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[quote author=fastdreams link=topic=135975.msg3107126#msg3107126 date=1241640549]
I've been interested in FSD since Koni started talking about it.

Would you take these to the track? Ideally I like to track about 6 times a year. I also hit the twisty backroads pretty hard from time to time. I like more spring usually, and even go so far to upgrade sways on some cars.

You guys pretentiously diss people that "upgrade" their spring rate or even - gasp - install coilovers. But I wonder if you use the car at the track? Some people are happy to trade comfort and practicality for a performance edge at the track. <raises hand> Even if the "upgrade" is mostly mental and is only relatively marginal - it's just something fun to do that does provide a result.

Last time I checked however, Koni does not recommend these for use at the track, and will steer you to the koni sports. I'm not a big fan of adding stiffer shocks to soft OEM springs...talk about a hokey crappy ride, been there done that t-shirt is in my rag bin. Matched spring/shocks or coilovers works better. Koni sports off the shelf are seldom even within a reasonable percentage to match each other, and the twist to adjust feature does not apply the same amount of adjustment across the board. So unless you have a shock dynometer in your garage it's a crap shoot (ironically the same is true for click to adjust coilovers - like the cheap ones I have :lol:) If they matched better, koni sports would be great. But if I get those I will be taking them to a shop with a dynometer and we will experiment with the adjustment until they are matched up.

To get it right costs money. Ideally I'd want a custom valve matched set of penskes or bilsteins to the spring rates chosen for the car. Set it and forget it. The nice thing about the FSD's in theory was they work well off the shelf. But I guess a track environment is too harsh?

Anyway...I want the idea of FSD's but in a package that works with stiffer springs (ok and why not a little bit lower for cg improvement) and the track.

[/quote]


i decided to go with the FSDs on my mz3 over the yellows because of the miss matched possibilities of the adjustable yellows. i have mine paired with the eibach pro-kit, which is ok according to koni, and is a very nice street-able setup. i do autox my 3 often too, and the FSDs do well, reducing the dive and roll, while increasing overall grip and giving the car a bit more balance in the corners.
 
Discussion starter · #62 ·
FSD's are road dampers but they are MUCH better than what Mazdaspeed came up with. Especially in the rear, where rebound damping is pretty much not available from the the OEM dampers.

If you're looking for ultimate track performance, I would have probably gone with either Mazdaspeed coilovers or the AWR valved Bilsteins and spring combo.

But I didn't want to get so aggressive (or expensive) with my daily driven road car. Meanwhile, they work much better in every respect than the OEM junque ever did, even on the track.

And like I said, with the new Tri-Point RSB I just put on, the car really handles now, without losing any daily driver ride quality.

I'm sure you can do better with a more aggressive setup, but you might be surprised with what my setup can do on the track. I need better tires and probably race pads to get the most out of it on the track, since the suspension is faster than the tires and brakes are now, but it's a very good road setup, IMHO. MUCH better than the Mazdaspeed tune is. Much. Night and day difference.
 
Thanks for the reviews of this product. I was on the fence about going with non adjustable dampers, but the more I read up on available options the more I leaned toward these as a good solution.

I started working on installing my set last night. Having read through the how-to's on this site and others and having assisted a friend on swapping the suspension on his focus I went to work.

My only added advise is when working on the rears, throw a rag or some leather gloves over the brake rotor and dust shield while pulling the damper out. Taking a trip to get 5 stitches in your forearm slows down your progress. :wink:

Last night I got the rear dampers swapped out, and got the front struts removed, so now I am waiting on a friend to loan me his spring compressor to finish the job. I can not wait to see if the effects of these dampers on both the awesome Detroit roads and at my next autocross.

Andrew
 
Discussion starter · #66 ·
ER visits do have a way of slowing down a project! Heal well, and I hope you like the dampers!
 
Discussion starter · #67 ·
Hey Andrew, did you get your struts installed?

Just wondering what you think.

Thanks.
 
I got them installed, but the person who is going to set me up with an after install alignment has not got around to it. I knew I was getting it aligned afterward so I didn't put any witness marks to show where the strut top caps were located. As a result I am not sure of the camber and toe settings, and do not feel that driving it now would give me a fair comparison.

Once I get it aligned I will see how well it handles broken pavement and frost heaves, and I have a 3-day autocross weekend coming up from August 14th through the 16th. After that I will have some feedback on how well it controls body motion.

Andrew
 
Free this sunday? I am re corner weighting and aligning. I am sure we'll have time to get your car on the rack too.

I would have stitched you up, I can do the mazda symbol too. :lol:

[quote author=toolcrib link=topic=135975.msg3256710#msg3256710 date=1249047289]
I got them installed, but the person who is going to set me up with an after install alignment has not got around to it. I knew I was getting it aligned afterward so I didn't put any witness marks to show where the strut top caps were located. As a result I am not sure of the camber and toe settings, and do not feel that driving it now would give me a fair comparison.

Once I get it aligned I will see how well it handles broken pavement and frost heaves, and I have a 3-day autocross weekend coming up from August 14th through the 16th. After that I will have some feedback on how well it controls body motion.

Andrew


[/quote]
 
Discussion starter · #70 ·
[quote author=toolcrib link=topic=135975.msg3256710#msg3256710 date=1249047289]
I got them installed, but the person who is going to set me up with an after install alignment has not got around to it. I knew I was getting it aligned afterward so I didn't put any witness marks to show where the strut top caps were located. As a result I am not sure of the camber and toe settings, and do not feel that driving it now would give me a fair comparison.

Once I get it aligned I will see how well it handles broken pavement and frost heaves, and I have a 3-day autocross weekend coming up from August 14th through the 16th. After that I will have some feedback on how well it controls body motion.

Andrew
[/quote]

Too bad you didn't mark the front strut mount bolts - mine struts have been removed twice and I just had the alignment checked a high quality shop. Dead on.

But surely you must have noticed a difference by now. Not sure if an autocross will reveal very much because they're designed to be a road shock. Unless the parking lot or whatever is super bumpy I wouldn't expect any big changes - tires, springs, and sway bars have a lot more influence than dampers do, at the low speeds in cone racing.

BTW, I took my car in because the front tires were starting to scallop a bit. That usually means the toe got bumped out. But not this time. The tech's advice, after looking at my dampers and rear bar? Slow down! I don't think the stock tires are going to last very long... ;)
 
I finally got an alignment last Thursday and got the car prepped for a weekend of autocrossing. My first impression was not much changing, which is a good thing as I was not pushing the car and just looking at ride comfort. The drive to the autocross was almost 200 miles so I did get a good opportunity to see how they fared in normal driving.

Street driving impression after the trip are they handle large bumps better as they do not slam as loudly as stock. These shock definitely seem to settle the car quicker after dips or heaves. Most importantly there were not times where I thought the factory shocks would have handled a road condition better and a few where I was expecting the car to get rocked and it just took the bump and settled without any fuss.

My impression at the autocross was that the pitch and roll of the car was more controlled. This showed up in the slalom as I never felt the car overshoot and rebound in roll as I transitioned from one cone to the next. Maybe I am just getting better/smoother at driving, but I am pretty sure these shocks have more low speed damping than factory.

Fitment of the shocks was as described in the how to threads. I measured the diameter of the front struts and found that the paint Koni uses adds 0.010" to the diameter of the strut where it clamps into the knuckle. I removed all the paint and remeasured. It was within a thousandth so I coated it in antiseze and clamped it up. The rear dampers have the narrower steel center of the lower bushing, but I could not fit the stainless washers I bought in with it so I just tightened the bolt to spec and have not noticed any clunking so it must be holding fine.

Overall I am quite happy with them and am glad there were people willing to try them before they were approved by Koni.

Andrew
 
I've had the FSDs on for a few weeks now, and I'm pretty happy with the results. IMO, they're a great upgrade to the stock suspension for a daily driver. I feel like the car should have come this way from the factory.

I actually think that these are softer than the stock dampers, even in the hardest (valve closed) mode. When I installed the rear dampers, I found that it was easier to compress the FSDs by hand to get them into position than it was with the stock shocks. I think this is the case based on the fact that they were designed for the MZ3. These just seem to be a better match for the stock springs.

The FSD feature is really quite noticeable. The roads around here are terrible, and I used to cringe as the car crashed over every pothole and bump in the road. The FSDs have made a big improvement in overall ride comfort.

Even though the ride comfort has improved, I don't think the FSDs give anything up in the handling department. I drove the car with just the FSDs in the rear, and the stockers up front. This was definitely a big improvement since it helped the rear end stay more planted. With the stock shocks in the rear, the car had a tendency to just skip and bump around turns. I feel like the tires maintain better contact with the road with the FSDs.

Once the fronts were installed, I could feel a big improvement in ride quality. It seems like the front end has more of an initial "squat" before the car settles into a turn. So as the suspension is loading up for a turn (low frequency) it seems to compress/lean a little before it firms up. The car still feels solid around turns, but it is a little different than stock.

I could see maybe getting a stiffer coilover setup for track use, but for "real world" conditions in eastern PA, these are great!
 
Koni FSD are junk?

After reading www.mazda3forums.com.org/forum/f33/koni-fsd-shock-strut-damper-install-16472/]http://www.www.mazda3forums.com.org/forum/f33/koni-fsd-shock-strut-damper-install-16472/[/url] I lost faith in Koni FSDs. If the struts are painted so as not to fit properly (as mentioned above) and then the bump stops are too long causing them to 1. inhibit proper activation of the shock and THEN for the bump stop to come apart after only 18k miles, you know this is just an incorrect or imperfect application of the FSD shock to our vehicle. Bummer. Shame on Koni.
 
Re: Koni FSD are junk?

[quote author=Lex2007 link=topic=135975.msg4224527#msg4224527 date=1335896044]
After reading www.mazda3forums.com.org/forum/f33/koni-fsd-shock-strut-damper-install-16472/]http://www.www.mazda3forums.com.org/forum/f33/koni-fsd-shock-strut-damper-install-16472/[/url] I lost faith in Koni FSDs. If the struts are painted so as not to fit properly (as mentioned above) and then the bump stops are too long causing them to 1. inhibit proper activation of the shock and THEN for the bump stop to come apart after only 18k miles, you know this is just an incorrect or imperfect application of the FSD shock to our vehicle. Bummer. Shame on Koni.
[/quote]

Koni's are supposed to be some of the best out there.

The bump stop being to long would cause premature wear to it. That is why the bump stop fell apart so soon. Was this a misprint in directions by koni? Does the bump stop need to be cut shorter?

I tried the links but there not working. Will try later looks like forum has issues at the moment.

Are there two types of koni's for us speed folks 08 mazdaspeed here? Being koni yellow or FSD.

Or is there just FSD for us?

I see mixed reviews.

Wanting to look at koni's down the road.

Do we have any other options bside koni's for us speed folk?
 
As far as dampers/struts/shocks go, Gen 1 Speed3 have a few options. The high end seems to be Koni FSD which have bump stops which are too long for our application. Are they meant to be cut? I doubt it. But in one case a forum member said it worked.

Bilstein makes replacement dampers AND coilovers in conjunction with EIBACH springs.

If you go tohttp://cart.bilsteinus.com/ you can see you get 4 options for the Gen1 Speed3. B8s, B6, or B4 (in rear-only). B12 coilover kit.

They claim that AUTOZONE is the nearest dealer (to me) but they arnt gonna know shit if you call them. Buncha shelf-stockers is all they are.

Website says:

B12 (Pro-Kit)The Bilstein B12 (Pro-Kit) is the result of two companies atop their industries collaborating to present the ultimate solution in suspension for the passenger car market. The shock absorber experts at Bilstein and the spring professionals at Eibach used their 120 years of combined experience and knowledge to spawn Performance2. The B12 system consists of four high performance Bilstein dampers, four hi-tech industrial Eibach lowering springs and together you have the best handling, most comfort
B4Bilstein B4 Touring Class gas pressure shocks and struts are designed to be the economical choice for maintaining the original equipment ride performance while incorporating Bilstein's world-famous durability and precise construction. (black paint, steel body)

B6 (HD)Bilstein B6 Heavy Duty monotube gas pressure shocks and struts are the ideal choice for most vehicles, including full-size sedans, SUVs and trucks. These shocks provide improved handling and stability, without sacrificing ride comfort. They offer super damping ability that makes them ideal for the driver who demands superior performance, while maintaining an exceptional street ride. (yellow paint, steel body)

B8 (SP)Bilstein B8 Sport monotube shocks and struts deliver absolute mastery of the road surface for the performance-minded driver. Designed to push a car's suspension to its performance peak, these shocks are specifically suited for use with special lowering springs in combination with anti-sway bars or other suspension upgrades. (yellow paint, steel body)

36mm Monotube Strut Assembly
Part Number: 35-110774
Setting: B8 (SP)
Position: Front Right
Old Part Number: F4-VE3-B077-H1

36mm Monotube Strut Assembly
Part Number: 35-110767
Setting: B8 (SP)
Position: Front Left
Old Part Number: F4-VE3-B076-H1

36mm Monotube Strut Assembly
Part Number: 35-110743
Setting: B6 (HD)
Position: Front Right
Old Part Number: F4-VE3-B074-H1

36mm Monotube Strut Assembly
Part Number: 35-110736
Setting: B6 (HD)
Position: Front Left
Old Part Number: F4-VE3-B073-H0
Old Part Number: F4-VE3-B073-H1

46mm Monotube Shock Absorber
Part Number: 24-110808
Setting: B6 (HD)
Position: Rear
Old Part Number: F4-BE5-B080-H1
Old Part Number: F4-BE5-B080-H2

Twintube Shock Absorber
Part Number: 19-138411
Setting: B4
Position: Rear
Old Part Number: F4-BNE-D841-BG

Complete Suspension Kit
Part Number: 46-190321
Setting: B12 (Pro-Kit)
Position: Front and Rear
Descriptor: Front Lowered Height: 25mm, up to 1070kg Axle Load; Rear Lowered Height: 15mm, up to 915kg Axle Load

46mm Monotube Shock Absorber (click for more info)
Part Number: 24-110815
Setting: B8 (SP)
Position: Rear
Old Part Number: F4-BE5-B081-H1
Old Part Number: F4-BE5-B081-H2
 
09 MS3 sport: I did NOT install these, although it seemed like they would work..big THANKS to all who responded tho. huge improvement as stockers were destroyed at ~125,000. car is tracking dead straight w/o alignment, installed w/new bearings, stops and perches. No issues w/paint: coat with a/s and pry the receiver open a bit and she drops in. Did NOT cut new factory bumpstops and have not hit one yet. AMF
 
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