Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Suspension Koni's Vs BAT handling kit??

The stock struts are getting soft and need to be replaced, i've been looking at the koni asjustibles and the BAT handling kit. The koni's would be matched with most likly some eibach springs, its more expensive to go this way but sounds better, any recomendations.
adjustability of the koni's?? fronts on the top of the strut tower?? how do you adjust the rears?? easy or not??
any imput is apreciated, thanx

i have the BAT kit. I would say go Koni and H&R before Eibach. I am speaking about looks only.

As far as handeling is concerned, awsome highway ride! I haven't done any real city driving yet.

Either way your good to go!

I have koni's with the springs from the bat kit. I like it. My car is a daily driver, so I didn't want it to be super low, or to have it ride really hard. The konis provide enough adjustability to make it a competent auto-x car, while not being overly harsh to ride in for a couple of hours. The konis adjust from the top at all four corners, while some have complained about adjusting the rears, I haven't had a problem.

-FD

I have the same set up that Forbidden Doughnut has, and it is pretty sweet. With the Koni's cranked to soft, the ride is really pretty smooth. With the Koni's cranked to the firm side, they are a dream to auto-x or open track with. I had the H&R's and off'd them for the BAT springs, for the better ride, and a little ride height. However, the BAT springs are very progressive in rate, so speed bumps are still a bit of a problem. Progressive springs are firm when pushed very hard (ie., driving quickly), and softer when not pressing hard.

My choice would be a matched set any day of the week.

Get the BAT kit...

IMHO, the konis are more than enough strut for the springs. IE: it is a very well matched set. The big question is...will one take advantage of adjustable struts??? They are a great thing for the autocrossers among us, but many people just want to throw struts in and forget about them. If said owner wants to throw in struts and forget about them, I would say go with the "matched set" from bat.

IMHO, the Koni's would work fine. Because they are adjustable, you could tune them to work with any of the common springs out there (BAT, Eibach, H&R...)

Nothing against the BAT struts, but I want to point out that the Koni's have one more advantage:

They're Koni's, and come with a Koni lifetime guarantee (as long as you don't race). The BAT struts are rumored to be "made by Bilstein," although the guys at BAT deny this, and the struts are sold without any such quality backing from Bilstein. It is actually pretty common for parts makers to sell their seconds or otherwise lower quality pieces to other businesses, to be resold under a different name. Or, for one maker to contract work out to a different company. The quality may be the same as those units sold under the Bilstein name, but since Bilstein provides no guarantee, well, there's just no assurance. And, like I said, we don't really know for sure who makes the BAT strut. It could be Bilstein one week, and Sachs the next.

All that said, I haven't ruled out the BAT kit, but I'm hanging back for now to see how many miles people put on it without trouble.

Gee. That's an easy warranty to void. For the user or even the manufacturer. They even go as far as to state any competitive use of the car! Not even official or sanctioned.

BTW - that warranty is for material defects only. Not for normal wear, road hazards, etc...