Well, my transmission is all done with shiny new guts, and the motor is cradled with all new urethane mounts......but my dampers are done.

I am taking the time while the car is still in the shop to replace my 5 year old Tokico blues with a set of Koni Yellow adjustables.
Can anyone vouch for these struts? my research has yielded nothing but positive feedback for the quality and ride of the Koni's
However, personal experience is my best gauge for whether something is good or not, so if anyone has any thoughts/xp with these struts, please chime in.

They will be paired with the Apex springs I currently have in the car. All supporting hardware -balljoints, bushings, control arms are all new, the struts themselves are the only parts that haven't been replaced in 5 years.....so I am kind of hoping for a dramatic improvement in ride quality.

Happy New year!

I don't know if this applies to 2gs but it is definitely a concern for1g guys is that a koni shock body is roughly an inch longer than most other shock housings therefore the likelyhood of bottoming out the shocks becomes a concern on a car that is lowered. I know from experience that anything over an inch drop and some agressive driving will bottom outthe strut.

Otherwise all i've heard is great things about them. Best valuefor the money when it comes to struts. Look up prices on blistens and ohlins, not that they make any specifically for DSM but wow can you drop some money on struts.

Everything you could ever want to know about shocks & DSMs: http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets6.html

Dan's too rich (and too soft ) to be into super-performance stats... *Laugh*

The Konis will be fine, Dan. Plus they're adjustable so you can tone the ride down if you find it a bit harsh. Still won't be as perfect a ride as the A3, though.

Koni's are not externally adjustable like a set of AGXs would be. You need to take them off the car to adjust them.

Heeeeey, wait a minute.......I resent that.... what are you implying Troy? hahahaha
I do recall seeing this article a while ago when I was searching for info.....the thing that stuck out in my mind was: "hmm......I guess that means my tokicos are crap then...."



(sigh) I know....I was hoping that perhaps by upgrading to better dampers, I would be able to at least match the A3 in some respects....I have to stop comparing those two cars, given the 11 year age difference........and the fact that they are totally different cars. (as for going soft, I totally blame the A3's heated seats and other creature comforts for that)

In related news, with all the snow/ice we got here over the holidays, I got to do some Xtreme hardcore off roading with the A3.....you ever drive an S line equipped Audi with 18" all seasons through icy streets with 2" potholes? damn near shook the teeth right out of my skull.....I thought for sure I was going to break the thing....traction control got a workout and a half....wish I had the quattro.


The yellows are adjustable by way of knob (hee hee....knob)
They just aren't linear.....that tech article pointed out that often one shock doesn't match the other in terms of setting, so that will be kind of messy.
Other units have adjusters that click, the koni's don't.

Anyway, my guru is neck deep in rusted suspension parts so hopefully the battle will be successful, and I'll have a nice ride.

I had koni yellows on my car for the past 10 years and they are still like new, they are set to about 3/4 full and are adjustable by a knob on the top of the shock.

I've got a set in my car and they're great for auto slalom when you stiffen them up. I run GC coilovers on them in the summer, and stock springs in the winter. Since the snow I've set them on full soft and the ride is pretty nice, yet the car still handles well even with stock springs.

Sounds like I was doing myself a disservice by going with the Tokicos to the point where I probably have NEVER experienced a proper ride in my car in the 8 years I have owned it.

Right now, the entire struts are being refreshed from top to bottom (hats and misc parts are too rusted/worn out to reuse)
So perhaps some of those annoying little pops and creaks will be fixed along with improved ride....here's hoping.
Sounds like the Koni's were a good choice then (short of getting Penske or Bilstein)

Mike, that pertains to 1G's only. Dan's 2G Konis are externally adjustable.

As the linked article suggests, Koni Sports are the best off-the-shelf shocks you can get for our cars. I'm sure you'll be happy with them. I've been quite happy with mine over the past 5 years.

My FWD Passat with the 17" new Yoko Advan S4's handled SO well in heavy snow, packed snow, slush and glare ice, I considered keeping them on year-round. Driving with the TC off made for a bit of a different experience, but was still not too bad. Just can't beat Euro cars for balance, even though they're technically front-heavy.

And don't be so hard on yourself. The Tokicos probably weren't 'crap'. The line between the level of the Konis and something like a KYB GR-2 is so thin that you'd have to be in competition to really know the difference.

Well, after a month of surgery, I got my car back on Tuesday

I can't say for sure if the Koni's make a dramatic improvement over what I had before, but I find peace in the fact that all the undercarriage hardware is new and corrosion free, and that just makes the car feel better in my own head.
Gone are the little pops and creaks that bugged me before, and the car does feel smoother going over road imperfections, as one would expect with new suspension.

The transmission shifts as it should, again, no dramatic improvement, but no more mysterious noise in 2nd gear anymore either, coupled with the knowledge that the internals are all new and functioning as they were intended.

The most noticeable change though is with the urethane motor mounts. During start up and idling, the car certainly vibrates more and it will take getting used to, but it's no big deal.

It's just really nice to finally have my car back, and for that I am thankful.

Hey Troy, I tried turning off the TC on the A3 during one snowy day just to see what would happen....ugh.
Definitely getting snow tires for it next year, that's for sure.

So that link? does that mean KYB's are not good? or did I miss something.

Most dsm's I only see kyb's on. I guess maybe I shouldnt of just assumed they are the best shock.

Well, based on DG's shock dyno plots he considers them "crap". You'll have to read the full article to understand why.

On the 1g the KYB's are a good shock, on the 2G the front KYB shock is to long believe.

ok, good to know =]

I'm not sure if its all KYB shocks or just the AGX's but I've always heard the rears are too long on the 2g's. Though I have also heard they have since revised them & are now the correct length. I do have a couple AGX rear doner shocks I'm not using & I just compared them to the Tokico shocks I just removed. The rears were right around .5" taller vs the Tokico's.

KYBs are good value for not much money. If you have the cash, you can do better.

Maybe some day I can drop 3000 into suspension alone. Until then I will replace my kybs if or when they go.

Koni Yellows for a 1G are $716.80 incl/shipping from shox.com. Throw in some lowering springs for ~$200 (or GC coil-overs for $400) and you've got a great suspension for around $1K... Far less than $3K.

Also, that link I posted previously spoke of the quality of various shocks, not whether its shock body was the proper length for DSM applications. It talked about all the negative traits discovered during shock dyno testing. Things like: adjusters that did absolutely nothing; adjusters that were nonlinear and exponential; adjusters that peaked in the middle of the adjustment range; shimstacks assembled upside-down; shocks where a front and rear shimstack had been exchanged; shocks that faded so fast (as they warmed up) that no two runs were ever alike; shocks with adjusters that varied by 10% on the same shock at the same setting; etc. Koni was pretty much the only off-the-shelf shock (available to our cars) that was listed in the not "crap" list. Sure, they may be pricier than KYB / Tokico / etc. but they're worth the price (and have a lifetime warranty).

I haven't read the whole thread yet but shocks makes a world of difference on the cars performance and it's not just about cornering. Acceleration and braking can be greatly affected. Generally, you get what you pay for and then end up paying more eventually. When testing data is available to help make a purchase decision, it shouldn't be ignored.

Just an FYI that I can get Koni, Ground-Control, Eibach, and Bilstein stuff if you don't want to go through the US.

well I did not know they were 1gs. That was back in the day I started with dsm's though.

I want to get into autocross and lapping days now that I am all wheel drive. This year is kinda ruined cause I have to buy a car for a daily driver but. When I am looking into suspension I will take a look Tashko.

For now I got to get my car rolling before suspension is a concerned. Its looking like I wont hit the road in the talon till like august.