So I have koni yellows with too soft springs for track duty. Looks like I will go up to something like 650 F / 850 R. I called Koni about revalving and they suggested I try to find some 2812's instead at that spring rate. That's out of my budget.

It's an EG with k20 motor. I will drive it to/from the track. Will put R compound's on it. Want to TT or race with NASA eventually but it's a dedicated track toy right now.

Thoughts on the AMR's? Has anybody here revalved koni's for that spring rate? Help.

 

i have a set of amr's that are on a future track car. autox spring rates and in my opinion will not be great for track duty but i will try them on track since i picked them up used for cheap.

feel great on the street!

 

Uh, who'd you talk to at Koni? The Koni RACE can handle those rates just fine. Can't comment on AMR without some dyno sheets and specs, but if they are cheap, they're probably junk. (margins on race shocks are tiny, so to make money on "affordable" race shocks, SOMETHING has been compromised)

 

Panic button released..
Those yellows can be race valved, and shortened very easilly.
They will accomodate the spring rates you wish to run with no problem.
I have never heard of koni not accomodating a users request to revalve them.
In my experiences they have never tried to upsell if they can accomodate your needs.
I'd get back to who ever you called, and get the right info.

Here is a list of authorized Koni rebuilding centers.
http://www.koniracing.com/shopservices.html


Dont know anything about AMR never seen any spec sheets on them.
If you want to go with tried tested get the yellows revalved call it a day.

 

I have nothing but great things to say about Pro Parts USA (Conoga Park, CA) with regards to Koni rebuild services!

 

It was somebody at Koni NA. I reread his email and it does not say they can't or won't. He simply said if I wanted to set the car up with those rates to consider it. Based on the way you guys sound and with my budget I would much rather just revalve what I got. Done deal.

 

How much does revalving cost generally?

 

I was told by koni NA it's about 100-125 per damper plus parts if needed were additional 80-100. So......125-225 per damper.

 

That sounds about right, again it depends on the condition of the dampers too.
Ive seen people send back bent up ones, and cost them a bit more because of the replacement parts.
get er done!

 

Jesus, it costs me $75 a corner on Bilsteins for a revalve.


Why do I see a lot of race builds doing a softer spring in front with 650/850 in this case? I know there's several reasons, either to limit weight transfer to the rear which takes away the understeer, buy why not go with a stiffer sway bar instead? Is it also for more street cars that still have weight in the rear and not stripped?

I guess things are a bit different for me with my Tarmac Rally suspension where I'm running a 650 in front and a 400 in the rear. OEM 22mm bar in front and 24MM ASR bar in the rear.

 

Do you guys recommend doing the hardrace bushings kit as well?

 

Yes but buy them from an approved vendor.
Ebay ones have been known to bring out some hardrace knock offs.
Might be cheaper but not the same quality.
Contact Kiwi at spms.
http://www.specialprojectsms.com/

 

Here's some info on AMR Engineering guys...

http://www.amrengineering.com/faq.html

Oh and reading some shock dyno will never tell the whole story.

AMR's are Custom Valved, Your Chosen Spring Rates ( Hyperco Default), Lifetime Warranty, Never a blown strut in 7 years. They are great quality I can not speak personally to their driveability but my set I am holding in my hands is pretty solid.

Solo-X I don't believe you'd be disappointed if you got a set.

 

I do both, more rear spring 890-1200, and no front bar 21mm rear bar

 

I believe most road race setups are typically more prone to oversteer. More road so you can afford more mistakes. I would be to scared to drive a twitchy car for rallying. One wrong move and the car will end up in a tree. Thats my .02 cents but I might be wrong.

 

I had my OTS Koni's revalved for 650f/800r by TrueChoice... Yeah about $125/each plus shipping handling and a little extra if they need to replace parts(they didn't with mine since they were only a year old and not a whole lot of miles).

 

Price out buying the Race revalved/shortened units new and selling your current shocks. I'm betting the dollars are about the same as "just" a revalve *and* you don't have to deal with the downtime of the revalve/shortening option.

Christian, who's been there and done that.

 

buying out a new RACE set is actually a lot cheaper then sending your yellow's in to get revalved and shorten.

i priced my out and it ended up being $250+ for each shock. that's $1000+, not even including shipping. you could get a new set of RACE for another $100-200

 

A lot of people swear by AMR, Im not one because they are the same chinese shocks that everyone sells. The only difference is maybe quality control and they add some hyper coils. The same thing can be said for BC racing.

I just switched from Progress custom valved that were great to the Koni DA's from truechoice. The rebuild for that setup was like $750 so I would consider talking to them unless you want a new set.I know the op posted a long time ago but still.

 

Seriously?!? "Same Chinese shocks? Let's see the proof of that. And the record is clear on the quality of AMR.

AMR is head and shoulders above bc racing.

Your comparison is like saying eBay shocks and well hyperco springs. GTFO with that.

Your post from "I just switched" on is great though.

 

.

 

+1 for the Koni Race Valve shocks!

 

I'd think of Bilstein, Penske, Koni, Ohlins, AST, Moton, KW
maybe off the shell, maybe revalve

As long as it is serviceable
Not sure about AMR

 

I agree, reading a shock dyno will never tell the whole story. That is why I don't base my opinions on one part of the story.

Can you provide me with a white paper on the adjuster design and a dyno sheet with a sweep done at each adjustment setting? Those two things will give you an idea of how well the damper should work out of the box. The level and ease of support and expertise are also super important.

The rest of your post is marketing lingo. Custom valved? Great, I've had custom valved dampers for close to 7yrs now. My choice of spring rates? Ditto. Lifetime Warranty is nice, but still only words until a claim has to be filed. Not saying they won't honor their warranty, and it might be a selling point for someone else, but to me it doesn't matter. If I'm buying a race part, I'm not exactly expecting it to last 150k miles. None of this differentiates these dampers from the rest of the field. And knowing what I know about the race damper industry, my money is that nothing special resides inside the shock. And historically, no adjustable damper at the Koni RACE price point can beat the Koni RACE damper. If you include non-adjustable dampers, the Bilstein shocks are right there too.

 

Hey take it down a notch, your gonna wake up the other kids in the daycare. Quit being such a baby. You made the point to call them Chinese crap the bourdon of proof is on you. All this is is conjecture plain and simple.

Sorry Solo-X I can not provide such papers and pardon me for the lengthy post about to follow. This comes from a professional shock builder and may shine a better light on it. If Andy wasn't so busy I'd ask for said papers.

This is a post by Andy on the evoxforum. I know it's not technical graphs and sheets, but here you go.

Hmm interesting, I'd have to disagree with you there pal. Now your entitled to your opinion, but I know you've never had our coils in your hands, and I know your no shock builder. I send shocks to guys that deal with these brand dampers all day long, and my single adjustable dampers are just as good as it comes. AST does offer more as far as options, but that is as far a it goes. The 4100's are a single adjustable dampers, nothing more, nothing less. I have nothing, but repsect for those guys, as well as the other high end brands I personally look up to. But when it comes to dampers the only person that can really give feedback worth a damn are other shock builders who have worked with other brands which know them in and out. Here is a review that was posted by Alex Szilagyi. I didn't even know he posted this till a guy that saw it called me up and ordered a set of coilovers from us, and informed me about it. Now if you don't know this guy then let me tell you just a lil about him. He makes custom coilover systems as well, and is a Penske rebuilder who is listed on there website. This guy does everything from custom Penske shocks to chassis development. Now this guy has had his hands into everything, he has rebuild Ksports, D2, Penske, Ohlins yada yada. Basically when it comes to dampers this guys knows them in and out, and that includes the crap out there. I've read his reviews on those other brands, and let me tell you he doesn't put AMR in the likes with those brands such as D2, Ksport, BC Racing, and many others who people like to think we compare to. Well here is what he posted, and to me this is actually worth something. Why? Cause he is a professional, he is in his 40's and been doing this FOREVER and he has and will continue to give me feedback that actually improves the product and helps us move forward as we grow as a company. To top it off, he didn't know what brand the dampers were, or even knew I owned AMR He knows now cause as soon as he was done taking them apart he asked me who build them, and how much...in other words he was impressed.

AMR Civic Strut
I took a look at a McPherson Strut at the request of Andrew Rayes.
Latter I found out Mr. Rayes is actually the manufacturer of struts and shocks.

His web sight is found at:
http://www.amrengineering.com/index.html

(They have an AW11 set as well)

The unit Andy sent me to look at was as raced on his personal car.
It is a mono-tube all threaded steel body. Take-apart design with a 9 position rebound adjuster.
This particular version tested has an inline separating piston. Dividing the Nitrogen charge from the damping fluid. (This is my personal favorite if package length allows it)

It has a 44 mm internal bore size (same as Ohlins)

And uses a steel piston with an O-ring backed (bore) sealing band. Just like the big guys Penske and Ohlins.

The working piston resembles an Ohlins. And use Deflected disk technology.
Leading to easy tuning and calibration by the owner (if he has the skills and tools required).
The shims are metric sizes with a 12mm center hole. Look like they could interchange with Bilstein or Ohlins. This unit was assembled using lock-tight and did require a small amount of heat from a propane torch to disassemble. But this practice is quite common in the shock industry.
As no manufacture want to be responsible for strut parts under high pressure accidently becoming loose. Or having an inexperienced user try to service the unit incorrectly.
And have it release its contents in your face.

Do not take this lightly_without training and proper tools. Do not attempt to service or tune a gas shock!

The quality and workmanship of the working shaft and shock body bore seem quite good.
And appear to be a good value.

The shaft seal it self is one I have not seen before. And has a bit more seal force drag than the high end players. But it appears to be of long lasting material. And does not exhibit the low shaft speed sticktition problems I have found in other struts in this price range.

The adjuster is quite effective. And covers a large range with nice linear steps between positions.

Andrew Rayes appears to be a hands on owner. Who is not only a club racer. But is headquartered here in the USA. And is personally committed to his products and service.
You will not find this in the shock world today!

The shock was easy to work with. And is of good quality.
Add to this service and sales in the USA.
My feeling at this time. This unit will be a hard one to beat!

And I can not wait to take a look at the AMR Struts for the AW11


Submitted by Alex Szilagyi

There you go and as always with a grain of salt.