Do not be afraid to cut your shocks in half

[masskaos]

Last night a buddy and I installed Koni yellows in the front of my car and the SPC ball joints. Ball joints went in rather well, and so did the shocks. I followed the instructions listed on this site here. One thing is for sure the pipe cutter I bought at Lowe's is the best way to cut the shocks. It sure beats going after it with a hack saw. Per Koni instructions I cut the stock shocks off at 45mm instead of 50mm listed in the DIY. Like the DIY i had to drill out the spring perches to 1/2".

Shock adjustment is a snap. The adjustment knob is on top of the shock and accessible from the engine bay. I had it set at full firm for the ride home (about 40 miles). This morning I stepped it down one setting (half a turn) and it is still firm but a little easier on the highway.

Next month the rear shocks go in... wish me luck. I hear they are a bitch.

I have these paired with the RPM springs. When I put everything back together it seems that my ride height is higher than before. Should I wait for the springs to settle in before I get an alignment?

[jd42]

QUOTE (masskaos @ Sep 18 2009, 09:34 AM)

One thing is for sure the pipe cutter I bought at Lowe's is the best way to cut the shocks. It sure beats going after it with a hack saw.[/b]

The pipe cutter is definitely the way to go. Cutting up the shock bodies really isn't hard at all. Fortunately, any (1st gen) Mazda6 shocks can be used. I bought a set of old shocks to sacrifice so I can revert to OEM someday if I want to.

QUOTE (masskaos @ Sep 18 2009, 09:34 AM)

I had it set at full firm for the ride home (about 40 miles). This morning I stepped it down one setting (half a turn) and it is still firm but a little easier on the highway.[/b]

You may want to experiment with some softer settings, too. Max stiffness is very often not the best setting for performance (or comfort!).

The adjusters usually have hysteresis, which means the direction from which you approach a setting is important too. Most people recommend always returning to full soft, then making the adjustment from there.

QUOTE (masskaos @ Sep 18 2009, 09:34 AM)

Next month the rear shocks go in... wish me luck. I hear they are a bitch.[/b]

The upper mounting brackets are a pain. The bolts are difficult to reach and the bracket is hard to wiggle out. I had issues getting one of the bolts to start rethreading. Also, the rear shocks are difficult to adjust, since one end must be unbolted from the car and then fully compressed to engage the adjuster mechanism.

QUOTE (masskaos @ Sep 18 2009, 09:34 AM)

I have these paired with the RPM springs.[/b]

Which version of the RPM springs do you have? I'm using the K-spec springs, which have higher rates designed specifically for use with the KONI shocks. Unfortunately, I don't think RPM is still offering these springs since the demand was so low.

[masskaos]

Thanks for the info on the shock adjustments... I'll back it off to full soft then reset them. I'll be spending a lot of time using different settings. Hopefully I can find a good long drive setting and a good road carving setting.

The springs I have right now are the RPM test springs. They were the first ones that came out with the small drop. I think they call those the sport springs now.

[aviator79]

Rear shocks aret that bad with the right tools. I wrote about it somewhere, probably the bc coilover thread.

[RhoadBlock]

^ Agreed, I just swapped out my Koni Yellow/K-Specs with BC Coils. I remember the rears being awful the first time around, but this time around they weren't that bad actually. Took no longer than 20 minutes to get the bracket unbolted, out, and replaced.

[Hayate]

QUOTE (RhoadBlock @ Sep 18 2009, 08:47 AM)

^ Agreed, I just swapped out my Koni Yellow/K-Specs with BC Coils. I remember the rears being awful the first time around, but this time around they weren't that bad actually. Took no longer than 20 minutes to get the bracket unbolted, out, and replaced.[/b]

Rhoadblock, can you compare your BCs to the Konis? I'm thinking of getting the BCs because I'm getting into auto-x pretty serious, so I'm interested more in performance than streetability. There's lots of coilovers so I'm trying to compare them all to the standard Konis.
Thanks.

[aviator79]

I read somewhere that the konis are better shocks so if paired with the BCs they be perfect, and I replied but they are not height ajustable and never got a reply on that.

[FORZDA 1]

QUOTE (aviator79 @ Oct 29 2009, 05:40 PM)

I read somewhere that the konis are better shocks so if paired with the BCs they be perfect, and I replied but they are not height ajustable and never got a reply on that.[/b]

Although I have not run the BC brand, I have run Koni (yellow Sport adjustables) along with Dynamic Suspension strut coiloevers for many years for street and autocross competition. The Koni brand is as good as you can buy as far as custom rebuildable rebuildable dampers, but the yellow Sports for the Speed6 are just dampers, not with height-adjustable bodies.

I'm sure everyone knows that the OEM front shocks are themselves "coilovers", just not with height-adjustable bodies. The BC rears aren't coilovers at all, merely adjustable spring perches for their springs. Personally, I think everyone running a Speed6 would be better off running the Koni yellow Sports and their choice of spring to give them the height compromise they need/desire. I've found no one that actually competes with their car that changes the ride height for street/track use. When you change the height, it changes the toe and camber, so to be precise on the alignment needed for competition, you would need to align it each time as well.

I think the "coilover" moniker leads people to buy them as the word is associated with replacing strut suspension econoboxes with performance parts. Otherwise it's just bling to say I have "coilovers" on a Speed6. Nothing wrong with that, but they really aren't for high-performance use....

[Appman]

Cutting shocks sounds dangerous lol, but props to you guys that can pull it off!

[jd42]

QUOTE (Appman @ Feb 17 2010, 07:27 AM)

Cutting shocks sounds dangerous lol, but props to you guys that can pull it off![/b]

Nothing dangerous about it. If you follow the instructions, the first step is drilling a small hole in the bottom of the shock housing. The releases the gas and lets you drain out the oil. The job can be slightly messy, but what automotive procedure isn't?