Koni Orange struts + Cobb springs = Happy Camper!

[FiSTofGlory]

I thought the same thing. It has to be on the whole set. If you use Whoosh's FIST5 discount for forum members it puts it at $0.03 cheaper than Tire Rack. Trying to decide if I should pull the trigger on this.

 

[ron@whoosh]

Nice! I'd love to support a forum vendor.

Do you know if the rebate is for a full set or PER strut? I think TireRack's site has a glitch but it shows as one rebate per strut nor does Koni's fine print provide a definitive answer. I'm guessing its per set.

per the attachment from Koni that will be emailed to customers, the rebate is for a full set of 4 STR's

copied :
Get a $30 to $70 rebate with the purchase of a set of four KONI Street Automotive & Light
Truck/SUV shock absorbers or suspension kits from August 1 — October 31, 2017.

The STR's qualify for the $30 rebate

 

[OrangeSpice]

Hey all, it's the OP here who started this thread. Figured that I owed the community, especially any followers of this thread, an update on my FIST setup.

After about two months of driving on the Koni Orange struts at all 4 corners - always using the Cobb Sport springs combination - came to the conclusion that the front-end is just too compliant and soft. I dont mean from a ride-quality standpoint. It rides as smooth as the FIST is likely ever to get. Rather the compression rate is too low to absorb well rapid, harsh pitch changes without "crashing down" on the bump-stops. It doesn't happen that frequently or I would have discovered this shortcoming earlier on. But after it happened unexpectedly 3 or 4 times I began to experiment for situations that cause it.

Basically if the front-end (both sides) encounter a very abrupt surface level change at reasonable high speed (say over 35 mph) the whole front end can bottom out with a bang. That of course is a rare road condition but not impossible to find. In fact there's a certain bad road that I take on drive home every day and found a spot that could replicate the problem every time I hit it right (or wrong). The most disturbing situation however is one that a FIST needs to endure without failing, and thats a fast off-camber corner. When the front-end is pitched hard and turn-in forces are heavy the loaded wheel will hit the bump-stop hard. A real bang! Again found a corner that I could make it happen if I wanted to demonstrate it.

So for the solution that I've found and already installed.... I replaced the Koni Orange struts with Koni Yellow "Sport" struts on the front-end (2) only, keeping the rear Oranges. The Yellow Sports provide adjustable damping rate. Putting them on full firm completely eliminates the too much compression movement. Yes, the ride got a tad-bit (or more) harsher but still definitely way better and more controlled than the stock setup. The Koni Sports up front really hold traction well under very sporty driving. Those road places that badly disturbed the full (4) Orange struts setup are soaked up nicely by the front Yellows and rear Oranges.

My sincere apologies to anyone who moved on getting their own FIST riding on Koni Orange struts at all corners. Perhaps you won't find the "limits" as frequently as I did. What bothered me most wasn't the bump-stop hits happening too often, it was simply knowing that the suspension setup couldn't fully handle what the FIST is capable of delivering. So that's what led me to the Yellow Sports. I can only speculate that getting all 4 corners on Sports would be a sweet ride due to the ability to turn the rear struts down (softer) to probably match the fixed level of the Orange. I can confirm that keeping the less-expensive Orange struts on the rear hasn't felt like any kind of compromise in performance while preserving a great deal of the eliminated harshness of the stock ride.

I hope this helps many without upsetting some that may have followed my earlier advice.

 

[Turbo65]

Hey all, it's the OP here who started this thread. Figured that I owed the community, especially any followers of this thread, and update on my FIST setup.

After about two months of driving on the Koni Orange struts at all 4 corners - always using the Cobb Sport springs combination - came to the conclusion that the front-end is just too compiant and soft. I dont mean from a ride-quality standpoint. It rides as smooth as the FIST is likely ever to get. Rather the compression rate is too low to absorb well rapid, harsh pitch changes without "crashing down" on the bump-stops. It doesn't happen that frequently or I would have discovered this shortcoming earlier on. But after it happened unexpectedly 3 or 4 times I began to experiment for situations that cause it.

Basically if the front-end (both sides) encounter a very abrupt surface level change at reasonable high speed (say over 35 mph) the whole front end can bottom out with a bang. That of course is a rare road condition but not impossible to find. In fact there's a certain bad road that I take on drive home every day and found a spot that could replicate the problem every time I hit it right (or wrong). The most disturbing situation however is one that a FIST needs to endure without failing, and thats a fast off-camber corner. When the front-end is pitched hard and turn-in forces are heavy the loaded wheel will hit the bump-stop hard. A real bang! Again found a corner that I could make it happen if I wanted to demonstrate it.

So for the solution that I've found and already installed.... I replaced the Koni Orange struts with Koni Yellow "Sport" struts on the front-end (2) only, keeping the rear Oranges. The Yellow Sports provide adjustable damping rate. Putting them on full firm completely eliminates the too much compression movement. Yes, the ride got a tad-bit (or more) harsher but still definitely way better and more controlled than the stock setup. The Koni Sports up front really hold traction well under very sporty driving. Those road places that badly disturbed the full (4) Orange struts setup are soaked up nicely by the front Yellows and rear Oranges.

My sincere apologies to anyone who moved on getting their own FIST riding on Koni Orange struts at all corners. Perhaps you won't find the "limits" as frequently as I did. What bothered me most wasn't the bump-stop hits happening too often, it was simply knowing that the suspension setup couldn't fully handle what the FIST is capable of delivering. So that's what led me to the Yellow Sports. I can only speculate that getting all 4 corners on Sports would be a sweet ride due to the ability to turn the rear struts down (softer) to probably match the fixed level of the Orange. I can confirm that keeping the less-expensive Orange struts on the rear hasn't felt like any kind of compromise in performance while preserving a great deal of the eliminated harshness of the stock ride.

I hope this helps many without upsetting some that may have followed my earlier advice.

Thanks for the honest update it will help people make a good decision , I'm still trying to figure it out but I think I'm going B8's with swift springs

 

[ghodge]

Thanks for the info OrangeSpice. I thought the yellow Koni sports were only adjustable for rebound. Their compression might just be more than that of the orange Konis. At least that's how it is for the yellow Koni Sports I have on my G8.

George

 

[OrangeSpice]

Thanks for the info OrangeSpice. I thought the yellow Koni sports were only adjustable for rebound. Their compression might just be more than that of the orange Konis. At least that's how it is for the yellow Koni Sports I have on my G8.

George

You are right. I'm not a suspension expert - OBVIOUSLY, LoL.

The Yellows most definitely "resist" hitting the bump-stops more than enough. I have tried those bad spots even harder with them and have not hit the bottom even once.

 

[Sticky]

If you put the yellows on soft is the "problem" still fixed?

Also does that mean you'd recommend yellows all the way around?

 

[cxwrench]

If you put the yellows on soft is the "problem" still fixed?

Also does that mean you'd recommend yellows all the way around?

If the yellows are only adjustable for rebound what happens during compression shouldn't change if you adjust them 'slow' or 'fast'. Damper adjustments aren't 'soft' or 'hard' as the damper controls the speed at which the wheel is allowed to move. The spring rate controls whether it's soft or firm.

 

[OrangeSpice]

i would expect yellows on all 4 corners would work even better.
but I can testify that months later now, Im still very very happy with the Yellow Fronts and the Orange (cheap) Rear Konis.

 

[felopr]

after reading this page , the bottoming out on the front i guess is because this shock are supose to be for a stock height fiesta, if you use it for lowering spring, you have less damper travel, you get the idea or didndt cut the bumpstops. i think this set up, all 4 corner orange on stock suspension would be ideal, and people on lowering spring should go to yellows. also in the photo on the op, what tires are those? 205/40?

 

[JewFro]

after reading this page , the bottoming out on the front i guess is because this shock are supose to be for a stock height fiesta, if you use it for lowering spring, you have less damper travel, you get the idea or didndt cut the bumpstops. i think this set up, all 4 corner orange on stock suspension would be ideal, and people on lowering spring should go to yellows. also in the photo on the op, what tires are those? 205/40?

Oddly enough Tire Rack sells STR.Ts with Pro Kits as a package deal so they're openly advertising these as usable with lowering springs even if the consensus is they don't have the dampening levels required.

After reading this thread several times and some additional conversation with OrangeSpice I pulled the trigger on Pro Kit springs and Koni Yellows all around. Can't wait to report back with the install results!

 

[Gar Woods]

subscribing and i may got orange all around with H&R sports. thank you for the good info everyone!

 

[LILIKE16ST]

Would these orange koni do ok with h&r ss springs or would they be too much for these? I think that would be a pretty nice affordable setup if so...just over 500 combined through whoosh I do beleive. I'm seriously thinking about this setup....thanks in advance

 

[Scotman2]

Hey all, it's the OP here who started this thread. Figured that I owed the community, especially any followers of this thread, an update on my FIST setup.

After about two months of driving on the Koni Orange struts at all 4 corners - always using the Cobb Sport springs combination - came to the conclusion that the front-end is just too compliant and soft. I dont mean from a ride-quality standpoint. It rides as smooth as the FIST is likely ever to get. Rather the compression rate is too low to absorb well rapid, harsh pitch changes without "crashing down" on the bump-stops. It doesn't happen that frequently or I would have discovered this shortcoming earlier on. But after it happened unexpectedly 3 or 4 times I began to experiment for situations that cause it.

Basically if the front-end (both sides) encounter a very abrupt surface level change at reasonable high speed (say over 35 mph) the whole front end can bottom out with a bang. That of course is a rare road condition but not impossible to find. In fact there's a certain bad road that I take on drive home every day and found a spot that could replicate the problem every time I hit it right (or wrong). The most disturbing situation however is one that a FIST needs to endure without failing, and thats a fast off-camber corner. When the front-end is pitched hard and turn-in forces are heavy the loaded wheel will hit the bump-stop hard. A real bang! Again found a corner that I could make it happen if I wanted to demonstrate it.

So for the solution that I've found and already installed.... I replaced the Koni Orange struts with Koni Yellow "Sport" struts on the front-end (2) only, keeping the rear Oranges. The Yellow Sports provide adjustable damping rate. Putting them on full firm completely eliminates the too much compression movement. Yes, the ride got a tad-bit (or more) harsher but still definitely way better and more controlled than the stock setup. The Koni Sports up front really hold traction well under very sporty driving. Those road places that badly disturbed the full (4) Orange struts setup are soaked up nicely by the front Yellows and rear Oranges.

My sincere apologies to anyone who moved on getting their own FIST riding on Koni Orange struts at all corners. Perhaps you won't find the "limits" as frequently as I did. What bothered me most wasn't the bump-stop hits happening too often, it was simply knowing that the suspension setup couldn't fully handle what the FIST is capable of delivering. So that's what led me to the Yellow Sports. I can only speculate that getting all 4 corners on Sports would be a sweet ride due to the ability to turn the rear struts down (softer) to probably match the fixed level of the Orange. I can confirm that keeping the less-expensive Orange struts on the rear hasn't felt like any kind of compromise in performance while preserving a great deal of the eliminated harshness of the stock ride.

I hope this helps many without upsetting some that may have followed my earlier advice.

I have the Koni sport dampers. I kept the stock coils and the issue of the suspension crashing over expansion joints with a side helping of general harshness was eliminated. The issues are definitely not spring rate related. I also dont feel that i gave up any handling sharpness at all because the chassis is so much more composed now. I guess it could be called a silent gain.

 

[OrangeSpice]

I have the Koni sport dampers. I kept the stock coils and the issue of the suspension crashing over expansion joints with a side helping of general harshness was eliminated. The issues are definitely not spring rate related. I also dont feel that i gave up any handling sharpness at all because the chassis is so much more composed now. I guess it could be called a silent gain.

Good to hear another very favorable report on putting Koni Yellows on. I've been recommending this setup to many and nice to know the impression isn't only my own viewpoint.

 

[OrangeSpice]

I read of few of the more recent responses to this thread... all I can say is that I would NOT recommend getting "Street" Orange (STR.T's) dampers for the fronts.

Absolutely worth the reasonable extra money to get Koni "Sport" Yellows for at least the fronts. I still find the Orange struts working just fine in the rear.
(that last part sounds a bit odd... lol)

 

[neeqness]

The Str.Ts work just fine on the front with the OEM springs (and maybe other linear springs). I've been using them like this for awhile now...

I posted my findings on this in another topic but I've tried the Koni Str.T with Eibach Springs (all around), Str.T/Eibachs rear and Oem Shocks/Eibachs front, and now finally K. Orange/Oem Springs (all around).

I finally settled on the K.Orange/OEM Springs (I say "settled" only because I still miss the drop). The Eibach Springs were too soft for the also relatively soft Str.T Shocks (particularly in the front). I noticed it immediately upon leaving the shop and making my first true right turn, but maybe the Cobbs are a bit stiffer and thats why it took longer to notice. It seems like the Str.Ts might work with a stiffer/linear type lowering spring and perhaps some adjustments like cutting the bump stops.

I did love Eibach springs with OEM shocks even better than the Str.Ts performance wise. However, although the bounciness and other flaws in the OEM suspension were removed, the ride was only slightly improved over stock and may not work for DDs and others (like me) who frequent roads lacking good and proper maintenance.

Str.T with OEM Springs have actually served me well now for about a year and a half (~40k miles) so far as a DD and highway traveler and I've even ran through some canyons a few times with plenty of smiles on my face. I'd say that they are better though for those who might place comfort a bit higher than performance...even though they are still fairly sporty. The Yellows/Bilsteins will be better suited for those with the extra cash and who want to get more out of their car performance wise. But for those on a budget and maybe who don't mind stock height, the Str.T pairs well with your OEM springs, front AND back.

I'd love to hear back from those who may have paired the Str.Ts with stiffer/linear springs and see how their results went...

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

 

[felopr]

The Str.Ts work just fine on the front with the OEM springs (and maybe other linear springs). I've been using them like this for awhile now...

I posted my findings on this in another topic but I've tried the Koni Str.T with Eibach Springs (all around), Str.T/Eibachs rear and Oem Shocks/Eibachs front, and now finally K. Orange/Oem Springs (all around).

I finally settled on the K.Orange/OEM Springs (I say "settled" only because I still miss the drop). The Eibach Springs were too soft for the also relatively soft Str.T Shocks (particularly in the front). I noticed it immediately upon leaving the shop and making my first true right turn, but maybe the Cobbs are a bit stiffer and thats why it took longer to notice. It seems like the Str.Ts might work with a stiffer/linear type lowering spring and perhaps some adjustments like cutting the bump stops.

I did love Eibach springs with OEM shocks even better than the Str.Ts performance wise. However, although the bounciness and other flaws in the OEM suspension were removed, the ride was only slightly improved over stock and may not work for DDs and others (like me) who frequent roads lacking good and proper maintenance.

Str.T with OEM Springs have actually served me well now for about a year and a half (~40k miles) so far as a DD and highway traveler and I've even ran through some canyons a few times with plenty of smiles on my face. I'd say that they are better though for those who might place comfort a bit higher than performance...even though they are still fairly sporty. The Yellows/Bilsteins will be better suited for those with the extra cash and who want to get more out of their car performance wise. But for those on a budget and maybe who don't mind stock height, the Str.T pairs well with your OEM springs, front AND back.

I'd love to hear back from those who may have paired the Str.Ts with stiffer/linear springs and see how their results went...

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

same, i wonder how the srt-t would handle the swift's

 

[neeqness]

same, i wonder how the srt-t would handle the swift's

That would definitely be interesting to see...

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

 

[Scotman2]

I too had several brands of lowering springs. I found the H&R sport springs to be the softest. Eibach sportlines slightly firmer. On the basic fiesta the Eibach sport lines and Koni Sport dampers were pretty sweet from both a ride and handling perspective.