Bad koni yellows?

chrillew · Post by **chrillew** » 25 Feb 2019, 10:16

Hey

Was changing the top strut mounts both where shot. then i saw that the dampers was really easy to push in when i say easy, i could put the weight of my finger on them and they would compress with no force at all. but getting the shocks out again was another thing, i had to pull for a man and two to get it outwards so i could remount it again.

Sign of a failing shock ?

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 25 Feb 2019, 20:01

I've never had the luck to have Koni struts so I don't know what is normal behavior is. On the Bilstein struts a good one has decent resistance both compressing and rebounding but the Koni Yellows are usually adjustable. It might be that they just need to be adjusted.

...Lee

chrillew · Post by **chrillew** » 26 Feb 2019, 14:13

I think they where adjusted pretty hard, seemed like they almost compressed by them self just sitting there. but rebound is very stiff.

Weird that the rebound seems to work, but the compression seems ultra soft.

tardcart · Post by **tardcart** » 26 Feb 2019, 19:28

A shock only works on rebound. Its impossible to resist compression, Imagine hitting a pot hole with the shock resisting upward thrust. nothing can resist that. It would blow out the shock or tower.

Post by **erikv11** » 26 Feb 2019, 21:41

Actually something can (and does) resist that - the coil spring! Which is mounted to the strut body for that matter.

But yeah, shocks are for dampening vibration, however they can dampen compression and/or rebound. A compressed spring is always rebounding.

Post by **oragex** » 26 Feb 2019, 22:44

I find compressing them with but one finger suspicious.. but at least I believe they should return by themselves... but again, each shock may be different. I've had several brands on my hands - but not the Koni - and the good ones were returning smoothly and quite quickly, while the bad ones were rather lazy at it or were taking forever. As for the force to depress, some are much lighter than others, but again, using just one finger seems a bit extreme.

But again, I'm no expert, who knows how the Koni are designed.. I'd say, the best way to tell is on the road: nice damping over street bumps, good quick handling at speed, stability, all these should tell. But if you google Koni problem or 'long lasting' you may find these are not the most reliable, at least not as long as a Bilstein

chrillew · Post by **chrillew** » 27 Feb 2019, 01:46

Yeah well they are kinda old 5-7 years or so. in high speeds they tend to bounce also even what setting. think i should install the bilstein TCs and compare.

Sommerfeldt · Post by **Sommerfeldt** » 27 Feb 2019, 06:41

I have Koni Yellows, and they’re definitely not supposed to be like that. Mine are pretty stiff all-round, even on the softest setting, do not bounce at all, and I’ve never seen the behavior you describe when I’ve had them off. Something is not right with your set.

- S