Springs and Struts - Time to buy... Koni, Bilstein, Eibach

[peacock]

If I put on Koni Yellows in the front, the Bilstein TC rears I already have and Eibach springs, will the ride be all sorts of caca-loopus? Or will this combination work just fine until I see a sale on Koni's for the rear?

that's actually the combination i have in my car and it seems fine. i assume you mean bilstein touring.

i also dont know the life of them. i would something respectable like 70-100,000 miles. but who knows. my original Volvo hard ware made it a good 170,000 miles so you see me logic there.

[JRL]

Konis are about a 100K mile shock
Start them on soft (1) or position 2 and do one click tighter every 10,000 miles or so. That way they will remain about the same for the life of the shock
Fronts can be done on the car.
The rears have to be removed for adjustment but if you drive on smooth roads, every 20-25K miles will suffice for adjustment

[ojdorson]

I've placed my order. I went ahead and purchased the Koni FSD + Eibach kit. I've not seen one negative review of it post-install and none of the comments here scared me off of it.

I had the wheel well liner up to replace the motor mounts and did notice that the front struts are Volvo stamped. They may well be original at 195k miles. Woah!

Now, I have that pair of Bilstein TC rears I was going to install with under 10k miles on them for sale. I'll post them in the Classified section later, but if anyone in this thread wants them just PM me a fair offer + shipping.

[Juan62]

OJ, I'm interested in the Koni FSD kit, but not sure on the springs (still researching). heard anything about FSD and IPD HD lowering spring Combo or FSD and H&R lowering spring combo? When I purchased my car in 1998 (Germany), I wanted to lower the car. So I bought and had installed Eibach springs with my factory struts/shocks. Though it did lower the car, the rear was much lower than the front, so I had them removed the Eibachs, and they cut them all, front 1 inch, rear .5 inch and reinstalled...looks great for 13 years. Now its time to replace suspension parts to include springs and struts. I current have on the car the setup above, and 18" PEG with 43 (offset), 215/40/18. The front rubs inner, but i will purchase the 10mm H&R spacers soon. Please resond soon and provide us with pictures when you have your setup installed. I've love to see it. Many thanks.

[zhenya]

The FSD's and Eibach's are made to go together, and I would not count on as good an overall system if you were to match the FSD's with any other spring. This was a big part of why I went this route when I bought my stuff - there are just too many variables when pairing shocks and struts that if I don't have to opportunity to test drive the combo myself, I'd rather rely on the manufacturer recommendations than individual perceptions. I find the ride height to be perfect - nicely tucked in to the rear wells, and just a small gap on the fronts, while not being so low that it's dangerous. It's one aspect of the car that people almost always comment on.

[ojdorson]

Juan62 - I bought the kit with Eibach's for the same reason zhenya mentions, but also because the Eibach springs are known for having the mildest drop. My goal wasn't to lower the car. I certainly didn't want the car any higher and I'm okay with it being a little lower, but not the nearly 2" drop that some of the other springs give. I just wanted a better handling car while retaining a lot of ride comfort. I think the FSD + Eibach's will give me that. I'll definitely take some after pictures and share them along with my impressions of the ride.

I intend on keeping the 17" Volans. If I do anything, wheelwise, it'll be to pick up a set of 16" (that will clear my 302mm brakes) with winter tires.