Okay so I drive a Golf, but as the Octy shares the fundamentals of the chassis I thought I'd ask: How many of you have FSDs on your Octy 2s using the standard springs? Are these things as good as they look on paper? And how long do they last considering all the extra valving inside over a normal gas pressurised sport damper?

Thanks

:confused:

Not sure how many people have just the Koni fsd's with standard springs, but I know the popular upgrade with the vrs owners is the koni fsd's coupled with eibach springs. It lowers about 15-20mm and gives excellent ride characteristics by all accounts. Maybe you should consider budgeting for the eibach's as I cant see much improvement with the koni's alone. IIRC the eibach's are around £130ish. Best of luck whichever you go for. Cheers, Damo

I have FSD's and Eibach and to be truthful I was very 50/50 to try them with OEM springs this time around, only thing that put me off was having to take them off and put the Eibach springs on if I didn't like it.

AFAIK FSD's are supposed to be used with OEM springs.

They work really well, firm when you need it and compliant when your driving normally.

Thanks for the reply Damo and replies(!) Stu.

Looking at your sig Damo I think we are running the same wheels!

Eibach were indeed the springs I was looking at as they are the only ones Koni half recommend to go with the FSDs due to their very mild lowering. Having owned many suspension kits on VAG stuff over the years I have always found that the uprated dampers have made a night and day difference to the handling but generally I've also gone for lowering springs, as most people do, as it makes the ride height look better. This is where I have made mistakes in the past and ended up selling a few cars because of this as I really can't live with a harsh or choppy ride. Things are made worse at the moment as my Mother is very ill and I have to run her between home and hospice a fair bit over crap urban roads and I really can't afford any drop in ride quality right now. The FSDs seem to offer a good compromise as they claim an improved low speed ride (which would be great for me as the GTI is a bit crashy at low speed) yet should have better high speed damping than my 45k stock shockers.

Another thing to factor in is the wheels, having an offset of 44mm and being 8 inches wide they already catch on the nearside front arch liner occasionally over big humps.

I must admit , we have fitted hundreds of these shockers

One to a guy who had undergone some major sergery and needed sooother ride quality on his MK4 Golf

He had the FSD`s with the Eibach springs as his last chance to keep the car

He pulled over on his way home , called us and booked his wifes car in to have the smaame done as he was so impressed with the ride comfort

We also had a set fitted on to our MK5 Golf GTi when they was very new

It only had 200 ish miles on the clock

The difference as you said , night and day

The FSD`s can raise the hieght slightly , that is why most people reccomend the Eibach springs , so that will take away the slight rise and then , maybe 10 to 15mm ish lowering

Good luck with whatever you ahve done

Sarah

Hi there; I'm your man having Koni FSDs fitted with OE springs to my vRS.

When I road tested two vRS prior to buying I found the ride very firm & jittery and having a long term back problem I knew I needed to smooth out the ride somewhat. I had also, on two previous cars, had eibach lowered springs fitted and found they made the ride too firm and overall the car too stiff (for our bumpy roads).

Here is a review I wrote last year shortly after getting the FSDs fitted;-

http://briskoda.net/gearbox-tyres/koni-fsd-shock-absorbers/76644/

Having now had them on the car for over a year and 25,000 miles I have to say they are the best mod out. They give a smooth ride but when you want to drive 'briskly' the harder you drive the better they work.

I run FSD's with the EIbachs and I think they make a superb combination.

The ride isnt harsh in anyway and a friend summed it up very well last night. Whilst driving it (she owns a MK2 VRS but with standard suspension) - 'its not any less comfortable but you can feel more of whats going on; almost like its letting you feel more of the road and what its doing'. I'd have to agree with that and also add that in some situations I think its slightly better at keeping bigger bumps out of the cabin.

From experience, I now wouldnt do Eibach springs on standard dampers. The ride is twoo fidgety/bouncy. Never tried OE springs with FSD's but I'd be VERY tempted to go for the mild drop also.

FSD's do what they say on the tin; improved handling with no comprmise on comfort.

Lee

FSD's do what they say on the tin; improved handling with no comprmise on comfort.

Lee

Agreed; except when used with OE springs they improve BOTH the handling (more taut when pressing on) AND the ride.

Thanks very much. Some excellent little reviews and bits of advice there. The amount of times I've nearly ordered a set of these is unreal but I've now got the car booked in for fitting in a few weeks thanks to winning a set in a comp!!! I'll report back when it's all done.

....... I've now got the car booked in for fitting in a few weeks thanks to winning a set in a comp!!!

Lucky so and so! If you WON THEM why bother asking all the questions about should I, shouldn't I? When all along you knew you would.

You won't regret it.

Lucky so and so! If you WON THEM why bother asking all the questions about should I, shouldn't I? When all along you knew you would.

You won't regret it.

Presumably as he had the option of not installing them and selling them on.

I dont think you'll regret having them fitted. Do let us know what you think when completed.

Lee

Presumably as he had the option of not installing them and selling them on..

Lee

Fair point - didn't think of that one.

Still he's made the right decision.

LOL, I wasn't considering selling them on, merely whether I was going to have to invest in Eibachs to go with them!!!

Mind you if you had all said they were a load of pants I'd have forefeitted(sp) them and let the re-draw the comp. I'm nice like that

Does anyone know what the difference in spring specs is between the vRS and L&K? It's gonna be a long time 'til they need changing, fingers crossed, but i'd be curious as to how it'd compare by fitting FSD's with OE L&K springs when that time comes? Always willing to look at aftermarket equivalents when it comes to changing stuff as routine maintenance and the Koni top adjustables I had on my MkII golf G60 and my brother had on his MkI golf GTi were fantastic.

Quick update on the FSDs: Had them fitted Monday and have done a good few miles settling them in. They're quite impressive really, definately takes the edge off sharp bumps and dips and yet still firm enough to keep the nose from squatting under heavyish braking. They have raised the ride height slightly I think, but as my dampers were 45000 miles old I think they may have sagged somewhat as people often asked me if it had been lowered. The car's handling seems at least as tight as before if not better.

Thumbs up from me to Koni

Does anyone know what the difference in spring specs is between the vRS and L&K? It's gonna be a long time 'til they need changing, fingers crossed, but i'd be curious as to how it'd compare by fitting FSD's with OE L&K springs when that time comes? Always willing to look at aftermarket equivalents when it comes to changing stuff as routine maintenance and the Koni top adjustables I had on my MkII golf G60 and my brother had on his MkI golf GTi were fantastic.

vRS springs are stiffer and let the car sit 10mm lower than L&K (Classic & Ambiente).

Fitting FSDs with your OE spec L&K springs will have the effect of tightening the handling quite a bit when you want to drive Briskly but preserving the (presumably) soft and compliant ride of the L&K.

On the vRS, FSDs have the effect of keeping and tightening slightly the handling, but softening the ride.

I have used Koni top adjustables, the yellow 'Koni Sport' ones, on several cars (before FSDs came out) and whilst they provided the required tighening of handling it was always at the expense of ride quality.

I have used Koni top adjustables, the yellow 'Koni Sport' ones, on several cars (before FSDs came out) and whilst they provided the required tighening of handling it was always at the expense of ride quality.

Ditto