New shocks- Koni or Bilstein?
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 revi...
Forum Discussion
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.
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.
