front strut assembly

[jamie9048]

John are they the larger bilstines/koni`s if so where did you get the gaiters and foam stops?

[John B]

John are they the larger bilstines/koni`s if so where did you get the gaiters and foam stops?

I got Koni part number 86-2086 SPD2 for the front and 86-2433 SPORT for the rear from QST and set them up using the guide in the post earlier. These were mated to H&R springs 29939 (VA) for the front and 29939 (HA) for the rear, also from QST

As for the gaiters and foam stops I got them from Pete Reve at Quattro Corner.

Cheers

John

[Alistair E]

Excellent find JohnB, Kalle's write up is exactly what I needed. Just need to check on the shouldered collar as this must be only be used with the solid topmounts. There isn't a slotted nut on the solid mounts. I believe the collar should sit on top of the upper spring seat, fitting slightly inside the topmount with a shouldered nut holding the shock in the mount.

I did do some searching about the Koni shocks and found a number of comments made about them being too short to allow the strut nut to hold them in place. There was talk of washers in the bottom of the strut housing, or the Koni supplied spacer collar being remade a bit bigger in stainless.

I measured the oem shock against the koni and collar and found them to be the same length. However the koni is a smaller diameter which I believe allows it to sit lower in the dish at the bottom of the strut. This appears to be the problem, although mine did sit far enough up to allow the strut nut to make contact and hold it in place. Just an observation.

Thanks for the help gents. Will hopefully be getting the car back together soon.

Alistair