[hoypinoy1234]

Has anyone ever thought of adjusting the firmness of the Koni shocks differently in the rear versus the front? I was wondering how the driving characteristics such as accelleration, braking, and cornering would be if the rear was at a stiffer setting than the fronts. Would it screw up anything?

 

[abegetchell]

I used to play with this on my GTI VR6 all the time when I was autocrossing it. It's a general rule that making the car firmer in the rear is going to cause it to have a tendency to oversteer (or at least understeer less - which is a good thing in our cars) and making the car firmer in the front is going to cause it to have a tendency to understeer (which is not a good thing in our cars). Making the car firmer in the front does have benefits though... you should notice less body roll and better transitional response. Since the adjustment on the Koni's only modify the rebound and not compression, you won't see a huge reduction in body roll, but it will affect it a bit. Happy tuning!

Abe

 

[Kenny Payne]

The guy who aligned my B5 and set up the suspension is somewhat renowned in local racing circles. He is often called upon to do suspension setups for racing teams when they compete at Brainerd Int'l Raceway here in Minnesota. When he did my setup and alignment, he asked me if I wanted to be set up for "street aggressive". Not having the slightest idea what he meant, I said, "Sure!" He adjusted the fronts 1.25 turns from soft and the rears 1 turn from soft. I've been very happy ever since with the way the car handles. It tracks and responds to input well and predictably, while at the same time is not jarring or butt-busting.

HTH

Kenny

 

[4meezy]

these threads helped me figure out what to do w/ mine

http://www.clubb5.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=777989#top

http://www.clubb5.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=78863&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0#top

 

[dkosto99]

I was told by Koni tech support that the shocks are compensated F/R and to set them both the same.
Not true.
At least not with HR OE springs.
I have both set 1/2 turn from full soft and the rear is definitely stiffer.
Wish I'd gone full soft on rear (hehe...hehehe)
Good luck with your setup.

 

[abegetchell]

Keep in mind that the rear will always feel a bit stiffer (if the shocks are adjusted to the same setting in the front and back) in a car such as ours as there isn't as much weight over the rear suspension - it won't actually be stiffer, it will simply feel that way. It will feel more "jarring" when going over bumps and such.

Abe