Do Koni Shocks wear out?

[Ricardino]

My car came with 30 yr old koni reds. I've adjusted them and they seem fine, but I wonder how to know if they are worn in any way...no leaks.

Thx,
R

[Gordon Raymond]

EVENTUALLY, they will leak at the top seal. Sometimes on some of the older Koni's used on Ferrari's, I've had internal seals break up and clog the valves. This causes the shock to lock up and can break suspension components. Over the years, I've had 3 develop leaks, and 2 lock up. That's over a period of 45 years. Some can be rebuilt. I have had no longer available Koni's "remanufactured by Koni. They came out fine.

[Tim-Spruill]

Has anyone ever tried to rebuild a set of Konis themselves?

[Gordon Raymond]

Whew! Too many special tools and calibrations! Not ME!!

[Ricardino]

Thanks Gordon...I'll watch for leaks.

R

[BiancaGT]

One answer is that unless they're new, they're worn in some way. But the whole point of Konis is that you can compensate for that by adjusting them. The typical street setting is to make them nearly as soft as you can get them, when new. If you've had to adjust them to make them work for normal driving, that's an indication that they're worn somewhat. But as long as you can adjust them tight enough for your purposes, they're not worn out. A good alignment and suspension guy I know says that each 'click' is typically good for about 10 - 15,000 miles of driving. After that, you need to tighten them another click. There are a lot of clicks in a classic Koni. It's unlikely that you'll ever get to that last click unless you race or drive the car pretty heavily. Other than Gordon Raymond's comments, I don't think there's much else to concern yourself with on them.

[Ricardino]

BiancaGT

Thanks for the advice...funny I don't think mine click...they just trun...2 full turns from full soft to full hard. I just mark the body to meter adjustment. I tried my fonts at 1.5 turns and the car understeered more...so I've backed off to 1 turn...the middle of the adjustment range and it feels more neutral now. Rears are set full soft.

I'd love to know the ideal setting, but that's probably another thread.

Thanks all,
Richard

[Gubi]

The pressurized gas ones "click", the non-pressurized ones adjust smoothly.

They are only adjustable in rebound. Koni recommends starting at full soft and only adjusting for wear.

[BiancaGT]

Richard,

Glad to be of some value. I've had a few cars with Konis and your observation is right. Some click and some don't. I'm not a Koni expert and can't explain why or which ones do or whatever, but the point is that they do have some form of adjustability and you have to play around with them to get what you want. As I mentioned, typical street setting on new ones is nearly full soft. But I've found that some cars warrant a slightly stiffer setting, even for comfortable street use. It's partly the car and partly personal preference. You probably know even more about this than I now. But to comment on your last point regarding what's ideal, and to borrow from one of my favorite films, it's not business, it's personal.

-Dave

[BiancaGT]

...and thanks, Tom, for the info about pressurized ones vs. non. I didn't know that.

-d

[Gordon Raymond]

Dave has it right. Having used these for 45 years on Ferraris and Alfa's on both track and street, they are a sturdy non-disposable shock. The fact that the expensive and rare ones can be factory rebuilt is a serious plus with valuable vintage cars. I have not used the gas versions, so all I use just turn to adjust. As Dave mentioned, the factory setting is as designed for the particular car. Some twiddling may be required for track use. Years ago, I owned a '71 Hemi Plymouth, bought from Petty Engineering. It had double adjustable Koni's, front and rear. HUGE. Also fun to adjust as the jounce and rebound were separately adjustable. NO clicks! Special use designed Koni's! NEAT!