doberdog

After purchasing my C4S in January I have been picking away at the car to get it to where I want it. The previous owner drove the car daily and had the car serviced regularly but some items were getting tired. I've installed some interior bits to refresh the shifter, hand brake and seat bolsters but the main update that needed to be done was the suspension, bushings and tires. All have been done now.

My last car was set up with Mo30 springs and Bilstein HD shocks. To be honest, I drive my car on public roads and I found this set-up to be too harsh for crappy city pavement. This time around I found out about Koni FSD shocks and was so interested that I ordered a set. I went with Elephant Bushings, as requested by my mechanic, new strut mounts all around and the rest of world Mo30 springs were reused. As for tires I got a set of Toyo T1 Sports which have a stiff sidewall and firm casing. The alignment was set for road driving and not any track duty. The shocks that came off the car were factory Munro's with about 40,000km on them.

If you are looking for a comfortable ride, close to the factory settings the Koni shocks are a very nice combination of smooth cruising and planted cornering. The tires I feel made the biggest difference as I had them on the old shocks for about a month before getting the new Koni's. The difference in switching tires was dramatic and now that I have new bushings and springs, the car just feels the way it should. For those that are interested, don't worry that the suspension will be too soft, it will not be the case. These Koni FSD shocks are a great way to go for drivers that don't track their car, don't want a harsh ride and want to save $$ over stock shocks, Bilsteins, PSS10 etc. For just over $900, they were a great investment.
These shocks work with North American ride height springs and rest of world springs, the ride height is the same as it was before.

More to come after I have had them for a while. If you are looking for a tire replacement, the Toyo T1 Sport is a good combination with the 993 add it has the stiff sidewall that these cars need.

Rinty

Another FSD "convert".

P-daddy

Cool. Any side shots of the car to see your ride height?

doberdog

Here you go. This was from before the FSD's but the height is the same. MO30 ROW springs.

DJF1

Nice report Zack... i only wish they made the FSD's for my daily driver...

1pcarnut

Thanks for the report, these are high on my list and hearing your feedback, I think the FSDs are just the ticket.

Mike J

There was some threads a while ago about problems with the FSD's regarding their ability to take a lower stance (given a shorter spring) since the major stroke area was deeper into the shock, as well as questions if the shocks are tuned to various springs, such as the M030's. At that time, I think the issue was raised with Koni - did they address it?

How height adjustable are these shocks? Are they like the stock ones with only adjustment on the front shocks in order to corner balance the car, and the height is only set by the spring height?

And what is the warranty ?

Cheers,

Mike

E_T

Nice report, many thanks. I am contemplating which road to go down on the suspension issue myself, after having imported a C2S with the M030 option from the US last year. The car is still on the original dampers from 1997, and still on SUV ride height.

I want to bring the car down to ROW-C2S standard height, and go for something a little softer than the current setup. The car will not be tracked, but can expect some rough roads down the line, once I bring it back to Norway (from Austria, where I am currently based). My thought was to go with Bilstein B6 or B8 (are these the same as HDs, by the way?) and ROW M033 springs, but I have a feeling that this might be a little harsh. Would a Koni FSDs/ ROW M033 spring combination be a good alternative to Bilsteins and M033 springs, given that I am after a slightly soft ride, but would still like to have the car planted well during cornering.

Just got some new Conti Sport Contacts last week, and got my hands on some Walrod bushings that have yet to be put on the car, planning to have them done at the same time as the suspension.

Any advice on the issue would be much appreciated.

MACH993

I wanted the same ride performance. After hours of research on this subject and a ton of help from the many knowledgable Rennlisters, I narrowed down my choices to M033s + Koni FSDs + Walrod bushings or Bilstein PSS10s + Walrods. I'm having the M033s, Konis & Walrod bushings installed as I type this. I think from a cost/benefit perspective, this combo will give me what I'm after, ride-wise. The PSS10s of course would do the same thing with the added benefit of adjustability but at a higher expense. Good luck!

E_T

Thanks, Mach993 - very much looking forward to hearing what your thoughts are once it is all done.

doberdog

I was told when purchasing these that they are designed to work with the OEM lowered springs like my M030. The ride height is not adjustable other than the corner balance, you get the spring M030 height, which I like. If you are looking for a lot more adjustment then the PSS10 is the way to go but for the price, these work very well for drivers that want a connected feeling for on-road driving, not track. Not sure about the warranty, didn't ask.

CamsPorsche

Awesome to hear!

Gert from Carnewal told me that the FSD's aren't adjustable but just the fronts for corner balancing as you've stated. The FSD's can work with H&R and ROW springs. Carenewal sells both packages which I'm thinking about right now...

Cams

doberdog

From all the pictures I have seen of your car, it looks to me that you already have ROW springs. Just use the ones you have?

cosmic_993

heres some pics of the FSD setup with M033

E_T

Any news on the user experience of the FSDs?