Koni vs Bilstein

[FloridaRosebud]

OK, it's a 2006 National Seabreeze, F53 chassis. As stated in my last thread, I've got it handling great, however, still rides pretty rough. Was on the NY thruway today, and was a bit rough, then got to I-79 to head south, and though yes, this is way mo'betta. BUT, the closer I got to Pittsburg, the rougher the ride, until about 20 miles north. At that point, the road was hammering us. Doors were coming open, and twice my cruise kicked off. Even slowed down to 55, but still was vicious.

The original owner replaced the OEM shocks 5 years ago with Bilsteins. I recall from racing days the Bilsteins were always "firm". So the question; has anyone replaced the Bilsteins with the 5-way Konis, and was there a significant difference? I'm not looking for the "buy a DP" answer, as we otherwise love the MH and it's going nowhere. So anyone out there done this? If I could get a 20-30% ride improvement I'd do it. I'm just not ready to sink $12k into a liquid suspension upgrade right now.

Thanks in advance!

Al

[LVJ58]

For the Ford F53 chassis I highly recommend Koni FSD shocks. The FSD stands for Frequency Sensitive Dampening. Have them on the front of our 2000 coach and they really work great in providing a smoother ride.

[scbwr]

I had new Bilstein shocks put on my rig this past spring. Due to Covid and some health issues, we're on our first camping trip since the shock replacement. My wife, who has a back issue, says that the ride of the motor home is much better with the new shocks. Our ride was about 125 miles and we were on a stretch of Interstate 71 as well as a lot of two lane roads. We head home today and out on another trip on Monday, so I'll see if the DW has any additional comments.

If money were now object, I'd run at 500 - 1,000 mile on the Bilstein shocks and then replace them with Koni Shocks and see how they compare. Anyone interested in sponsoring a test??????:B

[FloridaRosebud]

tropical36 wrote:

FloridaRosebud wrote:
OK, it's a 2006 National Seabreeze, F53 chassis. As stated in my last thread, I've got it handling great, however, still rides pretty rough. Was on the NY thruway today, and was a bit rough, then got to I-79 to head south, and though yes, this is way mo'betta. BUT, the closer I got to Pittsburg, the rougher the ride, until about 20 miles north. At that point, the road was hammering us. Doors were coming open, and twice my cruise kicked off. Even slowed down to 55, but still was vicious.

The original owner replaced the OEM shocks 5 years ago with Bilsteins. I recall from racing days the Bilsteins were always "firm". So the question; has anyone replaced the Bilsteins with the 5-way Konis, and was there a significant difference? I'm not looking for the "buy a DP" answer, as we otherwise love the MH and it's going nowhere. So anyone out there done this? If I could get a 20-30% ride improvement I'd do it. I'm just not ready to sink $12k into a liquid suspension upgrade right now.

Thanks in advance!

Al

How much if any, are you over PSI from what your inflation chart says, for each of your axle weights?
Don't think shock brands will turn thing around all that much, either way, although giving my druthers, I'd opt for the Koni's.

I'm spot on, based on the actual weight of my MH. Sometimes I run 5psi over, but the last few days I've been only a couple of psi over.

Al

[tropical36]

FloridaRosebud wrote:
OK, it's a 2006 National Seabreeze, F53 chassis. As stated in my last thread, I've got it handling great, however, still rides pretty rough. Was on the NY thruway today, and was a bit rough, then got to I-79 to head south, and though yes, this is way mo'betta. BUT, the closer I got to Pittsburg, the rougher the ride, until about 20 miles north. At that point, the road was hammering us. Doors were coming open, and twice my cruise kicked off. Even slowed down to 55, but still was vicious.

The original owner replaced the OEM shocks 5 years ago with Bilsteins. I recall from racing days the Bilsteins were always "firm". So the question; has anyone replaced the Bilsteins with the 5-way Konis, and was there a significant difference? I'm not looking for the "buy a DP" answer, as we otherwise love the MH and it's going nowhere. So anyone out there done this? If I could get a 20-30% ride improvement I'd do it. I'm just not ready to sink $12k into a liquid suspension upgrade right now.

Thanks in advance!

Al

How much if any, are you over PSI from what your inflation chart says, for each of your axle weights?
Don't think shock brands will turn thing around all that much, either way, although giving my druthers, I'd opt for the Koni's.

[FloridaRosebud]

scbwr wrote:

FloridaRosebud wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:
My Koni FSD shocks are NOT gas charged so they do not transfer the small bumps, like road joinst, back to the coach as much as my Bilsteens did.

OK, great. That is good to know....the potholes can not be fixed by shocks, but the expansion joints and bridges I was hoping could be, at least somewhat.

Al

It's an interesting article but you do have to keep in mind the article is pretty old. I wish someone would do another test with results for at least one representative diesel pusher and one representative gas motorhome on the F53 chassis. My research showed many more mixed reviews when it comes to Koni vs. Bilstein shocks on a gas motorhome.

I guess I'll find out once I get them installed and take the MH out. I'll report back once I've given them the proper workout.

Al

[scbwr]

FloridaRosebud wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:
My Koni FSD shocks are NOT gas charged so they do not transfer the small bumps, like road joinst, back to the coach as much as my Bilsteens did.

OK, great. That is good to know....the potholes can not be fixed by shocks, but the expansion joints and bridges I was hoping could be, at least somewhat.

Al

It's an interesting article but you do have to keep in mind the article is pretty old. I wish someone would do another test with results for at least one representative diesel pusher and one representative gas motorhome on the F53 chassis. My research showed many more mixed reviews when it comes to Koni vs. Bilstein shocks on a gas motorhome.

[FloridaRosebud]

BUTCHPHI wrote:
Koni FSD's without a doubt. Changed mine over 100000 miles ago. GREATLY reduced the jarring caused by separation joints in the road and greatly reduced the jarring from the smaller holes in the pavement. They are still on my rig and still seem to be doing as good a job as when new.

Thanks everyone!! Jusr ordered the Koni's!

Al

[BUTCHPHI]

Koni FSD's without a doubt. Changed mine over 100000 miles ago. GREATLY reduced the jarring caused by separation joints in the road and greatly reduced the jarring from the smaller holes in the pavement. They are still on my rig and still seem to be doing as good a job as when new.

[purplekeenah]

I had an '03 34' class A gasser on a Workhorse chassis that came with Bilstein's, it road hard! Changed them out with Monroe's with great results. Next rig was a 2007 40' on a Spartan chassis that came with Bilstein's that hit bridge transitions like a sledgehammer, changed out to Koni's and it really smoothed out the jarring hits.

[MountainAir05]

Al

That where ours are also.

[FloridaRosebud]

MountainAir05 wrote:
Check your air pressure also. I have found that as tires age, they get stiff and ride harder. Some brands more than others.

Tires are less than 2 years old. I run 80psi on the front and 85psi on the rears based on the weight (actually weighed) of the MH.

Al

[Gjac]

When I returned from Alaska I needed a lot of front end work and wanted the Bilstein shocks installed. He said he did a lot of MHs with the Bilstein's and fewer with Koni's in the past and customers preferred the softer ride of the Monroe's. So I went with their recommendation. It was a great improvement in ride quality but it was hard to tell how much was do to shocks and how much do to new front coil springs.

[MountainAir05]

Check your air pressure also. I have found that as tires age, they get stiff and ride harder. Some brands more than others.

[FloridaRosebud]

rgatijnet1 wrote:
My Koni FSD shocks are NOT gas charged so they do not transfer the small bumps, like road joinst, back to the coach as much as my Bilsteens did.

OK, great. That is good to know....the potholes can not be fixed by shocks, but the expansion joints and bridges I was hoping could be, at least somewhat.

Al