ALFAGTV6.COM

OK - being in Australia, parts can be quite expensive. So knowing that I needed new shocks I sourced some Koni yellows from one of the larger online suppliers around the place in the US - good exchange rate 'n all was going to save me some cash.

All was looking good, except that I got reds for a 105 first time around - no go for my 83 GTV6. So I sent them back, they will cover postage etc and I stumped up for the correct ones. Just got them today and checked the Koni site - I have front and rear shocks for 85-89 GTV,GTV6 parts (80-2570Sport and 80-2571Sport) , however, according to the Koni website, I should have got part numbers 80-2241Sport and 80-2242Sport for 76-84 GTV,GTV6.

Now my question is, can I put on the shocks that I have been sent without issue? From what I can see the tube for the fronts is at the bottom but on the originals still on the car, the boot covering the piston shaft is at the bottom - is that the only difference? I would like to be sure whatever I end up with will work properly.
Cheers

I believe the difference between the two part numbers is the later ones have internal bumpstops to suit the 75 and late gtv6s (which did not have the external stops as fitted to the early gtv6). You can use the later shocks on the earlier car - just have extra bumpstops which is not a bad thing - but not the other way round.

As you have noted, the original shocks have the shaft at the bottom and the body at the top, whereas the koni are the other way round. This is just how those particular shocks are configured. It is 'better' to have the shaft at the bottom and the body at the top as this reduces unsprung weight, but the konis work fine regardless.

Thanks Jason, great to know that. Will be putting them on next weekend in that case! - Beats sending them back to the states again!
Cheers
Marty

Use them for what? Driving to the store?

IMO Konis are useless for performance and bad for comfort.

You should try them yourself and make up your mind.

I have Koni yellow on my car - they work just fine.

Well, given I have soggy original shocks that wallow all over the place on the car at the moment, I figure they are a tried and true solution to my general road use of the car (just look at the number of people who have them on their cars who are satisfied with them).

Like most things they will have their detractors, but having no first hand experience of any of the alternatives, I chose one that seems to fit the bill for most people as my own starting point. If I think they are shit, I will sell them and look at Bilstiens or other alternatives. Let me get the konis on the car first! It might see the track, or it might not - haven't decided how much money I want to throw at the thing yet as I am also looking at buying a house - not about to start living on the back seat of the GTV6!

Whatever Konis are in your opinion, they are a shit load better than what I have at the moment.

They won't work on your car! Tell you what, I'll give you $50 a corner for them!
( I LOOOVE the Konis on my Volvo)

Regards, Andrew.

Sorry Andrew - fitted and working like a charm

Damn! Glad they worked out for you.

Regards, Andrew.

I have Koni Yellow on my track car and they're fine. But all I have to compare them to are stock 20 year old shocks.

Mats wrote: IMO Konis are useless for performance and bad for comfort.

What is a better shock for performance? The person I bought my Konis off changed to Bilstein, but he didn't notice any difference.

Bilsteins.

If he didn't notice any difference between Konis and Bilstein he can probably use bicycle pumps and think they're great.

The shocks are fundamentally different in the way they are tuned and Bilstein also have a bypass valve for high piston speeds (i.e. potholes/curbs).
The Konis (talking about yellow ones here) are soft in compression and have an adjustable rebound, this might be fine for road cars but they are way too soft in compression for any upgrade springs or track, quality is no issue.
Bilsteins are also a bit soft for track but work quite well considering they are tuned for street, the bypass valve is also a nice feature if you have rough roads. Don't get me wrong, they are not a comfort shock but whan you hit that asphalt edge or similar the shock manage it nicely where the Konis goes just about solid and transfer the whole crash into the pick-up points. Not nice.

Mats wrote: If he didn't notice any difference between Konis and Bilstein he can probably use bicycle pumps and think they're great.

I was expecting that answer. Admittedly he doesn't seem to be the best in terms of feedback (as he admits "I don't know, I just get in and drive the hell out of it"), but he did once win the Australian Sports Sedan Championship, so he can drive a bit.

When he upgraded to the Bilsteins and to BMW 7 series brakes, I got his Konis and Volvo brakes. He owes me a drive in the car with Bilsteins, so if it ever happens I'll hope to report back here.

I might be opening a can of worms here, but which do people think are more comfortable for the road?

Car has been lowered (too much) but everything is still standard.

In Sweden I'd go for the Bilsteins every day of the week.

Have had both and when adjusting the Konis to actually do some work I had issues with motion sickness due to weird movement of the car, very strange ratio bump/rebound.

Mats,

Sounds convincing to me. Nice information as usually most suspensions mods people talk about isn't related to comfort.

Thanks.