Koni front dampers are they for Elan?

[EPA]

Hi
I purchased a set of new old stock Koni dampers listed as fitting the Elan plus2 but I suspect they are actually for the Elan.
I fitted new springs on the Koni units and removed the existing damper/spring units from my +2 and then realised the spring seats are significantly lower on the Koni units than on the ones removed from the car.
The question is, am I correct in thinking that the difference between the front dampers on the Elan and those for a plus two is the distance between the spring mount and the mounting bolt on the lower wishbone is much smaller on the Elan than the +2?
Thanks
Ed

[oldelanman]

Compare the angle of the anti-roll bar mounting stud on your Konis with your original dampers. Elan and Plus 2 are slightly different to account for the wider track of the Plus 2.

[EPA]

Compare the angle of the anti-roll bar mounting stud on your Konis with your original dampers. Elan and Plus 2 are slightly different to account for the wider track of the Plus 2.

Thanks for this
The angles don’t appear significantly different but as you can see in the photo the distance between the bottom of the spring and the wishbone mounting hole is quite different.
Ed

[oldelanman]

Hi Ed,
The unit you have removed looks to be an adjustable type, both for damping and ride height, and your Koni is not adjustable, that accounts for the difference in spring platform height you see. That difference does not differentiate between Elan and Plus 2 dampers, only between adjustable and fixed.

[EPA]

Hi Ed,
The unit you have removed looks to be an adjustable type, both for damping and ride height, and your Koni is not adjustable, that accounts for the difference in spring platform height you see. That difference does not differentiate between Elan and Plus 2 dampers, only between adjustable and fixed.

You are correct the units removed are adjustable and the konis fixed but the adjustable lower spring mount is in its lowest position and is still much higher relative to the lower wishbone mounting point. If I put the two units together but aligned to the top they are very similar in size until you get to the bottom of the spring but then there is a significant difference from there to the lower wishbone mount.
The ride height is surely dependant on the distance between the lower wishbone mounting and the top mount depending on the spring used and preload. If you use the same spring with similar preload and the distance to the lower wishbone mount is less then the ride height will also be less.
Whilst writing this another possibility occurred to me, are the springs used for adjustable units a different length to those used for fixed mounts?
Thanks
Ed

[gjz30075]

What's the part number on the Koni? I have a set for an Elan and it is 80V 1691.

[EPA]

What's the part number on the Koni? I have a set for an Elan and it is 80V 1691.

That’s tantalisingly similar, the part number on mine is 80 1691 CR
I have been trying to find a catalog listing the part numbers and application but as yet I have only found a slightly later one that doesn’t list anything for the fronts on the Elan variants.
I wonder what the V and CR signify.
Thanks for posting the number
Ed

[gjz30075]

I have a Koni application brochure dated 1983. Here's what it shows.

[EPA]

I have a Koni application brochure dated 1983. Here's what it shows.

Thanks, just what I had been trying to find.
It appears to confirm that the dampers I have aren’t the correct ones for my car, The number is correct for the Elan except for the V.
Thanks again much appreciated
Ed

[EPA]

Just for additional information l received this reply from Koni Netherlands. This basically confirms that the dampers I purchased are for the Elan
Ed

Dear Sir,

Thanks for the message and the interest in KONI.

The V has no significance.
The CR is unknown to us.

For the Elan S4 / Sprint, we had available:
Front 80 1691
Rear 82 1371

Regards,

Automotive After Market Department
KONI - an ITT company

image001.jpg