[Guide] Fitted my H&R/Koni 50-80mm kit yesterday

huw169

Black 199 Shuttle
VIP Member
T6 Guru
Took me a good few hours on my own in the garage, but not difficult.

Things you will need over and above the standard tool kit you already have if you are tempting this yourself.

7 MM Allen key to remove standard suspension top caps.
T40 Torx bit for the drop link arm.
3 arm puller as no way were my wiper arms coming off without it. They were on solid. You will need to grind one hook/foot a bit to get the drivers side one off as the trim curles up.
21mm sockets - more than one, and two ratchets. I have one of those telescopic Draper wheel braces and a long series 21mm that helped loads.
Torque wrench.

Things to note.
The top of the Koni shocks can not handle 80 Nm :oops:. Fortunately a little distortion at the top was the only evidence. Adjuster still works fine. Thankfully.... I should of known looking at it, but just ploughed on regardless.
Learn how the little electrical plugs unclip - this will save you some head scratching. Small flat blade screwdriver in the right spot.
Grease up the rear springs in the little rubber seats at the bottom. It will hold water and rot them. My T4 ones only lasted 8 years.
The front is easy to set up as you can lift the vehicle and adjust with the wheel in place.
The rear is a PITA. When working off the ground you need to jack it up (this is a pain in itself finding a suitable spot then placing the axle stand), wheels off, rear shocks lower mount removed, trailing arm down to release spring load. Approx 5 rotations is about an inch down. I did not measure this, so very approx. Then when you lift the trailing arm back up, make sure both rear springs are aligned to the upper adjuster or you'll be dropping it back down again. Then fit it all back together and see what you have.
My front seems to be set higher relative to the back on the available adjustment, but in reality is well lower. Maybe the rear needs to top adjuster totally removed to get full drop, but I only have about 10 mm (again, approx as by eye only) to wind to the lowest setting, whereas fronts have about 40-50 mm they could be wound down.

Initial impressions
LUSH and PLUSH! I had my reservations, but even my wife said, 'lovely and smooth isn't it' I left them on their softest setting as they came.
Based on a short run today. Much longer run tomorrow.
I've not tried all the other options, or any for that matter. This one just sounded right, and speaking to Steve convinced me of that. Was going to get the STX kit, but this just seemed to fit the job on paper.

I went a little bigger on tyre diameter though.
Fronts are 8.5x20 ET35 and 245/45
Rear are 10x20 ET40 and 275/40
Both are perfectly in line with the side of the van and give me exactly the look I was going for.

If I think of anything else that might be useful, I'll add.
Photo and update tomorrow after the longer drive.

I also think I scuffed the outer arch once on a particularity bumpy/undulating bit of road, so ill do the outer arch trick mod, otherwise ill pop it up a bit.
Once happy, I'll see If I can pop to @BognorMotors ( I bet you get fed up of being tagged...) for an alignment.

Overall though, chuffed to buttons is an understatement.
I also need to join team Black as she was new to me yesterday morning :thumbsup:
Do we need a H&R/Koni team too? ;)
 
You can get a little puller for wiper arms.

Have you got any pics back on its wheels?

Thanks
I looked but needed it immediately and only 3 arm ones available locally, so just went to Tool Station and got what they had.
Do you have a link so others can get one in preparation? Wish i had.

Will get some pics tomorrow. Weather has been really poor today.
 
Oh, now that's much better than what I used. And cheaper, and Halfords is closer....
If only i'd known.
Thanks for posting it :thumbsup:
 
Motorway driving is really nice. Well happy with my choice. No harshness or crashing at all.
 
Last edited:
Took me a good few hours on my own in the garage, but not difficult.

Things you will need over and above the standard tool kit you already have if you are tempting this yourself.

7 MM Allen key to remove standard suspension top caps.
T40 Torx bit for the drop link arm.
3 arm puller as no way were my wiper arms coming off without it. They were on solid. You will need to grind one hook/foot a bit to get the drivers side one off as the trim curles up.
21mm sockets - more than one, and two ratchets. I have one of those telescopic Draper wheel braces and a long series 21mm that helped loads.
Torque wrench.

Things to note.
The top of the Koni shocks can not handle 80 Nm :oops:. Fortunately a little distortion at the top was the only evidence. Adjuster still works fine. Thankfully.... I should of known looking at it, but just ploughed on regardless.
Learn how the little electrical plugs unclip - this will save you some head scratching. Small flat blade screwdriver in the right spot.
Grease up the rear springs in the little rubber seats at the bottom. It will hold water and rot them. My T4 ones only lasted 8 years.
The front is easy to set up as you can lift the vehicle and adjust with the wheel in place.
The rear is a PITA. When working off the ground you need to jack it up (this is a pain in itself finding a suitable spot then placing the axle stand), wheels off, rear shocks lower mount removed, trailing arm down to release spring load. Approx 5 rotations is about an inch down. I did not measure this, so very approx. Then when you lift the trailing arm back up, make sure both rear springs are aligned to the upper adjuster or you'll be dropping it back down again. Then fit it all back together and see what you have.
My front seems to be set higher relative to the back on the available adjustment, but in reality is well lower. Maybe the rear needs to top adjuster totally removed to get full drop, but I only have about 10 mm (again, approx as by eye only) to wind to the lowest setting, whereas fronts have about 40-50 mm they could be wound down.

Initial impressions
LUSH and PLUSH! I had my reservations, but even my wife said, 'lovely and smooth isn't it' I left them on their softest setting as they came.
Based on a short run today. Much longer run tomorrow.
I've not tried all the other options, or any for that matter. This one just sounded right, and speaking to Steve convinced me of that. Was going to get the STX kit, but this just seemed to fit the job on paper.

I went a little bigger on tyre diameter though.
Fronts are 8.5x20 ET35 and 245/45
Rear are 10x20 ET40 and 275/40
Both are perfectly in line with the side of the van and give me exactly the look I was going for.

If I think of anything else that might be useful, I'll add.
Photo and update tomorrow after the longer drive.

I also think I scuffed the outer arch once on a particularity bumpy/undulating bit of road, so ill do the outer arch trick mod, otherwise ill pop it up a bit.
Once happy, I'll see If I can pop to @BognorMotors ( I bet you get fed up of being tagged...) for an alignment.

Overall though, chuffed to buttons is an understatement.
I also need to join team Black as she was new to me yesterday morning :thumbsup:
Do we need a H&R/Koni team too? ;)
You start the H&R/Koni team and I’ll join you next week after I’ve been to see Steve @CRS Performance :thumbsup:
 
Can someone tell me what the H&R/Koni kit is? Reading this thread has made me challenge my thoughts on getting airlift now as the most important thing for me is the comfort when the set up is low.

Cheers
 
Can someone tell me what the H&R/Koni kit is? Reading this thread has made me challenge my thoughts on getting airlift now as the most important thing for me is the comfort when the set up is low.

Cheers
Hiya,

There are others on here who will know way more than me.............but, this whole subject was a dark art to me a month ago.........so, this is what I know.

H&R and Koni are brand names of suspension manufacturers, particularly H&R anti-roll bars (sometimes called ARBs) and Koni shock absorbers. (You might see people referring to B14s also, which are another brand of shock absorbers particularly popular with people who like lowering their vans.)

I'm an expert in all this sort of stuff...............I really am NOT............but I'm off to see @CRS Performance next week to have my van's suspension sorted. I'm not lowering or anything, but comfort, handling and ride quality are what I want to achieve (particularly as I also need to tow a big caravan!)

I would strongly suggest you speak with @CRS Performance or @ChrisR about what you want to achieve. They are very knowledgeable folk and happy to come up with a solution that meets your needs, not someone else's.

I hope this helps. I haven't worked out how to do links to threads yet, but there are many in this forum.

JOG
 
Thanks for the heads up @JOG. Inbound post @CRS Performance and @ChrisR
The Koni/H&R kit being discussed in this thread is a damping rate adjustable and height adjustable coilover kit. It's manufactured in Germany by H&R with full TUV approval with Koni adjustable damper internals. Basically speaking, it is the finest coilover kit on the market if you are looking to go up to 80mm down. I actually run my own van lower than this with a couple of additional tweaks, but it is very comfortable considering how low it is. It represents excellent value for money too. The price doesn't really matter it's that good a product, but we are able to offer it at a price that means it doesn't really have any competition when considering up to 80mm lowering.
 
It's been a couple of weeks since I fitted my suspension, so took it in to Bognor Motors for a health check and alignment. Well it was a good job I did!
Did I mention what a pita the rears were to get level and sort out on my own in my garage swapping from one side to the other? Well, it turns out I have not aligned the lower rubbers quite right, so they are likely shot now. They didn't have any more in stock. so booked back in for a week Tuesday.
They were also not happy with my solution with the front brake hoses and wear sensors as they need swapping around cos the kit is designed for the T30 and below rather than the T32.
I could have taken it to someone more local who would just have aligned it and sent me on my way non-the-wiser.
But this is why I take it to someone who knows what they are doing better than I do.
Well worth the trip today, even if it's not resolved yet.

The ride is still superb though. After modding the inner arch I've not had anymore scuffs and not raised it.
I'll take a proper side on photo once the issues I created are resolved.... :rolleyes:
 
The Koni/H&R kit being discussed in this thread is a damping rate adjustable and height adjustable coilover kit. It's manufactured in Germany by H&R with full TUV approval with Koni adjustable damper internals. Basically speaking, it is the finest coilover kit on the market if you are looking to go up to 80mm down. I actually run my own van lower than this with a couple of additional tweaks, but it is very comfortable considering how low it is. It represents excellent value for money too. The price doesn't really matter it's that good a product, but we are able to offer it at a price that means it doesn't really have any competition when considering up to 80mm lowering.

This is great info @ChrisR how do I get a price from you delivered as I am in Cheshire hence a little far from your neck of the woods?
Re the 80mm lowered, what else is required to do this?
 
This is great info @ChrisR how do I get a price from you delivered as I am in Cheshire hence a little far from your neck of the woods?
Re the 80mm lowered, what else is required to do this?
Nothing else required to get 80mm lowering. I’ll PM you with further details and pricing.
 
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