Shock comparison, Vote!
 

I am looking at TOKICO ILLUMINA ADJ STRUTS/SHOCKS Or Koni sports.

Which should I get?

Tokico

Really, Sorry for my lack of knowlege. I don't think I stated the koni sports are adjustable.

But can you explain further?
Thanks

I'm plaining on buying today.

Or is there a better choice in that price range?

you said vote, not explain...

I've run Koni sports and didn't like them (on my E30). And reports of the illumina damping curve are highly favorable--saying it was very similar to the Ohlins curve. This was from Jason Cuadra who (I think) saw them dynoed through Fat Cat. a few searches on miata.net will probably show the data.

MX-5 Miata Forum - Got handling? FCM-tuned NC Bilstein HDs available!

about half way down:
MX-5 Miata Forum - Koni Sport vs. Tokico HTS

Bilstein HDs, re-valved for your application. (adjustable are not strictly necessary.)

Todd, in response to your PM:

I'd try the Tokico Illuminas because people whose opinions on suspension I value have tested them and like them. If you were to call Shaikh at Fat Cat, after trying to sell you bilsteins (what joe said), he'd tell you that the Illuminas are going to ride and handle better than the Koni yellow adjustables.

That's good enough for me to try given my experience with the Konis.

Are we talking race bilsteins, or bilsteins hd without revalving.
How much is revalving?
I'm planning on just putting them in and No more $$$$.

What do you think?

I've enjoyed Koni Sports on a couple of cars and Specials on another. Never tried the Tokico offerings, though I do have a friend who's used a set for about a decade and really likes them a lot.
Comparing the two on the same platform, the Tokicos had a better overall ride...but I just haaaaaad to have my Konis. ;)

Bilstein HDs ride fine without a revalve given the right spring rates & bumpstops. A couple of our local folks use them and like 'em a lot. Chat up Rogue and farphle if you want their input.

Well I just missed Urbansoots shocks, I really wan't a smooth ride, but be able to crank it up for the weekend.

I talked to Rogue, he has bilsteins and Tokicos.
Ihave racing beat springs and blown shocks.

i vote for konis - had a few suspension kits and all served like champs.

Need more input. what's your use? If mostly street, I'd get the Tokico. The Konis are harsher over potholes, frost heaves, etc. If you'll be doing a lot of auto-x or some track work, or just driving on nothing but smooth roads, get the Konis.

FYI, i have Konis on my daily driver and they're not terrible. They're actually pretty great most of the time. But when I'm driving through the city they're a bit rougher than I'd like.

i had the Illumina's on my car and liked them. However, I had them paired to some god awful Tein S-Tech springs that made the car bounce like a cadillac. I think the Tokicos with a more aggressive spring rate would have been pretty good.

I just used the poor spring rate as an excuse to jump on Emilio's Tein Flex sale a while back. :)

So you're saying your car bounced around like crazy and never settled, and furthermore, higher spring rates would have fixed this problem?

It sounds like you needed a more aggressive dampening coefficient, or less aggressive springs.

Springs make it bounce, shocks slow it down.

The problem with Konis on stiffer than stock springs is when you turn them up, the low speed rebound damping goes way up, and the mid and high speed damping is insufficient. This "packs" the car down onto the bumpstops when you hit bumps or a series of bumps, yielding the stiff ride. (traction will suffer too)

OTS NA factory and aftermarket Bilsteins are the same way. NB factory and aftermarket Bilsteins aren't.

If you go with Illuminas, and you need to turn them up for stiff springs, they turn up the compression damping along with rebound damping. This prevents the packing down problem. This also means you can actually set the car lower with Illuminas than with Bilsteins / turned-up Konis, with a less jarring ride, and more traction.

Alexander, there is a funny effect that with too much rebound damping, switching to stiffer springs, which compress less on the average, keeps the car off the stiffest part of the bumpstops' curves. This is a kludge, because if you keep those stiff springs and switch to proper shocks with the right damping curves, at the same ride height, ride will yet improve (but still not better than softer springs with the proper shocks). With too much rebound and stiff springs, the stiff springs will ride better than soft springs on the larger bumps (because stiff springs keeps out of the deep part of the bumpstops), but ride worse on smaller bumps (due to the higher spring rates).

The origin of having boatloads of rebound damping (and soft bump) was for tall, softly sprung cars or trucks. What happens is that during a rapid dyanmic transition, the car packs down onto the bumpstops, lowering CG and raising spring rates, which is exactly what a tall softly sprung car needs, improving its lane change numbers. However, this is not what a proper, low sports car needs.