Koni Yellows + ???????? Coilover Sleeves = No Cutting/Grinding/Welding?
 

... For a 1999 Civic 2DR EX. Daily Driver, potentially Auto-X/HPDE in very distant future.

My stock dampers are finally shot. I'm pretty much decided on getting some Koni Yellows as replacements for all 4 corners, but would first like to have some things confirmed. The biggest concerns for me are: adjustibility, ride comfort, responsiveness, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, keeping the Chassis & Body absolutely unmodified (no cutting/grinding/welding, etc). I'm not looking for a slammed ride, especially on my crappy streets... I'm just looking to get my DD to respond closer to how I want it to, without knocking my fillings loose.

I'll be buying and installing the Yellows first, unless enough of you tell me it's better to wait 'til I can buy and install both (dampers & sleeves) at the same time...

So after doing a good amount of searching, I'm leaning towards the GC coilover sleeves, but from what I understand, this requires some welding, as well as potentially cutting the rubber bump stops. So, I'm wondering if there are any other sleeve kits that don't require any chassis/body modifications (I will consider cutting a rubber part, but I want to avoid any cutting/grinding/welding)???

Any suggestions? I've read the Skunk2 Coilover Sleeves can be a bit too bouncy for DD use...

Thanks in advance!
JasonGhostz

Re: Koni Yellows + ???????? Coilover Sleeves = No Cutting/Grinding/Welding? (JasonGhostz)
 

I don't know where you heard these things; but there is definitely no cutting / grinding and especially no welding. You have to cut your bumpstop in half if you lower the car, but that's with any lowering spring.

I'd run the yellows with stock springs and see how you like it. Then maybe think about picking up GCs. The GCs off the shelf rates are pretty stiff (comparatively) but you can get other rates for them.

Re: Koni Yellows + ???????? Coilover Sleeves = No Cutting/Grinding/Welding? (AutoXer)
 

yeah you have to bore out the hole on the dust covers and cut the bump stops in half. no big deal at all.

Re: Koni Yellows + ???????? Coilover Sleeves = No Cutting/Grinding/Welding? (The Internet Tough Guy)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by The Internet Tough Guy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yeah you have to bore out the hole on the dust covers and cut the bump stops in half. no big deal at all.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Throw the dust covers in the trash. No need for them; and they don't fit if you do end up getting coilovers.

Re: Koni Yellows + ???????? Coilover Sleeves = No Cutting/Grinding/Welding? (AutoXer)
 

Thanks, AutoXer! I thought I remembered reading somewhere about someone who needed to do some welding for his tophats, but I'm neither sure nor knowledgeable enough to know exactly what was described.

Do Koni Yellows usually come with their own bump stops? Or do they require the use of OEM ones?

Re: the dust covers, what about them makes them not fit when combined with coilovers? Are they still usable without coilovers, and/or is there a significant ride difference with/out them?

Thanks again for the help!
JasonGhostz

Re: Koni Yellows + ???????? Coilover Sleeves = No Cutting/Grinding/Welding? (JasonGhostz)
 

I forgot to ask another thing...

Is this combo overkill for spirited DD use? I'm not looking for a significant drop, but I would like the adjustability to be there (from 1-3 inches or so).

Any other GC/Koni Yellow users who have used OTHER coilover/damper setups care to chime in?

Thanks again
JasonGhostz

Re: Koni Yellows + ???????? Coilover Sleeves = No Cutting/Grinding/Welding? (JasonGhostz)
 

koni yellows do not come with bump stops.

one thing that konis do not come with is the brake line bracket. you might be able to pound your oem ones off, but i had a hard time with it and just zip-tied the brake lines out of the way. i wish they just put those brackets on.

its not overkill for daily driving, i really really like the ride quality konis give you. i had my ground-controls paired with kyb agxs, and comparatively, the agxs suck ass.

i also much prefer the koni/gc combo to tein basics, or pretty much any tein coilover for that matter. i am comparing my setup to my friends' cars which include a DA teg, an s13, and an s14.

the reason you have to bore out the hole in the dust covers is because the koni shock shaft is larger in diameter.

there should be no ride difference with or without the dust covers, they are only there to keep dust out of your dampers (afaik).

if you want a more serious car, the gc/koni combo is great. my civic is strictly a daily driver for me now, and so i'm going to switch my gc's out for h&r sport springs, if that tells you anything about their DD characteristics.

there is no brake line bracket on yellows? is this all models?

Re: Koni Yellows + ???????? Coilover Sleeves = No Cutting/Grinding/Welding? (JasonGhostz)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JasonGhostz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">who needed to do some welding for his tophats, but I'm neither sure nor knowledgeable enough to know exactly what was described.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That was to extend shock travel for a lowered car, without spending $200 on GC tophats. Not necessary with stock springs or mild lowering. Plus you could just buy the tophats if you really needed them...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nello a. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">there is no brake line bracket on yellows? is this all models?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, but you can pull them off the stockers; or if you don't have them, you really don't need them. I tossed mine, and run without them...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JasonGhostz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Re: the dust covers, what about them makes them not fit when combined with coilovers? </TD></TR></TABLE>

They will hit the collar and make tons of noise. You don't need them. If using with stock springs, I suppose you could put them back on, but you will have to open up the hole on the top. I just junked mine.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JasonGhostz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Is this combo overkill for spirited DD use? I'm not looking for a significant drop, but I would like the adjustability to be there (from 1-3 inches or so).</TD></TR></TABLE>

No, they will give you great body motion control. You can also use your stock springs with them and use the lower perches to give you some drop but maintain ride quality.

I run my yellows with Eibach Pro-Kits during the winter; and sometimes don't have time to change them back to GCs for race season, and they handle pretty darn fantastic.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JasonGhostz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Any other GC/Koni Yellow users who have used OTHER coilover/damper setups care to chime in?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I won't run anything else but this setup. For a DD where I needed just replacements; Id run a koni red with some Eibachs or H&Rs. But for a coilover, you'd have to spend 3x as much to get a better setup than yellows / GCs

If you're planning on upgrading in the future, go with the yellows...

Re: Koni Yellows + ???????? Coilover Sleeves = No Cutting/Grinding/Welding? (AutoXer, carsaregood)
 

Thanks for the great info and the Brake Line Bracket heads-up!

Thanks for the guidance as well,
JasonGhostz