This thread is just about my thoughts on the Koni FSD STRUT/Shocks for our MINI cars in general ... and not intended to be a discussion for other brands or other Koni models compared to FSD’s.

First off.. NO... I'm not sponsored by ANYONE... I purchase all of my own mods ! Just... MY Opinion on this topic ... and should NOT be construed as an ‘According to Hoyle’ statement of ‘fact’ coming from a fellow enthusiast.

BTW: KONI FSD ...
... now known as ‘Special Active’ ‘reds’

I know that many people have their preference on brands ... for me ... in the top-tier offerings from the diff mfgs ... I’ve had good luck with quality & durability with Bilstein, Koni, Ohlins, AST, ST ... actually installed on my own vehicles. .

One mistake that I see often when discussions come up regarding the Koni FSD’s for our MINI’s .. is that the FSD’s (now ‘Special Active) are Viewed as a ‘stock replacement’ shock ... when they are really a performance Upgrade that retains factory ride height and travel.

Available travel comes in handy on real roads to keep the tires on the pavement and retain suspension performance.

The FSD’s are definitely a performance upgrade ... IMO, in all aspects of handling.... from stock, even from the factory JCW-suspension kit.

As a comparison ... I prefer the performance of my MINI with FSD’s to my MINI equipped with Ohlins R&T’s on my favorite mountain fast-sweeper turns as they deal with the bumps in THAT section much better... the R&Ts are no slouch though... and excell in all but ‘bumpy’ roads ... as they should for the price ($3000 installed/tuned). Simply, I can go safely faster through that section with the FSD’s than the Ohlins .... same tires/wheels.

All lowered suspensions that I’ve seen on the Minis reduce available travel ...and this decrease in travel may not provide the ability to control suspension motion when a pothole/bump or debris is encountered.
If there is a lowered suspension for our MINI’s that does not reduce available travel, I’m sincerely interested .

Keeping all the tires on the pavement is important for maximum traction... on the road ... or on the track.

With ideal smooth-road conditions ... like a track or your favorite fresh paved twisties ... a lowered car has advantages as long as the dampers are matched to the springs, sway and car-setup well.

Loweing the CG of the car can be a good thing ... depending on the conditions/road in which you want it to perform most of the time.

Ultimate handling performance on average streets will simply not be the ultimate handling performance on the track and vice-versa.


All that being said ... I really like the FSD’s in terms of high-performance for a street driven car... and occasional track fun. Most people that I’ve recommended them to that chose to run them are happy with the performance improvement on their JCW’s and S’s as well.

Anyone that I’ve heard of that has tried to ‘skirt’ Koni’s requirement for stock springs to be used with the FSD’s ... even if just the 10mm lower ‘JCW red’ springs had bad luck. One more thing on the JCW red springs... they are lower but also stiffer and therefore change the shocks tuning significantly. FSD’s are not only Spring-rate/force sensitive... they are position-sensitive as well.

IMO, Koni did a great job in making a high-performance street shock with the FSD’s ... and approached it in a very systematic way.

I choose to rely more on sway-bars to help with body-roll on street cars rather than stiffening up all four corners. Stiffer springs are more demanding on rebound valving and can ‘wear out’ a stock shock, or any shock, that is not valved to handle the accelerated rebound motion from that ‘stiff’ spring. Conversely... too soft a spring on a ‘stiff’ shock and the rebound travel can ‘pack out’ and not fully return which will cause a harsh ride and not keep the tires in contact with the road... might even be dangerous.

Shock and spring combination, as a ‘ System’ is very important... they must be matched well.


Lastly ... How a car looks can’t be discounted ... ‘Stance’...
How our cars look is as important as how they work to some. And not all of us drive on the same road conditions nor are willing to make the same trade-off/compromise for those characteristics we desire most.







Motor On !!.

 

Re: My sig.

 

Bump for Sam

 

Bump for Davis

you won’t regret it

These are probably the best engineered, all around performance shock upgrade package for street use on the market.

And easy on the pocketbook



🤙











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Thanks for an interesting read, and it echoes most of what I have heard from other owners of previous cars I've had that changed to FSD's, everyone is usually on about that great balance they seem to strike between upgraded performance and retention of useability.

I didn't expect to read they better the R&T to be honest.

One question I have is regarding the springs that have to match them. Are they really only working optimally with the stock springs? My car had the Eibach Pro-kit on that is generally a mild upgrade with only slightly different spring rates to stock ones, and is mostly affecting the ride's height rather than firmness.

I would like to change to the Special Actives but not if I had to switch back to the stock JCW springs too. Would you say Konis & Eibach Pro would not work well then and I would be better off with their Yellows / Sport kit?

 

If you want to use anything but the Stock springs.... and also NOT stock JCW springs.... IMO... don't run the SA

What makes the SA's 'shine' is the calibration matched to the factory springs. You would be wasting your money on these with other springs IMO.
Lowered ride height, and the accompanying decrease in available travel, throw this off greatly.


BTW.... I find the SA's to perform better on real roads as described above ... than the R&T's.... on smooth pavement... the R&T's are a better package... but I never have "smooth pavement" all the time and dislike the compromise.





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Sorry to revive this thread but I’m having the same issues. The previous owner installed gold FSD’s 8 years ago in an attempt to soften the ride but didn’t know the “stock” SS+ springs are 10mm lower and 14mm diameter vs the 13.5mm on the standard MCS. The car cannot be compressed or bounced by hand. It rides like a go cart and is very uncomfortable.

 

I think this is universal. The FSD/Special Active Reds never seem to play well with lowering springs. E30s and other BMWs have the exact same complaint.

I would argue that the FSD should be a hair stiffer than stock, but the stock Delphi dampers are garbage (just look at the Bilstein thread to see reports of cars skipping sideways over expansion joints with the stock dampers when these cars were much newer) so FSDs are much more of an upgrade on these cars than they would be.

I don't think you can go wrong with the FSD or Bilstein B4 for the 'how this car should've come from factory' replacement.
For stock height and a little stiffer, the Bilstein B6 fits that well. Damping is a little stiffer, and the high pressure gas charge will mimic a slightly stiffer spring.
If you're lowered, the shorter Bilstein B8 will fit this use case, same gas pressure comment as the B6.
Koni Sport also fit the lowered use case, but these have Rebound adjustability to dial things in, but not the high pressure gas aspect like the B8.

I have found that Koni Sports like stiffer springs and will go a little lower than the B8s, but the Bilstein B12 pro-kit (B8 dampers, Eibach Pro-Kit springs) feels great on these cars, and I'm very happy with this setup.