It's amazing where the thread can go. This is OP's desire and concern. But I know, quite contradictory. Best handing possible does not go hand in hand with smoothest ride and not lowering. Just say'in

This forum is so dead, and the truth is most auto forums are dead after the first few years as the best moves on. Blogs are dead too as people don't care to read nor write. Just give me the damn videos. Pass me the cell phone, oh, where is mine?

 

I think he got that point.



Meh, forums peak but they rarely ever completely die.

As people strive to be less literate, it just means job security increases for the rest of us.

 

I say this because what kept me awake at night are the dying of writing and languages because of the rise of "social" media, auto-miscorrection, and popular mobile texting acronyms, often used without regard to the readers and context. And BTW, I sold all my FB stock and my conscience is clear. I am the first to admit my writing of English language sux.

 

Notice I said best ride CONSISTANT with good handling; my years of suspension engineering lead me to conclude the two are not mutually exclusive. Yes, it will never ride like a Rolls Royce, but I also don't have to feel like every little bump in the road will shake the fillings out of my teeth. There is a compromise between the two.

I believe Koni is using some variation of what we in the off-road racing industry refer to as high-speed & low-speed compression damping. The terms "high-speed" or "low-speed" have nothing to do with how fast the vehicle is moving across the ground, but rather, how fast the shock shaft is moving. A square-edged bump causes high shock shaft speed; whereas a dip in the road causes low shock shaft speed. If you have two separate circuits for high & low speed compression damping, you can firmly control the movement of the wheel without being overly harsh.

Using the existing shock bodies, I could design & build my own cartridge inserts that would out-perform anything else on the market. (I know that's a bold statement, bordering on hubris, but I have built enough suspensions in the past to back it up.) But if Koni — or another company — has a reasonably priced alternative that offers most of what I want, why bother? Also, keep in mind this is a daily driver, not a track car.

I had originally asked for feedback/reviews of the aforementioned shocks. Let's keep this thread on track, please.

 

they do use separate circuits, the koni yellow let you adjust low speed rebound, you can have them modified to let you adjust low speed compression and rebound separately, the KW v2 are low speed rebound, v3 are low speed rebound & low speed compression.

Some of the other brand coilovers like BC let you do low speed comp/rebound but it's a single adjuster that does both at the same time.

Sounds like you know enough you might want to get Koni yellows, have them revalved & modified to let you adjust both comp & rebound it's a really good setup for autocross, probably the best setup for "street" aka stock cars where all you can do is buy shocks & a swaybar

 

You know, my post was never meant to put you down except to point out he minor contradiction.

Anyone lifts a finger to do a quick research should understand the difference between low speed and high speed damper response. But with your bold claim, why would you need to ask the the forum on opinion which utility grade shock is better? If I have your expertise I know better doing so is a waste of time.

 

I disagree. From the responses to this thread & the PMs I've received, I've gathered that the Bilsteins — whilst doing a good job of controlling the wheel — are a bit harsh. The Konis, on the other hand, seem to be the best of both worlds.

Why ask on this forum? Because I value other people's opinion. I'm smart enough to know that I don't know everything. I could go out & buy all the different brands of shocks, fit them to my car, & try them myself (I have neither the time nor the inclination to do so; never mind that it would be a big waste of my money). And whilst I have a great deal of knowledge concerning suspension, I have no practical experience with the aforementioned shocks on the Mini, others here do; hence my original post.

One might argue that opinions are like armpits, everyone has 2 & they all stink! True enough, not everyone on this forum knows what they're talking about, but many do; & I'm clever enough that I can wade through the mire & siphon out the ore from the slag.

 

It haunts my dreams because of my (for now) chosen profession.

I remember the days.


This thread, as off topic as it has gotten from the original question, was a worthwhile read.

 

I post from my phone most of the time, it butchers everything, spell checks wrong and its a royal pain to put in more than a couple lines of text

yall can suck it up

 

I recently switched out my 05 MCS stock shocks at 100k miles with Koni Yellows. The job was a real pain in the ***. I am an engineer, not a mechanic /tech, but I've replaced shocks on several other vehicles and this was by far the most complicated shock replacement i have done.

The yellows have a wider shaft and you need to modify the tophat for the rear shocks to make them fit. And they came with the worst instructions i have ever seen - there are many posts on this. Also, post-installation, I honestly only saw a minor improvement in handling and performance. After all the time drilling out my tophats and making the yellows fit, it was a total disappointment. Maybe the FSDs are better? Who knows? I've put Bilsteins on several other cars and never been disappointed and would definitely go with them next time around.

 

I feel your pain. When I had my '93 Miata, I had to drill out the tophats too.
I hope my soon-to-be Bilsteins don't have this installation issue...
The adjustability feature of Koni shocks is nice but not that useful for day-to-day driving.

 

So I finally got around to putting the FSDs on my car. Wow! What a difference! I only had the chance to do the rears today, & that just accentuated how much I need to do the fronts. But I can certainly tell a difference. It appears that Koni makes good on their marketing claim of a supple ride combined with well-damped suspension.

I might add that my rear shocks still had a fair amount of damping in them, as well as a decent gas charge. But the Konis are definitely a superior ride & better cornering.

I can't wait to get the fronts on the car.

 

Thanks for the update and glad you are happy with them. How was the installation process?

 

Very straightforward for anyone with a bit of mechanical experience. Remove the rear wheel, pop the grommets holding the brake line & ABS wire out of their brackets, then remove the bolts holding the shock (one lower, two upper). You'll need an external spring compressor to remove/install the spring from/to the shock. Took me about 15 minutes per side. I'm sure there is a youtube tutorial.

 

Just be sure to have BOTH rear wheels off of the ground, The RSB can inhibit installation of the lower bolt- install both shocks, hook up the RSB links and you're golden.

 

Update:

I put the fronts on a couple of weeks after I did the rears; so now I have Koni FSDs at all 4 wheels. This has completely transformed the car! Yesterday, I was driving around the hills of La Jolla (very old, cracked-up, concrete roads) & the difference is amazing! Quite smooth over bumps that would have bottomed out the fronts with the old shocks. I then made a VERY speedy trip up the 5 to my house. Anyone familiar with that hwy knows there are some pretty bumpy sections — especially at the 5 / 805 intersection. The car felt much more in control. FYI, I have the JCW springs (2 white stripes) front & rear.

Summary: The car handles even better than before, & is MUCH more comfortable on the road; no more jarring bumps. I whole-heartedly recommend these shocks to everyone. Well worth the money.