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Koni FSD Shocks - Impressions on my 9-5 SE
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Posted by RegQ [Email] (more from RegQ) on Fri, 4 Dec 2009 21:26:43 Share Post by Email
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I posted 2 months ago that I had ordered the full set of Koni FSD shocks for my 1999 Saab 9-5 SE V6. My Bilstein HD rear shocks had failed completely and my front struts were originals with 155,000 km on them. I received the FSDs three weeks ago and installed them right away. I thought I’d live with them for a while before posting my opinion.

The FSDs are very good dampers when driving “with spirit”. At speed, the handling and stability of my 11 year old Saab are excellent. The reaction to large dips and bumps is just right for me. Sudden changes in direction are much crisper, and transitional body roll is reduced. These are the very best shocks I’ve ever had for handling rough pavement while in a long sweeping turn with the suspension loaded. The car stays supremely planted.

Koni’s claims of a softer reaction to pavement joints and poor road surfaces are relatively correct. I find the overall harshness of such surfaces is less noticeable than other sport-handling biased shocks I’ve has in the past. The impacts are still there but muted. The cars feels quieter somehow.

The one circumstance where I find the FSDs too firm are at low speed over undulations in pavement. At lower speeds over smoother imperfections and small bumps, the frequency selective damping stays on the “very” firm side of reaction. I guess the compression force inputs are slow and smooth enough to keep the FSD reacting firmly. The car tends to pitch and bob over such surfaces pumping me up and down in my seat. Happily, that only happens a small part of the time, typically crossing intersections where the road surface has worn tracks.

In summary, I highly recommend Koni FSDs for those who drive on the aggressive side or value stability and handling over consistent comfort. I probably wouldn’t have anything else especially if most of your driving is on good roads. Do not bother to get these if you drive serenely, prefer a softer ride and live where a lot of the roads are in poor shape. Get some OE Sachs shocks or Monroe Sensatracs and save your money. I did like my rear Bilstein HDs at first but they went soft and failed completely after only 70,000 or so km.

FYI my Saab has the original springs, and the Aero sway bar retrofit.

Reg

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