Need help with Koni Yellows!!

[jurek]

I recently had my car lowered and it's riding on Koni Yellows. I haven't played around with the adjustment, I installed them the way they came. I honestly don't even know how to adjust them. So my question is, will someone please explain exactly how to adjust them?

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Not tech but,

Adjustment procedures:

1. Take the adjustment knob which is supplied and fit it to the top of the dampers.
2. To adjust the damping force, the knob has to be turned in the direction of the arrow for
   increased damping and to decrease in the opposite direction.
   If you feel resistance do not use force, as the damper is in its end position.
3. After adjustment remove the adjusting knob in order to prevent possible damage of the bonnet.

There is also this thread,


http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115103

 

[jurek]

So there is not need to take the shocks or struts off the car and fully collapse them in order to adjust them?

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Nope.

 

[jurek]

Sweet, thanks a lot!

 

[2013DIBGT]

For the rears, they need to be disconnected and twisted in the desired direction for adjustment.

 

[claudermilk]

No, they don't. You just pull the interior panel out of the way. You use the short adjusters supplied with the rears to fit under the pinch weld, but there is no need to take anything apart.

 

[bullitt boy]

counter clockwise for firmer. turn them all the way in either direction to start then move to the "middle " setting. adjust to your liking from there. There is no need to remove anything to set the adjustments.

 

[jurek]

Alright, thank for all the help guys.

 

[2013DIBGT]

My mistake....brain fart!

The sad thing is, I owned those "Yellows" for several months but never ended up installing them. I must have been thinking of my old Koni "Reds" from back in the day.

 

[Wicked GT]

I have been tuning mine softer/stiffer for awhile trying to get what I perceive as the perfect balance. I ended up with full soft on the front and one full turn towards firm on the rears.

 

[frank s]

I have been tuning mine softer/stiffer for awhile trying to get what I perceive as the perfect balance. I ended up with full soft on the front and one full turn towards firm on the rears.

What were the effects/sensations that told you you had reached that balance?

 

[Wicked GT]

I wasn't bouncing around for the most part... I had them at 1.5 turns each and it was just too stiff. I moved it down to 1 turn each and it got minutely better (could only tell on a certain street with a dip and raised section of concrete). It didn't slam the car down on the bump stops and/or bounce me through the roof...

Dropped the fronts down as it seemed a touch bouncy and when I went as soft as possible on the front and left the rears at 1 full turn it seemed to balance the ride out so it wasn't mushy but not bouncy... I am sure there are technical terms for this but hopefully you get the gist...

 

[Madscotsman]

Sort-of related to this topic, but I found a site with a replacement billet aluminum adjustment knobs for Konis, I thought I would share:

http://www.genuinesaab.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=828

It's on a SAAB site, but pretty sure these would be universal, and only $10.

 

[frank s]

[...]
Dropped the fronts down as it seemed a touch bouncy and when I went as soft as possible on the front and left the rears at 1 full turn it seemed to balance the ride out so it wasn't mushy but not bouncy... I am sure there are technical terms for this but hopefully you get the gist...

Yes, that's one of the problems with online tuning. Thank you.

For my part, I'm not even sure that I'm paying attention to the sensory inputs relevant to the possible adjustments. I do know this: when I put the yellows on the car did not kick out the rear end on a particular combination of curved transition ramp and concrete joint, where before it jumped maybe a foot and a half sideways under otherwise same conditions.

Another thing I (think) I observed: the same effect as noted above was true in my '09 GT/CS that was lowered on "P" springs, and I could also make definite discrimination among different settings, front and rear, on an autocross course. On the current car, '13 GT Brembo, it seemed not to be something I could perceive, changing from one adjustment setting to another. Perhaps my sensibilities have declined.

That last I take as confirmation of one of my long-held ideas: quite a bit of the advantage in modified suspensions is less evident in actual "road-holding" than in communication between the tire contact patch and the driver contact patches. Better information to the driver means greater ability to optimize driver inputs, regardless of ultimate tractive capability.

 

[Wicked GT]

Frank, you bet! I often have trouble with responding or trying to utilize information from these types of threads as everyone has a different want/need and feel for their cars. Mine is a DD and I am 44 so although I want to have some fun when driving... I don't want to feel like a slammed 92 Honda bouncing down the street. If I ever get the opportunity to track mine I will obviously be turning them up a bit.