EDIT: Post DELETED!

Thanks to CRX Lee for answering my question. Well I guess I'll be selling them then. Anyone want to buy a pair of pristine, brand spankin' new-in-box Koni yellow adjustable strut inserts, part# 8641-1416 Sport, for the front of an 01-03 Civic, All Models (Exc. Type R)?


Modified by tjbizzo at 10:49 PM 3/9/2004

 

I think it would take less effort to just resell the shocks wouldn't it?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Crazydave &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think it would take less effort to just resell the shocks wouldn't it?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I really don't think it would take much effort to use them. Shim stock for the base to fit, hose clamp for the brake line clip, anything else? And I would certainly lose a lot trying to sell them and then buy new ones, not to mention shipping costs, my time, etc. Hence the whole reason for my question.

 

other then the valving being completely wrong for your application, the fab work needed to make them fit, etc. i think you'd actually invest less time/effort/money in reselling them (they only cost you $16+ shipping. they retail for quite a bit more then that ) and buying the right part for the job.

nate

 

I really do appreciate everyones comments, but I feel that I need to be clearer about some points.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by solo-x &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">other then the valving being completely wrong for your application</TD></TR></TABLE>

I wouldn't say the valving was *completely* wrong, I mean they're made for the front of a Civic with similar geometry, only it weighs 20-25% more than mine. Would the valving be completely wrong if you stripped 20% of the weight out of a race car? I don't think so. And they are *adjustable* after all.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by solo-x &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the fab work needed to make them fit</TD></TR></TABLE>

As far as fab work goes, like I said before: take correct shim stock, roll into cylinder, trim length to fit, done. It's not like I'm having stuff done at a machine shop or anything.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by solo-x &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> i think you'd actually invest less time/effort/money in reselling them</TD></TR></TABLE>

Since buying the correct new ones for my car costs about $315+, how much do you think I could resell these for? Plus the correct ones wouldn't allow for the 1-1.5" drop in front that I want unless I had Koni shorten them. How much would that cost?

 

Wow, I'm not sure what to say other than "Please don't" and if you do, only tell the person that you sell the car to. There is a fine line between the positive aspects of being resouceful and thrifty and the negative aspects being risky and nuts. If the car is not worth much and doesn't get much use and it is used in highly controlled situations, then I can't stop you. If the car or your hide is of much real value or if you will be driving the car on the street where other people will be around, then I highly recommend that you not do it.

A few of my concerns would include the body strength of the Koni unit. It is designed to be an insert that fits tightly inside a factory strut housing to gain it's strength against bending. The wall thickness is insufficient to expect to be load bearing itself. The wall thickness was only made to be self-supporting and gained it's side loading force from the original strut tube and bracketry that it was designed to be installed into. By putting some shim stock inside the strut clamp to reduce the size, you are building a serious stress riser right at the end of the clamp and I expect that it would likely bend easily as normal strut side load force is applied. It might not do it immediately but there is a great chance that it would and possibly at a speed where it might not be pretty. Next, I have to wonder why someone sold these units for $15 on Ebay as the List price for the pair is about $450. I know what they cost to manufacture and what they sell for wholesale (much more than $15) and I am dubious at best of their real condition. As for the valving, although this is the least of my concerns, I think it is being a bit oversimplistic to make these simple comparisons. Maybe it would be in the same general, vast ballpark but there are other issues upstream of the actual valving.

Maybe if you actually do this and somehow it was not unsuccessful at least in the short term, you might say that it is not so bad. There are many things in life where you can lower your standards far enough and eventually be satisfied, especially if you really want to be in the first place. My greater concern is of safety and applying load and forces that the units were not designed for.

I commend you on resouceful thinking and for a really cheap purchase of as yet unquantified parts. I respectfully ask that you not do this but also ask:
1) Don't tell Koni or anyone else about it (other than the next car buyer)
2) Don't name Koni in the lawsuit