Koni yellows or Koni FSD, its not that easy

[breakfasteatre]

Have the cpe rmm in, and soon the trz transmission mount. My car will be vibing, which i dont mind.

What i do mind is harshness over bumps.

Almost instantly my passenger side strut blew up and now i have some interesting handling characteristics even when leisurely driving to work.

Options:

~600 USD for used fsds

~670 USD for koni yellows that the shop has in hand, no waiting


Even at the softest setting, will the konis provide an even harsher driving experience?

[shu5892001]

I have koni yellows at 50%, I still think it's too comfortable and will have Jimmy dial to 80% stiff. So I say go ahead with yellows

[PearlM3]

I have the koni yellows and keep them at 60-75% stiff because anything lower is too floaty, I say your safe with the yellows

[n00bMeiSter]

if you are lowering your car, you cannot use FSD's.

[breakfasteatre]

zero interest in lowering

and i knew that about the fsds, anything more than 1.5" is not recommended

[Fack_Dude]

which shop are u refering too that has the koni yellows in stock? I will buy them in an instant.....

[fini]

if you are lowering your car, you cannot use FSD's.

why do you say that? considering koni and eibach partner together and sell spring/schock strut packages.
i can say from personal experience that the prokit fsd combo is a great one

[loki]

why do you say that? considering koni and eibach partner together and sell spring/schock strut packages.
i can say from personal experience that the prokit fsd combo is a great one

not for the mazdaspeed3

[fini]

not for the mazdaspeed3

as in they did not make that product for the ms3 ? or it is not good for the ms3?

[loki]

as in they did not make that product for the ms3 ? or it is not good for the ms3?

from what I have read/heard etc it does not work on the ms3. Something to do with the FSD shocks being too soft. So it would appear if you stick with the stock springs you can use the FSD's but if you go pro-kits you have to use the yellows.

[loki]

Almost instantly my passenger side strut blew up and now i have some interesting handling characteristics even when leisurely driving to work.

sounds like something that would normally only happen to fast_dude

we'll have to get him to do his rendition on how this could have all gone down, at the next meet! haha

[Fuyuzora]

OP: I had a similar concern as you a few months back when weighing my options for my Mazda3. (not Speed) In the end I went with the Koni Sports despite being somewhat apprehensive of the claims of "harshness"...

These claims of harshness are vastly overrated.

At 25% from full soft, the car is very close to stock in terms of comfort, albeit with very noticeable handling gains. I kind of wish I had set it to at least 50% to start, since the rears are a bit of a pain to adjust later. I can't even imagine how soft they are when set to full soft.

TL;DR - They're fantastic shocks and when set low are perfectly comfortable. Go for it.

[MajesticBlueNTO]

just note that the Mazdaspeed3/Mazda5 Koni Yellows (and FSD) are 20% stiffer than the regular Mazda3 Yellows (and FSD) to begin with

I have the Mazdaspeed3 Yellows set at 50% front and rear on stock springs and the ride is quite good. If you do get the regular Mazda3 yellows, run them at about 75% .... the rears are a PITA to adjust because the shock must be compressed completely to engage the adjustment cam so, get it right the first time.

[breakfasteatre]

picked up the konis, will be my 4th set of shocks/struts to install on my 4th car

659.99 cdn + duties when they arrive (ill do the brokerage myself ala http://trueler.com/2010/11/24/self-c...brokerage-fee/)

was told the shop had 1 set on hand

[mazdathree]

picked up the konis, will be my 4th set of shocks/struts to install on my 4th car

659.99 cdn + duties when they arrive (ill do the brokerage myself ala http://trueler.com/2010/11/24/self-c...brokerage-fee/)

was told the shop had 1 set on hand

Where did you get the konis from? and how much duties did you have to pay?

[n00bMeiSter]

breakfast: did you get yellows or FSD?

why do you say that? considering koni and eibach partner together and sell spring/schock strut packages.
i can say from personal experience that the prokit fsd combo is a great one

Amongst what other people say, it also says explicitly on their website not to use the FSD's if you're lowering your car. I also called to confirm it.

[breakfasteatre]

got them on ebay

[fini]

from what I have read/heard etc it does not work on the ms3. Something to do with the FSD shocks being too soft. So it would appear if you stick with the stock springs you can use the FSD's but if you go pro-kits you have to use the yellows.

Amongst what other people say, it also says explicitly on their website not to use the FSD's if you're lowering your car. I also called to confirm it.

I don't know about MS3 applications. But for my A3, it is literally sold in a singular box FSD + prokits. So I don't see why they would tell you that if they are selling that product. So I'm surprised.
At least for the A3 application, it works really well after about 2 years

[MajesticBlueNTO]

I don't know about MS3 applications. But for my A3, it is literally sold in a singular box FSD + prokits. So I don't see why they would tell you that if they are selling that product. So I'm surprised.
At least for the A3 application, it works really well after about 2 years

apples to oranges

For the Mazda3, there is an FSD kit that comes paired with Pro-Kits:

Mazda 04-09 3 Sedan and Hatchback, incl Mazda Sport Susp, excl Mazda Speed 3 - 2150 FSD Lowering kit

Complete Kit
2150 4040
Retail Price: $1,320.00
KONI online Price: $990.00 per kit

FSD Eibach Suspension Kit. Lowers front 36mm, rear 30mm.

For the Mazdaspeed3, there is no such kit. Lee from Koni himself posted on MSF.org that the FSD's for the Mazdaspeed3 are not to be used with lowering springs.

[horto]

from what I have read/heard etc it does not work on the ms3. Something to do with the FSD shocks being too soft. So it would appear if you stick with the stock springs you can use the FSD's but if you go pro-kits you have to use the yellows.

++++1

what he said.

For the Mazdaspeed3, there is no such kit. Lee from Koni himself posted on MSF.org that the FSD's for the Mazdaspeed3 are not to be used with lowering springs.

and him.

also, my goddamn koni yellows have been on order for like 6 months now... (/rant)

[Fuyuzora]

also, my goddamn koni yellows have been on order for like 6 months now... (/rant)

Where'd you order from?

I got my Koni Sports in about two months from Northern Performance (ordered mid-April, installed mid-June), and they indicated I could have gotten them sooner if I had been willing to run the firmer (but otherwise same) MS3 shocks. (I stuck with the MZ3 shocks)

EDIT: And no sooner than I post do I realize it's probably because due to Gen.1 / Gen.2 order volume differences.

[horto]

Where'd you order from?

I got my Koni Sports in about two months from Northern Performance (ordered mid-April, installed mid-June), and they indicated I could have gotten them sooner if I had been willing to run the firmer (but otherwise same) MS3 shocks. (I stuck with the MZ3 shocks)

EDIT: And no sooner than I post do I realize it's probably because due to Gen.1 / Gen.2 order volume differences.

nextmod.

time to get my deposit back and order 'em from the states.

[Fuyuzora]

nextmod.

time to get my deposit back and order 'em from the states.

You might want to try giving John @ NP a call first, he might have some on-hand or be able to give you an estimate on turnaround time. The price I received was competitive to if I had ordered from the states, and also helped support a TM3 sponsor. (although admittedly, you tried to support a sponsor as well and that didn't go so well...)

Unless you're planning to have them delivered to Niagara and have them installed on the US side of the border?

[horto]

You might want to try giving John @ NP a call first, he might have some on-hand or be able to give you an estimate on turnaround time. The price I received was competitive to if I had ordered from the states, and also helped support a TM3 sponsor. (although admittedly, you tried to support a sponsor as well and that didn't go so well...)

Unless you're planning to have them delivered to Niagara and have them installed on the US side of the border?

emailed NP. thanks.

[cwp_sedan]

to Northern Performance!