Technical Koni damper experiment thread

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Technical Koni damper experiment thread

Guys, I'm kinda hung up on this Koni STR.T idea, almost purely because of the price.

What are your thoughts on replacing only the rears versus the full monty?
 
I'd look into it a bit more, which I've done since I got interested in the "Streets". Some on the forum showed Larkspeed as a supplier and I spoke to them - they can get them in on order....@ about £48 each and then another post gave a link to www.europerfomancedirect.co.uk and on their website shows a page with the info: Koni Str.t rear shock absorber to fit: and then lists FIAT PANDA 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 MULTIJET & 100HP from years 10.03-11. and at £43.36 each. What it indicates to me is that this shocker is not just for the 100Hp it fits all Panda's except the 4x4. Interestingly my friendly garage man (Ron, as seen on TV's "Pimp My Ride") made the comment that there are two type of shocks, Comfort and Sport. Most Panda's are fitted with comfort and the 100HP with Sport. So yea, the Koni Street will be a comfort & the Koni Sport speaks for itself - although adjustable. I made an earlier question on the forum about using OEM fiat shocks from say the 1.2 and the opinion was no from other members. But then the Koni's are are for all Panda's as are the "comfort" OEM shocks from Fiat. Meanwhile I'm arranging for 50 profile Dunlops to be fitted next week which should improve the ride.
 
Guys, I'm kinda hung up on this Koni STR.T idea, almost purely because of the price.

What are your thoughts on replacing only the rears versus the full monty?

Hi

Only a personal opinion...but if you get the those, you will always be wondering if only I had save up a bit more and got the Koni Sports...I would say if you just bet the rears initially you will be impressed.

Whichever way you jump, good luck, and enjoy. Yes I have the Sports all round on mine. :)
 
A little more feedback on Koni Sports on the rear only (so far). The very ripply roads here in Umbria emphasise the better body control but I also reckon that there's more rumble from ripples - I suspect it's the solid bushes as well as the tighter damping. Once you get over the noise, you realise that the suspension's working quite hard but there's less pogo-ing than there was on the standard shockers.
 
Well, I have to say that the ride on my 100hp Panda is transformed as of today. The combination of Dunlop SP Sports all round with a 50 ratio as against the original 45 (has a similar tread pattern to the eagles) and replacing all the shocks with original Fiat equipment as recommended by my friendly garage including Ron (from TV’s Pimp My Ride) and cohort Keith has stopped me ricocheting over bumps & potholes, rattling my fillings when going over rumble strips and generally makes the car more of a joy to drive. As I said in the Koni thread, I was told that shocks fall into two categories, comfort & sport. All Panda’s except the 100hp & 4x4 have the comfort shocks and funnily enough the Koni’s fit the same criteria. I was persuaded to go for OEM comfort as these shocks were designed for the chassis and of course will not cause any mismatch. The original springs have been retained and even before I got the car back one of the mechanics (who does rally driving) had road tested the vehicle to ensure the handling was all OK. Having just done a 50 mile round trip ranging from country side-roads to the A12 motorway I have to say I’m delighted with the new ride. The cost of the original equipment is on par with Koni at £80+vat (£96 each) for the fronts and £60+vat (£72 each) for the rears. Dunlops came in at £58+vat (£69) each less than half the price of similar boots on my VW Eos. Fitting charge £150 included 20 mins trying to get the alloys off the hubs. I’d have been mullered if I had needed to change a wheel. Worth checking yours to make sure they are not seized on the hubs. Alright, cost me a few bob but after a year of ownership it feels like a new car. I would recommend this mod to any 100hp owner who wants a more comfortable ride! I might make this a separate thread to get the message across to others who haven't read this one.
 
I've emailed the garage and asked for the part numbers and will post as soon as received. As for the "comfort" "sport" labels, purely layman terms and are most probably called "standard" and "sport". The way it was described to me was the difference between the internal valves and how much gas/oil it allows through on an action. All I know is that the ride is more comfortable with less bounce!
 
The description of how one damper differs from another is right, of course.

Sounds as though your 100hp is now more to your liking. My only reservation would be to be cautious until you've tried it out extensively, particularly on high speed corners where there are major ripples in the road, or even on the straight encountering the very severe lateral ripples that you find on the A303 in Wiltshire, for instance - the pogo effect on the rear can make a 100hp unstable in these conditions on the standard dampers and dampers that have less effect could be very dodgy in these circumstances. If - and it's a big if - the dampers you now have combine better damping with a better ride they sound ideal.
 
I've emailed the garage and asked for the part numbers and will post as soon as received. As for the "comfort" "sport" labels, purely layman terms and are most probably called "standard" and "sport". The way it was described to me was the difference between the internal valves and how much gas/oil it allows through on an action. All I know is that the ride is more comfortable with less bounce!

:doh:

Yes the difference will be in the valving, but there is no standard and sport damper from the point of view of the 100hp. All they've probably done is fitted some softer dampers from a 1.2 or 1.3 MJ. Now I'm not saying things won't be more comfortable, but there may be unintended consequences of such a modification.
 
Ok, part numbers for the replacement Fiat shocks:

Front: 0051857950 Rear: 51870990
 
Well the STR.t shocks finally turned up today!

I put them on at work for the drive home and it's a very nice improvement. I wouldn't say it completely transforms the car because I don't think simply changing the rear shocks to a different brand could ever do that but it certainly is a lot better. I drove home the 'back way' over bumpy roads which has a few pot holes here and there and it felt much more solid and stable. It is still obviously quite bumpy because it's a small, lightweight car with stiff springs but I didn't get any of the previous feeling of being flung out of the seat with the spine busting landings. It's still pretty wet here so I wasn't able to push it too hard round any quick bends but Saturday is looking like it might be a dry day so I will hopefully try then. Braking also seems a bit better which was something I had overlooked and was a nice surprise. Comfort over speed bumps is vastly improved which one of the main reasons I got them as I have to drive over about 10 just to get out of my estate every morning. I shall definitely be purchasing the front shocks too though as it feels like there is a bit of imbalance now but nothing too drastic.

With regards to two types of shock, sports and comfort...hmm..I'm not so sure on that to be honest. On the box it said 'performance', so which category does that come under then?? I think there is far more to a shock than a name to be honest.

I found some more info on the STR.T shocks before I bought them which stated that yes they are for 1.1 through to 1.4 models, but also this:- 'combine perfectly with blue KONI SPORT springs and other lowering springs'. Seeing as the 100hp suspension is pretty much the same as a standard Panda with lowered springs, this means the shocks are setup for exactly that....I guess? Anyway, they feel good to me so far anyway so i'm happy. I've found them for £41 each now too from DC Performance if anyone else wants to try them:- http://www.dcperformance.co.uk/cheap/531177/fiat/koni-str*t-rear-dampers/8050-1106.html

I would be interested to see how they compare with Koni sports. If anyone who has them fitted is going to be around the Silverstone area any time feel free to pop in and we'll compare! (not around the track though unfortunately, unless you want to pay for me too ;) !)


Cheers

John
 
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Well the STR.t shocks finally turned up today!

I put them on at work for the drive home and it's a very nice improvement. I wouldn't say it completely transforms the car because I don't think simply changing the rear shocks to a different brand could ever do that but it certainly is a lot better. ..

Cheers

John

Thanks for a considered contribution. Sounds as though these give about the same rebound characteristic as the Sport towards the lower/softer end of the Sport's adjustment - which is what Koni suggest.

I'm still concerned about putting standard 1.1/1.2 dampers on a 100HP - the more I think about it the more I reckon the rear end could take over - but the proof's in the pudding.
 
I'm still concerned about putting standard 1.1/1.2 dampers on a 100HP - the more I think about it the more I reckon the rear end could take over - but the proof's in the pudding.

I can imagine that it would be all over the place! It's exactly the opposite to what eveyone else is suggesting. The combination of 100HP springs and softer dampers could be a disaster on certain roads..

Interesting info on the Koni STRs.. this is something that I'll definitely consider for the front (being half the price of Sports). Having had the Sports on the rear for a while, I definitely think they could be wound down from the "1 turn" setting that they're currently on.
 
I can imagine that it would be all over the place! It's exactly the opposite to what eveyone else is suggesting. The combination of 100HP springs and softer dampers could be a disaster on certain roads..

Interesting info on the Koni STRs.. this is something that I'll definitely consider for the front (being half the price of Sports). Having had the Sports on the rear for a while, I definitely think they could be wound down from the "1 turn" setting that they're currently on.

Useful. My rears-only are on 3/4 of a turn at the moment and will have to stay that way till we get back from Italy in late June/early July. I'm reasonably pleased with the results - 1200 heavily-laden miles from Devon to Umbria and a couple of hundred two-up miles on the very ripply roads down here - but just as an experiment my first try-out will be to back off to half a turn once I'm back in my garage.
 
I put them on at work for the drive home and it's a very nice improvement.

Any update on the Street versions? Have you had a chance to take it for a drive in the dry weather we have had today? I am almost sold on trying the Street version as its the 1 thing I dislike about my 100hp. I too have lots of speed bumps around and hate the crashy nature of the stock setup.
 
Interesting info on the Koni STRs.. this is something that I'll definitely consider for the front (being half the price of Sports). Having had the Sports on the rear for a while, I definitely think they could be wound down from the "1 turn" setting that they're currently on.

I was thinking the same thing as I would have to get someone else to take the front stocks off for me if I ever wanted to adjust them anyway. Not a job I would really want to tackle myself
 
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