Hi guys, I need your help please. I have already used the search feature and went through all the threads but I cant find any valuable information.

I am not sure why but on this forum when it comes to shocks, the popular choice/only choice is tokico Dspec. Koni, kyb, etc shocks are not considered.

My question is what are peoples thoughts/experiences with koni yellow and why does everyone on this forum choose tokico? I understand price is an issue but lets say it wasnt. From the articles I read (not from here) from so called "Experts", they seem to agree that the top 3 shocks are 1.Penske, 2. Belstein, 3. Koni. They call tokico and other japenese shocks "crap".

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

I'm no expert, but I think it mainly comes down to price and adjustability. Bilstein and Koni are certainly very highly regarded, moreso for Euro cars, but the Konis are only adjustable for rebound and not compression, while the Bilsteins are not adjustable at all. Tokico D-specs are adjustable fro both compressiong & damping. Also, don't forget that Tokico is the OEM supplier of most G35 shocks, so for this application, they are considered a solid supplier.

I have used Tokicos on two prior Japanese cars (adjustables on a '86 Mazda RX-7, Blues on a '92 300ZX) and was very pleased with them - performed very well and were very durable.

 

I actually did not know Tokico made our OEM shocks. Very good to know.thanks.

I have also had tokico adjustables on my 3 series and I liked them but I had nothing to compare them to. I read the adjustability on the tokico isnt that good. Meaning that if rebound was adjusted that would effect compression and vice versa. Also you would think konis are better just because they are an older and bigger company but again thats not always a factor.

any one use koni yellows?

 

I had Koni Sports ( Yellows ) in my GTI and I loved them. I didn't get them for the G because of their price, they cost nearly twice what the D-Specs cost and the d-specs feel great.

 

I know you said to exclude this varible, but price and features are hard to ignore and thats where the Tokico wins out for most of us. Koni makes a great strut, no question. It probably has better valving out of the box and will more than likely last longer without a rebuild, and then that is a nother varible...its rebuildable whereas the Tokico struts are not.

So in a sense, the Koni struts can become a lifetime strut and if you're unhappy with the out of the box settings, you can have them tweaked during the rebuild process...so thats one thing to consider.

 

Good points. I guess the major factor is price but im guessing that if they were equal in price then half of the people here would be buying Koni. The rebuildable part is also a good point but I bet the cost to rebuild Konis probably cost just as much as a new set of tokicos lol

I might go with the Konis but my other problem is that I heard that your chances of getting 4 shocks that are identical is build (compression etc) is almost impossible. but thats a whole other topic

 

I would check with a proven company like True-Choice regarding Koni rebuilds.

 

I would say you have a better shot with the Konis than the Tokicos of getting near matching valving

 

I think what he was getting at is I know there have been some issues throughout Koni's life that some struts aren't rebuilt to a high quality of tolerance, typically by Koni suggested tuners that should be capable of doing the rebuilds.

I would think more often than not, the Koni rebuilds are probably pretty darn good compared to others. its like anything else, it depends on who does it and how much they care...$hit happens.

 

I think it has more to due with most hardcore track guys actually going through the trouble of having their Koni's measured using a shock dyno. Tokico d-specs are hardly ever even mentioned when it comes to real track setups, while Koni yellows are widely used across multiple platforms. I am willing to bet that tokicos have a very large variance across a set, but most people who run them can't even tell the difference

 

Stupid me. I didnt even think of that. You are probably correct.

 

Ya I would love to have the Konis put on a shock dyno but it probably cost to much. I dont have the money for both the Konis and getting it dynod. I just figured that if you are going to do something to your car, do it right and so I was leaning towards the konis. But I guess is real right way to do it is get Konis and dynod. no going to happen lol

Thanks to everyone for their inputs. It helped me a lot. I am most likely going to get the Konis.