Mounting Koni 8210-1159 rear sport shocks

[bostonaudi]

Hey all, anyone with experience mounting the Porsche 8210-1159 externally adjustable Koni's to an E36? I have a 95 M3 and am tired of the usual rear SA adjustment. The shaft is 12mm I believe? What rear upper mounts are available that would be recommended? There doesn't appear to be a ton of space available to mount the rear mount.

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[GGray]

Plenty of upper mounts to fit it, BW, Ground Control, Rogue Engineering... Same shaft size as all the upper adj dampers.

[bostonaudi]

Yeah I saw the 12mm poly GC mounts on the BW site, there doesn't seem to be a lot of room to mount them though. Does the big black bump stop need to come off?

[GGray]

Yeah I saw the 12mm poly GC mounts on the BW site, there doesn't seem to be a lot of room to mount them though. Does the big black bump stop need to come off?

You can cut them down if needed. Basically in half if you need to.

[JimmieG]

how much cheaper are those than the TC Klein ones.

Jimmie

[NJohc]

I had the same issue. They don't push the bump stops down far enough. Spray it with some type of lube, have somebody hold the shock, and twist/pull it down. There is a step on the shaft of the shock that you will see. Thats how you know you've gone far enough. If there still isn't enough room after that, just take the protection sleeve off. PM me with any more questions.

[FastFabM3]

On my car, only the corrugated part of the bump stop is present, the solid top part was cut off.

[bostonaudi]

So, I ended up not using the supplied Porsche bump stops, pulled em off and installed using GC 12mm rear mounts, and fitted the original bump stops as below.

Note that a major tuner told me these shocks would not work because they are valved wrong and have too little droop, yet they are installed and working quite well. This tuner sells their own external rear Koni. I am running Koni's with H&R OE Sport springs, a nicely matched setup.

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss157/bostonaudi/BMW%20M3/31CAACB3-40AC-4EC7-ABE1-3D993FF00164_zpsj3x5f7ec.jpg

Loss of droop is a little over 1", doesn't seem to effect anything I can detect. I was told my rear end could skate around corners, hasn't happened yet, I understand what loss of droop does, but it seems there is still plenty of reserve, and if I ever go to shorter springs I will be good to go.

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss157/bostonaudi/BMW%20M3/F2658892-41A4-401A-8E9D-EB320C297112_zpsb9b2l5ps.jpg

I fitted the original bump stop, then the upper steel cover, then the GC mount, then bolted em up.

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss157/bostonaudi/BMW%20M3/E37D64C4-6E73-490D-B606-B30C0300466E_zpsom2dwqkv.jpg

Bolted up, it's a little tight with the upper steel covers, but enough room to tighten the mount nuts:

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss157/bostonaudi/BMW%20M3/12716DD4-D4D7-4845-AE0A-D3DE77DEE647_zpsohh59me9.jpg

And final result, no more compress and adjust. The car feels tight, and the rear Porsche valving matches well with the M3 and the H&R springs. The front and rear of the car feel well matched, if you drove the car and no one told you it had rear Porsche dampers you'd never know.

I scored the shocks for about $180 ea, well worth it IMO, and some savings over the usual sources.

http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss157/bostonaudi/BMW%20M3/BE79DCFE-6DC7-4722-A67D-C84FE62CEEFF_zpss9fy7daj.jpg

[NJohc]

I was told TC Kline used to use them. Regardless, I just came back from my first autox with them, and they're completely fine. The rear end control is the best it's ever been through the slaloms. Only had 4 runs though, so I've yet to really be able to tune it.

[pbonsalb]

I have a set of these coming in the mail to replace my rear TCK SA. I run 500 lb rear springs, which are about 25% stiffer than H&R Sports. In further alteration from my TCK kit, I bought a set of GC front inserts to try in the TCK front housings.

[Eric98Sedan]

I have a set of these coming in the mail to replace my rear TCK SA. I run 500 lb rear springs, which are about 25% stiffer than H&R Sports. In further alteration from my TCK kit, I bought a set of GC front inserts to try in the TCK front housings.

You're going to cut open the TCK front struts and use the housings?

[pbonsalb]

TCK said they were rebuild able if the housings were in good shape, so I assumed they were, but honestly I have not studied them yet. The GC inserts were $200 for the pair new so I could resell, convert stock housings, buy GC housings, or whatever looks like the best option. If they are indeed welded closed, I would consider cutting them open if it appeared the weld could be redone.

[Eric98Sedan]

TCK said they were rebuild able if the housings were in good shape, so I assumed they were, but honestly I have not studied them yet. The GC inserts were $200 for the pair new so I could resell, convert stock housings, buy GC housings, or whatever looks like the best option. If they are indeed welded closed, I would consider cutting them open if it appeared the weld could be redone.

Gosh, you know, I've never studied them that close either. I've had numerous sets and can't recall how the fronts are assembled.

Now I'm curious. But yes, GC does have a more modular design.

[pbonsalb]

Got the car on my lift and it appears the strut top is threaded. The top has two holes for a removal tool. I will do the rears first since they are easy and disassemble the fronts when I have more time. The top cover may be frozen since it has been there for about 8 years. Hopefully what I find inside will match the GC insert. If not I will come up with a plan B.

[bostonaudi]

I was told TC Kline used to use them. Regardless, I just came back from my first autox with them, and they're completely fine. The rear end control is the best it's ever been through the slaloms. Only had 4 runs though, so I've yet to really be able to tune it.

Cool.

After driving for a while now, I think the Porsche rears may have a bit more compression and rebound available, control is good even at full soft, and they have plenty of control even at half turn, which I plan on setting at upcoming DE this weekend.

As an aside, I removed a full race GC coilover setup in favor of H&R OE sport springs, Koni's and swapped front strut mounts, the car still handles great and is more fun to drive on the street. Car is driven to track events.

[GGray]

Got the car on my lift and it appears the strut top is threaded. The top has two holes for a removal tool. I will do the rears first since they are easy and disassemble the fronts when I have more time. The top cover may be frozen since it has been there for about 8 years. Hopefully what I find inside will match the GC insert. If not I will come up with a plan B.

The TCK front is a rebuildable you should be able to get the fronts rebuilt at a few places for 100-200 a unit. Highly doubtful a ground control insert will drop into the housing size wise. The insert Ground Control uses is shorter than the OEM housing which is why they make the housings to fit the insert. The damper is still a 51mm damper. You can use an E30 325ix insert in front on a cut down housing to or in an OEM housing with a spacer on the bottom.