Koni sport dampers review

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Shockerboy
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Re: Koni sport dampers review

Post by Shockerboy » Mon Sep 10, 2018 9:58 pm

Hi There

Yes of course the shocks can be painted , standard they are Powder coated for the best weather proofing but paint over the top wouldnt affect this corrosiopn protection
Were you thinking of Aerosol painting or actually getting a panel Shop to do it properly . Remember the shock position in a car chassis is usually quite a hostile enviroment with the road debree etc .
Note , any quality after market spring is a small subtle drop ( 20 th 25 mm ) and shouldnt havee any adverse affect on confort . when Fitting KONIs in a lowered car however we will adjust them a bit more to cope with the approx 20 % stiffer spring ( the DRC obviously cant do this )

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Re: Koni sport dampers review

Post by Shockerboy » Mon Sep 10, 2018 10:16 pm

Mike Fish Comment about front arch gap !! , leveling out of the car is a a pure cosmetic thing the front arch actually arches more than the rear because it allows for the steering to work lock to lock
if you set the car up with a similar gap front to rear the car will be raking forward too much . the proper way to check the rake of a car is to measure the bottom Door line to the ground , take the measurement at the rear of the front wheel and compare to the front of the rear wheel and see what the rake looks like . normally raking forwards obviously .

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Re: Koni sport dampers review

Post by James1984 » Mon Sep 10, 2018 10:55 pm

Shockerboy wrote:
Mon Sep 10, 2018 9:58 pm
Hi There

Yes of course the shocks can be painted , standard they are Powder coated for the best weather proofing but paint over the top wouldnt affect this corrosiopn protection
Were you thinking of Aerosol painting or actually getting a panel Shop to do it properly . Remember the shock position in a car chassis is usually quite a hostile enviroment with the road debree etc .
Note , any quality after market spring is a small subtle drop ( 20 th 25 mm ) and shouldnt havee any adverse affect on confort . when Fitting KONIs in a lowered car however we will adjust them a bit more to cope with the approx 20 % stiffer spring ( the DRC obviously cant do this )
I was thinking more towards can they be powder coated black by the factory so they look a little more oem
2007 B7 RS4 Saloon, Phantom Black, Forge Oil Cooler Kit, custom home made air feed, H&R Coilovers, H&R anti roll bars, 10mm H&R Spacers, Milltek decat downpipes, Milltek Non Res Valved Exhaust, Reyland Motorsports front & rear discs with Hel braided Hoses, full underbody overhauled inc powdercoated subframes and arms, 034 solid subframe bushes and every joint, arm or bush replaced.

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davebirl
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Re: Koni sport dampers review

Post by davebirl » Wed Sep 19, 2018 11:55 am

Shockerboy wrote:
Sat Sep 01, 2018 4:20 pm
The Koni shock absorber can be engineered to lower the front a tad more, 10 to 20mm this gives the car a slightly more aggressive look . its not difficult to do and doesnt add a lot to the cost . Saves alot of money on springs particularly if the standard springs are OK . Thanks to this Forum we have revived many RS4' suspension systems over the last year with 100 % success and with out compromising comfort and looks . Thanks to all those customers . We do adjust the dampers before delivery as its a big job to remove adjust, and refit once you have them in . We know the perfect settings so you can simply bolt them in and dont need to worry.

We are often asked why the KONI catalogue doesnt show an RS4. Its quite simple because KONI dampers dont link to the DRC system and customers will start buying them thinking that they will!! Its simple to check part numbers on competitors catalogues to see that the parts they use are from an S4 as well , but if they arent adjustable they wont work as well as the adjusted KONI's do.
Folks,

One of my DRC dampers had a mist on it since I bought my RS4 in 2013. It had passed all MOTs and Irish NCT's without an issue and did not make any noises... but I knew someday I would need to replace the DRC. I have had high quality coilovers many times through the years and always found them too harsh for Irish roads. I did not want to make my RS4 any harder than it was already.

I contacted Steve at CRS performance and after a chat I could tell he knew what he was talking about and I bought his preset Koni damper kit. He shipped them over to Ireland for me and I've had them in my possession for about 3 months now and only fitted them last weekend. My car had suddenly started making knocking noises from the rear when I hit bumps at the front.

I gave the kit into my local VW/Audi specialist, Parkes Garage in Sligo (Ex Audi/VW dealer) and they fitted the kit with zero issues. Straight swap using the OE springs. They found one of the DRC reservoir's was devoid of any oil yet no leak present, just that mist on the top 2 inches of the front shock.

Boy am I happy with these Konis! The ride height and quality is exactly the same as before and no difference in road holding - in my humble opinion.

Many thanks to Steve for all his help and advice. 1 very happy customer here in Ireland.
B7 RS4 - Missano Red- RS6 Steering Wheel
Gone 2 X 8L S3, 2 X Corrado VR6, Corrado G60

Shockerboy
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Re: Koni sport dampers review

Post by Shockerboy » Fri Sep 21, 2018 3:47 am

The results you are experiencing "davebirl" is exactly what we would expect . This is not just a cheap solution to an expensive problem . It is a well thought out replacement kit and gets the car back to original without compromising handling and comfort at a fraction of the cost . Its more reliable than the DRC and can have single shocks replaced in future should there be issues way down the line . Also if one damper should fail it doesnt affect the other ones as the DRC system does . Audi do like to innovate with their cars but unfortunately the DRC system which many people think does something special is just too unreliable and suffers greatly in the corrosion area causing additional problems that conventional suspension systems simply wouldnt have. Thanks for the feed back though

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jamiej
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Re: Koni sport dampers review

Post by jamiej » Fri Sep 21, 2018 7:40 am

Can someone link me to the kit in discussion here.

New to the B7 RS4 (Avant) fold, I was under the impression that B14, B16 or V3 was the ONLY solution to the DRC issues which a number of us seem to experience throughout ownership.

The B14s from memory are best part of £1,000, with the B16 another £400 and the V3 another £800 (to the B14).

If there is a high quality solution to the DRC which costs less, I would imagine it will be of interest to many of us.

I'm guessing if you want to add a drop to the replacement dampers, the cost of the shorter springs in addition will bring you close to the B14 cost.

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Re: Koni sport dampers review

Post by bennn » Fri Sep 21, 2018 7:02 pm

jamiej wrote:
Fri Sep 21, 2018 7:40 am
Can someone link me to the kit in discussion here.

New to the B7 RS4 (Avant) fold, I was under the impression that B14, B16 or V3 was the ONLY solution to the DRC issues which a number of us seem to experience throughout ownership.

The B14s from memory are best part of £1,000, with the B16 another £400 and the V3 another £800 (to the B14).

If there is a high quality solution to the DRC which costs less, I would imagine it will be of interest to many of us.

I'm guessing if you want to add a drop to the replacement dampers, the cost of the shorter springs in addition will bring you close to the B14 cost.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Yeah with lowering springs they are close to the price of B14s but will be a better option for road use.

I put them on mine partially as I wanted the ride height standard and partially because I prefer a standard shock/spring combo

You don't need the level of adjustments coilovers offer for road use and coilovers don't last as long or wear as well either.

You also need to spend time or money getting them setup properly to get the most of them wheras the springs and shocks are simply fit and forget.

All of the above is my opinion based on my own experiences.

It's the Koni kit from CRS performance.

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Re: Koni sport dampers review

Post by Shockerboy » Mon Sep 24, 2018 7:54 am

Jamiej the cost with springs is still quite a bit cheaper than Bilstein coil overs , however the ride is much better because the KONI dampers are more comfortable . also the KONI damper is adjustable stiffness so we can adjust to suit the bigger unsprung weight on the front ofthe RS4 , only the really expensive Bilstein can do this £1500.00 plus . . We arent trying to slam the car and make it track ready . the CRS kit simply replaces the original and gives fantastic results with out bursting any banks .

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Re: Koni sport dampers review

Post by James1984 » Mon Sep 24, 2018 12:36 pm

When you say these can be adjusted to suit the bigger weight of the RS4, is this to say the rs4 is heavier than the s4? As the Bilstein B12 pro kit could also be a contender
2007 B7 RS4 Saloon, Phantom Black, Forge Oil Cooler Kit, custom home made air feed, H&R Coilovers, H&R anti roll bars, 10mm H&R Spacers, Milltek decat downpipes, Milltek Non Res Valved Exhaust, Reyland Motorsports front & rear discs with Hel braided Hoses, full underbody overhauled inc powdercoated subframes and arms, 034 solid subframe bushes and every joint, arm or bush replaced.

bennn
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Re: Koni sport dampers review

Post by bennn » Mon Sep 24, 2018 3:58 pm

James1984 wrote:
Mon Sep 24, 2018 12:36 pm
When you say these can be adjusted to suit the bigger weight of the RS4, is this to say the rs4 is heavier than the s4? As the Bilstein B12 pro kit could also be a contender
Its more where the weight is I think?

Wheels tyres are bigger / brakes are bigger so its more unsprung weight.

If you want to slam it buy coilovers otherwise I think you're much better off with a decent shock / spring combo.

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Re: Koni sport dampers review

Post by James1984 » Mon Sep 24, 2018 4:41 pm

bennn wrote:
Mon Sep 24, 2018 3:58 pm
James1984 wrote:
Mon Sep 24, 2018 12:36 pm
When you say these can be adjusted to suit the bigger weight of the RS4, is this to say the rs4 is heavier than the s4? As the Bilstein B12 pro kit could also be a contender
Its more where the weight is I think?

Wheels tyres are bigger / brakes are bigger so its more unsprung weight.

If you want to slam it buy coilovers otherwise I think you're much better off with a decent shock / spring combo.
The only downside to me is if I choose a spring and dont like how it sits i would have to buy more springs, i had bilstein B14’s on my last can and they looked crap after a year
2007 B7 RS4 Saloon, Phantom Black, Forge Oil Cooler Kit, custom home made air feed, H&R Coilovers, H&R anti roll bars, 10mm H&R Spacers, Milltek decat downpipes, Milltek Non Res Valved Exhaust, Reyland Motorsports front & rear discs with Hel braided Hoses, full underbody overhauled inc powdercoated subframes and arms, 034 solid subframe bushes and every joint, arm or bush replaced.

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Re: Koni sport dampers review

Post by rs user » Wed Sep 26, 2018 11:07 pm

The only downside to me is if I choose a spring and dont like how it sits i would have to buy more springs, i had bilstein B14’s on my last can and they looked crap after a year
[/quote]

used mine twice in winter with new b14 after only a few months they were ruined,looked more like a decade old despite cleaning properly etc
the finish is incredibly poor and short lived

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GaryA
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Re: Koni sport dampers review

Post by GaryA » Thu Sep 27, 2018 6:45 am

I'm currently running DRC with H&R lowering springs and at the moment, love the way it looks and handles. Front could do with dropping a bit to even up arch gap which is possibly achievable with B5 perches I believe.
I've had cars with good coilovers, put up with harsh ride and rubbing but always loved the stance :-)
When my DRC fails I link, sticking with the H&R springs and just getting Koni dampers is prob the best way forward for me. However ..... in a couple of weeks time after parking next to the boys on coilovers from here at Audi International I might have a different view.
Good thread tho, always good to hear different opinions
Here's mine
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NY2008RS4
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Re: Koni sport dampers review

Post by NY2008RS4 » Mon Jul 25, 2022 11:10 pm

Bumping this topic... Will be replacing the DRC in my RS4 this weekend with the Koni Sport shocks/struts; keeping stock springs. For anyone who has done this, what adjustment settings did you use on your installation? I know they have to be disconnected to adjust, so rather do it right the first time! Not looking to turn it into a track beast, rather looking to emulate the DRC - nice ride but very stable in the turns. Tighter rather than looser. Am based in New York, otherwise I would take it to CRS Performance. Any guidance much appreciated.

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