Shock absorbers??

[That]

Can someone give me tip/advice on good medium price shocks for my 1981 fiat 124. Koni a little pricey, Monroe maybe, etc. I wanted Bilstein but not available. Thx so much

[AriK]

This is an article posted by Marc Matzer on the Tech Advisor section on the FCA website:

Through my personal experience with FIATs, I believe that Konis are simply the best shock you can install on your ride. They are oil-filled and work best with the stock compression rebound characteristics designed by FIAT engineers. I’ve tried them all, including KYBs, and want you to consider the following on 124 series cars before installing high pressure gas shocks.

First, high pressure gas shocks such as KYBs will work against the suspensions design of compression and rebound. Stock 124s are soft on compression and stiffer on rebound. These are characteristics designed by the world’s best suspension engineers. High pressure gas shocks are not cheap alternatives to Konis. Most importantly, high pressure gas shocks can destroy your front end. I know. I welded back together many of them. I'm talking about the cross member and unibody area of the cars. This was a weak point in the cars to begin with, and the problem was addressed on the 2000 series unibody. This happened without gas shocks! You can see the reinforcement plates installed by FIAT, which are easily visible on a Spider 2000. It also helped in lowering the taller block in the engine bay on the 2000 cars.

In more detail here's what high pressure gas filled shocks can do to your 124 Spider or Coupe. (Spider 2000s have reinforced cross member and sway bar attachment points on the front end unibody and can withstand far more pressure than a 124.) With this weakness on 124 series cars, high pressure gas will only hasten the problem, causing an eventual separation of the cross member and stress crack the inner bolt attachment points on the double box section of the frame rails. There are articles on how to fix your cross member and unibody out there in the FIAT community. Not a pretty sight! Repairing it right is beyond most backyard mechanics’ capabilities, even if you’re good with the welder. Alignment issues and other things will need to be done before you can put it together again, and repairs at a body shop will cost a small fortune. Every separation I ever had involved KYB shocks. I learned my lesson and switched to Konis. I will never use anything else.

Any basic oil-filled shock is better than putting a high pressure gas shock in your car in terms of what damage they can do. Konis are worth the price and should even go on a bone stock FIAT, Lancia, etc, as they will greatly enhance the ride quality of the car. Konis will not stress your cross member to unibody attachment points like high pressure gas shocks can.

In the performance department, it’s a slam dunk for the Konis. Ask any club member who has them in his or her car. The 124 Abarth Rally cars had a different front end and a special reinforced cross member than a standard 124, so they knew this was a weak point, especially going balls out off-road. 

[divace73]

Hi Arik I've heard arguments of the reds vs the yellow, which I your preference?
I have yellow on my now and have gone through the repair of the shock punching a hole in the tower.

I do want to mentioned I have the newer style yellow koni's where noting is embossed on the shock and there is only a sticker for identification, I was very disappointed to have received a new Koni shock like that....Could be any yellow shock with a sticker


That (cool name) if you think Koni's are expensive I would even consider Bilstein, where have a Bilstein suppler down here in Oz and I know of a suspension dynamic engineer who loved Bilstein's due to their flexibility, and asked how much and he said AUD$2000 just for the shocks.....

[DieselSpider]

Where I am you can make good money pulling the Bilsteins to replace with Monroes or Konis. The Bilsteins to me are just to harsh for a passenger vehicle. Even made my 35 foot motor home a horror to ride in too even though they were claimed to be the best for that application also.

[narfire]

Love my Koni yellows over the KYB gas...worth every penny in my opinion....1" front sway bar was a great addition as well.

[vandor]

FWIW the silver KYB shocks sold for the Spiders are a LOW pressure gas shock, not high pressure. KYB used to make a high pressure shock for the Spider, but I have not seen them for sale in a while.

[AriK]

The FAQ on Koni's website makes it ambiguous as to whether the Reds or the Yellows are in fact hydraulic or gas-charged. One detail that is clear is that Red is the comfort series and Yellow is the sport, more firm series.
A quick search on Monroe's website confirms that their Oespectrum are Nitrogen charged gas shocks, (correct me if they have another version).
A quick search on Koni's site indicates that Yellow is the correct application for the Spider.

[vandor]

Konis are hydraulic. The red is only adjustable in rebound, whereas the yellow is double-adjustable, so both compression and rebound get stiffer or softer as the shock is adjusted.

[AriK]

Csaba, (or anyone else for that matter) do you see truth in the above article that gas charged shocks chews up frame rails and crossmember? Where's the logic there?

[fiatfactory]

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[AriK]

Thank you for sharing with that excellent write-up. This helps understand dampers in a much better sense.

[Redline]

I will throw in a vote for Spax adjustables. They are a bit cheaper than Koni, still a reputable brand, seem quite well made and they are adjustable in place on the car (with a small knurled wheel the base of each damper). I have them on my Coupe and they work really well.

[fiatfactory]

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[DieselSpider]

I will throw in a vote for Spax adjustables. They are a bit cheaper than Koni, still a reputable brand, seem quite well made and they are adjustable in place on the car (with a small knurled wheel the base of each damper). I have them on my Coupe and they work really well.
While not the best coverage they do have a retailer in my normal range of travel here in the US. In the US when we hear SPAX one thinks of construction fasteners.

Here is the listing of SPAX Automotive retailers around the world.
http://spax.co.uk/buy-stores.php

They only seem to list for early Spiders and 124's from 1967/68.

[fiatfactory]

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