Koni vs Hotchkis shocks

[jrsstoy]

I'm replacing my old KYB shocks and stock shocks on my 1969 Firebird. I have purchased the Hotchkis lowering springs. Know I'm debating wether I should buy the Red adjustable KoNi shocks from DSE or the Hotchkis tuned shocks?? Any input would help. My suspension is stock and this will be my first mod.

[rrunner68]

Hotchkis shocks are tuned to the chassis application and their spring rates. Kind of a no brainer here.

[jrsstoy]

Thanks for your suggestion. anything else u would consider replacing while replacing shock/springs?

[rrunner68]

I'd inspect all the bushings, ball joints and end links make sure everything is snug and well greased. Replace things as needed and budget allows. Best part about systems like Hotchkis is the ability to swap pieces as the budget allows. We did a car very similar to that. Bought springs sway bars and shocks to get going, then did upper control arms and all the adjustable bits over the course of a year as time allowed and old pieces wore out. My biggest concern is keeping the car running and driving. I'm not a big fan of jack stand queens.

[BMR Sales]

I don't know anything about the Hotchkis, but I've run Koni's on my cars for years & really like them. Added Plus is that Koni's are guaranteed for Life!

[jrsstoy]

I've experienced the Koni and the Blistein shocks on a 02 WS6 and I did like the Koni a lot better. It offered a smoother ride with the eibach lowering springs. I don't see my self competing in any way, I only want the stance and the ride quality not to be too harsh.

[DippedInSauce]

I don't know anything about the Hotchkis, but I've run Koni's on my cars for years & really like them. Added Plus is that Koni's are guaranteed for Life!

Agreed. Knoi's are tried and true. I have had really bad luck with Hotchkis leaf springs in the past. I had a pair with faulty locator pins that ended up causing rear quarter panel damage. And another set even snapped in half due to faulty tempering. Based on those two incidents I avoid Hotchkis at all costs. They are I pit more money but you should check out the Chassisworks single adjustable shocks as well. They are superior to both the Koni and Hotchkis.

[Rod]

OK...I will tell you we spent years developing the new ridetech Shocks with FOX Racing first as a 2inch coil over body shock with proprietary seal designs to stop leaks(which has been high jacked by some other manufactures) and after racing them on some of the top cars in the country, we used that same technology to develop the street series of shocks, the original 2.0 shock was too large a diameter to be a simple replacement shock so we narrowed the body and piston and made it a two piece body allowing us to configure the shock to hundreds of applications. And after testing those shocks on Corvettes, Mustangs, Camaros anything we could get our hands on and daily drive and race, that's why we offer a million mile warranty on our shocks....

RideTech Shocks

that is why we do this!! weigh cars at almost every event because then we can tune the shocks to be perfect for that cars, average weight, corner weight and balance

[79-TA]

Read the autocross to win pages before buying shocks.

http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets6.html

Note that the recommended brand list was written before some of our muscle car specific damper options existed (JRi, Hotchkis, ridetech etc.)

[CA B4C]

I run a third gen Camaro and my shock choices are limited compared to other vehicles. I initially purchased the adjustable (yellow) Konis, front and rear, and felt this is the best shock available for my vehicle at the time. Despite the life time warranty, I've had the front shocks rebuilt twice. The first time was after two years of service. The rebuilder dyno'd the shocks before and after the rebuild. The before curve was flat with very little resistance throughout the entire adjustment range. The rears began leaking at the adjuster detent and are not serviceable.

I purchased a set of adjustable ridetech shocks for the rear earlier this year. I primarily autocross the car and the surfaces I run on vary from grooved concrete (El Toro), to abrasive asphalt (Fontana), to a slick slurry seal (Pomona). I have found that the ridetech shocks have a wide range of adjustment necessary to compete at the highest level and provide a suitable ride to and from the events. The adjuster on the Ridetech shocks is also far more convenient than the Konis.

[SLO_Z28]

While the konis have a lifetime guarantee, its basically worthless. I had to have mine rebuilt after only 6 months. Koni is the only worthwhile choice for my application under $5000 a set (it was $300 for all 4) so im not complaining. Given the choice either of the Fox shocks (both hotchkis and ridetech) would be a much better. They're made in Scotts Valley CA to very high standards. ridetech is pretty on the ball with customer service too.

You cant argue with the results of the konis though, 1.4Gs in a $1000 japanese crapcan on street tires.

[nokones]

Based on your two postings, it appears that your ride is just a grocery getter and not an autocross or track car. The Koni Red's should work fine. I don't have any experience with the Ridetechs or the Hotchkiss shocks. If the Ridetechs and the Hotchkis' are designed for autocross and/or track events, you don't need to go that route unless you have the sticky tires and you want lean very aggressively in the turns on your way to the grocery store. The Koni Yellows single adjustable may be your next bet if your budget dictates keeping the cost down.

I think the Ridetechs are designed as a competition shock for aggressive driving on the autocross course or the track. If the Ridetechs are a competition shock as opposed to a grocery getter shock, I wonder why they are not inverted in order to take the vertical unsprung weight off the control arms.

[CA B4C]

Ken,
I'll speak to the reasoning for the single adjustable ridetech shocks. These shocks are a monotube gas shock and the rebound adjuster runs thru the center of the shaft and directly changes the pre-load on the rebound shim stack. As such is becomes an eaze of packaging issue for some applications to run the shock in a body down/shaft up configuration.

Hope this helps
Casey

[nokones]

I would have to agree that adjusting a ridetech shock as opposed to a Koni Yellow installed on the rear of 3rd Gen Camaros has to be a lot easier to adjust and you'll probably get a better range of adjustment regardless which position the shock body is in. But, it is my understanding that Black 3rd Gen Camaros are super zoomy fast anyways regardless which shock you have in the rear upside down or right side up. Its just a rumor I heard about them Black 3rd Gen Camaros.

And, you gotta make sure that you have the right shocks when you are grocery getting in your street ride. You definitely do not want the beer to foam up or your eggs cracked on your way home from the store.