DIY: How to adjust koni yellow sport shocks / dampers

[SummitP]

So I know this is already out there, but a lot of people still have questions, and when searching you come across a lot of misinformation, and not very informative threads, so I thought I would offer up a concise easy way to adjust your adjustable koni yellow sport dampers, and hope that it helps some folks. I am new audi owner, and this is my first attempt to contribute to this community. My build thread, along with my goals for the car, is located here http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...nd-progression
I chose the koni dampers for several reasons, I had an excellent experience with them on a past vehicle, a 944 race car, their reputation is stellar, and they are not as stiff on the compression as the non adjustable bilstein shocks (also a good shock I am sure.)

The Koni yellow sport dampers can only be adjusted while removed from the car.


Koni Yellow sport dampers are adjustable for rebound only.
To adjust them, you must remove all other hardware, and get it down to just the shock. You must compress the damper all the way down. Use a 5mm hex key to rotate the shaft counterclockwise while keeping the shaft compressed all the way. Rotate the shaft until it comes to a stop. It is very noticeable. This is the tough part, as it is easy to lose reference for how far you have turned it as if the shaft extends, adjustment stops, but the shaft will still rotate. When you have rotated the shaft completely counterclockwise, the shock will be set at minimum rebound. This is more suitable for a softer spring.
The Front dampers will rotate 1.5 turns from full soft to full stiff.
The Rear dampers will roatate 2 full turns from full soft to full stiff.

To make it easier to keep track of how far I have turned the shaft, I compressed the shaft all the way down, and set to full soft (all the way counterclockwise) and marked the shaft and the shock body with a sharpie.



Next, I put a 5mm hex key into my vice,


put the end of the shaft on the hex key, and compress the shock completely, and adjust the shock to the desired setting.
I will be using H&R sport springs. I have used H&R sport springs on 2 BMWs, and their race spring on my Toyota MR2. I think they make a great well engineered product. The H&R springs are said to be one of the stiffer springs, so I set my shocks accordingly. I want streetable comfort, but do not want the shock to be overpowered on the rebound by the springs (bounciness some people with spring and shock combos complain of.)
I set my front dampers to 1/2 stiffness, or .75 turns from full soft.
I set my rear dampers to 5/8 stiffness, or 1.25 turns from full soft.
I chose these initial settings after sifting through the tons of threads looking for setting info, and while there was not a lot out there, it seems generally people who set them on full stiff thought it was a bit stiff for the street.

I will edit this post later in the week after the install is completed.

(where is the beer smiley?)

[jnm]

I will edit this post later in the week after the install is completed.

(where is the beer smiley?)

Nice write up Summit. I am looking to do this set up but with Eibach/fsd koni's as I heard they are a little softer. Still on the fence about this and might just go for a firmer controlled ride like you have here. How are you liking this setup? Didn't see if you mentioned it but do you daily drive this?

[usedtobefast]

My experience somewhat different. When initially installing, I set both front and rear and 3/4 turns from full soft. The rear was almost rock solid and I loosened to 1/4 turn from full soft. The front was way, way too soft so I disassembled (!!!!) and redid the fronts setting them at 1 3/4 from full soft (about middle of range). Much better, but still could be stiffer. Hope this helps someone.