Hello all! I just received a set of Koni Sports (yellow) for my LR RWD and wanted to share my thoughts.
My impression of the stock suspension is typical of what many have posted. It seemed to me that is was very under-damped, particularly in the rear. Over large compressions the rear would rebound aggressively, giving a "pogo stick" effect. I always thought that it needed STIFFER dampers.
Installation of the front shocks is pretty typical. It's a coil-over assembly, so a spring compressor is needed. It is necessary to separate the upper ball joint from the upright, but that's pretty simple. The only issue I had is where the upper shock mount bolts through the body. There are multiple layers of material and the upper layer wasn't aligned perfectly with the lower layer, so a socket wouldn't fit. It was a simple fix with a die grinder.
Rear shocks are super easy to replace. The upper shock mounts bolt in from underneath, so there's no need to remove trunk liner or anything. Also the bolts are captive on the mount which is super convenient.
I initially set all 4 shocks at full soft. As these are adjustable, there's no way to know what's "right" until you actually try it. Also, the shocks do need a bit of time to break in. They will get a bit softer over the first couple hundred miles.
First impression: 100x better than stock, but still insufficient rebound damping in the rear. I adjusted the rears up 1/2 turn.
This made it even better! Still a bit under damped, though. I adjusted the rears up another 1/4 turn.
Even better yet! Now I could feel that the front was a bit floaty, so I adjusted the fronts up 1/4 turn.
Front now felt great! Rear was close, but borderline under-damped, so I adjusted them up another 1/4 turn. That's a total of 1/4 turn in the front and 1 turn in the rear. The car feels great now. Very "German" in character. The car is very stable and composed, just as good as any BMW I've owned.
Since I've been working on this, I've started to suspect that my car has some of the wickedly stiff rear springs that were fitted to early cars. From the info I've gathered, it appears that they're about as stiff as the P3D springs, only taller (they're a bit firm for a daily driver IMO). FYI, If you have a later LR or a SR, you probably need a bit less rebound. Maybe 1/2 - 3/4 turn or thereabouts?
I'm on the lookout for a pair of the later (softer) rear springs. LR RWD or AWD. If anyone has some available, hit me up. Part number should end with an "01-E", I think.
My impression of the stock suspension is typical of what many have posted. It seemed to me that is was very under-damped, particularly in the rear. Over large compressions the rear would rebound aggressively, giving a "pogo stick" effect. I always thought that it needed STIFFER dampers.
Installation of the front shocks is pretty typical. It's a coil-over assembly, so a spring compressor is needed. It is necessary to separate the upper ball joint from the upright, but that's pretty simple. The only issue I had is where the upper shock mount bolts through the body. There are multiple layers of material and the upper layer wasn't aligned perfectly with the lower layer, so a socket wouldn't fit. It was a simple fix with a die grinder.
Rear shocks are super easy to replace. The upper shock mounts bolt in from underneath, so there's no need to remove trunk liner or anything. Also the bolts are captive on the mount which is super convenient.
I initially set all 4 shocks at full soft. As these are adjustable, there's no way to know what's "right" until you actually try it. Also, the shocks do need a bit of time to break in. They will get a bit softer over the first couple hundred miles.
First impression: 100x better than stock, but still insufficient rebound damping in the rear. I adjusted the rears up 1/2 turn.
This made it even better! Still a bit under damped, though. I adjusted the rears up another 1/4 turn.
Even better yet! Now I could feel that the front was a bit floaty, so I adjusted the fronts up 1/4 turn.
Front now felt great! Rear was close, but borderline under-damped, so I adjusted them up another 1/4 turn. That's a total of 1/4 turn in the front and 1 turn in the rear. The car feels great now. Very "German" in character. The car is very stable and composed, just as good as any BMW I've owned.
Since I've been working on this, I've started to suspect that my car has some of the wickedly stiff rear springs that were fitted to early cars. From the info I've gathered, it appears that they're about as stiff as the P3D springs, only taller (they're a bit firm for a daily driver IMO). FYI, If you have a later LR or a SR, you probably need a bit less rebound. Maybe 1/2 - 3/4 turn or thereabouts?
I'm on the lookout for a pair of the later (softer) rear springs. LR RWD or AWD. If anyone has some available, hit me up. Part number should end with an "01-E", I think.