Koni shocks/struts

[firstorbit84]

I submitted a question on Koni USA's website asking if they were going to make any products for the Sonic and here is their response:

Thank you for your interest in KONI shocks. Currently I am unaware of any product development for the Sonic at this time. Though as the model becomes more popular and a demand becomes more evident, the development for this application is a possibility. Unfortunately for now that development has yet to begin taking place.

I think anyone who's interested in Koni shocks for their car should submit a similar question on Koni's site.

Are the shocks the same for the Cruze? If so, then it might be worth starting a topic over in the Cruze forums too.

 

[Eric Smit]

ha. send them a link to the forum.


-Eric Smit

 

[Preloader]

^^^^^^This!!!^^^^^

 

[theenico]

I submitted a request about a year ago and got the same response.

I also called their custom shop and inquired about having custom front strut housings made to use some of their single adjustable race inserts. They came back with $1,000 apiece for the housings, $350 each for the inserts, and $300 apiece for the rear shocks. Needless to say, I didn't pull the trigger on that one.

 

[rdss]

I would prefer this route as long as the shock and spring combo do not end up costing as much as a set of coil overs. The Eibach springs can be had for 250 shipped so I wouldn't pay much more then 4-500 bucks for shocks and would prefer 400 to keep the price a reasonable amount lower than the BC coilovers.

 

[theenico]

My guess, based on other vehicle applications and prior experience, is that a set of off the shelf Koni Sports (yellow single adjustable) would probably run about $700.

 

[rdss]

Then stock shocks and Eibach's or BC coilovers it is....lol. Probably just springs, becuase functional.

 

[$ub$onic]

I have never lowered anything. So u can just replace the springs and not change out the stock shocks?
And what does this do for the aliment

 

[mitdr774]

The whole "insert" part is one reason I will not buy koni struts. I am not going to cut apart a stock strut so that I can have a half assed upgrade. I have ridden in and driven several cars with the koni insert and they all had issues that were a result of the insert. That is why my cavalier has tokico struts on it.

 

[007CobaltLS]

In the end you're going to probably choose coilovers. In the Cobalt world, the Koni's are about $600 for front and rear...Koni Yellow's...and the kicker...the fronts are inserts so you have to hack apart a pair of struts anyway. That's the reason I never bought Koni's for my Cobalt. I went with struts/shocks from the SS/TC (which by the way are VERY good for the price difference compared to the Koni's)...but doing it over again, I would have gone coilovers right away instead of spending money on Eibach Sportlines, then selling those to buy Pedders and SS/TC shocks/struts.

So it's great to try to get Koni on board with building something, but don't expect $500 or less for a full set. Especially if they deliver full struts and not just cartridges.

 

[rdss]

Yeah, I forgot about them being insterts, dropping the car is pretty low on my priority list right now.

 

[firstorbit84]

I am asking about this upgrade for handling purposes only I really don't care that much about the drop. In fact if they were available now, if consider getting upgraded shocks without springs just so I could stay in the stock solo class for a while.

I know konis are expensive but they are dampening adjustable and have a great reputation. How much are bc coilovers, where are they sold, and are they dampening adjustable?

The only other way that I'd get non-adjustable shocks/springs over coilovers would be if the shocks/springs were a matched set, like the h&r sport cup kits. I definitely would not like to get just inserts

Edit: does the RS have stiffer shocks? If so, Does anyone have pricing or part numbers?

 

[rdss]

If you're trying to stay in a class with just a shock upgrade they would probably for that bill quite well.

 

[JohnT]

I'd would probably pick up some konis if available, but I bet the people in this thread are the majority of the current demand. They would almost certainly be sleeves for the front for this application, but stock struts are only $60 a piece.

From what I've gathered at a couple events I've been able to PAX really well with only tires and crash bolts. I think I surprised quite a few people with the little sonic . The car has a ton sway movement, esp in slaloms. Getting that under control with some rebound would be hugely beneficial. I'd also really like to test out a rear bar.

I'll campaign the car next spring as time allows and if it still looks promising I'll probably take some measurements and try to get something made, assuming it doesn't break the bank. I didn't buy a sonic because I wanted to sling money around In other words, I don't really hold out any hope for koni yellows...

 

[laborsmith]

Edit: does the RS have stiffer shocks? If so, Does anyone have pricing or part numbers?

The RS combination of shocks and springs is firmer. The springs are different because the car is lowered 7/16 inches. Long ago theenico indicated the possibility that the shocks for Sonics w/ 15" rims would be the shocks used in the RS and these are firmer than the shocks used in the LTZ. His post included the part numbers for the shocks.

Laborsmith

 

[rdss]

I would love to get ahold of the RS springs and shocks.

 

[firstorbit84]

Sonics with 15" wheels have firmer shocks? Possibly the same as the RS shocks? Proof please! We need part numbers.

If that's the case, I'll definitely try out just some springs without shocks first.

 

[theenico]

Long ago theenico indicated the possibility that the shocks for Sonics w/ 15" rims would be the shocks used in the RS and these are firmer than the shocks used in the LTZ. His post included the part numbers for the shocks.

Laborsmith

Not exactly. I said that Sonic's with 15" and 16" wheels had stiffer shocks/struts than the LTZ with 17" wheels.

I never said anything about the RS shocks/struts being the same as LS/LT struts. I did say that they would be stiffer than ALL the other shocks/struts because of the lower and stiffer springs.

If someone were to look in GM's EPC (Electronic Parts Catalog), they would see three different part numbers for the rear shocks and potentially six part numbers for front struts (3 valvings X a L & R strut = 6 strut part numbers).

My original post from way back when:

http://www.sonicownersforum.com/forum/t2462/#post29024

 

[firstorbit84]

Awesome. So I have the stiffest OEM stock shocks already.... Although they could still be a bit firmer for my tastes

 

[$ub$onic]

Yah go ls shocks