Koni "Heavy Track" shocks....thoughts?

[SRXy]

I've been shopping for shocks for my Troll....I was keen on replacing the OME N19 and N29'ers I currently have on, but it seems that they either don't make them anymore or they just don't ship them to SA. The only ones on offer are the Nitrocharger "Sport" shocks, I've read a few rather uncomplimentary reviews on these shocks, so I figured I'd give the Koni heavy tracks a go...anyone had any experience with these shocks?

Oh....and for interest here are the prices I got from the various companies:

Safari Centre:
OME Nitrocharger Sport: R1900/shock (price includes fitment) = R7600
EFS Elite: R6985 fitted

4x4 Megaworld:
OME Nitrocharger Sport: R7962 (fitted)

Expedition Gear:
Koni Heavy Track: R6800 (fitted)

Considering the Koni's seem to get excellent reviews I figured they will be worth a try.....and they look cool in Red too...lol

[Aries66]

Hi Wes.
It all depends on what coils you have on at the moment, and what lift they gave you as the Kony's can only go up to an 2"
Lift. So if your lift is not more than 2" then i will defnately go for the Kony's as they are in the same class as Bilsteins.
They are also fully serviceable, if repairs are needed so should be lasting for life.

[SRXy]

Hi Arries,

I have a 2" lift with OME springs so I should be fine there.

[Abri Hoffman]

I have 82series Koni's on my Trol. Very happy with them and the service from Steve Hurley is also very good.
Had one shock leaking after 3 years, took it to Steve who opened it and showed me how it bottomed out. This happened Dec 2011 when the rear panhard rod bend whist travelling through Anysberg.
Even though it was clear the damage on the shock was due external factors he still replaced the shock free of charge. That was after 3 years and 50 000km.

[SRXy]

Thanks Abri,

I ordered a set of 82-series and received them yesterday. They looks like a quality item and I'm looking forward to having decent shocks again! I'm going to fit them tomorrow....

My current set of OME's (N19/N29) have around 200,000km's on them and are totally stuffed now.

[marakasmalan]

AFIK the Koni shocks have only a "single skin", hence they exchange heat faster and maintains a lower temperature than "normal" shocks.

BUT, a knock on the side bends/dents the cylinder and renders the shock useless...

The fact that they are servicable is great. The OME and Ironman shocks, are they not servicable?

Next question, if your trol was purchased with a suspension kit, how do you establish wat is the lift. Assume after 350 000km the springs may have sagged, amaount of fuel in the tank + accessories also further influence the height of the vehicle. How do you know?

Regards

[SRXy]

I have compared my vehicle next to other trucks with the same suspension and lift and there is little to no sag noticeable. I also have the original warranty paper from when the OME system was installed back in 2004 (and 200,000km's ago) and it has all the values pre and post lift so I suppose I could just measure it.

I fitted my Heavy Track 82-series Koni's today and From my initial short drive this afternoon the impressions are very positive. I'll have to give further feedback over the next couple of months of driving around.

[Gerrit Loubser]

AFIK the Koni shocks have only a "single skin", hence they exchange heat faster and maintains a lower temperature than "normal" shocks.

BUT, a knock on the side bends/dents the cylinder and renders the shock useless...

Some Koni shocks have a monotube design (30-Series, ), but others are twin tube (82-Series, 90-Series), just like the OME/TJM, etc.

[Boats]

I recently installed 90 series Konis with 2" OME lift coils - the positive difference from the standard setup is very noticable.

Steve brought in quite a few of the shocks (typo caused an excessive order) so worth you while to chat to him if you're considering really good shocks for a 2" lift.

[JoshJ]

Hi SRXy and Boats,

Are you guys still happy with your suspension combination? I will do suspension early 2015. And I am interrested in this combo. Mainly overlanding so don't need more than 2 inch lift. Load carrying is more of a priority. As you can see

trudie dec 2014 109.JPG (2.81 MiB) Viewed 7344 times

5 people, drawer system, fridge and fully packed with trailer