KONI FSD or Bilstein Comfort

[Mike Canter]

Monaco-guy, the Monroe shocks were yellow top and bottom with a steel dust cover on the top. The Bilsteins are yellow on the bottom with a soft blue dust cover on the top. I believe your chassis is the same as mine and comes with 10 Bilstein shocks. There is nothing you can do to stop feeling those expansion joints or bad potholes. The Koni FSD are going to be the same way. Those Bilsteins you now have installed are as good as it gets. I have the same chassis on my Signature with Bilsteins and have the same problem and I have ridden in a MH with Koni FSD and it also has the same problem over expansion joints.What you have is as good as it gets.


LVJ58, in Motorhome Magazine they took the same MH and installed all three major top brand shocks and compared them on a test track. The test resulted in that you cannot tell the difference between a Koni FSD and a Bilstein shocks. The article also stated that since there was no difference then it was better to install the Bilstein shocks because they are about half price of a Koni FSD. I have attched that MH Magazine test to several of my posts on the Monaco Owners Forum and it is worth reading. Here is a link
Monaco Factory Installed Bilstein Shock Information

[97windsor]

I just pulled the trigger for 8 new bilsteins for my 97 Windsor. It looks like it has the original Monroes (yellow top and bottom and all steel) on it now. I ordered them from Shockwarehouse.com. If anyone is ordering they have a coupon special that will give a 5% discount when you buy 8 or more shocks. The code at checkout is "BUY8". I called and did the order over the phone and the rep very helpful. The total was $680.00 shipped to my door for 8 (35.00 savings). I am no way affilated with shockwarehouse.com just reporting the discount that is availiable.
I will report back as soon as I install and road tested.

[rorr1821]

Replaced the OEM Monroe's with Koni on my motorhome after 25,000 miles. I have an RR8R Roadmaster Chassis. I am happy with the Koni shocks,however, Motorhome Magazine in April 2009 ran a test of three shocks. Bilstein came out on the top. Had I read this article before I installed the Koni I would have given more consideration to the Bilstein. They would have cost less. The problem with comparing performance is that one brand shock could work just fine on one brand and size chassis and not not perform as well on a differant chassis.

[97windsor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 97windsor I just pulled the trigger for 8 new bilsteins for my 97 Windsor. It looks like it has the original Monroes (yellow top and bottom and all steel) on it now. I ordered them from Shockwarehouse.com. If anyone is ordering they have a coupon special that will give a 5% discount when you buy 8 or more shocks. The code at checkout is "BUY8". I called and did the order over the phone and the rep very helpful. The total was $680.00 shipped to my door for 8 (35.00 savings). I am no way affilated with shockwarehouse.com just reporting the discount that is availiable. I will report back as soon as I install and road tested.

I got my coach back yesterday after the shocks were installed. It was a 2 1/2 week project because the Bilsteins top mounting bushing were to small, and the bottom were to big. After 4 or 5 calls to Bilstein I spoke with Kevin in the special install dept. He was aware of this problem with Monaco. If the coach was built in Oregon the shocks would have fit but since mine was built in Indiana the mounting points were slightly different. He told me to machine out the top bushings and he would send the correct bushings for the bottom.
The process was pain but the good news is the ride is wonderful. The shocks that were replaced were the yellow top and bottom Monroes, that I think, were the original shocks from 1997 and 54k miles.
When I picked it up I could tell after the first mile or two there was a big difference. I drove it about another 15-20 miles over some rough roads and concrete expansion joints. The difference is amazing.
With the old shocks the bumps would resonate through the entire coach and uneven roads would roll and bounce it pretty bad. It is a completely different ride now. It feels like I have a new coach.
If I had known there was this much difference I would have done this the day after I bought it.
Anyone who has worn out shocks shouldn't hesitate to do this, it's worth every penny that it costs to get these shocks installed.
I have 6 new tires (last fall) and 8 new shocks and I'm super happy with my new shocks and can't wait to drive it more.
Anyone thinking about new shocks, my advice is replace them ASAP.

[zacktown]

I thought I would come back with an update. It has been about 2 months since I installed 6 new bilstein's on my 07 camelot. My coach, empty, is pretty close to the GVWR, so it is really heavy. My CCC is only 1400 lbs it is so close to the max! I point this out because this means it will never be perfect. The good news is that since I ditched the monroe's and upgraded the ride has changed substantially. I still bounce over those big bumps in the freeway, but the reverberation only lasts for another bounce and a half. Also, the amount of bounce is reduced by about 50 percent. I found out when I showed up to pick up the coach that the shop only installed 6 out of the 8 shocks and they are waiting for the 2 rear shocks. This is where my information differs from most with the same coach. 90 percent of the people out there say that the coach uses the same shock all around. My shop insists that they have spoken at length with bilstein and monaco and confirmed that the rear shock is stronger. Once I get the last 2 installed, I expect the ride to improve a even more.

Unfortunately, the previous owner of the coach ruined the front tires in the 14k miles since new by not properly inflating, balancing and aligning, so I had to replace the front tires. Geez, those goodyear's are really, really rare, so I am temporarily using some yokohama's that are load range H until I get time to order and install the goodyear g670s.

The biggest difference is in the smaller bumps. You know, the annoying ones that can rattle everything. I am constantly amazed on how well these shocks handle these high frequency bumps. With the new shocks, tires and alignment, I can drive in comfort! On the highway with no wind, I could take my hands of the wheel if I chose to. I really, really enjoy driving the coach now :-)

I am typing this out in a hurry, so feel free to ask any questions if I missed something.

Happy trails!

[jimkate]

I believe that the rough ride over the expansion joints is more an issue with the small volume air bags that our coaches ride on, and possibly also the fact that those air bags are probably inflated to an absolute maximum pressure constantly, to make sure that they can carry whatever the coach weighs.

I think it's kinda like putting heavy springs in the pickup truck so you can carry a ton of weight, and then think that changing the shocks is going to make it ride nice.

[William Willard]

Zacktown -- What are the part #`s of the shocks you installed ? Bill Willard

[rorr1821]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zacktown I thought I would come back with an update. It has been about 2 months since I installed 6 new bilstein's on my 07 camelot. My coach, empty, is pretty close to the GVWR, so it is really heavy. My CCC is only 1400 lbs it is so close to the max! I point this out because this means it will never be perfect. The good news is that since I ditched the monroe's and upgraded the ride has changed substantially. I still bounce over those big bumps in the freeway, but the reverberation only lasts for another bounce and a half. Also, the amount of bounce is reduced by about 50 percent. I found out when I showed up to pick up the coach that the shop only installed 6 out of the 8 shocks and they are waiting for the 2 rear shocks. This is where my information differs from most with the same coach. 90 percent of the people out there say that the coach uses the same shock all around. My shop insists that they have spoken at length with bilstein and monaco and confirmed that the rear shock is stronger. Once I get the last 2 installed, I expect the ride to improve a even more. Unfortunately, the previous owner of the coach ruined the front tires in the 14k miles since new by not properly inflating, balancing and aligning, so I had to replace the front tires. Geez, those goodyear's are really, really rare, so I am temporarily using some yokohama's that are load range H until I get time to order and install the goodyear g670s. The biggest difference is in the smaller bumps. You know, the annoying ones that can rattle everything. I am constantly amazed on how well these shocks handle these high frequency bumps. With the new shocks, tires and alignment, I can drive in comfort! On the highway with no wind, I could take my hands of the wheel if I chose to. I really, really enjoy driving the coach now :-) I am typing this out in a hurry, so feel free to ask any questions if I missed something. Happy trails!

I have 08 Diplomat and also installed new Koni shocks in June 2011. I have traveled about 3,500 mile since I installed them and have noticed a great improvement over the Monroe's. I also plan on installing the Roadmaster sway bars when I return home sometime in September for hopefully an even better improvement in handling.
I have about 30,000 miles on my unit and plan on replacing my tires next year with Michelin. If you belong to FMCA you can get great prices (fleet pricing) on Michelin tires. Even though I have had Goodyear tires on previous units I am very unhappy with the G670. These tires have a tendency to "river wear on the outside edge. A Goodyear rep at a recent Rally total me they had a problem with this tire and had changed the rubber compound. My previous Goodyear tires were the Mathron's which were made in West Germany and were great tires.

[zacktown]

thanks for the FMCA tip!

[Poltax]

My Coach is a 02 HR Endeavor 40ft. I had about 35,000 on my coach and installed the Koni FSD;s. They were a world of difference from the stock Monroes. I now have 123,000 on my Coach and just installed the Bilsteins, last weekend. I made a trip to Denver this last week on the new shocks. I think they ride as good or better then the Koni's. Plus they are a lot less money.

I installed the shocks myself. This is a 2-2.5 hour job. Very easy to do. One of the things I noticed on the Bilsteins vs the Koni's. Was that on the install to compress the Bilsteins was alot more difficult then the Koni's. A tie down strap resolves this issue very quickly. I thought I had made a mistake and the shocks were going to be too stiff. How ever I felt the ride was very smooth and stable.

[96 Wideglide]

I installed Koni FSD's on my Ford chassis. Slight improvment in ride. There not the end all, be all, gona give you a Cadilac ride!