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A quick replacement on Ground Control's strut inserts
These are the KONI RACE 8611-1259 double adjustable inserts, but the regular Koni yellow are the same process.
After blowing up a $400 strut insert, I talked to the to KONI Tech guys.
they shined some light on why I killed the strut after just 2 Autocross seasons.
they said the Inside piston unscrewed from the main shaft.
high lateral loads can cause the piston to drag on the strut wall and unscrew itself if the strut can't spin freely.
Ussues:
1. My static ride height was too high. Koni recommended 2/3 of the total strut travel be compressed at static ride height.
the RACE insert has 6in of travel, so the strut is best compressed 3.5-4 in at ride height. (About 2in of bump travel at ride height)
that way the strut ends up with LESS leverage when cornering
(think of a 6in pry bar vs a 2in one. 6in has way more leverage)
2. my solid J&M strut mounts mono ball got a tad dirty and wasn't freely moving.
that combined with a lot of piston shaft exposed, caused the piston to unscrew from the main shaft.
some graphite lube and the mono ball came back to life.
KONI also recommended running a tapered rod end Spacer on the top of the strut mounts. Ground Control strut housing and the old insert Shock Dyno Plot of the KONI RACE Double ADJ 8611-1259 DIY 14mm (9/16in) tapered rod end spacer
woah, interesting. aside fromthe tapered spacer, anything you reccomend guys like me do to prevent the failure? cover the pistons and keep them lubed with something like a spray lube? or the graphite lube you mentioned? I have koni yellows all around.... the 3rd gen struts and the 4th gen shocks (on car adjustable)
edit: NEVERMIND! I just watched your video. I do not use that setup with a koni insert....in fact I did not even know about that system at all! whoops.
Last edited by IROCZman15; 02-06-2021 at 07:13 PM.
The issues I had are from Driving like an animal at the Autocross with VERY sticky 200TW tires.
And having the issues unfixed.
Leverage+Mono-Ball stiffness=unscrewed shock pistons.
A regular JOE with Koni Yellows and a sweet weekend 3rd gen won't have issues.
Rancho shock boots are easily secured to thr strut body and the bump stop wuth some zip ties. I use them all the time to protect the shaft. As for the monoballs. Some heim seals (with hardened washers) and a lil grease help there too
cool
what 200 treadwear tires?
I only ask because I am in the market, and those new Falken Azeni 660 tires are my top pick (also based on size availability)
Last edited by IROCZman15; 02-08-2021 at 09:20 AM.
Ussues:
1. My static ride height was too high. Koni recommended 2/3 of the total strut travel be compressed at static ride height.
the RACE insert has 6in of travel, so the strut is best compressed 3.5-4 in at ride height. (About 2in of bump travel at ride height)
that way the strut ends up with LESS leverage when cornering
(think of a 6in pry bar vs a 2in one. 6in has way more leverage)
2. my solid J&M strut mounts mono ball got a tad dirty and wasn't freely moving.
that combined with a lot of piston shaft exposed, caused the piston to unscrew from the main shaft.
some graphite lube and the mono ball came back to life.
KONI also recommended running a tapered rod end Spacer on the top of the strut mounts.
Yeah, operating range for a shock is critical. Spohn has a moderate strut mount (DSE is the bomb).
11 years ago...blended them down slightly...
I notice you have the Founders panhard relocation kit. Any issues with the bolts sliding in the slots while driving?[/QUOTE]
No issues after 2 seasons.
the bolts are huge and are torqued to 80Lbft so they don't move.
I did however figure out the aluminum panhard bar I've been using, is simply not stiff enough for autocross. No biggie, panhard bars are cheap. I have a Unbalanced Engineering Bar coming.
As far as 200TW tires.
200tw tires are mostly for autocross as that's the lowest TW number we can use in most classes. 200tw tires warm up Fast and offer stupid high levels of grip.
The draw back is they wear out turbo fast and can't take sustained heat build up like Road racing.
hey also throw ride comfort and noise out the door as AutoX guys only care about grip.
Any street going 3rd gen should stick to tires in the 300tw or higher range. (300-360TW range)(Lower the TW, the more sticky the tire. Higher equals less grip but better life span) 200TW Yokahama A052 the new fastest cheater tire. Tire lifespan is hilariously bad, but putting 0.5 seconds on your opponent is critical.
On the closeup of the bearing mount it looks like you are capturing the reducer sleeve but not the actual bearing with the tapered spacer. I would make sure you are on the ball of the bearing itself before that sleeve starts to move on you.
On the closeup of the bearing mount it looks like you are capturing the reducer sleeve but not the actual bearing with the tapered spacer. I would make sure you are on the ball of the bearing itself before that sleeve starts to move on you.
The pic is a crappy rod spacer I made on a wood lathe ha ha.
I wasn't able to fully engage the flat ends if the mono ball.
Although the taper isn't inside the mono ball hole.
I have a nice tapered spacer being machined from 316 stainless as we speak.
A 3d printed model before it's machined from stainless. Fits the mono ball perfectly without hindering travel.
cool, thanks for the tire info. I don't want to take the initial topic of this thread and change it to the tire topic, but I am starting to do my research and your input is a big help.
I only have two sets of wheels: (1) Drag radials with front skinnies and (2) my street/autocross wheels. my 300 treadwear Nitto 555 tires have been my biggest downfall when i am doing autocross events. They are ok on the street. But now with the power I am putting down, i also want to have a stickier tire on the street. I am willing to sacrifice having a faster treadwear for improved grip...at least for one session of tires. I put 3,000 - 3,500 miles on the car per year and a handful of autocross events also. Again, I appreciate your advice. I'm probably ordering tires in early spring. Right now my best pick is the new Falken Azenis RT660 . I can discuss this in my build thread one day soon, so I will not be steering the thread away from your strut insert topic.
It's all good, it's not like posts here get that much attention lol.
The RT660 and A052 are really the only good AutoX tires available right now since The RE71R are discontinued.
The A052 are a tad faster in the dry and a LOT faster in the wet, but the RT660 are WAY cheaper and have better tread life
The RT660 also run BIGTheir 275 is closer to 295 and their 315 is closer to 335.
A 315 RT660 on a 18x11 is Bulged pretty good and really needs an 12in wide wheel.
So keep that in mind.
cool, sounds good. thanks. I actually did not know the RE71 was discontinued. I did notice that those Yoko A052 are a bit more expensive, so that is probably going to cross those off of my list.
-that is super helpful that you mentioned that the Falkens run big. I will really have to spend some time with my measurements.
THANKS !
Rancho shock boots are easily secured to thr strut body and the bump stop wuth some zip ties. I use them all the time to protect the shaft. As for the monoballs. Some heim seals (with hardened washers) and a lil grease help there too
The pic is a crappy rod spacer I made on a wood lathe ha ha.
I wasn't able to fully engage the flat ends if the mono ball.
Although the taper isn't inside the mono ball hole.
I have a nice tapered spacer being machined from 316 stainless as we speak.
A 3d printed model before it's machined from stainless. Fits the mono ball perfectly without hindering travel.
McLovin, didn't you post the dimensions of this spacer somewhere, I'm wanting to do this when I finally get my Koni's.
McLovin, didn't you post the dimensions of this spacer somewhere, I'm wanting to do this when I finally get my Koni's.
I have the F3d. file, I can email it to you.
you can contact me on Instagram easily or a private message here.(although I'm not very active here)
some quick ghetto numbers:
inside diameter: 0.555in
larger outside diameter: 1.0in
smaller outside diameter: 0.9in
overall height: 0.3in
I think the taper was 7 degrees, but don't quote me on that
it was set up for the KONI RACE struts that have a 14mm threaded strut shaft.
IDK what threads the normal Koni yellows use.
Pic of the finished 325-stainless mono ball spacer
02-06-2021, 04:38 AM
