KONI

In 1932, KONI made their modest entry into the production of friction shock absorbers, but not until after World War II a real breakthrough was made with the introduction of the KONI adjustable telescopic shock absorber. The demand for this superior quality shock absorber lead to a period of rapid expansion and forced the company, more than once to move to larger, modern premises.

Nowadays KONI is operating world wide with subsidiaries in the south of France, Germany and the USA and with distributors in over 90 countries, all over the world.

How it all started

In the early fifties KONI decided to play a more prominent role in motorsport in order to add to the company's reputation. And, of course, it was an excellent way of proving to the world that the shock absorbers manufactured in Oud-Beijerland were of very high quality.

The first event that KONI participated in was the 'Tulpen rally', an event of international importance in those days. As a reward for the application of stickers on their cars, the drivers could have their KONI dampers for next to nothing.

The KONI shock absorbers proved to be ideal for rally purposes. What's more, they stood out head and shoulders above the competition. In that period the service was done in a 1.5 ton Renault service van equipped with a testing rig.

In 1956 KONI first entered Formula 1. On the Nurburgring track the Ferrari team was assisted in solving its suspension problems. It was the beginning of a longstanding relation with the famous Italian make. Officially, the first Grand Prix that Ferrari participated in with KONI equipment was in 1959.

The Belgian pilot Gendebien made his appearance on the Monza track with KONl's and the breakthrough followed a year later.

KONI North America, a division of ITT Automotive, Inc  KONI services include technical support, customer service, shipping, product development, fabrication and distribution.

KONI North America is committed to serve the High Performance Shock Absorber markets for Automotive, Light Truck, Racing, Heavy Duty Bus and Truck, Motorcycle and Railway industries. 

For more than 40 years KONI has been committed to motorsport because the company sees racing as a test laboratory of invaluable importance.  On racing tracks around the world, important experience is gained that benefits KONI shock absorbers for every day use, so that every motorist can enjoy the same superior driving qualities as the world's best racing drivers.

The first time KONI put in an appearance was in the 1955 'Tulpen rally'. From then on there has been a continuous series of racing successes, such as 10 Le Mans victories, more than 220 Grand Prix wins and 13 Formula 1 World Championships and other Formula and touring car categories including the Indianapolis 500.

KONI adjustable drag racing shocks have dominated professional and sportsman drag racing since 1969.  Before leaving the factory each shock absorber is electronically tested.

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Research and Development

Technical innovation is one of the keys to a top product. KONI’s research programs give them a leading position. With the help of the latest technology, KONI’s research engineers are forever working on new  developments. They make use of advanced equipment such as CAD-systems, computer-controlled test equipment and road simulators.

The damping forces of all valves are precisely set

On the other hand, KONI’s engineers never forget that practical tests are essential to fine-tuning for best performance, which they do for every vehicle make and model separately. From KONI’s choice of shock absorber families and the unique system of valves, orifices and springs that KONI have developed, KONI can always offer the best damping characteristics for any specific vehicle resulting in optimum driveability, road-holding and safety.

Philosophy

KONI has a vast experience and worldwide reputation in optimizing their products for any specific application to perfection, whether it concerns motorcycles, saloons, sportscars, combi vans, buses, trucks, trailers, off-road vehicles or locomotives, railway carriages, trams or underground carriages. Koni commits themselves to offer the finest quality product with the best performance.

A no-compromise philosophy that results in unrivaled lifetime, superb product performance and maximum customer satisfaction. The marketing strategy distinguishes KONI from other manufacturers that concentrate on mass production. KONI focuses itself on the quality and specialist segment.

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Passenger Car Applications:

* Available until stock is depleted.

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NOTES:

+          Special order part.

5        Special McPherson strut insert bolted into OE housing after cutting top and removing old internal parts.

8              Features adjustable spring seat for ride height adjustments.

KONI Tech Tips

SUGGESTED ADJUSTMENT PROCEDURE FOR ROAD COURSE USE

ADJUSTING THE BUMP DAMPING CONTROL

Bump damping controls the unsprung weight of the vehicle (wheels, axles, etc.). It controls the upward movement of the suspension as when hitting a bump in the track. It should not be used to control the downward movement of the vehicle when it encounters dips. Also, it should not be used to control roll or bottoming.

Depending on the vehicle, the ideal bump setting can occur at any point within the adjustment range. This setting will be reached when “side-hop” or “walking” in a bumpy turn is minimal and the ride is not uncomfortably harsh. At any point other than this ideal setting, the “side-hopping” con­dition will be more pronounced and the ride may be too harsh.

STEP 1:  Set all four dampers on minimum bump and minimum rebound settings.

STEP 2:  Drive one or two laps to get the feel of the car. NOTE: When driving the car during the bump adjustment phase, disregard body lean or roll and concentrate solely on how the car feels over bumps. Also, try to notice if the car “walks” or “side-hops” on a rough turn.

STEP 3:  Increase bump adjustment clockwise 3 clicks on all four dampers. Drive the car one or two laps. Repeat Step 3 until a point is reached where the car starts to feel hard over bumpy surfaces.

STEP 4:  Back off the bump adjustment two clicks. The bump control is now set. NOTE: The back off point will probably be reached sooner on one end of the vehicle than the other. If this occurs, keep increasing the bump on the soft end until it, too, feels hard. Then back it off 2 clicks. The bump control is now set.

ADJUSTING THE REBOUND DAMPING CONTROL

Once you have found what you feel to be the best bump setting on all four wheels, you are now ready to proceed with adjusting the rebound. The rebound damping controls the transitional roll (lean) as when entering a turn. It does not limit the total amount of roll; it does limit how fast this total roll angle is achieved. How much the vehicle actually leans is determined by other things such as spring rate, sway bars, roll center heights, etc.

It should be noted that too much rebound on either end of the vehicle will cause an initial loss of lateral acceleration (cornering power) at that end which will cause the vehicle to oversteer or understeer excessively when entering a turn. Too much rebound control in relation to spring rate will cause a condition known as “jacking down.” This is a condition where, after hitting a bump and compressing the spring, the damper does not allow the spring to return to a neutral position before the next bump is encountered. This repeats with each subsequent bump until the car is actually lowered onto the bump stops. Contact with the bump stops caus­es a drastic increase in roll stiffness. If this condition occurs on the front, the car will understeer; if it occurs on the rear, the car will oversteer.

STEP 1:  With rebound set on full soft and the bump control set from your testing, drive the car one or two laps, paying attention to how the car rolls when entering a turn.

STEP 2:  Increase rebound damping three sweeps on all four dampers and drive the car one or two laps. Repeat Step 2 until the car enters the turns smoothly (no drastic attitude changes) and without leaning excessively. Any increase in the rebound stiff­ness beyond this point is unnecessary and may in fact be detri­mental.

EXCEPTION:         It may be desirable to have a car that assumes an over­steering or understeering attitude when entering a turn. This preference, of course, will vary from one driver to another depending on individual driving style.

SUGGESTED ADJUSTMENT PROCEDURE FOR DRAG RACING USE

STEP 1:  Prior to testing make certain that wheelie bars are raised as high as possible while maintaining control and eliminating their influence as much as possible on damper settings.

STEP 2:  Place all damping controls on minimum. Make a pass in first and second gears in order to determine that the car goes straight. If not, the alignment, tire pressures, etc. should be checked and corrected before proceeding any further.

Pay close attention to what occurs during gear change. If the car wheelstands or bounces violently proceed to Step 3 and then to Step 4. However, if there is rear tire shake, wheel hop, or excessive body separation proceed first to Step 4 and then to Step 3.

STEP 3: Front Damper Adjustment Procedure

Pay close attention to what is happening to the front end dur­ing launch and the first gear change. Your goal is to eliminate all jerking and/or bouncing movements so as to obtain smooth transitions at all times.

Too Light of a damper setting allows violent chassis separation and may even result in jerking the front wheels off the ground during initial launch. Too light a setting also allows the car, during gear change, to bounce off its front rebound travel limiter and then bottom out in a continually oscil­lating manner.

Too Firm of a damper setting will prevent the tires from easily lifting off the ground and thus providing sufficient weight transfer. During a gear change a firm setting will also cause the chassis to bounce off the tire when the chassis settles down.

Adjust the damper by increasing the rebound damping in 1/4 turn (90 degree) increments until a smooth transition from launch through gear change has been achieved. If double adjustable KONI’s are used, adjust the bump damping in 3 click increments to control the amount and the rate at which the front end settles during gear change. Watch your ET’s and if your times start to get slower back off the rebound adjustment by 1/4 turn and the bump adjustments by 2 clicks.

STEP 4: Rear Damper Adjustment Procedure

Pay close attention to the rear of the car as your goal is to dampen the tire movements as firm as track conditions permit. Remember that the damper controls the amount and the rate of weight transfer to the tire.

Too Light of a damper setting allows excessive separation between the body and the tire.

Too Firm of a damper setting allows high tire shock and causes extreme flattening of the tire.

Adjust the rear damper in 1/4 turn (90 degree) increments of rebound adjustment and if KONI double adjustables are used increase the bump adjuster by 3 clicks for each pass. Watch your ET’s and if your times start to get slower reduce the amount of adjustment by 1/4 turn of rebound adjustment and 2 clicks of bump adjustment.

Step 5:    When all adjustments have been completed reset your wheel­ie bars as low as possible without hurting your El. Once you have completed this procedure only fine adjustments may be needed in the future due to varying track conditions.

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