Bilsteins vs. Konis

["Bain, Bill" <Bill.Bain@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

FWIW, here's what I've gleaned: 

IIRC, at least two of the aftermarket tuners (Rugh, W&D) recommend using
Bilsteins.  If you're installing their suspension *system*, you should
do what they recommend  - they DO know better than you do.

The stock Spider was spec'ed with oil shocks.  Again, you should do what
the tuner (in this case, Alfa) recommends and use oil shocks, i.e.,
Konis.

I'm sure that there are folks who can expound on this in far greater
detail, but it's my understanding that gas shocks resist both
compression and extension, while the Konis resist extension only.
Therefore the gas shocks have the net effect of slightly increasing the
spring stiffness, which is NOT something that can be taken lightly in a
Spider since making the rear end of a Spider stiffer may not be A Good
Thing.


Bill Bain
AROC Atlanta 
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