I agree with the Pogo stick observation. The cheaper CO's simply do not offer the level of ride refinement as Bilstein and Konis. If you only care about ultimate handling and/or track duties, then the other CO's might suit you.

Someone awhile ago did a shock shoot out and measured the dampening characteristics on a shock dyno. You could see from the graph that Bilstein and Koni had the best curves.

In addition to refinement, Bilstein will have the best CONSISTENT longevity in dampening characteristics over the long haul due to their design, seals, fluids, and tight tolerance levels. But in case something does go wrong, they have very good warranty service with their warranty hq in California instead of overseas. I don't see Bilstein going out of business anytime soon hence a "real" lifetime warranty as well.

 

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Someone awhile ago did a shock shoot out and measured the dampening characteristics on a shock dyno. You could see from the graph that Bilstein and Koni had the best curves. [/QUOTE]

Do you have the link to this shoot out?

 

I believe the original link was taken down but there might be others floating out there somewhere.

IIRC, the Koni's had a very broad level of dampening which would be beneficial for the various types of bumps you would encounter in street driving.

I've had OTS Koni Yellow's before and was one of my favorite shocks for the street. However Bilsteins last longer but are slightly harsher than Koni yellow's set to 1-2 on soft settings.

I'm currently on factory Porsche GT3 Bilstein CO's and love the dampening on them. The setup is definitely overdamped vs oversprung but this is my preference. I could take off-camber mid-corner bumps without a flinch.

Edit: here is one straight from Koni but it can be biased in some areas: http://www.koni-na.com/civicdyno.pdf

If you do a search, there are many out there. The one I saw before was comparing all the famous alternative brands like Tein, Ksport, and other Taiwanese/Asian brands.

 

i like the koni yellows, I had them on an e36 m3, but i think the 996 needs some rake for improved handling and braking. The floaty front end is what I'm trying to get rid of. Is the factory gt3 setup a simple swap or does it require other components?