[jwong77]

Hi Op,

I have to agree with your review. I've had my FSD's in for over a year now, and I'm ecstatic with how my car rides. Whats even more impressive is the ride quality when go through a tight corner. The car stays very composed when hitting bumps mid corner.

[poldim]

Originally Posted by SF Space Grey

I got them through the indy shop that did the installation. That price--through them--was a little better than what Tirerack and Amazon were asking for the damper set, and better than I could find elsewhere online.

I'm in the city too. Which shop did you use?

[B39 B58]

Originally Posted by poldim

I'm in the city too. Which shop did you use?

I went to Sonic MS down in Mountain View or wherever. They were alright--a little disorganized but I think they did a good job.

[KN| BMW]

The FSD & Eibach springs combo are the best choice for those need to upgrade their suspension. I love it so far it offers a moderate drop since my coutry has thousand of potholes lol.

[cdgatti]

Should the shorter (e36/Z4) bumpstops be used with the FSD/sport springs or the FSD/eibach combo?

[Chief Orman]

Originally Posted by SF Space Grey

Hi all,

Bought an e90 335i sedan a few months ago and love it. I feel like it can do pretty much anything I ask it to do.

BUT... until recently I didn't really enjoy driving it around the city. With the sport suspension, handling was great, but the ride was very stiff. It wasn't necessarily the lack of comfort that bothered me--it was the feeling that I was abusing the car whenever I drove down a bumpy road. As someone who hates hearing rattles from my car, I was cringing every day thinking I was shaking my car to pieces because the suspension wasn't doing its job.

Time for an upgrade. After researching here (thanks to those who answered my questions and posted earlier reviews), I pulled the trigger and had my dampers replaced with the FSDs. Ride height remained unchanged, as I wanted, and when I first got into the car after the change, I thought at first that the switch hadn't made much of a difference. The ride was still very firm, and the steering was responsive as ever. If anything, I felt like I was expericing more "jostling" from side to side movement on uneven roads, as if the suspension had gotten stiffer. But over the next half hour or so, I noticed the difference. Actually, it wasn't what I noticed, but what I didn't notice. Gone were the harsh impacts that made me feel like I was hurting my car. Gone were the shudders that made me cringe over bumpy roads. The car is anything but floaty--it doesn't glide over bumps and lull you to sleep. But the jarring bumps that made me wince before just aren't there anymore, or are greatly reduced. My dampers are actually damping now. Handling is as lively as before I think.

Overall, I give the FSDs a 9/10 for delivering on their promise. If the improvement were any greater I'd assume witchcraft was involved. Highly recommended if you think your sport suspension makes your car feel brittle.

Paid $640 for the dampers plus $250 for labor.

I just ordered a set of FSD's from Koni on a 25% off sale. I did not order new springs as I have no interest in lowering the height of my 2010 335d that already has sport suspension.

I think BMW did a phenomenal job with the sport suspension but my car now has 70K and it tends to wallow under heavy acceleration. However, what is most annoying is exactly what Space Grey cited above, i.e., I feel like I am abusing the structural integrity of the car with the current harsh sport suspension. I got rid of the run-flats but it did not make enough of a difference. Combine this with the car getting floaty at around 100 mph and this is a no brainer upgrade.

In any event, as soon as I get the FSD's I let you know how it goes.

[Seattlesquash]

Originally Posted by jakuum

Thanks a ton for your review. This definitely cements my decision to go with Koni FSDs to replace my stock suspension with 66k miles. I definitely feel it driving around Irving lol. Where did you buy your FSDs from if I may ask? The price you paid seems pretty darn good.

Funny, saw your comment on Irving. Just moved down here from Seattle and for obvious reasons I am now looking for new suspension. Roads sucks here! However doing Pss9 on the other and thinking about the fsd plus stock sport springs which I have on my E92. Thanks guys, and for great review! :

[Rollo`]

Originally Posted by Chief Orman

I just ordered a set of FSD's from Koni on a 25% off sale. I did not order new springs as I have no interest in lowering the height of my 2010 335d that already has sport suspension.

I think BMW did a phenomenal job with the sport suspension but my car now has 70K and it tends to wallow under heavy acceleration. However, what is most annoying is exactly what Space Grey cited above, i.e., I feel like I am abusing the structural integrity of the car with the current harsh sport suspension. I got rid of the run-flats but it did not make enough of a difference. Combine this with the car getting floaty at around 100 mph and this is a no brainer upgrade.

In any event, as soon as I get the FSD's I let you know how it goes.

Please do post up a review of the FSDs...I will need to replace my shocks soon and am having trouble deciding which way to go.

[rogerdiaz]

Originally Posted by Chief Orman

I just ordered a set of FSD's from Koni on a 25% off sale. I did not order new springs as I have no interest in lowering the height of my 2010 335d that already has sport suspension.

I think BMW did a phenomenal job with the sport suspension but my car now has 70K and it tends to wallow under heavy acceleration. However, what is most annoying is exactly what Space Grey cited above, i.e., I feel like I am abusing the structural integrity of the car with the current harsh sport suspension. I got rid of the run-flats but it did not make enough of a difference. Combine this with the car getting floaty at around 100 mph and this is a no brainer upgrade.

In any event, as soon as I get the FSD's I let you know how it goes.

Do springs go bad? I have a 2011 335d. Wondering if i should replace springs, but i have no interest in lowered car.

133,000 miles. Very floaty. Harsh over littlest bumps.

[Tom Droze]

Originally Posted by rogerdiaz

Do springs go bad? I have a 2011 335d. Wondering if i should replace springs, but i have no interest in lowered car.

133,000 miles. Very floaty. Harsh over littlest bumps.

Tell us about any recent shock replacement and front and rear subframe bushing replacement.

[rogerdiaz]

Originally Posted by Tom Droze

Tell us about any recent shock replacement and front and rear subframe bushing replacement.

I have had no shocks replaced or rear subframe bushings replaced ever since owning vehicle. 133,000 miles. First 85,000 miles were 99% highway.

[Tom Droze]

Originally Posted by rogerdiaz

I have had no shocks replaced or rear subframe bushings replaced ever since owning vehicle. 133,000 miles. First 85,000 miles were 99% highway.

This is your likely culprit, not your springs.

[Chief Orman]

Originally Posted by rogerdiaz

Do springs go bad? I have a 2011 335d. Wondering if i should replace springs, but i have no interest in lowered car.

133,000 miles. Very floaty. Harsh over littlest bumps.

From what I read, springs are not typically every the culprit, but rather the shocks. I left my springs intact. The fact that I did not want to lower my car also came into play, i.e., ever after market spring would have lowered my car and I had no interest in doing this. Shock replacement made a big difference as well as replacing my rear subframe bushings.

[fazman]

Originally Posted by Chief Orman

I just ordered a set of FSD's from Koni on a 25% off sale. I did not order new springs as I have no interest in lowering the height of my 2010 335d that already has sport suspension.

I think BMW did a phenomenal job with the sport suspension but my car now has 70K and it tends to wallow under heavy acceleration. However, what is most annoying is exactly what Space Grey cited above, i.e., I feel like I am abusing the structural integrity of the car with the current harsh sport suspension. I got rid of the run-flats but it did not make enough of a difference. Combine this with the car getting floaty at around 100 mph and this is a no brainer upgrade.

In any event, as soon as I get the FSD's I let you know how it goes.

So what is the review on your FSD's? I just barely got my car back on saturday 10-10-2015 with koni fsd gold on my 2008 e90 335xi. I have style 162 wheels and staggard tires MPS A/S3's. My first impression while driving the car at low speeds under 40 mph is that my car tended to pull to the right. i then started to feel a vibration above 40 mph to 75 mph. if i set the cruse control at 45 and have a flat smooth surface... if i let go of both hands i can actually SEE with my eyes as my steering wheel is moving back and forth constantly (left and right).

aside from the vibration and the tendancy to drift to the right i think the shocks felt funny. i felt like at freeway speed i can feel the car ever so slighly bobbing left and right like the car is searching which position is level and never acheiving it. A few times the car felt like it was wiggling. i did try going over some known undulating roads which were horrible before with my stock sport shocks... that was much improved. i have yet to hit any major potholes to see how these shocks hold up... but i get the feeling that the explosions in the front are significantly improved.

Now the rumor mill has it that these FSD's seem to lose their "magic" after 10k-15k miles and revert back to stock sport shocks feeling

Originally i wanted the Bilstein B6's instead of these koni's... has anyone compared the two? i am thinking of switching to the bilsteins because the unpredictable feel of the fsd's actually feels horrible to me coupled with the wheel shaking left/right and pulling to the right.

NOTE: this car had 3 alignments done on it after these koni fsd's were installed and by 2 different shops. i also had my wheels straighted/powdercoated/road forced balanced/new tires installed too. All prior to the delivery to me

please give me some details from other fsd owners if anything i am saying makes sense or maybe i am just unlucky? Another fact/data point. The inital set of koni fsd's installed came with a blown out shock so the shop had to return that set and get a new set... i'm not getting the impression that these FSD's are hot $hit anymore... seems more likr just run of the mill $hitty

My installer also said that these didn't come with a box, which i found strange? Any Koni manufacturer reps reading this???

[thakid22]

Originally Posted by fazman

So what is the review on your FSD's? I just barely got my car back on saturday 10-10-2015 with koni fsd gold on my 2008 e90 335xi. I have style 162 wheels and staggard tires MPS A/S3's. My first impression while driving the car at low speeds under 40 mph is that my car tended to pull to the right. i then started to feel a vibration above 40 mph to 75 mph. if i set the cruse control at 45 and have a flat smooth surface... if i let go of both hands i can actually SEE with my eyes as my steering wheel is moving back and forth constantly (left and right).

aside from the vibration and the tendancy to drift to the right i think the shocks felt funny. i felt like at freeway speed i can feel the car ever so slighly bobbing left and right like the car is searching which position is level and never acheiving it. A few times the car felt like it was wiggling. i did try going over some known undulating roads which were horrible before with my stock sport shocks... that was much improved. i have yet to hit any major potholes to see how these shocks hold up... but i get the feeling that the explosions in the front are significantly improved.

Now the rumor mill has it that these FSD's seem to lose their "magic" after 10k-15k miles and revert back to stock sport shocks feeling

Originally i wanted the Bilstein B6's instead of these koni's... has anyone compared the two? i am thinking of switching to the bilsteins because the unpredictable feel of the fsd's actually feels horrible to me coupled with the wheel shaking left/right and pulling to the right.

NOTE: this car had 3 alignments done on it after these koni fsd's were installed and by 2 different shops. i also had my wheels straighted/powdercoated/road forced balanced/new tires installed too. All prior to the delivery to me

please give me some details from other fsd owners if anything i am saying makes sense or maybe i am just unlucky? Another fact/data point. The inital set of koni fsd's installed came with a blown out shock so the shop had to return that set and get a new set... i'm not getting the impression that these FSD's are hot $hit anymore... seems more likr just run of the mill $hitty

My installer also said that these didn't come with a box, which i found strange? Any Koni manufacturer reps reading this.???

I had FSD's installed on my 330i Sport Package.
These shocks do indeed provide stellar handling and a smooth ride at the same time.
The biggest surprise was the change in road noise. On stock shocks, I could hear the suspension "working" as the wheels travelled over bumps and surfaces. On FSD's, no more thump or bump sounds from the road. Pothole explosions? Gone too!

Tracking was dead straight and steering feel was excellent. In a straight line, the rough harshness of the road is no longer transmitted through the steering wheel. Only a muted and subdued thump makes it way to the steering wheel letting you know what's going on at the wheels. Feels quite nice.

Body roll and transient response is better than OEM Sport suspension, and on par with the Bilstein HD's I tried. Nose dive/rear squat, again, on par with the Bilstein HD's. Very secure to say the least.

FSD's are indeed firm over good surfaces, and smooth over bumps.

Fazman, tell me more about the instability you experience... I have a few ideas of what may be causing the issue. Is the wiggle/bobbing from the front or rear of the vehicle? Over sharp bumps? Smooth humps? Or all of the time? That bobbing seems indicative of tires not all pointing true as they should to spec.

The vibration you feel/see can be from one of several sources...
Powder coated wheels... The coating may not have been perfectly applied. If the coating has not been applied evenly and smoothly, you will get vibration even after balancing.

Reconditioned wheels.... A wheel that has been repaired or straightened can also be prone to bad vibes. Again, balancing will be tough if the repair left the wheel imbalanced in a couple different spots.

Front Control Arms... Worn (not necessarily damaged or broken) front control arms are notorious for their ability to introduce shimmy in the front end of E90's E60's and other Bimmers as well.

Alignment... Your alignment is only as good as your alignment technician. Did you know that BMW states that alignment must be done with a full tank of gas AND weights added to the trunk, rear seat and various places throughout the vehicle to simulate laden ride height?
This is important to know because aftermarket shops NEVER add this weight. They just throw it on the alignment rack and be done with it. In any event, if your alignments aren't "working" then something isn't right.

Oh, FSD's do come in a box. No telling where yours were sourced from if they didn't. Did you have any issues before the FSD's?

[fazman]

Originally Posted by thakid22

I had FSD's installed on my 330i Sport Package.
These shocks do indeed provide stellar handling and a smooth ride at the same time.
The biggest surprise was the change in road noise. On stock shocks, I could hear the suspension "working" as the wheels travelled over bumps and surfaces. On FSD's, no more thump or bump sounds from the road. Pothole explosions? Gone too!

Tracking was dead straight and steering feel was excellent. In a straight line, the rough harshness of the road is no longer transmitted through the steering wheel. Only a muted and subdued thump makes it way to the steering wheel letting you know what's going on at the wheels. Feels quite nice.

Body roll and transient response is better than OEM Sport suspension, and on par with the Bilstein HD's I tried. Nose dive/rear squat, again, on par with the Bilstein HD's. Very secure to say the least.

FSD's are indeed firm over good surfaces, and smooth over bumps.

Fazman, tell me more about the instability you experience... I have a few ideas of what may be causing the issue. Is the wiggle/bobbing from the front or rear of the vehicle? Over sharp bumps? Smooth humps? Or all of the time? That bobbing seems indicative of tires not all pointing true as they should to spec.

The vibration you feel/see can be from one of several sources...
Powder coated wheels... The coating may not have been perfectly applied. If the coating has not been applied evenly and smoothly, you will get vibration even after balancing.

Reconditioned wheels.... A wheel that has been repaired or straightened can also be prone to bad vibes. Again, balancing will be tough if the repair left the wheel imbalanced in a couple different spots.

Front Control Arms... Worn (not necessarily damaged or broken) front control arms are notorious for their ability to introduce shimmy in the front end of E90's E60's and other Bimmers as well.

Alignment... Your alignment is only as good as your alignment technician. Did you know that BMW states that alignment must be done with a full tank of gas AND weights added to the trunk, rear seat and various places throughout the vehicle to simulate laden ride height?
This is important to know because aftermarket shops NEVER add this weight. They just throw it on the alignment rack and be done with it. In any event, if your alignments aren't "working" then something isn't right.

Oh, FSD's do come in a box. No telling where yours were sourced from if they didn't. Did you have any issues before the FSD's?

I had the stock sport shock until one of them blew out and started leaking at about 104k miles (That's when i wanted to get the suspension refresh). I also ended up with one cracked stock coil spring on that same shock as the leak. So when we did the refresh I got the following done:

1) one new control arm (old one was worn)
2) replaced the cracks stock shock coil with a new stock one.
3) I'm suppose to be getting a card in the mail from koni with the warranty registration soon.

As for the alignment, I also bring it in with a full tank of gas but I don't do the weight in the car:
a) 150 lbs front driver seat
b) 150 lbs front passenger seat
c) 150 lbs rear center seat
d) 42 lbs trunk
e) full tank of gas

* I plan to take it to costco for a free wheel balance check as my first diag step.
* second step I plan to take it to my local Firestone who has worked on my car before (but not part of this new setup). Have them go over it just to see what the machine says.

If those don't fix the issue... I'll take it back to the mechanic to have him take it up with the wheel shop or his work.

As for the instability... I'm now on day 3 of driving the car, the car seems a little better now maybe things are settling in??? I still feel like the car feels a bit bouncy on the road (maybe more firm then what I was used to before) and expected since its a different shock and new shock?? The car at times seems to pull to the right of the road at time and sometimes to the left on a few roads. So maybe it is the crown of the road (but i don't remember it being like this before), i think that might be alignment?? Another change I made was to go with four rear style 162 rims (18x8.5 width) on staggered tires. previously I had staggered rims with staggered tires. So lots of changes in one go (plus it has been almost 4 months since I last drove the car).

But I agree with you on a few points:
* Koni FSD does not make any road noise like the stock sport suspension does when it would compress. The stock setup you could hear little air leaking like sounds as they were "working" that was since day one of ownership.
* Koni FSD does handle the bumps A LOT better than the stock setup. I am now getting over my fear slowly of non-perfect roads. I have not experienced any potholes yet to confirm "explosive" hit's yet... but my gut feeling is it will probably be like you said (Drastically improved).


If I can fix these silly problems with simple fixes... i think i would really like these Koni FSD's I just hope its something like it needs to settle or it needs a minor tweak to get it perfect like you have.

Now how many miles are on your set thakid22 ? Mine are only at 125 miles

[thakid22]

Originally Posted by fazman

I had the stock sport shock until one of them blew out and started leaking at about 104k miles (That's when i wanted to get the suspension refresh). I also ended up with one cracked stock coil spring on that same shock as the leak. So when we did the refresh I got the following done:

1) one new control arm (old one was worn)
2) replaced the cracks stock shock coil with a new stock one.
3) I'm suppose to be getting a card in the mail from koni with the warranty registration soon.

As for the alignment, I also bring it in with a full tank of gas but I don't do the weight in the car:
a) 150 lbs front driver seat
b) 150 lbs front passenger seat
c) 150 lbs rear center seat
d) 42 lbs trunk
e) full tank of gas

* I plan to take it to costco for a free wheel balance check as my first diag step.
* second step I plan to take it to my local Firestone who has worked on my car before (but not part of this new setup). Have them go over it just to see what the machine says.

If those don't fix the issue... I'll take it back to the mechanic to have him take it up with the wheel shop or his work.

As for the instability... I'm now on day 3 of driving the car, the car seems a little better now maybe things are settling in??? I still feel like the car feels a bit bouncy on the road (maybe more firm then what I was used to before) and expected since its a different shock and new shock?? The car at times seems to pull to the right of the road at time and sometimes to the left on a few roads. So maybe it is the crown of the road (but i don't remember it being like this before), i think that might be alignment?? Another change I made was to go with four rear style 162 rims (18x8.5 width) on staggered tires. previously I had staggered rims with staggered tires. So lots of changes in one go (plus it has been almost 4 months since I last drove the car).

But I agree with you on a few points:
* Koni FSD does not make any road noise like the stock sport suspension does when it would compress. The stock setup you could hear little air leaking like sounds as they were "working" that was since day one of ownership.
* Koni FSD does handle the bumps A LOT better than the stock setup. I am now getting over my fear slowly of non-perfect roads. I have not experienced any potholes yet to confirm "explosive" hit's yet... but my gut feeling is it will probably be like you said (Drastically improved).


If I can fix these silly problems with simple fixes... i think i would really like these Koni FSD's I just hope its something like it needs to settle or it needs a minor tweak to get it perfect like you have.

Now how many miles are on your set thakid22 ? Mine are only at 125 miles

Go check this out...
These two threads revitalized the steering on my 330i.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=256125
http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/...-heavy-t55956/


In particular, that first thread. Go to page 2 and look for a post by prototype @ 6:32.
It shows how to tighten a bolt that is notorious for getting loose on the E90. When mine was loose, the front tires would tug on the steering wheel over bad pavement. And potholes or manhole covers would allow the car to jerk a bit to the side. This happened while going straight or while cornering. I hope you can find some improvement here as it takes 2 minutes to tighten and I almost guarantee yours is atleast half a turn loose. Go tighten this today!!!!! It's accessible from under the hood on N52 and N54 cars.

Furthermore, the rack adjustment on the 2nd link I posted made my 128k old steering feel brand new again. If you have a N52 you can do this rack adjustment from under the hood. If you have a N54 you need to go under the car as the chargepipe blocks view from up top.

I put about 4k miles on my FSD's. They didn't seem to require a break-in of any sorts, as they seemed perfect right out of the box. They did initially raise my ride height a little, both front and rear. But after a week or two, the ride height dropped back down to normal. I took them off and sold the car so I don't have any info on how they act with more miles. In my experience though, they are superior to the OEM Sport shocks in every way.

[fazman]

Originally Posted by thakid22

Go check this out...
These two threads revitalized the steering on my 330i.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=256125
http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/...-heavy-t55956/


In particular, that first thread. Go to page 2 and look for a post by prototype @ 6:32.
It shows how to tighten a bolt that is notorious for getting loose on the E90. When mine was loose, the front tires would tug on the steering wheel over bad pavement. And potholes or manhole covers would allow the car to jerk a bit to the side. This happened while going straight or while cornering. I hope you can find some improvement here as it takes 2 minutes to tighten and I almost guarantee yours is atleast half a turn loose. Go tighten this today!!!!! It's accessible from under the hood on N52 and N54 cars.

Furthermore, the rack adjustment on the 2nd link I posted made my 128k old steering feel brand new again. If you have a N52 you can do this rack adjustment from under the hood. If you have a N54 you need to go under the car as the chargepipe blocks view from up top.

I put about 4k miles on my FSD's. They didn't seem to require a break-in of any sorts, as they seemed perfect right out of the box. They did initially raise my ride height a little, both front and rear. But after a week or two, the ride height dropped back down to normal. I took them off and sold the car so I don't have any info on how they act with more miles. In my experience though, they are superior to the OEM Sport shocks in every way.

PichaDis11 can you help me with this?

okay so an update on my car, went to costco tire and had them rebalance all the wheels. the passenger side front had a bent lip on inside barrel. the driverside front was missing my wheel lock and they just tossed in a random lug which was really hard to remove/reinstall with the impact gun. costco tire manager was even worried about torqing it down.

after the short couple mile drive home from costco... i noticed the car felt smoother. i'll do some more testing tomorrow. hopefully this will improve most of my problems. i'll work on replacing the bad lug asap and get the bend fixed.

thanks for all your help.

[PichaDis11]

Originally Posted by fazman

PichaDis11 can you help me with this?

okay so an update on my car, went to costco tire and had them rebalance all the wheels. the passenger side front had a bent lip on inside barrel. the driverside front was missing my wheel lock and they just tossed in a random lug which was really hard to remove/reinstall with the impact gun. costco tire manager was even worried about torqing it down.

after the short couple mile drive home from costco... i noticed the car felt smoother. i'll do some more testing tomorrow. hopefully this will improve most of my problems. i'll work on replacing the bad lug asap and get the bend fixed.

thanks for all your help.

Def can!..
Curious though, Didn't you have M3 Control arms installed as well?

[fazman]

Originally Posted by PichaDis11

Def can!..
Curious though, Didn't you have M3 Control arms installed as well?

i was told i could get M3 control arms and then i asked to have both of them changed out instead of just one. As luck would have it i didn't get much of what i wanted. turns out the m3 control arms don't fit the XI

[ritzzzzzwik]

Just wanted to chime in and say- These shocks are wonderful. I got mine (brand new) a little under $600 shipped!
If you want the car to ride smooth, not make crashing sounds, dont want to adjust your rebound every now and then (and as I see it, a lot of people who use yellows leave it on soft anyway) , and handle properly when you're in the mood for some buffoonery; FSD is what you need!

Not sure why these didnt come standard on the car?!

[rileyg]

Been looking for a deal on a set of these for my 08 e92. Where did you get them for under $600?