Switch from Koni to Ford Racing Dampers

[Joshg120]

Probably too much (particularly in back). No wonder your ride is stiff. For stock PP springs Im running no more than 3/10ths (0.75 turns) in the front and only 1.5/10 (0.375 turns) in the rear. IIRC the SP080 arent a ton stiffer than stock PP springs (lower, yes)

You want just enough to eliminate extra bounciness at high speed if you're hunting for comfort. I wouldnt swap out for Steedas unless you're at minimum (0 turns) and /still/ think they're too stiff.

I'll have to try out these setting. I'm sitting at 1 turn off full soft front and rear, they are great for when you want to drive aggressively but definitely a bit stiff for everyday usage at my current setting

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[RonStang6G]

At the moment: 1 turn off full soft front + rear

I have Adjustable Pro-Action Shocks & Struts with non-PP springs. With this setup I found that the rebound stiffness gets stiff in a hurry. I have my Pro-Actions set at only 3/16 turn towards stiff. You might try adjusting the koni's 1/8 of turn at a time from full soft and see what happens. The Pro-Actions are a little bouncy at full soft. So I added rebound stiffness to reduce the bounce while trying to retain the softest ride. I have adjusted my Pro-Actions at least 10 times trying to find the softest ride. From reading your other thread about the Koni's it seems that the Koni's are similar in that respect. Your springs and shocks & struts are both stiffer than mine so maybe working up from full soft in smaller increments might help find a setting that you will like.

 

[BmacIL]

Konis have a firmer midpoint for rebound control and a narrower adjustment range than the Steedas.

 

[jbailer]

Back the Konis off to full soft. You might find that's good, that's where I finally ended up. Although I'm thinking of going 1/2 turn firm now. It might be a little too soft for me.

 

[Bluemustang]

I've done a lot of adjusting with it, but I find it very hard to tell what is best. I thought that full soft was the ticket but it's still too bouncy. And even at full soft my ride quality is not that great. I had previously posted that it was great, but over some time I've realized that although it is less harsh, the harshness still remains and if you get into some less than ideal roads it's not good. If I go too soft, I lose some control as well and it doesn't react well to larger bumps and potholes, etc.

But still it can be very hard to tell what the best settings are when I'm driving on varying road conditions and at varying speeds. Just when I think I've got it, nope. It is very difficult to discern what the car is doing.

Still I think it could be more the compression than the rebound control. I think the compression is too sensitive and therefore regardless of the rebound settings I get a similar result. Great for the track I bet but on normal roads I haven't found it yet.

 

[BmacIL]

I've done a lot of adjusting with it, but I find it very hard to tell what is best. I thought that full soft was the ticket but it's still too bouncy. And even at full soft my ride quality is not that great. I had previously posted that it was great, but over some time I've realized that although it is less harsh, the harshness still remains and if you get into some less than ideal roads it's not good. If I go too soft, I lose some control as well and it doesn't react well to larger bumps and potholes, etc.

But still it can be very hard to tell what the best settings are when I'm driving on varying road conditions and at varying speeds. Just when I think I've got it, nope. It is very difficult to discern what the car is doing.

Still I think it could be more the compression than the rebound control. I think the compression is too sensitive and therefore regardless of the rebound settings I get a similar result. Great for the track I bet but on normal roads I haven't found it yet.

Bingo. They are quite firm on compression damping and you can't adjust it. The initial harshness of bumps is this. The settling speed/time is the rebound.

 

[Bluemustang]

So it is either live with the Konis as is, or try something with a less aggressive compression like the Steeda Pro Actions.

Though it is definitely more livable nearer full soft settings, as stated, the compression valving is more sensitive and that can't be changed.

 

[jbailer]

So it is either live with the Konis as is, or try something with a less aggressive compression like the Steeda Pro Actions.

Though it is definitely more livable nearer full soft settings, as stated, the compression valving is more sensitive and that can't be changed.

Understood. I may end up in the same place and I'm just slower to react. I think I was like the second person to receive the Konis so really very slow to react. I just went to full soft not too long ago and thought that was the answer but as I mentioned, I'm already thinking of firming it 1/2 turn.

My problem is I can't tell what it needs as you described so I'm just adjusting and hoping. Maybe I'll end up with the Steeda Pro Actions as well. I definitely will not go to the FRPP dampers though as I remember people with those looking forward to upgrading to the Konis right as they were being released.

 

[wildcatgoal]

I have the Steeda Pro-Action dampers - I have ZERO complaints on the streets, and I live in a city filled with my tax dollars not going to the streets. Also great on the track.

 

[trustyrusty436]

I think the Koni's are mono or single tube shocks, the Steeda Pro Action is a twin tube which makes for a softer ride as far as DD. This is why I got the Steeda shock over the Koni shocks.

 

[jbailer]

I think the Koni's are mono or single tube shocks, the Steeda Pro Action is a twin tube which makes for a softer ride as far as DD. This is why I got the Steeda shock over the Koni shocks.

The Konis are twin tube also, I think it's the valving that makes the difference. It's that Steeda testing and engineering!

 

[BmacIL]

I think the Koni's are mono or single tube shocks, the Steeda Pro Action is a twin tube which makes for a softer ride as far as DD. This is why I got the Steeda shock over the Koni shocks.

Twin vs. Monotube has nothing to do with ride quality by itself. It's all the valving. Monotubes are a little more expensive (generally) and have higher performance limits than twin tubes. That's not to say that you can't have very high performing dampers that are twin tube, just that you can do more with monotube. As stated by jballer, Koni are also twin tube, as are the factory PP front struts, as well as all of the non-PP factory struts/shocks.

 

[EricSMG]

Twin vs. Monotube has nothing to do with ride quality by itself. It's all the valving. Monotubes are a little more expensive (generally) and have higher performance limits than twin tubes. That's not to say that you can't have very high performing dampers that are twin tube, just that you can do more with monotube. As stated by jballer, Koni are also twin tube, as are the factory PP front struts, as well as all of the non-PP factory struts/shocks.

I'd just point out that typically mono-tubes have much higher static gas pressures which act as an internal spring and can increase compression break-away forces. This is why Bilsteins are notorious for raising the static ride height a smidge.

When I had my Bilstein's custom valved one of the things we did was bring this gas pressure down to Koni-levels, or, essentially as low as possible while still controlling hysteresis (cavitation).

But yes - the valving is 98% of it no question.

 

[BmacIL]

I'd just point out that typically mono-tubes have much higher static gas pressures which act as an internal spring and can increase compression break-away forces. This is why Bilsteins are notorious for raising the static ride height a smidge.

When I had my Bilstein's custom valved one of the things we did was bring this gas pressure down to Koni-levels, or, essentially as low as possible while still controlling hysteresis (cavitation).

But yes - the valving is 98% of it no question.

That's the tough part about developing a damper for a broad range of use profiles, and why custom valving/tuning always results in the optimum setup (for a nice, hefty price). A company like Bilstein needs to make sure that there's satisfactory performance in all practical use profiles, which is one of the reasons they do that.

 

[dsp4848]

I've done a lot of adjusting with it, but I find it very hard to tell what is best. I thought that full soft was the ticket but it's still too bouncy. And even at full soft my ride quality is not that great. I had previously posted that it was great, but over some time I've realized that although it is less harsh, the harshness still remains and if you get into some less than ideal roads it's not good. If I go too soft, I lose some control as well and it doesn't react well to larger bumps and potholes, etc.

But still it can be very hard to tell what the best settings are when I'm driving on varying road conditions and at varying speeds. Just when I think I've got it, nope. It is very difficult to discern what the car is doing.

Still I think it could be more the compression than the rebound control. I think the compression is too sensitive and therefore regardless of the rebound settings I get a similar result. Great for the track I bet but on normal roads I haven't found it yet.

After having owned the Koni Yellow and Eibach Pro setup for a couple months now, I'm starting to agree with this more. The more I drive, the more I realize that the compression is a little on the harsh side for DD. When traveling at higher speeds and/or when the road is smooth as glass the Koni's are great - very confidence inspiring and predictable. However, daily driving over crap roads definitely exposes how stiff the Koni's really are. Speed bumps are pretty harsh too, no matter how fast I go over them. If I have anything in the trunk, I can hear it go airborne and then slam back down as the rear goes over it.

I'd be very curious to see how the Steeda Pro Actions are valved compared to the Koni's. If they have a little less compression, it might be worth it to give those a try.

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