shelf springs as they come today. But they are a good option for someone who might eventually go with a more race oriented suspension setup as they can simply convert the Koni rather than scrapping their setup and starting over with a higher end coilover.

Completely different shocks there. The koni sports are completely different from the koni race shocks. You can't convert a sport shock into a race shock. The koni sports can be revalved to support a pretty high spring rate. Shipnout runs with ground control coil overs on his ex-Pettit ITE FD fwiw. You can see his vids in the race section along with a write up on the last enduro where the team placed second overall in the 4 hour enduro

Just re read that thread. Bit of a clusterfuck of info thre...

If u are referring to converting the koni sport to double adjustable while doing a rebuild and revalve

Continued.... Fin iPhone...

...then figure another $100-150 per shock. So about $250-300 to do a rebuild, revalved and convert to double adjustable. That was the quote I got from tri-point when I had mine done.

We are venturing beyond the scope of the OP's questions though :)

This is great information nonetheless. I found a good deal on Koni sports from autoanything.com. The total was $596, no tax, free shipping. I really wanted to try the Tokiko DTS shocks but I felt that it was more important for me to have the 3 spring settings on the Konis and use something tried-and-true.

I have heard some very good things about knoni yellows

I have also heard good things about tokico's. Soon I'll get some tokico illuminate for my miata or yellows. It is a toss up right now

I went with the Konis, I think it was the right decision.