Community Forums

ga traveler · 05-31-2011, 07:16 PM

I installed Bilstein shocks because They were supposed to last much longer than other brands. On indenpendant test. Bilstein's were judged to be 98% effective after 100,000 miles. Just a few months Motorhome Magazine judged Bilstein's best of all the shocks they tested.

StansCustoms · 05-31-2011, 07:23 PM

Another question...our coaches came with Bilsteins, and are acclaimed as a premier driving /handling coach. In fact that is why I bought an Alpine...word of mouth of course.

My coach is 10 years old and I haven't had the pleasure of driving a "new" Alpine. Can those of you that bought Alpines new comment how they rode/drove with Bilsteins when new?

JLMunsil · 05-31-2011, 10:10 PM

I replaced the Bilsteins with Koni's after only 10,000 miles. It seemed to make a big difference.

LVJ58 · 05-31-2011, 10:50 PM

Regarding Koni shocks, Koni has several different series of shocks. The series that seems best suited for motor home application to improve ride comfort is the Koni FSD series.

I have the FSD on the front suspension of our gasser and Koni adjustables on the rear. Eventually I plan to replace the adjustables with the FSD's.

Papa_Jim · 05-31-2011, 10:58 PM

I'm not running on an Alpine Peak Chassis, but I am running on Bilstein shocks.

My coach was built in 1995 with Bilstein shocks. It rode really rough. The previous owner had written many comments in the owner's manual trying to soften the ride by lowering the tire pressures.

Last year I decided to change the shocks. The price difference between Bilstein and Koni, plus the fact the Bilstein were actively trying to modify their shock to produce a satisfactory ride, led me to try the new Bilstein shock.

Once removed, the old shocks were like solid rods. I could not compress or open any one of the old shocks without clamping it in a vice and really struggling to make the shock move.

The new shocks were fairly stiff to compress, but not difficult. They opened back to full length on their own.

Once installed, the new Bilstein shocks proved to be a good buy. My coach handles very tight, yet rides very well. Now we never think about the quality of our ride. It performs exactly how we would expect it to.

I now find that the tire pressure has no effect on the quality of the ride. I have finally decided to run my tires at about the maximum recommended pressure because it is probably safer, and the ride is good.

I have never tried Koni shocks, but I can't imagine what improvement there would be by trying a different brand of shock.