I am after a little bit of advice from people who have fitted the Koni FSD's to their VRS.

I am going to get some Koni dampers but am not sure whether to go for the FSD or the adjustable dampers. I had adjustables on my Focus 1.8 and loved em to bits.

I got the eibach springs fitted last year and today fitted the Jabba ARB:thumbup:, which really improves the handling. One of the best mods ive done besides the remap!

I am wondering if the FSDs are softer than the original dampers on normal driving? OR if they are the same or slighty stiffer than the original dampers when driven normally?

I do not like cars that wallow about like big ships with plenty of roll. Thats why i was considering the FSDs as they should be firm and even firmer when needed. If not, I'll just get the adjustables and set to how I like em.

Any help is appreciated

Thanks

Matt

i havn't got a vrs, mine is a 2.0 and i've got koni fsd dampers...

i would say that they are probably softer than the original dampers, but they do stiffen up nicely when they need to.... but to be fair it doesn't handle too badly on the standard dampers anyway...

the only criticism i've got about the fsd's is that they are a little undredictable at first, i think i'd prefer something that is either stiff all the time or soft all the time..

have you thought about getting eibach dampers??

I had thought about the eibachs. But I prefer koni dampers, plus from reports on this forum. The koni/eibach combo seems to be the best.

I had eibachs on my Fabia and then fitted Koni Sport (the yellow ones) shocks and found it all way too firm. Would be great for a track day but useless for the road.

I took the eibachs off and have a good handling car but still one that is jittery on broken roads. I've got the Jabba rear ARB as well by the way.

Now getting an Octavia vRS which has a jittery ride IMHO,and having Koni FSDs fitted straight away (on Friday), will be able to report more at the weekend.

As already said, it depends what your compromise is...

Ive had Eibach springs and dampers and TBH it was about right for the car... maybe a teeeny bit under-damped still.

People are reporting that eibachs/FSDs are more comfortable than std and handle better than with eibach dampers... ive only been a passenger to a koni adjustable car and they were very firm... would be too firm for my day to day use

Koni adjustables and Koni FSDs must be quite different

I've got Eibach springs & Koni FSD dampers on mine, and I believe it drives well.

Assuming WSM is going ahead nicely this saturday I might be able to take a few drives up/down somewhere nearby to give you an idea of the difference

I've had the eibach springs/dampers, just eibach damper and now back to std with jabba arb. std with arb is the best for me. Didnt think the eibach was a much better setup. Springs made a nice improvment to the steering but like already mentioned the dampers not much better over std. If you want to do it properly I'd look at some bilstein pss9's.

The rear ARB keeps the car nice and 'flat' whilst cornering, but the Eibach springs help keep the nose from diving so hard whilst braking so I found. The std springs were terrible at that.

Not looked at Bilstein for this car but they are a good brand so worth a look

but the Eibach springs help keep the nose from diving so hard whilst braking so I found. The std springs were terrible at that.

You think? :confused: Saying that you have FSD do you not? Only driven a fabia with eibach/fsd's on a empty car park so couldnt really tell much.

Thanks for all the replies. I dont mind the car being firm as my Focus RS was very firm and I quite enjoyed it. But then that was set up to mirror the tarmac settings on the WRC Focus. Something the VRS wasnt set up to do!

I am still not sure..... I like the idea of the FSDs but if they are softer than the original dampers then they are not for me. I prefer a firm ride. I like to feel the bumps in the road and in my opinion, a soft set up can sometimes take away some of the feel of the road and steering. I think I am moving towards the adjustables at the moment.......

If you want to use Eibach springs then I would recomend Bilstein B8 Sprint shocks, in my oppinnion not too hard, but not as soft as the originals and they are made for cars that are on lower springs.

yeah but they have quite a hefty price tag too compared to fsd or eibach dampers

If you want a decent ride and improved handling I'd definately recommend the FSD's. They won't lower your car much with the Eibachs but the ride will be so much better than with standard shocks. I'm runnign 17's with 205/40's and a jabba arb, and at slow speeds or around town the ride can be a bit fidgety but once your on country roads or a motorway etc it softens up nicely but still stays taught round the corners or when braking. Keep your standard 16's and the ride is even better with the FSD's If you doa search i did a little review on them when they were first fitted.

Koni adjustables and Koni FSDs must be quite different

I've got Eibach springs & Koni FSD dampers on mine, and I believe it drives well.

Assuming WSM is going ahead nicely this saturday I might be able to take a few drives up/down somewhere nearby to give you an idea of the difference

Oooooo id love a go

You would :eek: :P

I won't be the fastest one about on the day though I reckon (in a Fabia).

Quite gutted about how dirty the car has got over the past few days, it was clean on Tuesday, shiny and everything

Might have to risk a car wash beforehand perhaps...

You would :eek: :P

I won't be the fastest one about on the day though I reckon (in a Fabia).

Quite gutted about how dirty the car has got over the past few days, it was clean on Tuesday, shiny and everything

Might have to risk a car wash beforehand perhaps...

Same for me... have done best part of 700 miles since it was washed on saturday - not sure where ill find the time to wash it.. as if i do it up 'ere itll be dirty by the time i get to wsm, its a greasy day and i cant see thru my back window for soot n road-crap

Ive even got some new numberplates to put on it too

Got Koni FSDs fitted to my Octavia vRS on Friday and, to coin a phrase, they do it exactly as it says on the tin!!

I had Koni Sports on my Fabia with standard springs and they made the ride quite firm and pretty jittery on broken/corrugated surfaces but with the expected tightening of the handling.

The Octavia vRS as standard is really nice and taught with great high speed handling BUT at the expense of the ride which is more jittery than my Fabia was; to the point of being uncomfortable.

Having now fitted Koni FSDs to the Octavia vRS there is no change to the taut handling, if anything it is a shade more taught BUT (and this is the best bit) the ride is now softer and definitely more comfortable.

Certain bits of local roads that would jar the Fabia/koni sports and buck the standard Octavia vRS are now suitably soft. I am not talking of Rolls Royce ride levels, you certainly know that you still have a sporty handling setup and can feel the wheels riding the bumps/broken tarmac, BUT the ride is now more than tolerably comfortable.

The best of both worlds? Definitely - for the spirited brisk driver for normal road. OK; if you want a track biased setup then other shocks/springs will probably do the job better; but for typical road use they are absolutely excellent.

I most certainly recommend them for any Octavia vRS to get a smoother ride. Other Octavias on normal suspension will get the benefit of improved/taughter handling without ruining the ride.

Final comment - they should be OE spec on the vRS!!

I think Im going for the FSD's. The deciding factor will be how the car looks with them fitted. As I have heard they make the car sit slighty higher with the eibachs than oe dampers and the eibachs. Has anyone got a pic of the Fabia VRS with FSD's and Eibachs fitted please, so i can get an idea of how it would look?

Sorry havent got pics myself, but you can see some pics of my car at the WSM photo thread, I've got Eibach springs and Koni FSDs on mine.

I think Im going for the FSD's. The deciding factor will be how the car looks with them fitted. As I have heard they make the car sit slighty higher with the eibachs than oe dampers and the eibachs. Has anyone got a pic of the Fabia VRS with FSD's and Eibachs fitted please, so i can get an idea of how it would look?

Fitting FSDs will make NO DIFFERENCE to the ride height. The ride height is dictated by the Springs that are used. Therefore the 'look' of your car will not change from present if you are just fitting the FSDs.

The FSDs are primarily designed, because of the two stage damping that they offer that is engineered relative to the OE ride height, to work with OE springs. However, the 25mm-30mm lowering provided by Eibachs is within their range of operation and Koni/Eibach suppliers e.g. JKM, Awesome GTI or Jabba Sport, will happily confirm this.

They, the FSDs, should though NOT be fitted with LOWERED springs i.e. those offering a lowering of, say, 50mm or more (if anyone would want to got that low).

Yes I would agree with that

FSD`s for standard springs would be ideal

Sarah

The FSD's are very good but like you, I think I would sacrifice some of the comfort for improved handling. I was told by the Koni rep at Trax that they would raise my car's ride height slightly and he was right. Here's a pic of mine with FSD's and Eibach's.