Koni Shock 99’s & FSD’s honest review

[GEM1N1]

Just got my shocks swapped today. Had the factory Sachs and went with Koni Evo 99’s up front and Koni FSD’s on the rear axles. (Koni 99’s aren’t available for the rear axles on freightliner)

I only had a chance to drive it around for about 30 minutes mostly highway but got a pretty good feel for the improvement.

I think most of us after reading reviews of the clouds parting and unicorns dancing after people change their shocks out skews our expectations.

When i first took out of the shop i must admit i was a little disappointed to not have the floating on a cloud feeling in my coach. It’s not until i spent some time on the highway that this feeling dissipated.

Once you settle in you start noticing little things like expansion joints being a non issue. The coach is overall quieter since the shocks are preventing the jarring bumps from rattling the coach and it’s contents in the cabinet. It’s not night and day between the factory Sachs and the Konis but i would refer to it as the Koni’s bring a level of refinement to the coach.

Potholes are still potholes. If someone finds a fix for that let me know and I’ll be first in line with check in hand.

I’m going on our first trip of the season next weekend so I’ll have more seat time to evaluate the shocks performance.

So far I’d say it’s money well spent that i will appreciate even more when I’m on a long 12 hour trip.

I’d do it again and i certainly feel these should be standard equipment but if your looking for a magic bullet to put you riding on a cloud this isn’t it.

I’ll give an update after our trip next week.

[fkloster]

I did my coach with Koni's. She had 25 year old Koni's when we replaced them with help from Gillig. 2 Adjustable Yellow konis on the front and 4 red adjustable konis on the rear. very expensive and no clue about the adjustment but the ride is improved greatly.

[FatChance]

The Koni EVO shocks sure made a positive difference on our 2004 MADP. So much so that I am debating if I will replace the rear shocks as well because I never really felt an issue with the rear shocks.

[oscarvan]

Originally Posted by FatChance

The Koni EVO shocks sure made a positive difference on our 2004 MADP. So much so that I am debating if I will replace the rear shocks as well because I never really felt an issue with the rear shocks.

Would you have noticed an improvement if you replaced your 15 year old shocks with new ones of the same make and model? (If still available....)

MOST people that spend money on an improvement will notice that improvement.

[GEM1N1]

Originally Posted by oscarvan

Would you have noticed an improvement if you replaced your 15 year old shocks with new ones of the same make and model? (If still available....)

MOST people that spend money on an improvement will notice that improvement.

I agree with your last statement however i also agree with there being a difference in quality of shocks or other components for that matter.

I had 3500 miles on my factory Sachs and i still noticed a difference between them and the Koni’s. Might not be as dramatic difference as others have stated but definitely a difference for the better.

[Toribk]

GEM1N1

I also replaced the Sachs that came on my Freightliner XCM chassis with Koni FSD shocks and that, coupled with replacing the (IMHO....garbage) Goodyear tires, made a significant ride improvement in my coach.