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Koni STR.T shock and strut discussion.....

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scotman

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Thread Starter #61
The three times i really bottomed out a strut it was at night and it was raining. I am adept at dodging holes as long as they aren't hidden in water! I am certain that I killed my left front Koni sport in one of them last October.
 
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Thread Starter #62
Not sure what you mean by spring insulators. Are those like big squishy washers that go between the spring and the perch? If so, wouldn't that create more spongy-ness in the ride...could be construed as more compliance? I remember throwing a couple of these in the bin when changing shocks on my AX Rabbit, ions ago. I wanted a direct feel and they seemed like they stood in the way for that. Care to clarify?
I am waiting for these rubber rings to show up. I ordered them according to the spring diameter. I have seen some rotation of the spring as miles accumulate. It's probably occurs when I corner aggressively and unload the spring. I am going to try to find a setup that works for both the harsh street and the autocross run. These insulators were cheap. So, no big deal if it is a fail. Just please, don't tell anybody! .....oh wait, this is the internet. Never mind. 11796365_mon_909957_pri_larg.jpg
 
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#63
Evergreen. By far the worst road in metro Detroit.Just saying that word makes me reflexively grit my teeth and pucker my butthole. I am waiting for a pair of 5 inch diameter universal spring insulators to arrive. These will go on the front struts at the base of the spring. I hope that i can do an autocross event a couple of times this summer.
Did you get the Koni base insulator? Are you using the universal one in tandem with it, or are you replacing the Koni part with the universal ones? I'm trying to put them together in my head and I'm not sure how they would stack.

 
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Thread Starter #64
I didn't get the Koni insulators this time. I am using a Monroe part that is the proper diameter, just a bit thicker than the Koni part. I just got an email from the distributors informing me that i won't see those insulators until May 5.
Tomorrow I will try to find a similar part some place on a shelf. This online thing isn't working.
 
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#65
Tomorrow I will try to find a similar part some place on a shelf. This online thing isn't working.
Ugh. I know what that's like. Right about the time I was looking for the boots I was getting replies from online vendors that they were going on national backorder. I happened to find a pair down at Butman in Ypsi. I left work early to drive out and grab them before they were gone. The Koni insulators were in the box with mine when they arrived. Were they not available when you ordered yours? That would be a little unusual, but probably not unheard of.
 
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Thread Starter #66
I had the Koni insulators previously. These H&R springs are a bit loose compared to the FR3 handling pack coils when everything is assembled.
I want a "full circle" cushion under this spring. I am afraid of the "half circle" cushion being pushed out as the suspension unloads and the spring moves.
This situation is particular to this spring. I have a set of Eibach springs that didn't have this going on.
I am certain that there is a spring insulator out there that was designed for a 5 inch diameter spring that will work for this. Im going to start scrounging through what Hyundai and Kia have available. The Koreans have a lot of rough roads in their home market. They seem to create various insulators and cushions for their cars that i don't see other manufacturers doing.
 

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#67
I'd like something like that on the rear springs!
 
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Thread Starter #68
You have the newest and best upper cushion. The lower one is the weak player there. It shouldn't be too much of a hunt to find something that will work.
I expect my Bilstein dampers around the end of the first week of May. I will try to find a lower spring cushion for the Jolly project car. I absolutely need to complete this stuff ASAP. I have to be able to drive the project hatchback around while I shut down the unneeded functions. It's literally a "make changes then drive and confirm that it does not cause issues" situation with the Forscan program.
 
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#69
I had the Koni insulators previously. These H&R springs are a bit loose compared to the FR3 handling pack coils when everything is assembled.
I want a "full circle" cushion under this spring. I am afraid of the "half circle" cushion being pushed out as the suspension unloads and the spring moves.
That makes a lot of sense if the H&Rs are a little loose. They'd probably work their way out of a pre-formed perch over time anyways.
 
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#70
And thanks to the crew at Koni, TIL - the color code for the STR.T shocks is RAL 2004. I have some chips from the compressors that I want to touch up before I put them on the car.
 
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Thread Starter #71
Ok. Here is the first insulator. Monroe #909949. It is best described as flat with a half inch tall flange on the inside diameter.
It fits into the spring cup. But, this insulator is not a ramped design. I tried to make it work but it caused the spring to sit oddly. It gets pitched into the box marked " it seemed like a good idea on the internet".
The ramped design insulators are a no show and time is up! I used some three eights nylon reinforced automotive type rubber hose.
I slit a couple of three inch lengths and slid them onto the base of the spring. I secured the hose on the spring with strips of Gorilla duct tape. I am down to stone cold expediency at this point. In a few months i can revisit this shitshow.
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Handy Andy

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#72
Like the Idea of the 3/8's hose - looks like this is going together pretty well.

In my looking around for Spring Seats, seems the "Mopar" offers a "deeper" seat holder - but Moroso Monroe, even the Big 3 still won't offer a molded Pigtail holder like the Ford Rear upper Spring Mount you got earlier for those Rear springs.

But, VANSTYLE offers something even adjustable - but not sure of your fitment - but it works with PIGTAIL designs.

1621168364123.png
https://www.vanstyle.co.uk/van/bilstein-adjustable-rear-spring-seat-unit-p-7291.html
It's UK, but maybe something more local is available.
This design makes it ADJUSTABLE - similar to what I was looking at thru using Electrical parts...
Conduit stuff.
 
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Thread Starter #73
The flat insulator is not a good fit. The spring ends on most coilover type springs is formed with a flat faced profile that works as a full circle contact with the seat area. My big issue was a spring so short that i dont need any spring compressor. The hose wrap gives the spring just enough tightness and stick to hold the spring in place when unloaded.
This fix will have to do for now. These Koni dampers are going on the car ASAP.
 
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#74
Big Update! WOOT WOOT!

Shocks and struts are on. My nephew came over yesterday to help with the heavier lifting and we putzed through the job in about 3 hours or so, just taking our time.

One rear shock was an oily mess. One front strut had a torn bellow, and the surface quality of the strut shaft seems a bit, "hazy," or not as clean and polished as the other side. The bearings, er, sorry, "thrust plate," according to Koni, didn't seem exceptionally loose or clunky, but does have decidedly more play in the assembly if you try to pull the two halves apart. the mounts were crusty.

During the build-up, I decided to use the OEM bearings because they had the ribs in the inner diameter that held the mount cup with less play. I also used the KYB mounts because it was painted and had plated bolts, and I considered they would be less susceptible to corrosion here in Michigan.

Solid improvement in ride, a couple of local choppy corners are much smoother now. There was some clunking going on over bumps, like a secondary or rebound noise. Like a quick BUMP-clunk. It just rolls down the street without some of the little clunking or knocking going on now. There does remain a light knock on the apron transition of the driveway, driving in or backing out. I'll have to look into that. Maybe iffy end links or something else, I dunno. There was so much noise going on that likely hid this particular noise and now it's apparent. Current noise seems smaller and slightly higher in pitch, if one can use that term. Reminds me of my wife's Subaru when a caliper bolt came loose, but we checked the calipers when we had the wheels off the car.

Significantly, I found that the resistance to turning when the spring was loaded against the bearing/mount is essentially the same in the old assembly with 97K miles on them as on the new assemblies. There was ultimately nothing to worry about, seems like the nature of the beast, though it seems incorrect when first put together.
 
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Thread Starter #75
These are current images of the Koni orange/STR-T dampers with the H&R springs.
The ride height with the 205/50 R15 Dunlop Direzza tires set at 32psi and 3/4 tank of fuel is 5.0 inches from the road to the bottom of the pinch weld at the bottom edge of the rocker panel. The rear is 5.5 inches. The front air deflector bottom edge is a scant 3.0 inches from the road.
I have put the Rota slipstream wheels on this car to get a better comparison of the overall feel of the Koni orange dampers vs the Koni yellows. After 600 miles on them i would say that even on the light wheels and wide tires the fiesta ride and handling is as composed as the yellow Koni sport dampers set on soft. The ride motions are firm and it corners without any noticeable body roll, but it doesn't crash over expansion strips or uneven pavement.
Overall, just a very controlled and composed setup!
On the stock wheels and 195/60R15 tires ( a slightly larger tire than the original equipment tire) it feels softer because of that tires construction being more for a normal passenger car and not a sport oriented type like the Dunlop Direzza. I can live with this setup for the foreseeable future. 20220524_171637.jpg 20220524_171621.jpg 20220521_195035.jpg
 

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#76
Thanks for that....hoping to make some progress on my suspension soon. This would be my setup as well.
 
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Thread Starter #77
You wont regret doing the upgrade!
 


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