Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Suspension is front Koni shock worn? strut base camber?

I've got 4 koni sports with Eibach springs. I've adjusted the koni's up a bit so the front is near the highest height for the Koni's, with the springs the car is still lowered. I guess I feel like the car still feels hard - but then that's compared to a stock focus zx3. And the SVT's turning radius is horrible.

Went to a specialist for the alignment and they commented that the upper strut mounts on the front were odd. I do think they are odd as the rubber surround seems to come off and the hook up to the body seems to move it off center without a good way of keeping it secure. Plus you can see the bearing.

Sorry to many words, but the alignment people said they couldn't really tell if my one Koni is bad, I thought it might be because it doesn't have the adjusting screw anymore, its all sort of broken off inside the assembly on the top. Though the car doesn't rebound.

Should I replace just the one Koni? Looking at the BAT catalog it appears the camber kit or the plain mounts may offer a much better connection method. They were just able to get the camber to -2.1 left and -2.9 right and caster 2.1 and 2.6. Toe is -.02 left and .02 right

Konis don't adjust height...

If one Koni is bad, you should be able to get it replaced. Koni has a good warranty.

Don't understand the strut brace comments.

Camber seems a bit high for a regular street car, and I'd think you'd want your settings more consistent left to right. Camber kit would help.

sorry bad wording, I edited it on the strut mount issue. Hard to describe I guess, but looking in the engine bay at the top of the stuts is the bolt and the metal disc with a black rubber surround edging. And in the center of the bolt is the koni adjusting screw to go from harder to softer shocks.

On the one its all busted.

And on both strut mounts the discs don't seem to be centered in the hole and them seem to be slightly moveable, at least to the extent the rubber surround starts to come off.

As to Koni's going up and down the base of the eibach spring rests on the Koni part that twists around the thread to go higher or lower.

Did you by these used? Sounds like you are describing Ground controls. If they are GC's and the spring perches are cut off, your waranty is void and you'd have to BUY a new strut.

Its amazing how my mind skips the obvious sometimes.

yes I purchased the car used, and yes it apparently is an add on part. - I've seen the Koni's on their web site and somehow wasn't yet to the point of connecting the fact my car has that red "ground control" device on it. Which apparently is an add on.

I didn't purchase the car directly from the seller and Koni had already told me the warranty would no longer be valid. But the process of having to cut off pieces of a new Koni to make the Ground Control fit makes the purchase of just one Koni even more difficult.

The Koni seems to work, it just isn't adjustable anymore, and I have no idea if its on the softest or hardest setting. But I think I'll just go with the new upper stut mounts (or do I spend for the (camber/caster).

Oh the current strut mounts seem to gravitate towards the center of the car vs. the outside edge. So my thought is a better upper strut mount would reduce the camber if it kept the strut tops more centered.

Thanks for pointing out the add on part.

Considering the amount of drop that you can dial in with the GC's, I'd recommend the camber kit. Available on Ebay for $128 shipped, just search "Contour Camber" and you'll pull it right up. Money well spent, if you ask me.

As for the bad strut...

Well, I'm sorry to say but you bought a modded car and this is one of the "issues" with a modded car: Either you believe in the PO's vision or you don't. I think it's worth replacing the bad strut, even if it's more of a headache because of the GCs. Can the GC collars be re-used? I'm not sure. If so, great. If not, you have some expensive options to consider.

I saw those on eBay. That seems very high. They usually go for about $75.00. Check BAT. www.batinc.net

Thanks for the ebay tip, have you used them? Seller looks reputable and that is a better price. I see they also have a "Alignment Pocket Magnetic Camber gauge"
for sale on ebay.

Makes sense, I wonder if it in fact acutally works. Though I'm editing because looking at the price for me its probably not worth it as I don't see constantly changing the height.

Though I assume with this new strut brace/camber/caster adjuster i'll need to get the $85 alignment again.

searching a link to SVT4b's pictures looks like he has a similar Koni/GC setup as on my SVT.

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/449801/3

I haven't used them, but they are on the way, and I'm doing a mild drop.

This company makes these pieces for other retailers, including BAT. It is the same piece.

You don't need them because you'd be changing your ride height. You need them because you have 2 degrees of negative camber, because the GC setup lets you run with very aggressive drops, and because your alignment is not consistent left to right and will probably never be so unless you bolt on some more adjustability.