Ever since Koni decided to discontinue the 1g AWD rear shocks, the 1g AWD guys have been forced to run Koni fronts with an oddball setup in the back (KYB AGX, Illuminas, etc.). Because the quality and adjustability of Konis, they are among the better shocks offered for the money. Here is a solution for the discontinued 1g AWD rear Konis.
I had first stumbled on this on the galant vr4 forum, where someone claimed to be running 2g rear Konis on their vr4, which has nearly identical suspension as the 1g AWD. This is my effort in seeing whether or not the 2g rear shocks fit on a 1g AWD. The biggest benefit is that the 2g rear Konis are not discontinued! An additional bonus is the way the 2g rear Konis are adjustable compared to the original 1g AWD rear Konis. The 2g's are externally adjustable, so removal of the shock every time you went to adjust it is no longer necessary. I installed these with Ground Control coilover sleeves, helper springs, and torrington bearings, with the stock 1g upper bushings and top hat.
Seen in this picture is a stock 1g AWD rear shock next to a Koni 2g rear shock.
The 2g shock is obviously a little bit shorter. Measured by eyeballing a ruler, the difference is a little over an inch. This bodes well if you were planning on lowering your car.
This is the 2g rear shock assembly put together. A vfaq exists for how to assemble shocks with coilover sleeves. Seen here is the Koni shock, Ground Control coilover sleeve, helper spring, coil spring, bump stop, top spring perch, and bushings w/ stock 1g top hat. Torrington bearings were added underneath the helper spring to allow the springs to rotate freely and make adjusting ride height a little easier. Parts that were reused from the stock 1g rear shock included just the bump stop, the bushings that sandwiched the top hat, and the top hat itself. All other necessary parts such as the sleeve that goes inside the bushings and the top nuts are included with the Koni shocks.
After successfully removing the rear shock and before installing the Konis, be sure to clean the lower mount seen here as much as possible. Use a wire brush and then apply antisieze/grease to it liberally. If you don't, you will have nightmares after you swear up a storm trying to get them off in the future.
Antisiezed.
Here, they are installed. Fitment is as if they were made for it. The install is very straight forward.
To summarize, the 2g rear Koni shock bolts right up in a 1g AWD. What was needed?
- 2g rear Koni shocks
- Coilover kit
- stock 1g upper bushings and top hat
- stock bump stop (cut if you need to)
- grease for the lower mount
I can't comment on how they will work with lowering springs. The Koni shocks, however, do come with a lower spring perch.
