Hey guys and guurrls

Opinion needed on this one. I know with cars we should always replace in pairs, both left and right tyres if ones pops etc, both left and right brakes if one set are wearing thin blah blah blah.

Whats happened is my NSF (Near Side Front / Passenger side) Shock Absorber is making this sound. I lifted Tipo today to inspect the shock absorber and there is "play" where the piston enters the main shaft.

Imagin your arms, as in the ones connected to your hands and shoulders, and lets also imagin your arms were meant to be straight all the time.... but then you developed elbows and a whole new world of movement became available. I don't think this is acceptable on a shock absorber but this is what has happened. One of my shocks now has an elbow

Firstly, although I think it is, is this an MOT failure?

Secondly, Sports shocks are expensive, especially those ones made by KONI. Unfortunately, my shocks are made by KONI. Would it be ok for me to replace just the faulty 1? Bearing in mind they are around £225 each (£450 per pair excl P&P)

If I move away from Koni and change both front ones for a different brand and retain the KONI rear shocks, do you think it would affect the handling of the vehicle much?

The ride height should go unchanged as I'd be keeping the 35mm dropped Eibachs.

Your thoughts and/or experiences would be greatly appreciated

Many thanks

TBH, I wouldn't risk it.
I can see yours are painfully expensive but nowhere near as costly as having the old one go.
with age there will be a degree of degradation, put on as a new pair, the theory is that they would degrade as a pair.
But put a brand new one on one side & it will probably throw out the handling - take a bend & the car might just dip waay too far on the 'old' side.

Could they be refurbed ? At that sort of money, you would have thought they could be .

Thank Sludgeguts

I went to a garage yesterday and asked the manager what he thought and he said it would be fine to replace just one....

My gut instinct told me he just wanted me out his face so I went back to work, took the plunge and ordered 2x Bilstein Sport shocks @ a total of £306 for 2 from www.larkspeed.com (Appear to be beating prices for everyone on the Internetz).

They are a suitable application on vehicles lowered up to 40mm. I'm currently at 35mm and I can't see any downsides in having Bilsteins on the front and Koni's on the rear. All the shocks are yellow so it should be ok....



Only concern I would have would be how stiff the new front ones compared to the rear ones but, as I don't race, it also shouldn't be a problem.

I never thought of the Refurb possibility I'll ask the garage to pack both Koni shocks away into the boot and then I can write to Koni at a later date and see if it is possible. If they do refurbs then I'll get it done soon and will have 2 spare shocks for the future

Thanks again

Trancendental said:

Thank Sludgeguts

I went to a garage yesterday and asked the manager what he thought and he said it would be fine to replace just one....

My gut instinct told me he just wanted me out his face so I went back to work, took the plunge and ordered 2x Bilstein Sport shocks @ a total of £306 for 2 from www.larkspeed.com (Appear to be beating prices for everyone on the Internetz).

They are a suitable application on vehicles lowered up to 40mm. I'm currently at 35mm and I can't see any downsides in having Bilsteins on the front and Koni's on the rear. All the shocks are yellow so it should be ok....



Only concern I would have would be how stiff the new front ones compared to the rear ones but, as I don't race, it also shouldn't be a problem.

I never thought of the Refurb possibility I'll ask the garage to pack both Koni shocks away into the boot and then I can write to Koni at a later date and see if it is possible. If they do refurbs then I'll get it done soon and will have 2 spare shocks for the future

Thanks again

Click to expand...

If this is for the modified Tipo that you couldn't sell personally I would get a cheap but quality set or check on the price of reburbishing the damaged Koni shock. Bilsteins are generally for someone looking to track their car but they are high quality.
Checking micksgarage.ie as a example £50 would be cost of a shock so £100 for a pair. Unsure if they would be ideal for a lowered spring but they did fit you may not notice the difference.