Koni FSD shocks

Harsh ride can be attributed to several factors:

Over inflated tires, springs with too little weight on them as well as shocks.

Basic test if you feel harshness is due to shocks-- remove them and go for a short drive. In many cases the ride will still be harsh-- particularly if you have Koni FSD's, which DO give softer ride than OE shocks (unless of course OE shocks are shot).

My tires are not over inflated and the ride with the OEM Monroe shocks was softer with the same pressures than the Koni FSDs.
The Monroe shocks had a disconcerting large downward excursion on certain road dips that upset a lot of folks. Workhorse was trying to duplicate the ride of a DP with air suspension and except for the downward excursion did a pretty good job. The Koni shocks did eliminate the excursion but the ride suffered.

I installed Koni's on the front this past spring replacing the factory installed Blistein's. The rear has year old Blistein's. 2006 18K (15K rolling weight) F53 chassis. There was some difference in performance on minor bumps but a hard jolt is about the same. I do notice a bit less dish rattle when the coach front axle hits something as compared to when the rear axle hits the same.

Has anyone ever determined what the front and rear ride height should be for a F53? The Ford specs are for a stripped chassis but what is it once they build a house on it? Wonder how much I might be bottoming out causing the harsh ride.

As I've read these posts over the years, the trend seems to be that people like the Bilsteins better on gas coaches and the Koni FSD's on DP's.

Daveinet wrote:
My guess is the stiff ride you are complaining about has nothing to do with the shocks. Even though your profile does not state it, I would be willing to bet your coach is on a Ford chassis. If I'm right, that should tell you a lot about why the ride is harsh.

It's on the Workhorse chassis

Diplomat Don wrote:
Gdlow.....What color were they"

I would say they are somewhat of a gold color

Dale Traveling is probably correct suspecting the Ford chassis bottoming out. To check if this is happing, get some kids modeling clay, form it to the bump stop snubber with tape, and go for a ride. You will probably find the clay completely mashed-out when you get back and check. Contrary to popular belief, Ford made their springs very soft, for a better ride, which allows the bottoming to cause a harsh ride. This is also why a lot of Ford chassis MHs lean to the passenger side.

Yes, difficult to tell sometimes whether harsh ride from stiff springs (no or little deflection over bumps) or bottoming out.

Wildman's diagnostic tool is a good one.

Gdlow wrote:
I heard these were much smoother running so ordered and had installed them...they are as hard riding as the Bilstein's...Can they be softened Up???

Not all folks who've installed the FSD's on their coaches experience any ride improvement however we sure did on our Ford Chassis.

If your's is a workhorse it most likely came with bilsteins. Just curious, how much air pressure in your tires?

Depending on the load range of your tires, and the weight of your coach, you may be able to lower the pressure, however it's important to get your coach weighed first, then based on axle weight check the tire manufacturers "Load Inflation Chart" before reducing any air pressure.

Good luck in softening up your ride and keep us posted on your progress..

Safe travels..

wildmanbaker wrote:
This is also why a lot of Ford chassis MHs lean to the passenger side.

So it's not my Navigator causing the lean?