New shocks- Koni or Bilstein?

[jpratt2]

It's time to change out my shocks and I'd like some feedback on folks' experience with Koni vs Bilstein shocks.

What have you noticed about ride quality? How have they held up?

Some older reviews I read described a harsher ride with the Konis but that the Bilsteins didn't last as long. Still true? My dilemma is also that the Bilsteins are significantly cheaper.

I have a 29' Bigfoot Garage model on a Ford E-450 chassis. I was looking at the Bilstein HD shocks vs the Koni adjustable models.

Thanks in advance!

[OFDPOS]

Morning JD
Just replaced the front sway bar , man what a difference in size from the stock one!
Thanks for the explanation on the S-T-P vs the stock/Bilstein steering stabilizers... Will have to wait till next month on buying that one.

The rear Sway bar is going to be a big pain in the butt ! Long overhang plus has the spare tire mounted up under there too.

Pinchols
Like your explanation ,very well explained !
Think I'm going to go with the Koni FSD's this time around.

[pnichols]

D.C.,

When leaf springs are loaded up close to their limits the vehicle's vertical up/down motion and rolling motion cannot be constrained as much or well by the springs themselves. Hence the vehicle could tend to bounce up and down and roll too much unless stiff(er) shocks or other suspension configurations stop it. This indeed would be the situation with many Class C rigs built on the E350 chassis.

My situation was more complex, so I did not want the stiffness of firm(er) shocks to be added to the stiffness already present from my under-loaded springs. I wanted shocks that were "not there" on the sharp road surface changes that potholes and cracks present to the tires, while of course wanting shocks that were "really present and accounted for" in situations tending to roll the vehicle back and forth on it's frame.

It would take a shock that could act two ways to do this. These two ways could only be designed-in based upon how fast the shock mechanism was trying to be depressed or extended by a vertical action or a rolling action - hence the "freguency" of that action. That's why I had to have a shock with a stiffness rate that was variable in real time and why I chose Koni's Frequency Selective Damping (FSD) shocks instead of shocks that were all the time softer or all the time stiffer - regardless of whether they were gas or hydraulic single action shocks. Search the WEB using the terms "shocks" and "frequency" to come up with many articles explaining how important the speed (frequency) of reaction of a shock versus it's resistance to that action can be for the best ride in a vehicle.

The help that a quality stiff(er) single action shock will give to reduce bounce and roll in a vehicle with heavily loaded rear leaf springs can be felt immediately and impressively. Since many Class C rigs are heavily loading their rear leaf springs, single action shocks usually will do. Of course Koni's FSD shocks should also be (subtley) superior in a minimal weight margin E350 based Class C ... but perhaps to some folks not worth the extra money when a single action gas or hydraulic shock might be good enough for them.

Note that the Koni shocks that Ron has on his Class C are not Koni's FSD shocks. His Koni shocks are single action shocks, but with several different stiffness rates being selectable by the owner.

[Desert_Captain]

ron.dittmer wrote:
Regarding the FSD shock absorbers not being effective enough on some rigs.

I wonder if it is most beneficial only when you have a minimal amount of load-margin when fully loaded on a trip. A short 24' motor home built on an E450 chassis is going to bounce down the road no matter what you do with exception to removing a leaf spring or two. The same fully-loaded rig built on an E350, the ride will naturally be much softer and so the FSD shocks can be more effective.

We own a rig that is 23-8" long end-to-end. It is built on a 2007 E350 with a GVWR of 11,500. On our heaviest trip, it weighed in at 11,480 pounds, right at the chassis limit. The rig is equipped with the older red Koni-RV adjustable shocks set to the stiffest setting, along with HD stabilizer bars. During that trip, I laid on the hard floor face up with my head resting over the rear axle. I felt every road imperfection like crazy. I would hope the FSD shocks could soften up just that very thing. I wish I had a good reason to replace our good condition, working red Koni RV adjustable shocks, but we were not blessed with money to burn like that.

Ron just hit the proverbial nail on the head. The E-350, even when fully loaded will give a far smoother ride than a comparable E-450. Our 2012 E-350, like Ron's, has a GVWR of 11,500 and we also run very close to that number on almost every trip. At 33,000 miles I replaced the worn out original shocks with the heavy duty Bilsteins and the ride improvement was off of the chart. It always rode and handled well but the addition of the Bilsteins took it to a whole new level.

:C

[ron_dittmer]

Regarding the FSD shock absorbers not being effective enough on some rigs.

I wonder if it is most beneficial only when you have a minimal amount of load-margin when fully loaded on a trip. A short 24' motor home built on an E450 chassis is going to bounce down the road no matter what you do with exception to removing a leaf spring or two. The same fully-loaded rig built on an E350, the ride will naturally be much softer and so the FSD shocks can be more effective.

We own a rig that is 23-8" long end-to-end. It is built on a 2007 E350 with a GVWR of 11,500. On our heaviest trip, it weighed in at 11,480 pounds, right at the chassis limit. The rig is equipped with the older red Koni-RV adjustable shocks set to the stiffest setting, along with HD stabilizer bars. During that trip, I laid on the hard floor face up with my head resting over the rear axle. I felt every road imperfection like crazy. I would hope the FSD shocks could soften up just that very thing. I wish I had a good reason to replace our good condition, working red Koni RV adjustable shocks, but we were not blessed with money to burn like that.

[j-d]

Good Morning!

Saf-T-Plus (and Roadmaster's RSSC) are hydraulic dampers (like OEM, Bilstein and Monroe) WITH SPRINGS to push the steering toward Center. S-T-P has two hidden springs, RSSC has one exposed spring.

How much help do you think it needs? Reducing sway takes a big first step. I remember Roadmaster's instructions saying to install the Sway Bar first if you're upgrading both Bar and Stabilizer.

Too hot here to do much too!

[OFDPOS]

I Ordered both front and rear Hellwig Sway bars and new Moog sway bar end links, but too darn hot to install them.

Trying to decide which Steering Stabilizer to go with Saf-T-Plus or ?
Not sure what the difference is between Bilstein steering stabilizer at $90 vs Saf-T-Plus at $358 ?

Also the last 2 older MH's on Chevy 3500 chassis we had I replaced the stock shocks with Bilstein HDs and noticed a big difference.
This time around thinking of trying those Koni FSD shocks on the Ford E450 ?

[pnichols]

The reduction of ride harshness in the rear of our E450 motorhome chassis is why I had Koni FSD shocks installed in the rear and the results are subtle, but that's just the way it should be. I would suspect any claims of "dramatic ride stiffness reduction" from any solution other than removing of rear spring leafs or installation of a full air suspension system.

We've had FSD shocks in the rear of our E450 based small Class C for over two years ... and they do, in general, make the ride less harsh on roadway cracks and potholes. However I have just about absolute proof - regardless of what we feel up in the cab - of what the FSD shocks are doing to take the pounding sting out of cracks and potholes: We have a latch back in the shower that holds the folding accordian shower curtain open. That latch used to ALWAYS come unlatched after traveling a few miles on todays poorly maintained highways and freeways. After adding the FSD shocks, that latch now NEVER has come unlatched.

Regarding roll control on curves, when going into parking lots, when big-rigs pass us, and when traveling in strong cross-winds: Any affects are subtle in these situations because our small Class C underloads our E450 chassis ... which of course came stock with front and rear sway bars and a front steering shock. However, the sway contol with the FSD shocks only in the rear is certainly no less than it was before. If anything it's a more gently, rounded-off, less "jerky" control of roll in our 11,800 lb. E450 RV.

The reason I didn't go with any other rear shock is because I didn't think that what was needed was a rear shock that was stiffer all the time or softer all the time. I was happy with the roll control stiffness of the stock shocks, but I was tired of their stiffness being added to the leaf spring's stiffness on roadway cracks and potholes. I'm looking forward to completing the picture by adding FSD shocks in the front.

[OFDPOS]

Yep the Koni FSD is $661.60 vs Bilstein $369.96 from Shock Warehouse.

No rebate promotions from either one at this time.

But their website mentions :
Forum Discounts:

Are you a member of a car, truck or RV forum? Tell us about your forum and we can negotiate a discount for forum members Contact us toll free at 888-657-6075 or email us here.

Note on Forum discounts: Forum Discounts are for forum members only. Shockwarehouse reserves the right to remove a forum discount code from an order for unauthorized use. (IE: Consumer ordering BMW parts and uses a Ford discount code).

[j-d]

pauldub wrote:
I put the Koni's on the rear of my 24' Minnie E-450. They didn't give me much improvement over the Ford OEM shocks.

Thanks for that! It's disappointing, but we need honesty here! You're one of the very few recently, who hasn't raved about the FSD's. An "early adopter" who had a set installed a couple years ago, didn't seem particularly pleased. I hoped for long term reports from him but he only posted a time or two and hasn't been back.

[pauldub]

I put the Koni's on the rear of my 24' Minnie E-450. They didn't give me much improvement over the Ford OEM shocks. I'll probably put Bilsteins on the front for about half the price.

[OFDPOS]

Just bumping post up.

Anybody that replaced with the Koni's FDS shocks have anymore feed back on them ?

Debating which to go with this time around the Bilsteins like I have on the last two MH's or try out the Koni FDS's

[whizbang]

We went with the heavy duty version of the Bilstein shocks.

The very next day, I replaced the 8 year old Dean tires with new Michelins.

Between the tires and the shocks... Wow! It drives like a new rig.

[j-d]

Drew, Good Work! I think the position of the fender liners vs. the frame is inconsistent across coaches. Makes some more or less miserable to access the tops of the shocks than others.

I'm sure you'll let us know how they worked for you in operation.

Thanks!

[DrewE]

I just installed (within the past week or so) Koni FSD's on my motorhome, replacing the apparently original 18+ year old Ford shocks. They seemed to work nicely on a test drive, though it wasn't especially demanding conditions. How much of that is simply due to having shocks that are not old and in questionable condition rather than the fancy FSD valving I can't really say.

On the fronts, I ended up using a flex head ratchet wrench on the top nut and a plain wrench on the shock barrel. (The '98 E-SuperDuty chassis has no floorboard access hole on the passenger side, and the one on the driver side is not really big enough or well spaced to be much use in unbolting the shock; it's main purpose is to feed the shift cable through.) Of course, the OEM and Koni shocks use different size fasteners, so I had to buy two different flex head ratchet wrenches. The Konis required a 19mm one, which was not too easy to find locally, but 3/4" was more readily available and is the same size for any practical purpose. (3/4" is theoretically 0.05mm oversized. I don't know what the manufacturing tolerances are for wrenches, but it may well be larger than that theoretical difference.)