i just bought some new koni yellow adjustable shocks and i was moving the C clip to the lowest position to put the ground controls on.. and the shock paint chips so easily. Is that normaL? the paint seems to flake off so easily.

Also how sturdy is the clip that the ground control sits on? is that all there is to hold the ground control up? thanks

 

You have the koni GCs? Yes the clip is all that holds the sleeve up. The paint chipped on mine also.

 

The paint on Koni yellows is atrocious. I put less than 10k miles on mine and they look like they have been through hell. Good shocks, damn crappy paint. If Lee is reading this, why does Koni cheap out on the paint for the yellows? My Koni reds had much better paint than the yellows.

 

The paint on the 2 sets of konis I had chips off really easily, and they look like crap after just installing them.

I dont care, I didnt buy them because they look pretty

 

I'm glad they chip easily, who wants friggin yellow shocks?

 

yeah i bought ground controls specifically for the koni neuspeed yellows

i hope that c clip is strong. I also agree that the paint quality on the yellow is really really bad. just during shipping i guess it got knocked around and there were several chip marks and when i moved the c clip to the bottom level it was chipping like crazy.

im more conercend about it rusting i really dont care about the paint color either. But i do think that paint issue does need to be addressed. with a quality shock it should come with a decent paint job.

 

the c clip is fine, don't worry about it. if there was something wrong with that design, you would have heard about it by now.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SkyeC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm glad they chip easily, who wants friggin yellow shocks? </TD></TR></TABLE>

My shocks on my racecar&gt;

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by chrisb &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The paint on Koni yellows is atrocious. I put less than 10k miles on mine and they look like they have been through hell. Good shocks, damn crappy paint. If Lee is reading this, why does Koni cheap out on the paint for the yellows? My Koni reds had much better paint than the yellows.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Just got back from a 5 day business trip so sorry for the slow response.

The yellow paint always seems to start behind the 8-ball a bit compared to the red and black paints because it simply takes longer to dry and seems to be more effected by humidity during it's drying period. When we paint shocks in our shop here, depending on the number painted at one time we will use a specially mixed paint for us that is put either in a rattle can or in a normal air propelled paint sprayer. Our paint booth has a high volume air draft system but it is open to the shop air and heat and humidity on the shop can greatly effect the drying time of the yellow paint. We have tried a number of suppliers, mixes, etc. over the years sticking pretty close to KONI Holland's yellow shade and it doesn't seem to have that much effect on the yellow. The red paint will dry possibly 2-3 times faster and adhere better. It just seems like the yellow is not as easy to deal with. My racecars are yellow and I have heard from car painters that yellows are often more expensive and harder to deal with than many other colors. Someone in the paint industry might now more specifics.

For shocks that are made and painted in KONI Holland (production shocks that haven't been serviced here), the Dutch version of our Environmental Protection Agency has had huge impact on their paint requirements and we have seen multiple changes in recent years. They have totally or nearly outlawed use of solvents in paints as Europe is getting extremely "green" and environmentally conscious. I know that KONI Holland has spend millions of dollars redoing their paint lines to keep with the restrictive laws and it is still a steady challenge to improve. Now most of their paints tend to be water based from what I hear and their drying time is extended and it seems to stick less to the base material regarless of primer and it can be brittle if something scratches hard on the surface and breaks the paint skin. KONI has a recently even somewhat changed the shade of the traditional Koni red paint recently trying to get a better paint that will meet the laws and do a better job. The new red is a deeper shade and less "tomatoey".

Although they are working to improve the paint as best they can, KONI Holland are generally pretty pragmatic people (to a fault sometimes) and they realize that the real function of a shock is internal and the effects that it has upon the car so although paint finish is a priority, it is not of as high a level as the internal components.

 

I should have paid extra for the "chrome" option

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I should have paid extra for the "chrome" option </TD></TR></TABLE>

I stripped the paint with aircraft paint remover, then went over the shock with a wire "cup" on a drill to get the finish. Then I painted them with like 8 coats of clear.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRX Lee &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Although they are working to improve the paint as best they can, KONI Holland are generally pretty pragmatic people (to a fault sometimes) and they realize that the real function of a shock is internal and the effects that it has upon the car so although paint finish is a priority, it is not of as high a level as the internal components. </TD></TR></TABLE>

So they should just paint them flat black or something. And stick a yellow stripe somewhere so that they can still call it Koni yellows...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jisu009 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I stripped the paint with aircraft paint remover, then went over the shock with a wire "cup" on a drill to get the finish. Then I painted them with like 8 coats of clear. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Ya, because we all know that makes the car SOOOOOOO much faster, less wind resistance on the shocks.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MightyMouseTech &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ya, because we all know that makes the car SOOOOOOO much faster, less wind resistance on the shocks. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Thats why I installed carbon fiber canards on my shocks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jisu009 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I stripped the paint with aircraft paint remover, then went over the shock with a wire "cup" on a drill to get the finish. Then I painted them with like 8 coats of clear. </TD></TR></TABLE>

So sexy!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jsi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
So they should just paint them flat black or something. And stick a yellow stripe somewhere so that they can still call it Koni yellows... </TD></TR></TABLE>

If there wasn't so much current momentum and recognition of KONI and the yellow paint (which started in the mid-'80s or so) linking to the Sport, I am sure the Dutch would be happy to do it. How often do people call them "KONI Yellows" instead of their proper name of KONI Sports? The association is huge.

I'd bet some number of purists were in uproar when KONI started using yellow paint at all when for decades all Konis were that oranish red shade.

 

Yep, yellow were street shocks and red were race or something like that. I still have a set of Koni vintage reds off of a 65 GT350R that sit on my shelf..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MightyMouseTech &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Ya, because we all know that makes the car SOOOOOOO much faster, less wind resistance on the shocks. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Gauranteed! I effectively extended the life of the shock body by restoring the finish and removing the corrosion.

If you take the overall lifespan of the shock and calculate the average speed over the life of the shock....then you will clearly see that this does in fact make my shocks faster

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rene M &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yep, yellow were street shocks and red were race or something like that. I still have a set of Koni vintage reds off of a 65 GT350R that sit on my shelf.. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Red were the color of all of the shocks street or race line called "KONI Special" until the mid-'80s when yellow was added as often a second option for street or race called "KONI Sport". Later black was offered when the bringing back previously discontinued shocks called "KONI Classic" although some Classics were still red.

The color doesn't imply street or race as any KONI can be used for both pretty much, just whether or not they are considered Specials or Sports.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jisu009 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I stripped the paint with aircraft paint remover, then went over the shock with a wire "cup" on a drill to get the finish. Then I painted them with like 8 coats of clear. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm going to do this to my whole car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mos &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I'm going to do this to my whole car. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Actually, that is not a bad idea.

 

i painted mine flat black to match the mud under the daily driver. stealth shocks!

 

Yeah mine chipped off pretty quickly, especially on the front after I fitted the brake line bracket

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I dont care, I didnt buy them because they look pretty </TD></TR></TABLE>

as long as they do their job

 

if it makes anyone feel any better, the yellow paint chips off of bilsteins pretty easily too.