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      12-02-2008, 02:33 PM   #1
ajshanny
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Anyone tried Koni FSDs with stock springs on 135i?

I'm running Koni Yellows with stock springs now on my 135i, and I'm looking for a bit more compliance for daily use. Wondering whether switching to FSDs will improve ride quality while still improving handling over the stock set up.

Anyone tried the FSDs yet?
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      12-02-2008, 02:58 PM   #2
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Let me know if you need help with the FSD's, I am quite interested on getting your feedback on here for everyone as I don't recall anyone doing FSD's on the 1.
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      12-02-2008, 03:04 PM   #3
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I can tell you from my experience in my old Mini that this is an excellent shock. I ran these with a mild lowering spring (about 3/4") and non-runflat tires and the combo was better than the stock setup. However they cost about the same as a set of Yoko S-Sports which will improve your ride nicely from the runflats.
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      12-02-2008, 05:57 PM   #4
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The FSDs are a fantastic shock, something I definitely recommend if you are looking for a performance advantage that is capable of daily use. I haven't done this on a 135 but I can tell you from our experience on the E46 and E9X lineup that it is well worth it. The shock is quite smooth under normal driving conditions but really provides an improvement in handling and performance under cornering.
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      12-02-2008, 07:54 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ajshanny View Post
I'm running Koni Yellows with stock springs now on my 135i, and I'm looking for a bit more compliance for daily use. Wondering whether switching to FSDs will improve ride quality while still improving handling over the stock set up.

Anyone tried the FSDs yet?
Here is a cut an paste from my post on another thread:

Quote:
Originally Posted by ocinek
Can you please do a small review of the Koni FSD with Eibach springs in terms of handling? How stiff is the ride compared to stock and how is the body roll?

Thanks

Sorry for the late reply. It's been a while since I've been on the forums.

If I had to do it all over again I would probably spend the extra money and go with shocks where dampning can be adjusted or coilovers. The Eibach and Koni FSD setup does not ride harsher then stock. On bad roads the FSD shocks do a great job of soaking up and smoothing out road imperfections. It actaully rides better and feels more comfortable then the OEM setup. The body does not roll as much as stock and the car does not understeer as much as it used to when stock. The only complaint, and the primary problem which I wanted solved, is that after I drive over a large dip, the car feels really bouncy and doesn't settle quickly...probably worse then the stock set up. I don't know a whole lot about suspension, but I would have to guess that if the dampning in the shocks could be adjusted, this would maybe solve the problem. Hope that helps.
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      12-03-2008, 10:29 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 350zpilot View Post
Here is a cut an paste from my post on another thread:

Quote:
Originally Posted by ocinek
Can you please do a small review of the Koni FSD with Eibach springs in terms of handling? How stiff is the ride compared to stock and how is the body roll?

Thanks

Sorry for the late reply. It's been a while since I've been on the forums.

If I had to do it all over again I would probably spend the extra money and go with shocks where dampning can be adjusted or coilovers. The Eibach and Koni FSD setup does not ride harsher then stock. On bad roads the FSD shocks do a great job of soaking up and smoothing out road imperfections. It actaully rides better and feels more comfortable then the OEM setup. The body does not roll as much as stock and the car does not understeer as much as it used to when stock. The only complaint, and the primary problem which I wanted solved, is that after I drive over a large dip, the car feels really bouncy and doesn't settle quickly...probably worse then the stock set up. I don't know a whole lot about suspension, but I would have to guess that if the dampning in the shocks could be adjusted, this would maybe solve the problem. Hope that helps.
I was hoping that I wouldn't hear anyone say what you said about the car being bouncy and not settling after dips. That's exaclty what I'm experiencing with the Koni yellow set up. Unfortunately, since my shocks and struts are set near full soft, I don't think adjusting them will cure this problem. Since you have to remove the rear shocks to adjust them, I'm not going to mess with them - the labor costs are just too high. I was thinking about trying the FSD set up, but now I'm leaning toward going back to the stock set up.
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      12-03-2008, 10:45 AM   #7
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I was curious about the FSDs as well. I currently have TC Klein Koni S/As (both externally adjustable) on my car. They have 64K miles on them, a couple have leaks, and the ride is very harsh right now. They definitely need replacing, but that will have to wait until after my wedding this mnoth. I was trying to decide if I should stay with what I have, or go for the $200 cheaper FSDs. I have H&R sport (rear adjustable) springs, plus UUC sways.
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      12-03-2008, 11:04 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ajshanny View Post
I was hoping that I wouldn't hear anyone say what you said about the car being bouncy and not settling after dips. That's exaclty what I'm experiencing with the Koni yellow set up. Unfortunately, since my shocks and struts are set near full soft, I don't think adjusting them will cure this problem. Since you have to remove the rear shocks to adjust them, I'm not going to mess with them - the labor costs are just too high. I was thinking about trying the FSD set up, but now I'm leaning toward going back to the stock set up.
What springs are you using with the yellows?
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      12-03-2008, 12:22 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MastaMind View Post
What springs are you using with the yellows?
I'm using tock springs with the Yellows now. I tried them with Eibach Pro Kit Springs first, but the right was too harsh, so I went back to the stock springs. That helped a lot, but I'm still having issues with the bouncing over undulating pavement.
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      12-03-2008, 12:34 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ajshanny View Post
I'm using tock springs with the Yellows now. I tried them with Eibach Pro Kit Springs first, but the right was too harsh, so I went back to the stock springs. That helped a lot, but I'm still having issues with the bouncing over undulating pavement.
Why dont you thrown the stock shocks back on there as well? That will give you the most comfortable ride...
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      12-03-2008, 12:36 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ajshanny View Post
I'm using tock springs with the Yellows now. I tried them with Eibach Pro Kit Springs first, but the right was too harsh, so I went back to the stock springs. That helped a lot, but I'm still having issues with the bouncing over undulating pavement.
Typos: I meant "stock" springs and "ride", not "tock" and "right"
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      12-03-2008, 12:42 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gatorfast View Post
Why dont you thrown the stock shocks back on there as well? That will give you the most comfortable ride...
I'm still thinking about going back to stock, but I've spent a lot of money trying to get the car set-up right, and it seems like a shame to do that now. I agree that the stock set-up is probably the best for ride quality, but I wanted to try to improve the body roll and mushiness that I was feeling in transitions. Any set-up is going to involve trade-offs, but I was hoping to find a better trade-off than the stock set-up.
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      12-03-2008, 02:33 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ajshanny View Post
I'm using tock springs with the Yellows now. I tried them with Eibach Pro Kit Springs first, but the right was too harsh, so I went back to the stock springs. That helped a lot, but I'm still having issues with the bouncing over undulating pavement.
Hmmmm, it sounds like the shocks need to be adjusted a little firmer so they can control the springs, if I'm reading your posts/description correctly. The rears have to be removed, and it's a PITA, but it might be worth a try as opposed to scrapping the whole thing.
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      12-03-2008, 03:57 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MastaMind View Post
Hmmmm, it sounds like the shocks need to be adjusted a little firmer so they can control the springs, if I'm reading your posts/description correctly. The rears have to be removed, and it's a PITA, but it might be worth a try as opposed to scrapping the whole thing.
It's possible that the rear shocks are set too soft, but I have my doubts. The shocks have an adjustment range of two full turns. When I had them installed with the Eibach springs, I had the shop set them at one full turn (in the middle of the range). Although the springs were probably more stiff than the stock ones which I'm using now, the ride was more harsh than the ride I'm getting with the current set-up (one-quarter turn from full soft). Again, the harshness could have been due to the springs only, but I think it was probably a combination of the springs and the firm settings on the shocks. I've also spoken with the techs at Koni, and they have told me that their baseline setting is full soft. I would go ahead and have the shop adjust the shocks back to the middle range just to be sure, but that's a few hundred bucks out of pocket - not sure it's worth the gamble.

For now, I think that I'm going to just drive the car a bit more and see if I get used to the Koni yellows the way they're set. If not, I'll probably go back to the stock dampers or try some FSDs. I've also toyed with the idea of leaving the Koni yellows struts in the front, and going back to the stock rear shocks. It seems to me that the problem is in the back of the car and not the front. Since the yellows do improve the body roll and steering feel, I hate to chuck them. On the other hand, going with a combination set-up could throw off the balance of the car.
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      12-15-2008, 10:39 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ajshanny View Post
I was hoping that I wouldn't hear anyone say what you said about the car being bouncy and not settling after dips. That's exaclty what I'm experiencing with the Koni yellow set up. Unfortunately, since my shocks and struts are set near full soft, I don't think adjusting them will cure this problem. Since you have to remove the rear shocks to adjust them, I'm not going to mess with them - the labor costs are just too high. I was thinking about trying the FSD set up, but now I'm leaning toward going back to the stock set up.
"full soft" means that the koni's adjustable REBOUND damping is doing as little as possible. this will cause the car to feel bouncy. by "firming" your shocks, they will compress at the exact same rate, but will rebound more slowly. this will give the car a more stable feel but will have no affect on the actual firmness of your shocks... that's determined by the spring, or in the case of double-adjustable shocks, by the compression damping control. either way, stick with them. they're great shocks when properly adjusted.
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      12-18-2008, 04:51 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fourtailpipes View Post
"full soft" means that the koni's adjustable REBOUND damping is doing as little as possible. this will cause the car to feel bouncy. by "firming" your shocks, they will compress at the exact same rate, but will rebound more slowly. this will give the car a more stable feel but will have no affect on the actual firmness of your shocks... that's determined by the spring, or in the case of double-adjustable shocks, by the compression damping control. either way, stick with them. they're great shocks when properly adjusted.
Thanks for the advice, but after driving it a bit more, I'm thinking that it's the compression damping that needs to be toned down, not the rebound damping. In any case, it's getting to expensive to keep taking the shocks off the car to play with the settings. I'm either going to go back to stock or try FSD's. I think the yellows are just not for me.
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      12-18-2008, 05:52 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ajshanny View Post
Thanks for the advice, but after driving it a bit more, I'm thinking that it's the compression damping that needs to be toned down, not the rebound damping. In any case, it's getting to expensive to keep taking the shocks off the car to play with the settings. I'm either going to go back to stock or try FSD's. I think the yellows are just not for me.
go with the FSD , it will feel alot nicer than stock.. i drove a 335 coupe with FSD on stock springs def the way to go if you dont want a harsher ride
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      01-20-2009, 01:29 PM   #18
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So with stock springs, no lowering or mods, the Koni FSDs shoud be fine? I read somewhere that they're meant for lowered sport applications, so I've got some concerns about slapping them in with oem.
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      01-20-2009, 02:54 PM   #19
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I didn't realize FSDs were available yet for the 1er. They are not listed on tirerack.com for our car.
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      01-20-2009, 04:00 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ulrichd View Post
I didn't realize FSDs were available yet for the 1er. They are not listed on tirerack.com for our car.
I'll answer my own question. Looks like JLEVISW.com carries the Eibach/FSD combo. Based on my experience with FSDs on my Cooper S this is the route I would take right now or coupled with the H&R OE Sport springs instead of Eibachs.
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