Philip Young
New member
Where is Larkspeed, are these the best suppliers? Whats the part-no or reference no to order Koni Sports, all-round the full set? Want to try it on the New Panda.
Will report back!
Will report back!
Or not......Where is Larkspeed, are these the best suppliers? Whats the part-no or reference no to order Koni Sports, all-round the full set? Want to try it on the New Panda.
Will report back!
There are no Konis for the panda ta yet
Because manufacturers simply don't want to spend the money on decent dampers when a lot probably won't know? That said some manufacturers like Subaru have Spec-B models. The B stands for Bilstein, and quite a few people go for them because they know the suspension is going to be decent.
Interesting about the Subaru option - perhaps a Panda 100HP-K would have been a good idea.
They're meant to be very good. But for some reason I'm gravitating towards the Bilstein B14 coilovers as I reckon they'll yield a greater increase in handling performance
Or not......
As I said before
So you may end up buying something that doesn't fit at all OR is badly suited to the new Panda.
OK, so the latest Panda is over a hundredweight heavier than the "old" model, but surely the uprated (from the factory, who have uprated the suspension) factory shockabsorbers might well be the same length, so, Konis could fit the car, and you click up half a turn to match the new-models stronger springs, (and play around adjusting till happy) ??
...
How is Fiat missing out on profit by not selling Koni, come on, they are two seperate companies. Yes, Koni might not be "engineering down to a price" unlike Fiat, but its like comparing burgers with steak. Fiat want to sell their own, surely.
The piston rod is the same o.e. diameter, its not stronger, hence Koni being the better bet. Also, Bilstein themselves say they are o.e. equivalent, and are they adjustable, like the Koni?
How is Fiat missing out on profit by not selling Koni, come on, they are two seperate companies. Yes, Koni might not be "engineering down to a price" unlike Fiat, but its like comparing burgers with steak. Fiat want to sell their own, surely.
There is - or should be - more to suiting a damper to a car than that - otherwise any adjustable damper would be suitable for any car that it would physically fit on. Not so. Firstly, it's only the rebound that you're adjusting so you have no way of adjusting the bump characteristic to the spring - that was why I was slightly put off by the fact that all (non-4wd) Pandas take the same Koni (and Bilstein). The valves inside the damper that control the flow of fluid and define the damping characteristics also need to be matched to the specific car. You might be lucky but the best bet would be to either wait till there are uprated dampers for a specific model or - if you must - find a damper that's adjustable on bump and rebound - not sure there are any for the Panda.
Does anyone know why the 4x4 has different spec dampers than the 2wd car? When you look on ebay at all the spares available, lots of different shock absorbers pop up for the 2 wd car, but all specifically say "not 4x4". I thought the greater ride height of the 4x4 models was not down to longer springs (and so longer shocks to suit longer springs) but the gain was down to taller 15 inch wheels and taller profile tyres.
Excuse the ignorance. What is "completely different". Upright dampers, instead of angled? Or is it more fundamental in design? In which case, Ive just bought the wrong car (new Easy).
Hi guys, most interesting reading about the Koni Damper and yes, the one thing that drives me mad is the poor (comfort) ride of my 100hp. Before reading this thread I had spoken to my local Fiat Parts and asked if other springs were available (they aren't) and hadn't even considered dampers! I may be tempted to get a rear pair of the Koni STR.T and if I do will post results. Now, about tyres. I'm on the original Goodyears (only 18k on the clock) but have read elsewhere that upping to a 55 ratio as against the original 45 helps with a softer ride but another post suggests a 50 ration on Yoko's. From experience have you any recommendations? I'm looking for a softer ride as I am post 60 and feel all the bumps! Apart from that the 100hp looks the part, has the oomph, and the quality of build is most impressive to those like me had Fiats in the 70's & 80's. It's also a small car with street cred as my 17 year old say's!