I'm thinking of buying a set of Koni FSD but before I spend the cash, how do I know if my shocks are shot?

I have about 98K miles on my stock shocks and the car drives fine - no bouncing around, no unusual feel in turns, good control on braking and no unusual wearing of the tires. Besides basing it on mileage or inspecting the shock after removal, is there another way to tell?

Thanks in advance.

 

I've always used mileage as my yardstick. With that kind of miles I feel safe to say that your shocks are shot. Shock wear slowly over time & many folks can not tell they are dead. I'm sure if you install FSD shocks you will see an improvement.

 

I always bounce each corner of the car to see how the shock responds when you stop bouncing the corner. However, it can be a little tough to tell on the Mini because the springs stop the bounce pretty quick.

 

When you have enough disposable income to afford a new set

 

You will love what the FSD's do for the car!

 

Thanks for all the feedback gents. FSD now on order!! Btw, how long are these supposed to last? I hope it's at least 40K miles.

I'm sure you're right. I've been daily driving my mcs for almost a year now and can definitely use the extra smoothness. Can't wait to see how they handle.

So true! If I consider this a repair rather than an upgrade, does it still come out of disposable income?

 

Shocks are a maintenance item so the money does not come out of the disposable income account. You can even justify an aftermarket upgraged shock because it will probably be less expensive than OEM shocks from a dealer.

 

What would you say is the mileage you would expect the OEM shocks to last/need to be replaced? I've got 50K on my MCS, ride feels good except harsh on bumps... I've got brakes to replace before the shocks can be considered, but I just want to have a plan.

 

Mine are 106K miles, very ugly, and give a harsh ride. They are like new it that regard. I have FSDs waiting for me to drill out the pinch bolts and "modify" my car to use R56 bolts. Maybe tomorrow I will do it and let you know how I like the FSDs.

PS, Beware of this if the bolts look bad...

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...inch-bolt.html


The drivers side usually is the one that breaks, but lucky me got them both to break. I tried everything to avoid snapping them too, but without results. I should have just snapped them in 2 minutes and I would have saved some time.

 

I'm at 89,000 & I see no need to replace the oem shocks & struts yet. To be honest I thought they'd be shot by now. Maybe I'll swap them out at 100,000.