406 shock absorbers

[Mike406]

hi every one

having just got my 406 on the road after 20 years or so

needless to say some fettling needs to happen

we had a very metallic rattle noise in the rear, eventually found the shock absorber are loose in the top mount and one has started to leek

so I am assuming new ones

can anyone recommend make / supplier

hopefully get them off today

thanks

[Geoff Kingston]

The best ones in my view having fitted them to my 410 (full set) and 411 (rear) in the past are the special Koni's done by Shaun Pickering of SP Suspension LTD who's contact number is 07811 198123. I took a fairly new set of Spax dampers off the 410 as the later ones have far too many adjustment points and I just could not get them set up for balance handling and comfort I wanted, The Koni's were spot on.
Geoff

[amazon69]

I had all four made for me by Gaz, I sent them one from the front, one from the rear, they sent me back 4 fully adjustable dampers for a very reasonable price.

[Mike406]

Originally Posted by Geoff Kingston

The best ones in my view having fitted them to my 410 (full set) and 411 (rear) in the past are the special Koni's done by Shaun Pickering of SP Suspension LTD who's contact number is 07811 198123. I took a fairly new set of Spax dampers off the 410 as the later ones have far too many adjustment points and I just could not get them set up for balance handling and comfort I wanted, The Koni's were spot on.
Geoff

Hi Geoff


thanks for your help, just managed to get the old ones off, very rusty/siezed so grinder was necessary
I'll call shaun next week

Mike

[David C]

I'm a great fan of Koni shocks. I have them on both 403 and 410 which I used to drive quite hard and found they contributed to a very good and predictable ride.. They did a lot of work with the factory so were very well matched to the cars.

The other option is to have your originals reconditioned. I have seen a few restoration programmes showing this being done but don't have any experience.

[Mike406]

thanks

I have contacted Shaun the guy Geoff mentioned hopefully make progress next week

[David C]

Any luck with your replacement shock absorbers for the 406? I need a pair for the rear of mine.

[Mike406]

Originally Posted by Mike406

thanks

I have contacted Shaun the guy Geoff mentioned hopefully make progress next week

I got a set from Shaun and are now fitted, I think I have them set a bit hard so need to adjust them

good luck

[Geoff Dowdle]

Mike ,
what are the Koni Model numbers for the front and rear of your 406 .
Do you know the lengths fully extended and fully closed.

Do you still have the old set of shock absorbers that you removed ?
They could be originals and the lengths should be recorded .

Tks
Geoff

[Mike406]

Originally Posted by Geoff Dowdle

Mike ,
what are the Koni Model numbers for the front and rear of your 406 .
Do you know the lengths fully extended and fully closed.

Do you still have the old set of shock absorbers that you removed ?
They could be originals and the lengths should be recorded .

Tks
Geoff

hi,
only done the rear at the moment

unfortunately car not working at the moment so can't tell you the Koni details

the old ones
open 20"
closed 12"

not including the threaded spigots on each end as I had to cut them off to get them out

hope this helps

Mike

[David C]

My new Koni's for the rear of the 406 have just arrived from SP Suspension.

Fully closed they are 13 1/4" between innermost points where inner mounting washers meet the body. Fully open 22 1/2"

Although they arrived in Koni cardboard packaging the units are bright yellow and there are no identifying model number markings or branding.

The sheet that comes with them has four sets of sketches supposedly to inform how to adjust them but raises more questions than it answers.

Pretty unimpressive as a retail experience. I hope they work well enough to justify the £300 the pair.

Mike - did you fit them to the car as supplied or did you make any adjustment before fitting them?

[David C]

Out of the box the new Konis seem to be set to their softest setting and adjustment only seems to affect rebound.

[Geoff Kingston]

David,
Adjustment will be on the rebound only as mentioned on the Koni website , if the adjustment instructions are not that clear this link may help which explains how the different types of Koni's are adjusted. There are several other useful postings on the internet as well on the subject of adjustment.
Geoff.

https://www.koni.com/adjustment-style

[David C]

Thank you, Geoff.

The shock absorbers supplied for the 406 are actually very simple to adjust. On some models there is a rubber bumper inside the dust shield that has to be removed for adjustment and then re-fitted. Some also have a plastic washer.

For the type I have just bought it is a simple matter of fully compressing and turning slightly until the mechanism engages. Then rotate top relative to bottom. Clockwise stiffens. There are two turns of adjustment.
Adjustment has to be made off the car, or at least with the bottom mount disconnected.

I will start with the softest setting as recommended and see how I get on.

[Geoff Dowdle]

David C,
Thanks for the lengths of your old and new 406 rear shockers.
The Koni yellow shockers are their Sport specification which the Australian agent advised will give a firmer ride than a standard Koni orange shocker .

It is interesting that the new Koni when fully closed is 13.25 inch compared to 12 inch of your old shockers.
Hopefully that difference won't cause the shocker to bottom out when the axle comes fully up .

Maybe you should take some measurements (with the axle down on the snubber straps )
1. between the upper and lower shocker mountings
2. the top rubber buffer to the axle where the axle would meet the rubber buffer.

This should give you
1. whether the 22.5 inch (plus the washer and rubber at each end) is longer than measurement #1
2. whether the 13.25 inch (plus the washer and rubber at each end) is shorter or longer than the #2 measurement.

You would not want the shocker limiting the travel in either direction.

I suggest you trial these new Koni on the softest setting and hopefully they will be suitable.
The Koni I recently bought for the 403 front suspension were suitable lengths open and closed but way too firm on the softest settings .
To get them revalved doubled the overall cost but the ride on the softest setting is definitely smoother. I can always firm them up if required.

GeoffD

[David C]

Hello Geoff.

It was Mike who posted lengths of his old shock absorbers. I will supply info on the ones coming off my car when my son brings it home in a week or two and we move the torsion bars round one spline and replace the shock absorbers and hopefully the exhaust at the same time.

[Mike406]

Originally Posted by David C

My new Koni's for the rear of the 406 have just arrived from SP Suspension.

Fully closed they are 13 1/4" between innermost points where inner mounting washers meet the body. Fully open 22 1/2"

Although they arrived in Koni cardboard packaging the units are bright yellow and there are no identifying model number markings or branding.

The sheet that comes with them has four sets of sketches supposedly to inform how to adjust them but raises more questions than it answers.

Pretty unimpressive as a retail experience. I hope they work well enough to justify the £300 the pair.

Mike - did you fit them to the car as supplied or did you make any adjustment before fitting them?

Hi
mine were in the same process as yours

I fitted the m as delivered , but I think they are a little hard so at some point will need to take them off and adjust , probably this winter

and yes mine don't have any model marking

Cheers Mike

[David C]

Mike - assuming your Konis were delivered in the same state as mine they will have already been adjusted to the softest setting.

I hope to get mine fitted in about 2 weeks time. We can then compare notes and perhaps discuss getting them modified if we both think they are too hard.

[David C]

I finally found the time to fit my new Koni shocks to the rear of the 406.

The old units - not sure of make - approx 13" closed, 21" open, so the new ones very similar but allow slightly more axle drop. Will report back after I have a few miles on it how much improvement there is in the ride.

[Mike406]

I am getting used to mine now.
for me the issue was one of perception, as I had not driven a Bristol previously

I will probably do the front over the winter

cheers Mike

Originally Posted by David C

I finally found the time to fit my new Koni shocks to the rear of the 406.

The old units - not sure of make - approx 13" closed, 21" open, so the new ones very similar but allow slightly more axle drop. Will report back after I have a few miles on it how much improvement there is in the ride.