WRX Koni's installed in 04 STI - REVIEW

kinger · 05-16-2006, 02:46 PM

OMG is all I can say!! I can't believe the difference. I just installed them today and have my normal 25 miles commute to work run on them in full soft. The comfort level is incredible!!! I absoultly love them! I haven't even turned them up from full soft yet just because I love the comfort on the daily drive. I'm going to start playing with the settings in a couple days but i see them no problem being as stiff and stiffer then the stock STI struts but being able to turn them down for long trips and daily commutes make my STI the ULTIMATE car to drive to work in!

The interior is even quieter because on rough roads all you hear is a thump thump and not a BANG BANG. I'm just elated! I HUGE thanks to Jayudaba for reccomending these to me back in March, I purchased these soley on his advice from this forum and couldn't be happier!

FYI this set up is 04 wrx housings, koni yellows, and group N front strut tops (which I wasn't going to use but got a great deal on a set), this is on our stock 04 USDM springs rough total is $820 for complete set up.

The bobble head is gone, the bang over heaved pavment is a muffled thump, and the handling is only slightly worse then stock even at full soft. I have a feeling 1/4 turn up front and a 1/2 turn in back will bring the handling back to stock levels with more improved comfort. This is how I so longed for the sti to drive stock, but even better because I can adjust it firm when I want to.

I'll keep adding to the post as I get more miles on them!

***wdb*** · 05-16-2006, 03:53 PM

One word: AWESOME. Thanks for the update.

sleeper · 05-16-2006, 07:32 PM

very nice ! if only they made struts for the 05.

stretch · 05-16-2006, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleeper

very nice ! if only they made struts for the 05.

Yeah, this thread is salt on my wounds.

kinger · 05-17-2006, 05:15 AM

Sorry about the salt but it wont stop pouring! I have over 50 miles on them now and even at full soft I think the handling is so much smoother dare I say its even improved. I drive a road that follows a windy river to work every day and its rough on some of the hard 45mph corners and I was taking them at 80 mph and feeling like I still had much more grip left! This is also on worn out all season pirelli P Zero Neros! I'm getting my summer tires on soon and a performance alignment and can't wait to see the difference then! Honestly the car is sooo nice to drive, it now excels at every thing in my book: Drive though a foot of snow, tow my snowmobile and small boat, take on long drives and not be worn out, go to track events and keep up with track only cars, etc etc. Anyone that has a 04 and wants to keep stock ride height (or lower and use the adapter mod) with dramatic improvements does not need to spend $2000 for ohlins or coil overs. This set up is the ticket. I will be post whoring this message from now on

azndc5er · 05-17-2006, 05:32 AM

I had a great experience with Koni Yellow's on my old RSX-S. Awesome shocks that *READ* carry a lifetime warranty! The girl I sold my car to managed to blow a front shock and Koni is replacing it free of charge, even though she's not the original purchaser.

stretch · 05-17-2006, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azndc5er

I had a great experience with Koni Yellow's on my old RSX-S. Awesome shocks that *READ* carry a lifetime warranty! The girl I sold my car to managed to blow a front shock and Koni is replacing it free of charge, even though she's not the original purchaser.

The warranty does not cover normal wear, though. Demanding drivers would still need them rebuilt after a while, as the seals don't last forever. Of course, no shock can claim that, so this doesn't detract anything from Koni. They're still as long-lasting as shocks come.

reid-o · 05-17-2006, 09:37 AM

You bought the strut catridges already in the housing from boxer4?
Or did you do cut up the 04 strut housings yourself?

kinger · 05-17-2006, 09:44 AM

I cut stock wrx 04 struts up that I got from Nabisco for $100. The cutting part definitly sucks but so far its well worth it!

V8killer2pt5 · 05-17-2006, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kinger

I cut stock wrx 04 struts up that I got from Nabisco for $100. The cutting part definitly sucks but so far its well worth it!

Hey man throw up some details , part numbers, pics, instructions, ie!

jaydubya · 05-18-2006, 05:06 AM

Congratulations kinger, I'm glad this worked out for you.

na-STi · 05-18-2006, 10:32 PM

Will these work if I have Pinks and tops?

jaydubya · 05-19-2006, 02:13 AM

^^^ Yes. Beautifully.

kinger · 05-19-2006, 04:26 AM

How much do the pinks lower the 04's? If its substantial look into the bushing mod, where you completely cut a hole in the bottom of the wrx strut and then use a bushing to hold it in tight. This gives you the FULL stock height strut travel but with the lowered look. Better ride and lower perfect!

na-STi · 05-19-2006, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kinger

How much do the pinks lower the 04's? If its substantial look into the bushing mod, where you completely cut a hole in the bottom of the wrx strut and then use a bushing to hold it in tight. This gives you the FULL stock height strut travel but with the lowered look. Better ride and lower perfect!

Pinks lower the car about 0.8 inches front and back. So you're saying that the Koni's actually make the car handle worse? If so, I probably wouldn't get them. But this is the first time I am hearing about them so any additional info would be much appreciated. I hate how my car currently bobs up and down when I take a hard corner. I was hoping there would be an aftermarket product that would improve the dampening similar to the EVO MR.

05-16-2006, 02:46 PM	#1
kinger Professional STI Driver Car: 04 STI Fav Mod: Koni shocks Location: BFE Iowa Posts: 497 Join Date: May 2004 Trader Rating: (1)	WRX Koni's installed in 04 STI - REVIEW OMG is all I can say!! I can't believe the difference. I just installed them today and have my normal 25 miles commute to work run on them in full soft. The comfort level is incredible!!! I absoultly love them! I haven't even turned them up from full soft yet just because I love the comfort on the daily drive. I'm going to start playing with the settings in a couple days but i see them no problem being as stiff and stiffer then the stock STI struts but being able to turn them down for long trips and daily commutes make my STI the ULTIMATE car to drive to work in! The interior is even quieter because on rough roads all you hear is a thump thump and not a BANG BANG. I'm just elated! I HUGE thanks to Jayudaba for reccomending these to me back in March, I purchased these soley on his advice from this forum and couldn't be happier! FYI this set up is 04 wrx housings, koni yellows, and group N front strut tops (which I wasn't going to use but got a great deal on a set), this is on our stock 04 USDM springs rough total is $820 for complete set up. The bobble head is gone, the bang over heaved pavment is a muffled thump, and the handling is only slightly worse then stock even at full soft. I have a feeling 1/4 turn up front and a 1/2 turn in back will bring the handling back to stock levels with more improved comfort. This is how I so longed for the sti to drive stock, but even better because I can adjust it firm when I want to. I'll keep adding to the post as I get more miles on them! This ad is not endorsed by this member. Please register or login to hide this ad.

05-16-2006, 03:53 PM	#2
*wdb* dances with roads Car: 2005 CGM STi Posts: 5,066 Join Date: Apr 2005 Trader Rating: (8)	One word: AWESOME. Thanks for the update.

05-16-2006, 07:32 PM	#3
sleeper Amateur STI Driver Car: 05 sti Posts: 42 Join Date: Mar 2006 Trader Rating: (0)	very nice ! if only they made struts for the 05.

05-17-2006, 05:15 AM	#5
kinger Professional STI Driver Car: 04 STI Fav Mod: Koni shocks Location: BFE Iowa Posts: 497 Join Date: May 2004 Trader Rating: (1)	Sorry about the salt but it wont stop pouring! I have over 50 miles on them now and even at full soft I think the handling is so much smoother dare I say its even improved. I drive a road that follows a windy river to work every day and its rough on some of the hard 45mph corners and I was taking them at 80 mph and feeling like I still had much more grip left! This is also on worn out all season pirelli P Zero Neros! I'm getting my summer tires on soon and a performance alignment and can't wait to see the difference then! Honestly the car is sooo nice to drive, it now excels at every thing in my book: Drive though a foot of snow, tow my snowmobile and small boat, take on long drives and not be worn out, go to track events and keep up with track only cars, etc etc. Anyone that has a 04 and wants to keep stock ride height (or lower and use the adapter mod) with dramatic improvements does not need to spend $2000 for ohlins or coil overs. This set up is the ticket. I will be post whoring this message from now on

05-17-2006, 05:32 AM	#6
azndc5er Junior STI Driver Car: 04 STi Location: Buffalo, NY Posts: 169 Join Date: Apr 2006 Trader Rating: (0)	I had a great experience with Koni Yellow's on my old RSX-S. Awesome shocks that READ carry a lifetime warranty! The girl I sold my car to managed to blow a front shock and Koni is replacing it free of charge, even though she's not the original purchaser.

05-17-2006, 09:37 AM	#8
reid-o Senior STI Driver Car: 04 Black STI Location: Mililani Hawaii Posts: 326 Join Date: Dec 2005 Trader Rating: (3)	You bought the strut catridges already in the housing from boxer4? Or did you do cut up the 04 strut housings yourself?

05-17-2006, 09:44 AM	#9
kinger Professional STI Driver Car: 04 STI Fav Mod: Koni shocks Location: BFE Iowa Posts: 497 Join Date: May 2004 Trader Rating: (1)	I cut stock wrx 04 struts up that I got from Nabisco for $100. The cutting part definitly sucks but so far its well worth it!

05-18-2006, 05:06 AM	#11
jaydubya Grassroots STI Racer Car: 05 Subaru WRX STi Fav Mod: Pete Townshend in his early days Location: Park City, UT Posts: 557 Join Date: Jun 2005 Trader Rating: (0)	Congratulations kinger, I'm glad this worked out for you.

05-18-2006, 10:32 PM	#12
na-STi Professional STI Driver Posts: 498 Join Date: Apr 2004 Trader Rating: (0)	Will these work if I have Pinks and tops?

05-19-2006, 02:13 AM	#13
jaydubya Grassroots STI Racer Car: 05 Subaru WRX STi Fav Mod: Pete Townshend in his early days Location: Park City, UT Posts: 557 Join Date: Jun 2005 Trader Rating: (0)	^^^ Yes. Beautifully.

05-19-2006, 04:26 AM	#14
kinger Professional STI Driver Car: 04 STI Fav Mod: Koni shocks Location: BFE Iowa Posts: 497 Join Date: May 2004 Trader Rating: (1)	How much do the pinks lower the 04's? If its substantial look into the bushing mod, where you completely cut a hole in the bottom of the wrx strut and then use a bushing to hold it in tight. This gives you the FULL stock height strut travel but with the lowered look. Better ride and lower perfect!