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View Full Version : Good bye Koni's, hello QA-1s.



Brastic
08-08-2021, 11:48 AM
I found that the stock Koni shocks to be good on perfectly flat roads. When I would drive on newly paved roads, I really did not mind them at all. Since I am planning to mostly drive the Hot Rod on the street and the roads out here in Northern California are not "perfectly flat", I upgraded to the QA-1s. After 500 miles on the QA-1s, I have to say that I really like them a lot. I have to give credit to Dan Ruth. Not only did he take his time and answer all of my questions, he was easy to deal with and stood by his word. The parts were shipped and showed up just as he said. When I contact Dan, I asked for him to set up the shocks for the street. This meant dropping the spring rates a bit. The car does sway just a little bit now, but is not an issue. The big deal for me, was being able to drive on the freeways. With the Koni's, I would launch the rear end at overpasses. I can also see why Dan was recommending me to get the front sway bar. I can see how a sway bar and softer front springs would made the ride better. For me, the car should be on the stiff side and I am happy with how it drives now. If I were to build a hot rod today, I would plan on the front sway bar.

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NAZ
08-08-2021, 12:17 PM
My QA1 Proma Star DA shocks are way better than the Koni, and much easier to adjust. I noticed on you photo that the springs on the front appear to rub each other. I used these extenders with 8" springs and have plenty of clearance: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/qa1-9018-113
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BTW, I run the same shock front and rear, they're interchangeable (same length and part numbers) except for the extenders on the front shocks. And I run 250lb springs on the front and 150# springs on the rear and I have no noticeable body roll. But I have a different rear suspension than yours and can adjust my roll center over a 10" range to adjust body roll.

lance corsi
08-08-2021, 01:56 PM
I too changed out my Konis in exchange for some dual adjustable QA1 s. Haven’t had a chance to drive with them so can’t comment but the difficulty of adjusting the Konis is what made me want to change them. I used the Konis on a small utility trailer. For that they’re great.