33 shock question.

[wallace18]

I just got a 1 year old 33 kit from a customer to build. I do not have the new manual yet. I have 2 silver koni shocks and 2 red ones. Do the silver go on the front? Any help is appreciated. Thanks, TW

[NAZ]

Red on the front. These allegedly can be run inverted but the silver ones can't.

[Tampa33Build]

Tom,
Hope this helps

From the manual:
Coil-Over Shock Assembly
 Snap ring pliers, ¾” wrench, ¾” socket, Ratchet, Torque wrench
 Front shock set, Front shock set, Insulated clip hardware.
 The front shocks are pre-valved at the factory in compression and rebound for good street use. The
shocks can be adjusted in rebound as per Koni’s instructions if so desired. The front springs are 400lb,
the rear springs are 250#. Other springs are available for different ride characteristics.
 WARNING! Incorrect assembly and maintenance of this part can cause serious injury or death.
 The front shocks extended measurement is 15.15” center to center. They are 2.50” shorter than the
rear shocks
 If using the silver double adjustable shocks, these must be mounted with the body of the shock down.
Unpack the front shocks, coil-over’s and hardware.
Double check the jam nut under the rod end and bump stop to make sure that it is tight.
Screw the spring seat down on the sleeve so it is closer to the unthreaded end.
Slide the coil sleeve over the body of the damper beginning at the end which has the rubber bump stop.
The unthreaded end of the sleeve goes first so that it will sit on the snap ring on the shock body.

Neil

[wallace18]

Thanks. that helps.

[Jim Schenck]

Tom,

The reds and the silvers are very different and should not have been mixed, if you call the office they can switch out whichever ones you want to send back with a matching pair for the ones you keep. Also if the car is a solid axle it would have different lengths front and rear so they need to know which ones you have so they can send you the opposite end. (IRS would be same lengths)

Along with the change from the reds to the silvers there was also a spring change, those can be interchanged as a set of 4 to fit on either set of shocks however they should always remain as a set to get optimum handling balance. So I would double check that you have the correct ones that you need there as well.

In order to help you decide what you want I can give you a little background on the differences. The Red Konis are the same monotube shocks as the MKIV uses and were shipped with the 33 kits for the majority of the time we have been building them. We originally spec'd those thinking that the longer wheelbase of the 33 would give a softer ride that more people would like but still retain the good handling characteristics of the roadster, most of which run 17 inch wheels with a decently tall (by today's standards) sidewall, and our original test mule also was running these same sizes. However after offering the Bullit style wheels in 17, 18 , and 20 inch sizes and selling mostly the larger size then designing the salt flat wheels in 20 inch rears, we were getting lots of feedback that the ride on the much smaller sidewall tires was stiffer than most people were wanting. So, a few years back we took a 33 out to the Koni headquarters and worked with their engineers to come up with a combo that better matched our wheels and the ride we thought most people were expecting out of the finished car. The result of that testing was the silver bodied twin-tube shocks and revised spring rates (about 100lbs lower on both ends) that come with the kits today. It sounds like this car was probably built around the time of the switch and most likely had one set shipped out later with them not realizing they were not a match. So basically you can choose now which setup you want, the better ride on the silvers with softer springs or the more sporty handling with the reds. You can also use the softer springs on the reds to get an in between set-up if that is what you are looking for.

[NAZ]

Jim, just an FYI -- my 33 kit came with red shocks for the front and silver for the rear. The shocks all shipped with the kit so they likely were pulled at the same time. If the shocks were supposed to be the same color on all four corners there was a SNAFU when the parts were pulled for my kit. Makes no difference to me as mine are all being replaced. The takeaway is y'all may have other kits out there with a mix of red and silver. My kit was delivered MAR 2016.

[Jim Schenck]

If you want you can get your set evened out as well. Also I would check your spring rates and make sure they are what they should be. The old cars were 500 front 350 rear vs now 400/250. I would give the new stuff a shot before switching, those Koni guys really know their stuff and a lot of time was spent getting the right valvings and rates. If you are switching based on how the car drove with a mismatched set you may find that the change is not needed and could easily make the car worse not better. If you are trying to make it more aggressive then even out the red set and you can dial in an extra click of rebound front and rear.

[wallace18]

Thanks Jim, I do have the 400/250 springs. I will email you and Courtnie pics of the shocks as well as list of a few missing parts. Courtnie took the order from Richey last year. As always thanks for all your help. This is kit #9 for me, always learn something new each time. TW