A testimonial for Koni shocks on a lowered bug

[TurkisMafia]

Bolted on a set of Koni's today. 1965 lowered in the front with an adjustable beam, stock ride height in the rear. Best thing I have done to the car to date. Absolutely night and day. Had a set of old worn out Boge's on the rear and some KYB Excel (GR2's) on the front. It rode like garbage. Being a lowered car, I just figured that I had to deal with it. No so. Got these Koni Special D's, set to the softest setting. Rides like a modern car (almost), and handles great.

I used the normal beetle shocks in the rear (Part number 80-1350), and the front shocks for a Porsche 356 (Part number 80-1044SP20). Being that its very low in the front, the beetle shocks would've had next to no travel. The 356's work perfect. I couldn't find a ton of info on putting Koni's on a lowered car, so for anyone who's searching, here ya go.

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1961 Turkis Sedan, 1641cc
1963 Turkis Ragtop, 1200cc
1963 Turkis Vert, 1200cc
1963 Turkis Single Cab, 1600cc
1964 Turkis Standard Walk-Thru, 1641cc
1978 Westfalia 2.0L EFI Automatic

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Sunny Sarasota, Florida

[Chickensoup]

gotta part number?
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-'85 c10 5.3 LS, 222 cam, long tubes, x pipe, 3 inch spin tech's
-'05 B5.5 TDI Wagon 17in sport rims ;EGR + BSM + ASV Delete, Stage-2 Tune, straight pipe
'65 Tourist Delivery Build
'66 RIP
'69 RIP
Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"

[TurkisMafia]

[Chickensoup]

[1LoWezl]

I know this post is long after the last but, i was searching for this exact situation and which koni shocks to use for my 63 beetle ragtop. This is strictly for some one who might search for info. Koni sent me this information today. The 80-135 shock is 387mm extended and 259mm collapsed. The 80-1349 is 386mm extended and 257mm collapsed. The 80-1044sp20 which is the porsche 356 front shock is 352mm extended and 243mm collapsed. I will be using the 80-1350 on the rear and the porsche 80-1044sp20 on the front as the car is on 2.5 drop spindles and a lowering beam w/ adjustable 3" spring plates in the rear. Hope this may help some one in the future.

387mm=15.24" 259mm=10.2" ....- koni 80-1350 swing rear -68

386mm=15.20" 257mm=10.12" ....koni 80-1349 link front -65

352mm=13.86" 243mm=9.57" ...koni 80-1044sp20 356 front

empi lowered oil front shock collapsed is roughly 9.75"

[cyclehobby]

Nice! Lots of good info here.

I just found "my best ride" on my 1967 Bug. When I got it the PO had installed GR2's all around and with the front adjustable beam, the car road terribly (no matter where I set the height). I got a set of the WW original style "oil" shocks and though the ride improved a little, it was still very harsh.

After reading a lot of posts on the Samba, I was looking for insight and I came across an add for the empi shocks for lowered beams. From there, I saw that Cip1 had them as well, so I gave the Cip1 shocks a try. Huge difference in ride and handling on these noticeably shorter shocks. I realize now that I must have been bottoming out the standard size shocks and getting the worst ride ever as a result.

My Bug is a weekend/nice weather driver so it will be difficult for me to say how long these shocks will last. But as a very simple alternative for a better ride with a lowered beam, I'm pretty happy. Oh, and the Bug handles pretty nicely also. It's not a sports car, but it seems to handle the way a Bug is supposed to.

Thanks again for all the good info. Learning these things is pretty cool.
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1967 Beetle
Northern NJ