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Old 10-27-2013, 07:11 PM   #1
Yargk
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Default Damper experts! What are the koni failure/wear modes?

I have Koni Yellow inserts on my 2007 WRX wagon with wagon sti pink springs. For the past few years, about every year, I need to turn my konis about a quarter turn firmer to maintain the ride I'm looking for. If I don't the car starts feeling a bit disconnected and bouncy and isn't as fun to drive, but after the turn, everything seems to go back to normal. I've read that this is not uncommon for Koni yellows, but it still seems strange to me. The shocks aren't failing, but something much be wearing or changing, that makes the shock a bit weak. Then that problem is mitigated by firming up the shock. Does anyone know what's going on inside the damper?

Thanks!
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Old 10-28-2013, 03:59 AM   #2
fastwrx25
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have you marked the konis/strut top orientation to see if the valve is turning over time by itself?

I noticed my konis settings sometimes change after time and I have to re-adjust them
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Old 10-30-2013, 01:46 AM   #3
Yargk
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fastwrx25 View Post
have you marked the konis/strut top orientation to see if the valve is turning over time by itself?

I noticed my konis settings sometimes change after time and I have to re-adjust them
Good point, I think this has happened before, but most recently I think not. I've had my shocks for 50k miles. FYI, about 15k miles ago they were good at 10/8 turns from soft. Now I'm enjoying 14/8 turns from soft.


BTW, it's interesting to me that I can tell the difference easily between .125 turns (that is, one setting will be perfect, and an 1/8th turn too much will be noticeably too stiff and an 1/8th turn too little will be relatively uncontrolled.) I wonder if anyone else adjusts that finely.
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Old 11-02-2013, 04:21 PM   #4
memmek2k
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The Autocross to Win book mentions Koni adjustment being pretty nonlinear and sensitive:

Quote:
That being said, the ubiquitous Koni Yellow is actually a decent shock for the price. The off-the-shelf valving is usually pretty good, the knob is rebound-only with very little crosstalk onto compression, and while the knob is SERIOUSLY nonlinear, it can be worked with: a typical Yellow had 2 1/2 turns of adjustment. The last 1/2 turn to full hard is useless (tiny changes make huge force changes) and the last half to full turn to full soft does nothing, but that turn to turn and a half in the middle of the range usually isn't bad.
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Old 11-04-2013, 02:14 PM   #5
Yargk
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Cool, thanks for the info.
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Old 11-04-2013, 07:14 PM   #6
jamal
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Sounds like they could use a rebuild or new fluid and seals. Over time the fluid will wear out and break down, and the viscosity will drop. So you need a tighter shim/smaller orifice to get the same force.
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