Topless Stang

Ok, if you're going to tell me to hit the search button don't bother posting...because all I've been doing is researching. Doing more reading as of late is what put me in this predicament....I'm getting a little ahead of myself, so let me start from the beginning.

I made up my mind regarding all mods to be done to my car about 3 years ago and I'm now purchasing my suspension components. I already purchased a set of Vogtland lowering springs and now I'm about to buy shocks. I had already decided on Tokico D-Specs, but as I do before any major purchase I read and research. I did a little of that in the beginning which lead me to picking the D-Specs, but now what I read is saying that Koni Yellows are much, much better. My goals for the car are simple...street/Daily driver with limited track time. I'm not trying to be the fastest stang out there, but when I spend this kind of money I want to spend it wisely. As far as quality goes I've read Koni's are better, but the adjust-ability of the D-Specs is possibly better. Most people say they would get the Koni's, but the price made them pick the D-Specs. As far as price goes I've managed to price the D-Specs w/remote adjusters @ $596 and the Koni Yellows at $643, both prices are shipped to my door. To me the cost difference is very minimal if what I've heard about warranty replacement is true. They both have pretty much the same warranty, but getting a replacement out of Tokico is a nightmare compared to Koni. The only real downside I see to getting the Koni's for me is the lack of a remote adjuster. I say this because I have an amp and sub in the trunk and it would really suck to move one or the other when I want to make adjustments. Once I get it dialed in I might not screw with adjusting them as much, but it's still a bummer.

I guess what I'm looking for is feedback from people who have had either set, if the differences are major...and after a few years of availability are the warranty replacements still a bitch to get from Tokico? Any other feedback would be great as well. My other suspension upgrades will be as follows:

J&M Adj. UCA, LCAs, LCA Relo Bracket & Adj Panhard
Eibach Camber Adjustment Bolts
Ford Racing (FRPP) M-18183-C 2011 Mustang GT500 Front Strut Mounts
New Bump Stops / Jounce kit
GT Takeoff Sway Bars


Thanks for reading my novel!

Ansibe

I have the Konis, and I'm very happy, but my adjustable shocks are adjusted for different conditions! I run full soft for daily driving, and I think the control and ride are considerably better than 2011 GT Brembo stock. My track settings are almost unbearable on normal roads, and I don't see any point putting up with a bone jarring ride when I don't have to. But that's me, and I'm pretty sure this is about you. I think you really need to adjust these shock to your driving, so make sure that's easily done whichever set you buy. I doubt you'll go too far wrong with either, as long as you can adjust them without too much trouble.

I understand that the koni STRs are about the same as the yellows at full soft. If you're not going to adjust your suspension, why not save some coin and go with these (excellent) shocks?

I_Call_D.I.B.s

I agree with Ansibe. Koni FSDs are good daily-driver shocks. They are much more taut and control body motion far better than than the stock shocks, but they aren't punishing either. FSDs are sufficient for limited track days.

The manual adjustability of the Koni Sports (yellows) aren't necessary unless you autocross or track your car often, and in a case like that you would probably have removed the amps and subs anyways.

danzcool

I disagree. I like driving my car on twisty roads, I spent a bit of time tweaking the settings, but used the adjustability of the shocks to balance the understeer/oversteer.

tigercrazy718

i have 2 10's in a box with the amp connected to the back seat, not that big, but i can still pull back the carpet to adjust them. idk if your set up takes up more space than that

Topless Stang

Well here's the deal..I don't know how often I'm gong to track, but I want the adjustability for when I do. The ProCharger sitting in my garage is telling me that at least some track time in my future is a must. I already have settled on the fact that I want adjustability, but I just didn't know if the difference was that big and also if Tokico warranty replacement still sucked.

My audio setup is configured a little different. My vert has a smaller trunk than a coupe to begin with and my two amps take up the majority of space in the center. The thunder form box I have takes up a big portion of the passenger side trunk wall. I'll have to look and double check to see if the box blocks the carpet section that will need to be moved for adjusting the Konis.

Once I redo my audio setup this winter along wth the rest of my mods I'm going to use quick connects so I can pull the box out easily. I started out with just a RF 25 to life power1000 5ch amp, but the front channel blew, so I use the rear for mids, tweets and coaxials but I use the sub channel to drive the kicker 8s in my door. I installed my older earthquake phd10 to drive my sub, but im getting the rf amp repaired, so that earthquake will be coming out anyway. This way when I track just the RF amp will be back there.

danzcool

actually, I wasn't commenting on speaker systems and getting to it, I was commenting on the "...only if you autocross or track..."
When I had the front and back at the same setting, understeer was virtually gone, and so the rear kicked out. I 'think' I firmed up the front a bit to introduce some understeer. And so the "taking some time tweaking it was going for a 30 minute spirited drive, pulling over adjusting things going for another 30 minutes, adjusting again... until I got it dialed-in for my driving style. Wouldn't have been able to balance it like that with non-adjustables.

tigercrazy718

yea i didnt mean to quote you i meant to quote the guy above you lol

UPRSharad

OP, I commented on your thread on AFM, so I'll summarize. I'm running the Koni Yellows and I prefer them, but the D-specs are good too.



I'm with you. I've had the yellows on my car for a couple months and I've adjusted them two or three times. Might even adjust them again this weekend. (or maybe just the front bar) I like to tweak things until they're just right, and the adjustability of my Konis has allowed me to do that.

Topless Stang

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I was expecting to hear negatives about the D-Specs, but I didn't. What I heard was both are good, but most who commented have Konis. Is there anyone out there with bad D-Spec experiences? I'm beginning to think the Harry stories I read we're somewhat exaggerated. Has anyone had to get a a warranty replacement from them?

Also, are the D-Specs "softer" than the Konis? I'd like A pretty soft setup for my commute to and from work. The way I understand it theyoffer a better range over the Konis, but the Konis are better for road race / auto x. I didn't plan on doing that, only planned to dabble in drag, so I believe that both shocks are on equal footing in that regard..correct?

After being settled on dspecs for so long, then settling on the Konis I think I'm back on the dspec kick....I believe in trying to get the best bang for my buck, which is doable since the price quotes I have are so close, but if I can get remote adjusters AND a better range I may go with the D-Specs since I'm not looking for a set that is still kind of firm on the softest setting if that makes sense...My eyes are starting to ross from all of the reading ive been dong lol. Sorry for rambling!