Re-Valving Koni Shocks?

[jborchel]

I would like to install Koni shocks on my soon to be Z4. From my research I see that the Yellow 8741 1450 Sport cartridge is adjustable. Reading on I saw on the Koni website that the Sport's damping force or piston velocity was slightly above the OE(Original Equipment I assume) rate. My question is this. Can a new Sport shock be re-valved so that the lower point for the damping force would be less or lower than the OE rate?

Why would I want to do this? Basically, the Z4 ride is too firm for me but I love everything else about the car. I'm going to pay somewhere between $8K and $13K for a first gen Z4 and don't mind paying another $1K to $1.5K to install adjustable Koni Sport shocks. The theory is that an adjustable Koni can be changed in rate several times until the ride gets to be just right. The whole key here is that the Koni's can be adjusted easily by a qualified tech but the softest setting must be below the OE rate. That way I can have them installed at the softest setting and then if it is too soft they can be firmed up bit by bit until the ride is just right. All other shocks that I'm aware of have to be re-valved every time you want to change the rate. That can get very expensive and makes the project unfeasible.

Am I on the right track here?

[jborchel]

Come on guys! Someone must know this. I'm dying having to wait until Wednesday for Koni tech support to get back to work after the holiday.

[V0Nzipper]

I'm sure you can have the shocks valved to your liking. What do you plan to do for springs? You will not significantly soften the ride by just changing your rebound and compression settings.

[jborchel]

I'm sure you can have the shocks valved to your liking. What do you plan to do for springs? You will not significantly soften the ride by just changing your rebound and compression settings.

I understand what you are saying. I see it as a two step process, the second being the spring analysis. The first challenge is to find out from Koni tech support if the yellow shock can be re valved so that the mid-point is the same as the factory rebound and compression settings for the OEM shock. I think they are Boges but I don't know for sure. If they can then the question is...can the Koni be adjusted while on the car or do you have to partially or fully demount the assembly in order to make the adjustment. Perhaps someone here knows that answer. If they can be adjusted while on the car then I would just adjust and test, adjust and test until the ride is right. If the ride is out of balance then the springs have to change also. I don't have any idea what the answer is so I'm trying to take the investigation as far as possible before actually executing. I'm hoping to find a way to talk to a BMW engineer about the concept and find out how much of the suspension system is involved in this analysis. Is it just the shocks and springs or are there other components that go into their design to get the ride they are designing into the car.

Yesterday I drove an 08 with 117,000 miles on it that had a ride very close to what I'm looking for. A week before I drove an 07 with 56,000 miles on it that was much firmer and was not acceptable. One of the reasons for selling was his wife wouldn't ride in it anymore because of that reason. Both cars had standard suspension, not the sport suspension. Maybe the one with 117.000 miles was softer because the shocks were worn. In my adventure looking for a car I have found that about 2/3 of the cars for sale have sport suspension, feature code S704. Would that be because that's how BMW spec'ed the cars because they thought the buyers wanted that, or would it be that the owners couldn't take the firm ride anymore. Hope you are still with me if you have read this far.

[V0Nzipper]

Look at the tires. They can make all of the difference. Runflats? They add a considerable amount of rotational mass as well as ruin the ride.

[bluptgm3]

Unless the shocks are 'jacking', ride comfort is in the springs and tires. And brand new tires are 'softer' than those (of same brand and model) at end of life with little tread left.


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[jborchel]

Unless the shocks are 'jacking', ride comfort is in the springs and tires. And brand new tires are 'softer' than those (of same brand and model) at end of life with little tread left.


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How do I find new springs if I want to try something a little softer? Do you know someone that does it?

[TXBDan]

Yes, they can be revalved. See ProParts or TrueChoice.

[bluptgm3]

TCKlien or Ground Control can help also, additionally you could call H&R directly for CO spring rates.


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[jayjaya29]

For Koni adjustable shocks the only thing adjustable is rebound. GL with your quest. Truechoice is who I will go with when I need to rebuild my Konis.