Thread: Update on Koni FSD Shocks

As I sit here reading through the posts on this subject I am left wondering just what life (subjective I know) I should expect from the shocker / airbag combo on my D4?
My vehicle, a 2011 D4 HSE has 145,000 on the clock and does mainly highway km's and from my perspective rides and handles well. I drove home from Perth yesterday, a 375km trip and was thinking to myself just what an amazing vehicle I have and how well it runs and drives!
Mind you deterioration over time (you get used to the way things are don't you) is hard to pick up unless there is some failure so I am just wondering what the signs of crook shocks might be?

Originally Posted by LGM

As I sit here reading through the posts on this subject I am left wondering just what life (subjective I know) I should expect from the shocker / airbag combo on my D4?
My vehicle, a 2011 D4 HSE has 145,000 on the clock and does mainly highway km's and from my perspective rides and handles well. I drove home from Perth yesterday, a 375km trip and was thinking to myself just what an amazing vehicle I have and how well it runs and drives!
Mind you deterioration over time (you get used to the way things are don't you) is hard to pick up unless there is some failure so I am just wondering what the signs of crook shocks might be?

Wollowing, dives in corners, fronts normally go first, feels loose, more body roll than usual.

Your DSC will activate more than usual, which I think is starting to happen to our 2011 D4 with 130,000Ks, we do a lot of off road and towing though.

Originally Posted by Graeme

Both my D4's original rears after 3 yrs and 95K were quite cracked on the inside of the top fold and replaced 5K later with a full set of shocks c/w air-springs. I thought the air-springs would not last the 60K the existing shocks lasted.

As far as springs go ... they should not fatigue. But bad shockers may cause springs to crack which is I guess a failure.

IMO with OEM springs and shockers for 4WDs, I know that Toyota put in poor springs and shockers, which are designed to give a good ride in the 15 minute round the block test drive.

As far as worn shockers, one test is to push down on the vehicle and watch how it recovers. That works on a Prado but not sure how it works on a Disco ... I must try because mine has now only 24K on it (in less than a year), so I guess the shockers should be very good.

Originally Posted by Melbourne Park

As far as springs go ... they should not fatigue. But bad shockers may cause springs to crack which is I guess a failure.

IMO with OEM springs and shockers for 4WDs, I know that Toyota put in poor springs and shockers, which are designed to give a good ride in the 15 minute round the block test drive.

As far as worn shockers, one test is to push down on the vehicle and watch how it recovers. That works on a Prado but not sure how it works on a Disco ... I must try because mine has now only 24K on it (in less than a year), so I guess the shockers should be very good.

Doesn't quite work as well with airbags, you notice it more when driving.

Originally Posted by Melbourne Park

As far as springs go ... they should not fatigue. But bad shockers may cause springs to crack which is I guess a failure.

IMO with OEM springs and shockers for 4WDs, I know that Toyota put in poor springs and shockers, which are designed to give a good ride in the 15 minute round the block test drive.

As far as worn shockers, one test is to push down on the vehicle and watch how it recovers. That works on a Prado but not sure how it works on a Disco ... I must try because mine has now only 24K on it (in less than a year), so I guess the shockers should be very good.

How do you figure that? Settling, dropping, etc are all signs of spring fatigue... A bellows type bag will also fatigue due to the rolling motion.

Toyota coils are very compliant, I know plenty of people running them in standard form offroad without issue. Many of our Mine vehicles are stock suspension.

Not so easy on a Bag suspended vehicle... And not completely indicative of modern multi stage valved dampers...

Hi All,
I thought I would bump this old thread up again.
As most people are aware, the original release Koni FSD's had some issues and were removed from the market. Understandably there were a number of negative posts regarding the Fsd's, I think it's only fair that Koni are given some support whilst they continue to test and develop the FSD's. With that in mind, after some protracted negotiations with Top Performance in Melbourne, I have opted to fit the retuned FSD's into the original air springs on the D3.
Having just completed a touch over 4000k's since being fitted last week, I would have to say the performance of the new version of FSD is absolutely sublime!!!!! Whilst the ride would be rated at firm to very firm, the on road handling and control of the vehicle is in another league all together, when compared to the OE air strut assembly. It should be noted that the OE air strut assembly that was replaced, was only 15 months and 30 000k's old. Offroad they are also exceptional, again the vehicle stability and directional control has never been as good as it is now. Naturally, given they are a very firm shock the ride is a little rough, as you would expect but not as harsh as I had anticipated.
All up I would consider the shockie performance as "typically Koni", far superior to anything else I have ever had on the vehicle.
However, as many are aware, the handling characteristics of the original version was never in question, it will just be a matter of endurance and longevity, especially when considering changing out just shocks can cost between $750-$1000 or a number of hours if you were able to do it yourself. NB-changing out just the shocks is not all that difficult. To that end, I am planning a few trips in the coming months and should be able to put around 20000 k's on them by mid year over some reasonably rough terrain. I shall endeavor to update this thread at various times along the way.
regards
Brian

I'm needing new airstrut assemblies on my MY 08 D3 in the very near future, they are original still and the D3 has just clocked 208,000km of 99.99999% road use.


Now wallows like a Northsea fishing boat so time they were replaced. Needs tyres too.


Leaning towards OM at this stage.

Originally Posted by PeterOZ

I'm needing new airstrut assemblies on my MY 08 D3 in the very near future, they are original still and the D3 has just clocked 208,000km of 99.99999% road use.


Now wallows like a Northsea fishing boat so time they were replaced. Needs tyres too.


Leaning towards OM at this stage.

Shouldn't the nautical analogy be 'listing'?

However I would say that in the next 24 months I'll be making the same consideration Peter so would like to hear what you decide.