Koni Active Shocks

[TheMegalodon]

2 days with the Steeda version in my EB and it's a big ol' thumbs down from me. Rebound is lacking at both ends but the front is particularly poor. I don't have any kind of noise though. Bump absorption seems reasonable (compression) but I think Koni just needs to be written off - they clearly do not know how to do damping correctly.

Seems like rebound is their signature issue. I’m wondering how much of a difference there would be with lighter wheels. I’ve been eyeing a few nice sets of flow formed 19” wheels (9.5-10” wide) that are 21-24 lbs each. That weight savings over the stupidly heavy 33 lb PP1 wheels could certainly contribute to much less work for this arguably mediocre damper setup.

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[Norm Peterson]

2 days with the Steeda version in my EB and it's a big ol' thumbs down from me. Rebound is lacking at both ends but the front is particularly poor. I don't have any kind of noise though. Bump absorption seems reasonable (compression) but I think Koni just needs to be written off - they clearly do not know how to do damping correctly.

I'm lost . . . exactly which dampers are you talking about here?


Norm

 

[TheMegalodon]

I'm lost . . . exactly which dampers are you talking about here?


Norm

Pretty sure he’s referring to the Steeda Active dampers based on the Koni design.

 

[Stone 54]

What was bad? The Koni shocks?

I still have a strange unsettled noise from the back over rough patched pavement. It’s hard to explain so I’m going to try to record a video. I need to get the car up in the air and figure it out. At this point I have no idea what’s causing the noise but I’m not happy. I feel like a broken record.

Really regret getting these Koni shocks because I don’t believe they offer the damping needed for this car. Should have found a better paired setup and done more reading before purchasing last fall. For what I’ve paid figuring this shit out, I could have bought a nice set of custom coilovers even.

Yep one of the shocks, makes a rattling/knocking noise. Switched it side to side, changed top mounts over, moved from side to side again, noise follows the shock. Put stock gear back in and no noise.

That's frustrating. Is it still there with stock dampers?

That is weird. I have not experienced anything like described above. There is a bumpy road on my way to work everyday, there is no rattling noise.

 

[GT 550]

2 days with the Steeda version in my EB and it's a big ol' thumbs down from me. Rebound is lacking at both ends but the front is particularly poor. I don't have any kind of noise though. Bump absorption seems reasonable (compression) but I think Koni just needs to be written off - they clearly do not know how to do damping correctly.

Hi Matt what springs are you running? @SteedaTech has a very good rep for being responsive and helping people out, have you made contact at all?

 

[shogun32]

Hi Matt what springs are you running? @SteedaTech has a very good rep for being responsive and helping people out, have you made contact at all?

I'm running the Sport Progressive. Yes, I have a direct line to Steeda and already reached out back on Thurs but they're busy with the Sebring track event so will expect further discussion in a day or two.

 

[shogun32]

I’ve been eyeing a few nice sets of flow formed 19” wheels (9.5-10” wide) that are 21-24 lbs each. That weight savings over the stupidly heavy 33 lb PP1 wheels could certainly contribute to much less work for this arguably mediocre damper setup.

won't help. I'm running Konig FF wheels which are rather light. The rebound damping (or lack thereof) is not slowing the chassis as the springs once compressed, throw it upward.

I drove the car for 5hrs today thru all kinds of 2-lane much of which was not great pavement. While in the thick of things you don't notice as much the lack of rebound, but when doing hairpins and decreasing radius turns up and down a mountain the unnecessary chassis movement is unwelcome.

I'm not saying the shocks are horrible, just that they are not acceptable to me. The fix is likely very simple - 2 or 3 more shims on the rebound face and some small tweaks to the compression. There's plenty of other reports about Koni shocks being way too tight on compression so poor damping choice is not exactly a new problem with them.

 

[TheMegalodon]

won't help. I'm running Konig FF wheels which are rather light. The rebound damping (or lack thereof) is not slowing the chassis as the springs once compressed, throw it upward.

I drove the car for 5hrs today thru all kinds of 2-lane much of which was not great pavement. While in the thick of things you don't notice as much the lack of rebound, but when doing hairpins and decreasing radius turns up and down a mountain the unnecessary chassis movement is unwelcome.

I'm not saying the shocks are horrible, just that they are not acceptable to me. The fix is likely very simple - 2 or 3 more shims on the rebound face and some small tweaks to the compression. There's plenty of other reports about Koni shocks being way too tight on compression so poor damping choice is not exactly a new problem with them.

Well lighter wheels are better regardless. I was looking at the Konig Dekagrams in 19x9.5” squared cause they look great and are 21 lbs a piece. Maybe next year.

I figured that Koni had figured out a well damped shock that was more comfortable and better suited to DD on rough roads than the Sports. Clearly you have awesome roads to enjoy in VA and can put them through their paces.

I wish I still had PP1 shocks to try out and see if the shocks are the problem. I need to stop tossing OEM parts out but when you live in an apartment it’s hard to keep stuff like that (without dumping it at my folks’ if they oblige).

 

[TheMegalodon]

My plan is to throw the rear seats down and lay across them and into the trunk with a friend driving over a particular bumpy quiet street near me. Should be able to figure out what the hell the noise is.

 

[GT 550]

Interesting experiment Ryan but it might not yield wonders from a suspension noise perspective other than tell you which side it's coming from unless you can spot the difference between say an end link and shock noise. It might point to something unrelated though like loose stuff in the spare wheel well or the rear seat latch being the culprit.

I know you're tired of wrenching on it but swap the shocks across with the same mounts and see if the noise follows. Then swap the mounts and see, they're relatively new and as soon as you intro something new it has to be ruled out. Should be a half hour job for a shop.

 

[TheMegalodon]

Interesting experiment Ryan but it might not yield wonders from a suspension noise perspective other than tell you which side it's coming from unless you can spot the difference between say an end link and shock noise. It might point to something unrelated though like loose stuff in the spare wheel well or the rear seat latch being the culprit.

I know you're tired of wrenching on it but swap the shocks across with the same mounts and see if the noise follows. Then swap the mounts and see, they're relatively new and as soon as you intro something new it has to be ruled out. Should be a half hour job for a shop.

Yeah it definitely seems a little silly but I could swear it’s coming from both sides. It’s nothing in the trunk because this sound didn’t exist before the suspension swap. What I’m trying to listen for more closely is the relative position to narrow it down. It shouldn’t be the mounts because the noise was present with the stock mounts as well; I thought it was the stock shock mounts because they had 50k miles on them. I also wonder if these shocks can’t handle the wheel travel well under multiple consecutive bumps and the tires are bumping the fender well lining causing it to rattle...could be a few different things.

If I can’t figure it out myself in the next couple weeks I’m taking it back to the good local shop that did the alignment and bushing indexing for me. See what they might say.

 

[shogun32]

I also wonder if these shocks can’t handle the wheel travel well under multiple consecutive bumps and the tires are bumping the fender well lining causing it to rattle...could be a few different things.

I beat on the Actives yesterday and zero noise. I think you should get one of those stick-on camera mounts and point it at the rear wheel and see if any of that is happening. The rear wheel rotates in an arc (not vertical) and it would take a LOT to get it to articulate very far so I doubt that's the issue.

 

[TheMegalodon]

I beat on the Actives yesterday and zero noise. I think you should get one of those stick-on camera mounts and point it at the rear wheel and see if any of that is happening. The rear wheel rotates in an arc (not vertical) and it would take a LOT to get it to articulate very far so I doubt that's the issue.

I thought about doing that. I’m spitballing ideas at this point. Thanks Matt

 

[JCFoster]

The lighter wheels are noticeably better to me. I’ve swapped back and forth several times and the lighter wheels do ride better.

 

[GT 550]

I'm running the Sport Progressive. Yes, I have a direct line to Steeda and already reached out back on Thurs but they're busy with the Sebring track event so will expect further discussion in a day or two.

Hey Matt any response from @SteedaTech? They seem to be back on the forums after Sebring.

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