Koni Active Shocks

[shogun32]

I have another 4-6 of the Eibach rear bump stops if anyone's looking. The 'Active' shocks are significantly lacking in rebound - I recommend against, assuming my set were not defective in some manner. I need to go dyno them.

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[GT 550]

I bottom out so fucking often it's bullshit. Just can't rebound for shit at high speeds. I'm glad I'm not the only one, but now I'm fucking stuck with this setup for a minute.

High speeds like how high, and what surface? If the shocks 'can't rebound' to the point you're bottoming that would be unusual but suggests you need to get a higher spring rate.

Are you sure about what you're describing? If so it's the opposite to what @shogun32 found ie not enough rebound, but that produces float/bounce.

Hey Matt put those things on the dyno already

 

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

If you're bottoming because the shock can't rebound you need to get springs matched to the valving.

Admittedly, I am kind of a noob at this. I'm 4x4 guy, so this is the opposite direction for me, haha.

So in this case, would you be saying I need stiffer springs?

 

[TheMegalodon]

Admittedly, I am kind of a noob at this. I'm 4x4 guy, so this is the opposite direction for me, haha.

So in this case, would you be saying I need stiffer springs?

Yeah I would say the BMR handling springs offer a happy medium of strong performance handling for the track and good street manners. Lots of owners have good things to say. The rear spring rates are solid.

 

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Yeah I would say the BMR handling springs offer a happy medium of strong performance handling for the track and good street manners. Lots of owners have good things to say. The rear spring rates are solid.

Ooh, I actually don't have an S550, lol. I actually have a Mercedes E550 coupe. I just found this thread and was reveling in the fact I found someone else like me who hates these shocks.

However, you guys are already super helpful and a lot of this is gonna be applicable to me. I have stiffer H&R springs as well, so I'll try those out and see how that feels instead (I have Eibach springs right now).

 

[GT 550]

IMHO some research into how spring rates, shock valving and bump stops work would be a good start, there's a lot of material out there. Mustang or not you're obviously interested in suspension and you can save yourself a lot of time and frustration by accumulating a little knowledge. Don't be too quick to hate on the SAs until you know what the issue actually is.

If you're lowered, the bottoming you describe could be a bump stop problem. Some cars use bump stops as an integral part of suspension performance and a fail safe, while others use them only as a failsafe.

 

[shogun32]

I have another 4-6 of the Eibach rear bump stops if anyone's looking.

Steeda now carries these. I don't know when they started doing so.
https://www.steeda.com/eibach-bs770060-s550-rear-bump-stop
https://www.steeda.com/eibach-bs770044-s550-front-bump-stop

 

[JCFoster]

Update after a year and half and maybe 10k miles. Rear actives are a fail. I did experience a slight bumping noise which wasn’t that noticeable, but within the last month or so it was getting worse and louder. Just like Megalodon had with his. I also felt like they were getting very soft and you could feel the back really dip down with dips in the road. The front struts seem to ok so far. Sorry guys for putting a positive review when they first came out. If they held up it would be a different story.

 

[TheMegalodon]

Update after a year and half and maybe 15k miles. Rear actives are a fail. I did experience a slight bumping noise which wasn’t that noticeable, but within the last month or so it was getting worse and louder. Just like Megalodon had with his. I also felt like they were getting very soft and you could feel the back really dip down with dips in the road. The front struts seem to ok so far. Sorry guys for putting a positive review when they first came out. If they held up it would be a different story.

Sucks to hear you’re experiencing what I did but I’m not surprised. They’re completely
Inadequate for this chassis. I feel like a fool wasting money on them. The Bilsteins were immediately more beefy looking and work as tough you’d expect from their rep. Just wish this chassis as a whole wasn’t so uncomposed for a GT car. I drive rough roads and wish I had German car most days.

 

[GT 550]

@JCFoster thanks for the update. Might be worth going back to Koni for either an exchange or refund as it's unacceptable.

These shocks often fail because folks, particularly in workshops, use rattle guns on them. Do you know if this was the case?

 

[JCFoster]

No sir, i didn’t. I actually bought an open top socket wrench set to be able to use an Allen wrench to hold it when tightening. The shock worked as advertised and did so well. The rears just didn’t hold up to normal driving. If they wanted to tear them down to see why or how they broke down I’d be happy to send em back. I bought these from Jegs when they first came out.

 

[shogun32]

my fronts (esp right) has a persistent klunk over bumps after a few weeks of use. I too have the special 1/2 shell socket and tightened to no avail. Left one developed a clunk as well and tightening it quieted it down till it was time to sell the car and I stripped it of the parts.

 

[GT 550]

@JCFoster it's up to you but if it were me I'd send them back and get them to make it good on principle. 1y/15k m is outrageously bad irrespective of anything the warranty might say. Bit of messing around but if they refund or exchange then at least you're not at a loss financially even if you decide to sell them. Agree it would be interesting to know what the issue is. I've found Koni in the US very good to deal with too so talking to them might be useful.

@TheMegalodon how are you finding the ride with the Billys?

 

[GT 550]

Been running the front Koni Actives with Eibach bumpstops for about 6 months, no problem so far. Put the rears in (also Eibach bump stops) and just did about 450 miles on bumpy uneven roads at an average of 55 mph. Springs are SP763. Ride is good with no noise and a welcome reduction in jiggling with the PP1 shocks gone. No complaints so far. That said, a shop used a rattle gun to install the top mount on the rears despite Koni's explicit instructions not to, thus undoing the foot valve, so initially they both knocked and had to be rebuilt. Not the fault of the shocks and the valving etc remains standard.

Time will tell but so far, so good.

 

[TheMegalodon]

@JCFoster it's up to you but if it were me I'd send them back and get them to make it good on principle. 1y/15k m is outrageously bad irrespective of anything the warranty might say. Bit of messing around but if they refund or exchange then at least you're not at a loss financially even if you decide to sell them. Agree it would be interesting to know what the issue is. I've found Koni in the US very good to deal with too so talking to them might be useful.

@TheMegalodon how are you finding the ride with the Billys?

Didn’t see this post somehow but the Bilsteins ride infinitely better than the Koni Actives. I may have received a poor pair but the dampening was terrible and they started knocking after very little driving. The Bilsteins are thicker and offer way better control and ride comfort. Should have started with them. Left the struts as the Actives cause they’re still alright but wish they were also Bilsteins.

Glad you’re having a somewhat better experience but clearly the Koni’s can fail easily.

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