Well it's time to bite the bullet and upgrade the shocks in my autocrosser. My poor Si is starting to get beat by the Mini's and I want to avoid that if possible


My car:
2000 Civic Si, 80k miles. Running GS with Hoosiers. I've been noticing a lot more sway in the transitions in the slaloms. So now it's time to dump the old OEM shocks and get new ones.

Should I go for the Konis ($$) or are there other options that are worth my attention?


Thanks for the help,

Kevin
GS 72
2k Civic Si
Super Kazoo Racing

 

Just go Koni's IMO

I have owned 5 sets of shocks and the Koni's are the best so far.

 

You know what my answer will be, this is like throwing down the gauntlet.

If your car is still on OE shocks, going to the OTS KONI Sport valving is going to have the car much more in control and paying more attention to the ground.

Having the KONIs would also open the opportunity for having them revalved down the road if you ever get really hardcore for autocross or track events. The OTS Sport valving will carry you a long way and help fine tune your handling.

 

how does one go about getting the Koni's revalved, and what are the options?

 

Call KONI and talk with me, the tech line, the shop, etc. There is basically an ala carte list of single or double adjustable, and multiple valvings depending on your needs, usage (street, track, autoX, mix, etc.), modifications, etc.

 

I hate to say this but -

Having a 2000 Si in GS is bringing a knife to a gunfight. Regardless of what shocks you put on the car you are not going to be competitive Nationally with the Cooper S or the Celica GT. The Si didn't have enough poop when it came out and the competitionhas only gotten harder. Just ask Mike "Junior" Johnson (F Stock National champ and former 2000 Si owner).

But, if you want the best bang for your shock dollar go with off the shelf Koni Sports. Look at last month's Grassroots Motorsports shock test. Other options that are cheaper are Tokico Illuminas or KYB AGX. Both of which are inferior for autocrossing and not rebuildable/revalvable.

 

Yeah, I knew this long ago. But I love the car and it is very competitive locally. Heck I was only 1.5 seconds behind the national champ at the last race and my Hoosiers had seen better days. Is spending the money on the shocks and tires a guarantee that I will win? Nope, but I know I have a fighting chance.

I love this sport but Im just not into the "gotta go out and buy this year's class killer" way of competing.

When (if?) I go to nats I will not be looking to win, but my goal will be to trophy. Maybe not the first year, but I will at some point.

 

GO KONI

Try and track down a copy of the grassroots motorsports magazine that had the shock test. They used a BMW but the test shows what differences shocks make. For the $$, IMO, Koni showed the $$$$ systems up.

 

What is everyones opinions on Bilstiens....

 

the only good bilsteins for honda's are the bilstein sports for the ITR...unfortunately the rear's are different due to different LCA design...so unless you get Bilstein to put the non-ITR lower bracket on the Bilstein Sport, you're screwed. and you can't swap control arms in stock

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Blue Si #72 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My car:
2000 Civic Si, 80k miles. </TD></TR></TABLE>


&lt;--- 00 Si, 35k miles!
I noticed a huge difference going from my stock shocks+Comptech springs (only about 120 rates) to OTS Yellows+Comptech springs. Now I am running OTS yellows+400/450 GC's and I'm loving it. I do miss my old springs on the street, though. Good luck on your choice, I know its hard to drop down $500+ on shocks, but I dont regret it.