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Old 09-28-2016, 02:27 AM   #1
brianhou
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Default 08-14 wrx koni yellows review and experience

Here's a quick write up about my experience with my koni struts on a 2010 wrx over the past few years. Keep reading if you are interested in achieving good ride quality while getting of the front wheel gap (08-10 models) or if you want to know more about Koni's. Keep in mind that I only DD my car and I don't do any track or autocross.

Background

I got the Koni's because I was looking for a more compliant ride compared to coilovers (KW v3s) and I didn't want to go back to stock struts because they were horrible and bottomed out on large bumps. I considered going with the RCE/Bilstein combo but was ultimately deterred by the price. Also, since I was looking for ride quality, the RCE yellow spring rate seemed a bit harsh for the street from the reviews I've read.

Note: For each of the following setups, I've played around a lot with the rebound adjustments before making my conclusions.

Koni Front Struts with 11+ sti springs and 2011 sti rear struts

There are a few posts on the result of this already but I did this slightly differently (and probably way more idiotically). I used the 2011 springs with koni struts in the front and 2011 springs and struts in the rear. The result of this was that the front of the car felt pretty compliant but the rear of the car was extremely stiff. Conclusion: the 300lb spring rate on the rear is way too stiff.

Koni Struts with stock springs

There are also several posts on various forums saying that this is an acceptable setup for those who dd and don't want their cars any lower than stock. These posts also state that koni's work with springs ranging from stock to RCE yellow and beyond. However, I ran this setup for a few years and noticed that the ride felt over damped and harsh. It's definitely not nearly as bad as an overly bouncy setup but its still harsh. It makes sense that Koni's would still have an ideal spring rate because Koni's are only adjustable on rebound and not on bump. Don't be fooled like I was.

Current Setup: Koni Struts with 08-10 STI pinks

I had one more idea up my sleeve. I read a lot on the forums that other members utilized 08-10 sti front springs to lower their 08-10 wrx's by 10mm and some had even installed the rear springs on their car (to no benefit since the spring rates on the 08-10 sti are nearly identical to the spring rate on the 08-10 wrx. This lead me to believe that the 08-10 STI pinks, front (Part number B2010FG200) and rear (Part number B2010FG200), would also fit on a 08-10 wrx, even though it wasn't specified.

I chose the 08-10 STI pinks over other aftermarket options for three reasons: lower price, softer spring rates, and mild drop. I bought the springs on Heuberger Subaru's online store for less than 250 shipped. The advertised drop was 5mm on the STI, which would be 15mm total on the wrx, and unknown spring rates, but approximately 25% stiffer than a stock sti.

The other springs I was considering were the RCE blacks for wrx, which are 330 plus tax and shipping and have a 275/250 front rear spring rate and a 30mm drop. There are several posts about how Koni's and RCE blacks tend to be harsh as it feels like its too low and riding on bump stops. Whether those reviews were true, the spring rates were definitely higher and the drop greater.

Result: Despite being lower than stock, the ride is now been much better than with the koni and stock spring setup. The spring and struts feel like they are working together and the ride doesn't feel harsh at all. It's been a long time since I've ridden in a stock wrx, but I think it feels much better than the stock ride. Right now, I'm riding on full soft, but I'll play with the adjustments next time I go through a mountain pass.

I hope this information has been helpful! Let me know if you would like me to elaborate more on anything!

Here's a crappy iphone photo.

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Old 09-28-2016, 05:48 PM   #2
isotopesope
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i am so happy i finally ditched the 2011 STi springs paired to my Koni's and went to King Standards. so much better!
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Old 09-29-2016, 02:02 AM   #3
brianhou
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I've ridden in stock sti's before and it was way better compared to the ride quality I was getting with the Koni Frankenstein mixture.

Glad to hear you are liking you king springs setup! They don't advertise their spring rates right? Curious if they are stiffer than '11 sti rear springs.
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Old 09-29-2016, 08:51 AM   #4
isotopesope
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brianhou View Post
I've ridden in stock sti's before and it was way better compared to the ride quality I was getting with the Koni Frankenstein mixture.

Glad to hear you are liking you king springs setup! They don't advertise their spring rates right? Curious if they are stiffer than '11 sti rear springs.
they're progressive, but the final stiffness is about "25% stiffer than stock", which i speculate is based on the 08-10 STi/09-14 wrx rates. they feel good though.

that's an interesting comparison to hear how you felt a stock STi wasn't as harsh as the feeling from the frankenstein mixture! haha those rear 2011 springs were definitely on the harsh side for me too. especially once i added a passenger.
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Old 11-21-2018, 04:00 PM   #5
KyLoReN
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brianhou View Post
Here's a quick write up about my experience with my koni struts on a 2010 wrx over the past few years. Keep reading if you are interested in achieving good ride quality while getting of the front wheel gap (08-10 models) or if you want to know more about Koni's. Keep in mind that I only DD my car and I don't do any track or autocross.

Background

I got the Koni's because I was looking for a more compliant ride compared to coilovers (KW v3s) and I didn't want to go back to stock struts because they were horrible and bottomed out on large bumps. I considered going with the RCE/Bilstein combo but was ultimately deterred by the price. Also, since I was looking for ride quality, the RCE yellow spring rate seemed a bit harsh for the street from the reviews I've read.

Note: For each of the following setups, I've played around a lot with the rebound adjustments before making my conclusions.

Koni Front Struts with 11+ sti springs and 2011 sti rear struts

There are a few posts on the result of this already but I did this slightly differently (and probably way more idiotically). I used the 2011 springs with koni struts in the front and 2011 springs and struts in the rear. The result of this was that the front of the car felt pretty compliant but the rear of the car was extremely stiff. Conclusion: the 300lb spring rate on the rear is way too stiff.

Koni Struts with stock springs

There are also several posts on various forums saying that this is an acceptable setup for those who dd and don't want their cars any lower than stock. These posts also state that koni's work with springs ranging from stock to RCE yellow and beyond. However, I ran this setup for a few years and noticed that the ride felt over damped and harsh. It's definitely not nearly as bad as an overly bouncy setup but its still harsh. It makes sense that Koni's would still have an ideal spring rate because Koni's are only adjustable on rebound and not on bump. Don't be fooled like I was.

Current Setup: Koni Struts with 08-10 STI pinks

I had one more idea up my sleeve. I read a lot on the forums that other members utilized 08-10 sti front springs to lower their 08-10 wrx's by 10mm and some had even installed the rear springs on their car (to no benefit since the spring rates on the 08-10 sti are nearly identical to the spring rate on the 08-10 wrx. This lead me to believe that the 08-10 STI pinks, front (Part number B2010FG200) and rear (Part number B2010FG200), would also fit on a 08-10 wrx, even though it wasn't specified.

I chose the 08-10 STI pinks over other aftermarket options for three reasons: lower price, softer spring rates, and mild drop. I bought the springs on Heuberger Subaru's online store for less than 250 shipped. The advertised drop was 5mm on the STI, which would be 15mm total on the wrx, and unknown spring rates, but approximately 25% stiffer than a stock sti.

The other springs I was considering were the RCE blacks for wrx, which are 330 plus tax and shipping and have a 275/250 front rear spring rate and a 30mm drop. There are several posts about how Koni's and RCE blacks tend to be harsh as it feels like its too low and riding on bump stops. Whether those reviews were true, the spring rates were definitely higher and the drop greater.

Result: Despite being lower than stock, the ride is now been much better than with the koni and stock spring setup. The spring and struts feel like they are working together and the ride doesn't feel harsh at all. It's been a long time since I've ridden in a stock wrx, but I think it feels much better than the stock ride. Right now, I'm riding on full soft, but I'll play with the adjustments next time I go through a mountain pass.

I hope this information has been helpful! Let me know if you would like me to elaborate more on anything!

Here's a crappy iphone photo.

Sorry to dig this up, but how are they holding up?

Im wanting to get these for mine. Anyone know the spring rates on those Sti springs? I know the jdm pinks are 280f/225r.
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Old 06-03-2019, 06:06 PM   #6
chriscaughy
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i about to put the Koni Yellows and Eibach Sport springs on my 2011 Impreza 2.5i, was previously riding on 2011 WRX oem shocks and springs, excited to see and feel the difference.
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Old 01-27-2020, 09:56 AM   #7
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Resurrecting the dead...
I've tried various spring/shock combinations over the years in an attempt to find that elusive "perfect" balance of comfort vs. ride height vs. responsiveness on my DD '09 WRX. I crave tight handling on smooth twisty roads...but, unfortunately, I drive on mainly straight, ****ty, rough roads here in central OK. I've found that suspension that's too low and overly stiff actually degrades handling as the car hops off its line mid-corner or breaks traction abruptly.

I paired these combinations with a bunch of suspension bushing upgrades and 22mm front and rear sway bars.

- Stock springs (217# front, 194#rear) with stock shocks: way too soft, underdamped and floaty, bottoms out easily, handling is pretty flaccid.

- Epic Engineering springs (unknown spring rate) with Koni shocks: too low, bottoms out easily, too harsh, handling improved a bit.

- RCE Black springs (275# front, 250#rear) with Koni shocks: too low, too harsh, handling is good, but the ride sucks and I scraped my front bumper cover off numerous times.

- 2011-2014 STI springs (250# front, 297#rear) with Koni shocks: Aha! Now the car is starting to feel a bit more balanced! Notice how these rear springs are stiffer than the fronts. It made the car rotate so much easier in slow corners (great for AutoX), but the ass end was a bit twitchy and nervous on rough roads @ higher speeds. And, after a couple years of running this combo, I got sick of the ass end being kinda stiff and harsh. It was too "lively", and I wanted to tone down the snap oversteer a bit.
Isotoposope was right - the STI rear spring rate is a bit too much on crappy roads...it just took me awhile to figure that out

- 2010 STI SE springs (250# front, 250#rear) with Koni shocks: O.K., this combination is really a great balance between comfort and handling. The ass end doesn't quite feel as buttoned down (I'm gonna increase rear shock rebound by a 1/4 turn to see if I can firm it up a bit), but it's so much more comfortable than the 2011 STI rear springs. It does raise the rear by about 1/4 inch over the 2011+ STI springs, so the "stance boiz" would not approve. But I don't care about looking cool, I want a great handling DD with a fairly comfortable ride. It just took me a while to find it.

Rear spring length: The 2010 STI SE rear springs (Part # 20330FG500) are the same length as the '08 - '10 WRX springs @ 300mm. In 2011, Subaru shortened the rear STI springs by about 1/2 inch. They'll fit on a WRX, but with very little spring preload.

Last edited by kingsalami; 02-28-2020 at 11:57 AM.
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Old 01-27-2020, 10:17 AM   #8
Stretch18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kingsalami View Post
- Epic Engineering springs (unknown spring rate) with Koni shocks: too low, bottoms out easily, too harsh, handling improved a bit.
FWIW, I've been running this exact setup for upwards of 100k miles now. It's a progressive spring rate, FYI.

My circumstances are completely different as I mostly drive on flat, Florida roads & highways. Agree that they don't like potholes & divots. I definitely wouldn't want to be driving them on irregular pavement every day.

Otherwise, it's been a good option for driving around for me. It also looks cool.
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Old 02-28-2020, 09:28 AM   #9
Winnerone23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kingsalami View Post
Resurrecting the dead...
I've tried various spring/shock combinations over the years in an attempt to find that elusive "perfect" balance of comfort vs. ride height vs. responsiveness on my DD '09 WRX. I crave tight handling on smooth twisty roads...but, unfortunately, I drive on mainly straight, ****ty, rough roads here in central OK. I've found that suspension that's too low and overly stiff actually degrades handling as the car hops off its line mid-corner or breaks traction abruptly.

I paired these combinations with a bunch of suspension bushing upgrades and 21mm - 22mm front and 20mm - 22mm rear sway bars.

- Stock springs (217# front, 194#rear) with stock shocks: way too soft, underdamped and floaty, bottoms out easily, handling is pretty flaccid.

- Epic Engineering springs (unknown spring rate) with Koni shocks: too low, bottoms out easily, too harsh, handling improved a bit.

- RCE Black springs (275# front, 250#rear) with Koni shocks: too low, too harsh, handling is good, but the ride sucks and I scraped my front bumper cover off numerous times.

- 2011-2014 STI springs (250# front, 297#rear) with Koni shocks: Aha! Now the car is starting to feel a bit more balanced! Notice how these rear springs are stiffer than the fronts. It made the car rotate so much easier in slow corners (great for AutoX), but the ass end was a bit twitchy and nervous on rough roads @ higher speeds. And, after a couple years of running this combo, I got sick of the ass end being kinda stiff and harsh. It was too "lively", and I wanted to tone down the snap oversteer a bit.
Isotoposope was right - the STI rear spring rate is a bit too much on crappy roads...it just took me awhile to figure that out

- 2010 STI SE springs (250# front, 250#rear) with Koni shocks: O.K., this combination is really a great balance between comfort and handling. The ass end doesn't quite feel as buttoned down (I'm gonna increase rear shock rebound by a 1/4 turn to see if I can firm it up a bit), but it's so much more comfortable than the 2011 STI rear springs. It does raise the rear by about 1/4 inch over the 2011+ STI springs, so the "stance boiz" would not approve. But I don't care about looking cool, I want a great handling DD with a fairly comfortable ride. It just took me a while to find it.

Rear spring length: The 2010 STI SE rear springs (Part # 20330FG500) are the same length as the '08 - '10 WRX springs @ 300mm. In 2011, Subaru shortened the rear STI springs by about 1/2 inch. They'll fit on a WRX, but with very little spring preload.
Have you tried unbolting your rear sway bar?

I ask because, I LOVE my Koni suspension setup's!
My 05 FXT is on Koni/Ground Control/ebiech.. 400/350# springs.. Stock front sway bar and no rear sway bar.. Whiteline Com C, tophats..

My 08 STI swapped Forester is the same suspension, 450/400# springs.. No sway bars..Whiteline Com C, tophats (handles like a Miata)
Had some 3,500$ Tien's and DMS caster camber plates F and DMS camber plates R, with sway bars.. Hated it!
With 420whp and 440wtq, I can barely get the tires to break traction, even on the wet, at fool boost, getting on a on ramp..

I've never had a single person mention a stiff ride.. Not ex wife, not the GF, not even my mom..
I'm in PA, so the roads aren't great and a lot of back roads.

My 99 RS coupe is on agx's with big sway bars and about to come off. It handles ok, a little stiff, square, and understeery.. Can slide it sideways, with ease.
I'm ready for it to respond to steering like a gokart!

Going with the Koni setup, Whiteline Com C, tophats and debating 350/300# or 400/350#.. Since I have all 3 pairs.. And I can't wait to ditch the rear sway bar!
It gets rid of the twitchy rear end and understeer. (I'm my experience)
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Old 02-28-2020, 12:21 PM   #10
kingsalami
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Winnerone23 View Post
Have you tried unbolting your rear sway bar?
It gets rid of the twitchy rear end and understeer. (I'm my experience)
Nope. I've had a 19mm, a 20mm, and now a 22mm on the rear, and I'm much happier with the 22mm back there. With 250# springs paired with 22/22 sways, street handling is dead-on neutral and very predictable.

Coming from those '11 STI springs, I wanted to soften up the rear to eliminate the stiff, twitchy ass end. I was trying to decide between '10 SE rear springs or going back to a 20mm rear sway bar. I'm really glad I went with the slightly softer springs - it improved the ride quite a bit.

One improvement that really helped the rear of the car track better is Group N lateral link & toe arm bushings. They're a PITA to install (cut out the old bushing/steel sleeve and use a DIY press to install the Group Ns), but well worth it. I have a short review on here in the Review section. Highly recommended!

I think you can get away with omitting the rear sway bar due to the stiffness of your rear springs. As you probably know, the stiffer the spring, the less sway bar you need to control body roll. I don't think I would want to run any stiffer than I've got now...our roads down here (even interstates) are seriously third-world crappy!
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Old 03-24-2020, 11:14 AM   #11
Heatstreak96
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A bit late here but I just wanted to point out that the part number for the rear STI pinks is B2010FG100.

Just noticed that Brian posted the same number for front and rear lol
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Old 03-24-2020, 06:28 PM   #12
Norm Peterson
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Reading through this thread, I'm seeing hardly any mention of adjusting the Konis at all, and no mention of actual settings. They're not going to be set the same for all springs or all drivers, but nobody even hinted at where they actually set them.

Koni's own shock adjusting notes recommend starting out full soft and adjusting the damping upward.


Koni yellows may initially be a bit harsh (seal stiction/friction), but that seems to wear itself in over time and miles. Setting the [rebound only] damping too high will still result in noticeable harshness, separate from the seal stiction issue.


Norm
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Old 06-05-2020, 10:30 AM   #13
Chiba
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So what is the code for the 2010 STI SE springs - front?

Also - very curious about the STI Pinks and why this is such a big spring rate difference between the front and back...
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Old 06-05-2020, 02:32 PM   #14
kingsalami
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chiba View Post
So what is the code for the 2010 STI SE springs - front?
Ohh, I don't know...because I'm still running the '11 STI springs up front (same rate @ 250# as the '10 STI SE front springs).

FWIW - since the spring combo I'm running ('11 STI up front & 2010 STI SE in the rear) is a pretty even drop front-to-back, I'm assuming the '08-'14 STI front spring lengths are all the same?
You may want to verify this with a bit of research because I know there are different shock spring perch lengths...but I'm just not sure which ones differ.

Check out Koni posts by Isotoposope - I think he identified which ones were shorter a couple years ago.
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Old 06-05-2020, 02:38 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kingsalami View Post
Ohh, I don't know...because I'm still running the '11 STI springs up front (same rate @ 250# as the '10 STI SE front springs).

FWIW - since the spring combo I'm running ('11 STI up front & 2010 STI SE in the rear) is a pretty even drop front-to-back, I'm assuming the '08-'14 STI front spring lengths are all the same?
You may want to verify this with a bit of research because I know there are different shock spring perch lengths...but I'm just not sure which ones differ.

Check out Koni posts by Isotoposope - I think he identified which ones were shorter a couple years ago.
Yes, based on Google-fu, the front spring lengths are the same, and the back is shorter for 11+ STI.

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Old 08-25-2023, 12:47 PM   #16
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Default Swifts?

Has anyone tried this with swift springs?
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