Adjusting Koni Shocks?

[2015Etrac]

I installed Koni shocks on my car a while back and set them at about 50%, now I'm planning to hit the track and was going to adjust them for the first time, but when researching how to do that, it appears you have to take the shocks off the car? Or can they be left on the car when adjusting them?

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[NightmareMoon]

With Koni yellows, they adjust at the top of the shock body. You turn the little flathead screwdriver looking thing with the adjustment tool.

The fronts only require opening the hood. To adjust the rears you need to jack up the rear wheels 3-4” to get your arm in there over the top of the tire. On the front stocks, try like 7-8 quarter turns from full soft (2 full rotations is 8 quarter turns). On the rear shocks, try a quarter turn softer than the fronts.

Be careful, the car will handle a bit differently at the limit than before.

 

[Norm Peterson]

When changing settings, it's probably best to gently return the setting all the way to full soft and go back up. Always working from the same index like that takes cumulative errors out of the picture, which can and sometimes does include 'setting drift' over time and miles.


Norm

 

[2015Etrac]

Thank's for the replies. That's what I was hoping. For some reason, on Koni's site and a few others, they took them off, fully compressed them, then adjusted them. I know on some cars the adjustment setting is hard to reach, so maybe that's why. What setting do you guys recommend for a track? Mine are 50% now, I was thinking 75%?

 

[Norm Peterson]

Thank's for the replies. That's what I was hoping. For some reason, on Koni's site and a few others, they took them off, fully compressed them, then adjusted them. I know on some cars the adjustment setting is hard to reach, so maybe that's why. What setting do you guys recommend for a track? Mine are 50% now, I was thinking 75%?

That's something you'll probably have to find out for yourself to best suit your own preferences/driving style. Koni has a procedure written for double-adjustable dampers that you could ignore the compression portion of (basically assuming that Koni got the compression side somewhere near right).

Tech Note

KONI ADJUSTMENT TUNING GUIDE
Suggested Adjustment Procedures For Road Racing Use

Adjusting The COMPRESSION (Bump) Damping Control
(Very Important to do this FIRST!)

Bump damping controls the unsprung weight of the vehicle (wheels, axles, etc.). It controls the upward movement of the suspension as when hitting a bump in the track. It should not be used to control the downward movement of the vehicle when it encounters dips. Also, it should not be used to control roll or bottoming.

Depending on the vehicle, the ideal bump setting can occur at any point within the adjustment range. This setting will be reached when "side-hop" or "walking" in a bumpy turn is minimal and the ride is not uncomfortably harsh. At any point other than this ideal setting, the "side-hopping" condition will be more pronounced and the ride may be too harsh.

STEP 1: Set all four dampers on minimum bump and minimum rebound settings.

STEP 2: Drive one or two laps to get the feel of the car. Note: When driving the car during the bump adjustment phase, disregard body lean or roll and concentrate solely on how the car feels over bumps. Also, try to notice if the car "walks" or "side-hops" on a rough turn.

STEP 3: Increase bump adjustment clockwise 3 clicks on all four dampers. Drive the car one or two laps. Repeat Step 3 until a point is reached where the car starts to feel hard over bumpy surfaces.

STEP 4: Back off the bump adjustment two clicks. The bump control is now set. Note: The back off point will probably be reached sooner on one end of the vehicle than the other. If this occurs, keep increasing the bump on the soft end until it, too, feels hard. Then back it off 2 clicks. The bump control is now set.

Adjusting the REBOUND Damping Control

Once you have found what you feel to be the best bump setting on all four wheels, you are now ready to proceed with adjusting the rebound. The rebound damping controls the transitional roll (lean) as when entering a turn. It does *not* limit the total amount of roll; it *does* limit how *fast* this total roll angle is achieved. How much the vehicle actually leans is determined by other things such as spring rate, sway bars, roll center, ride heights, etc.

It should be noted that too much rebound on either end of the vehicle will cause an initial loss of lateral acceleration (cornering grip) a that end which will cause the vehicle to oversteer or understeer excessively when entering a turn. Too much rebound control in relation to spring rate will cause a condition known as "jacking down." This is a condition where, after hitting a bump and compressing the spring, the damper does not allow the spring to return to a neutral position before the next bump is encountered. This repeats with each subsequent bump until the car is actually lowered onto the bump stops. Contact with the bump stops causes a drastic increase in roll stiffness. If this condition occurs on the front, the car will understeer; if it occurs on the rear, the car will oversteer.

STEP 1: With rebound set on full soft and the bump control set from your earlier testing, drive the car one of two laps, paying particular attention to how the car rolls when entering a turn.

STEP 2: Increase rebound damping three sweeps (or 3/4 turn) on all four dampers and drive the car one or two laps. Repeat Step 2 until the car enters the turns smoothly (no drastic attitude changes) and without leaning excessively. An increase in the rebound stiffness beyond this point is unnecessary and may result in a loss of cornering power. Note: As with the bump settings, this point will probably be reached at one end of the car before the other.

However, individual drivers may find it desirable to have a car that assumes an oversteering or understeering attitude when entering a turn. This can be easily "dialed-in" using slightly excessive rebound settings at either end.

Norm

 

[2015Etrac]

That's something you'll probably have to find out for yourself to best suit your own preferences/driving style. Koni has a procedure written for double-adjustable dampers that you could ignore the compression portion of (basically assuming that Koni got the compression side somewhere near right).




Norm

Thank's. I'll be in a beginner group, so I won't be pushing the car too hard, and even if I did, I don't think I know enough yet to fully understand what the car would need. I guess I'm better off just leaving it where it is before I mess something up. haha

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