hi guys, i'm from toronto
and i'm plannning to drop my ride soon, but i'm also looking for some shocks to handle the drop. as we all know the toronto roads kind of trash and always have potholes and cracks like that... so i'm looking into the s-tech for now

but for shock wise
i'm debating between the reds and yellow

let's not talk about price and money, but talk about long term and function wise

which one has more reliability?
which one would last more (durable) over winter?
which one tend to have rusting issues more?
both are adjustable for damper settings?
which one last longer?
which one can handle more drop (stech is 1.9" front and 1.x" rear)?
if i plan to put on stiffer springs on later to go auto-x or track... which one should i go for?
i heard a lot about yellow + h&r, but can reds be good with h&r as well?

last question, money issue, yellow cost more than reds, right?

thanks
walter

 

as far as I know, reds have the same internals as the yellows, just valved softer and the reds are only internally adjustable (but there was a very rare productin of an external adjustable red for some civic i believe)

yellows overall would be your better bet, they are externally adjustable, and are valved to handle everything from stock springs to 600lb/in springs. price difference isn't that much either. about $100 were talking here.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by t_dot_SiR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
which one has more reliability?
which one would last more (durable) over winter?
which one tend to have rusting issues more?
both are adjustable for damper settings?
which one last longer?
which one can handle more drop (stech is 1.9" front and 1.x" rear)?
if i plan to put on stiffer springs on later to go auto-x or track... which one should i go for?
i heard a lot about yellow + h&r, but can reds be good with h&r as well?

last question, money issue, yellow cost more than reds, right?

thanks
walter</TD></TR></TABLE>

this is give a pretty good comaprison: http://www.koni-na.com/products.cfm

As a general rule of thumb, the Koni Sport (yellow paint) is going to be valved a bit more aggressively than the Koni Special (red paint) so it is going to be the better chocie for competition use, aggressive driving, matching with more perforamcne upgrades, etc. The Special is a performance shock with more emphasis on ride comfort while still having a wide adjustment range for tuning and wear compensation over extended periods of time. Especially with Honda car products, the Sports are almost always going to be externally rebound adjustable on the car for tuning the rebound damping. The Specials are also adjustable but are internally adjustable meaning that they need to be pre-set at the time of installtion or removed from the car for adjustment.

The shocks are very similar in functional design, components, etc. so their reliability, longevity, wear rates, etc. so there will be no difference there. Since the Spcial hocks need to engage the internal adjusters when compressed, it would be better not to lower them quite as far as you might with a set of Sports but this difference is minor and your bump rubbers should be sufficient to resist bottoming on either of the shocks.

Generally for the Hondas, the Specials cost about 2/3 the price of the Sports. it is not a reflection of the quality of the part at all, more a reflection of the market and the target audience and the features on the shock (external rebounds adjustment, adjustablespring perch locations, etc).

Since you are lowering the car a fair amount and talking about stiffer spring later plus autocross, track and street duty, then it soulds like you are more along the lines of the yellow Koni Sport. If the budget does not allow it, then the red Special will be the option with fewer features and a bit ofter valving.

 

Heres my .02. I was in a similar situation a little while ago. Koni yellows can be had for $455 shipped (from performancecloseout in the sponsors section). That is the cheapest price I have seen in about 6 months. I was debating getting the Koni yellows. What I ended up doing... I got the Tokico Illuminas. ($365 shipped off ebay, but i see them going now for $350 shipped). Thats a savings of over $100 for the Tokicos. The Koni Yellows are a better shock then the Tokicos im sure but you have to ask your self what you need from the shock. I go to the drag strip occasionally and the autox occassionally. I have no complaints with my shocks. Im not a hard core drag racer or autox'er or track driver. I daily drive my car and do some other stuff for fun. The adjustablilty is great and with the springs i have (eibach pro kit) i love them. Thats enough for my rant, and sorry if your not interested since its not one of your choices, but I would recomend looking into the tokicos unless you are serious about racing, want to get some stiff coilovers or feel the need to get a better shock. Anyway have fun deciding!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RexOwner &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Heres my .02. I was in a similar situation a little while ago. Koni yellows can be had for $455 shipped (from performancecloseout in the sponsors section). That is the cheapest price I have seen in about 6 months. I was debating getting the Koni yellows. What I ended up doing... I got the Tokico Illuminas. ($365 shipped off ebay, but i see them going now for $350 shipped). Thats a savings of over $100 for the Tokicos. The Koni Yellows are a better shock then the Tokicos im sure but you have to ask your self what you need from the shock. I go to the drag strip occasionally and the autox occassionally. I have no complaints with my shocks. Im not a hard core drag racer or autox'er or track driver. I daily drive my car and do some other stuff for fun. The adjustablilty is great and with the springs i have (eibach pro kit) i love them. Thats enough for my rant, and sorry if your not interested since its not one of your choices, but I would recomend looking into the tokicos unless you are serious about racing, want to get some stiff coilovers or feel the need to get a better shock. Anyway have fun deciding!</TD></TR></TABLE>

I have a brand new set of KYB AGX shocks that I bought at my shop waiting install. Im actually going to sell them to go with the Koni Yellows.

 

i ended up getting reds and s-tech springs
and i drive an 96 coupe
the specs says 1.9" drop for front
so do you guys think i should get a camber kit? so far is seems no problem... but i won't notice camberwear until i actually drive it longer... but that would be too late to realize
so does anyone have experience with and without camber kits and were you ok or not?

thanks
walter

 

skip the camber kit, and get an alignment.

your tires will be fine.

btw, do you have any pics of the drop?

 

will post pics this weekend on the drop

looks good actually....

any more other input/opinion on camber kit?

 

im not trying to sound like a dick, but just do a search for camber kit, or is a camber kit necessary, and most of the threads, you will see that its toe that needs to be fixed. camber wear is much less noticible than toe wear.

good luck either way