Koni vs. Bilstein question

[Andrew Duane USG]

Hairy green toads from Mars made Zsolt Kovacs say:

> Further to my quest to update my suspension, I was just talking to a respectable
> german car specialist who said that in our climate Koni is not a good idea,
> because the top seal freezes in extreme cold and it will leak. I am located in
> Alberta, and it does get down to -25 F for a while in most winters. The car I am
> planning to modify is an 88 5k tq.
>
> I am wondering about two things.
> 1. Is the mechanic right? Has anybody experienced such problems? (I am hoping I am
> not the only one on this list who lives in a cold climate)
> 2. I am now considering going with Bilstein Sports. Any advice? Good? Bad? BTDT?
>
> The springs I am planning on using are H&R.

I can't speak for the combination of H&R springs and Koni versus Bilstein,
but I've used Konis in my cars for quite some time. And I live in New
Hampshire, spend a lot of time in the north country skiing, etc.

Never had a seal "freeze", never heard anything about that. Germany gets
cold, too, I doubt anything would be built that fails at 25 below.

I also had the Bilstein Sports on an old Rabbit. S-T-I-F-F!!!
The car handled spectacularly, but on flat roads that weren't smooth
as glass it could rattle the teeth right out of your skull.


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