Koni FSD Struts/Shocks - Just Released

I have them on my 2013 Prius. I am almost positive they will work with the 2015. I would email or call Koni and verify.

Regarding ride quality and handling, it's subjective of course, but I would definitely say that handling is improved. Before, when I would go around corners at high speed, the car would lean way to the side. Now, it only leans slightly and I can corner fast. It's nice.

Regarding ride quality, not sure one way or the other. I would say it is more composed over the really patchy roads. With the OEM struts, going over roads with lots of patched potholes in a very short space would make the car go crazy. Now with the FSDs, going over roads with tons of little bumps and patches in a short space, it seems to smooth it out better.

My last and most subjective comment would be that the OEM dampers seem to give a floaty ride, which can be nice sometimes, to feel like you are floating. The FSD dampers seem to give me more road feel, which some people may like and some may not.

Sometimes I miss the original floaty feel where I felt like I was just gliding above the road, but I definitely like being able to hit corners fast with the FSDs and accelerate through the turn.

I've had the FSDs for 11 months / 11,000 miles.

 

thats perfect for me cause my weekend warrior car is a STI so that road feeling is very enjoyable to me.
thanks for the response.

 

hi:

I just bought a used prius 2012 with less than 35000 miles. I would said the OEM strut is poor or maybe defective design. Cannot believe there are a lot of vibration at about 65mph. I replaced a brand new Michelin tires. It help a bit but still vibrate a bit. rebalance the wheel and alignment but still not help. I have finally believe that it is the struts that is not design correctly. I am thinking of getting the Koni FSD. Anyone know how comfortable/firm/stiff it is? I somehow feel like my old prius 2005 is little more comfortable in term of ride quality when it was new.

 

Koni FSD Struts/Shocks - Just Released | Page 2 | PriusChat

 

ah ha, I miss that one when I reviewed the old thread. Thanks. This is helpful. Not sure I will do it right now since I will lost warranty. But I can say the original struts are stuck. Toyota was trying to maintain the price level by using cheaper, lower quality parts, which is fine as long as they can maintain the user/buyer experience. Don't let me feel the vibration when using cheaper components.

 

Have you checked for bent wheels?

 

No, I did check the balance and replace the tires. It did help a bit and smoother. But still vibrate a bit at about 65mph to 70 mph. 70mph or above was very smooth.

 

I'm having a similar issue. I am going to go to a wheel repair shop and see if the wheels are bent.

You can also look for a shop that has the Hunter Road Force Balancing machine, which can fix vibrations that regular balancers cannot. I've read that the technician must be trained on how to properly use this machine for it to be effective. It ranges from $120-140 for all 4 wheels in my area.

 

How are the Koni FSDs doing these days? I'm curious about your long-term experience.


VT

 

My best friend is a service manager at a dealership. He had his best technician do the full hunter road force balance on my car, i paid the tech directly $50 under the table and watched him do it after normal work hours. All of my wheels were well within spec (Michellin Energy Saver A/S). The worst was at 12lbs, but the rest were all under 10lbs. Basically we deduced that low rolling resistance tires have terrible ride quality due to stiff side walls, and the prius has cheap struts and a poor suspension design(torsion beam). Also, inflating the tires to 40lbs may give you better mileage, the ride quality will suck even worse.

 

I agree, but what do you expect for a hybrid, Toyota did not really raise the price from second generation to third generation, they gotta find something to cut cost.

 

Question for you guys with the vibration issues. Are you running OEM wheels? I get a slight vibration above 50 mph its from a slightly bent FRS rim. I marked the rim, I try to keep it on passenger side when I rotate my tires. I'm also using 5mm spacers with the correct bore size. I've had the FSD struts for the last 10,000 miles. Vibration prior to the struts. I'd purchase them again. I run my tires anywhere from 37F 35R to 41F 38R. Currently on Eibachs and drive like a maniac. Michelin Primacy 215-45-17

 

On most of my other cars over the years, I had rims. Most rims over time (and especially if a suspension is tighter and lower) will develop tiny stress fractures. The shorter the profile on the tire, the more likely you will develop these. They will show up on the inside (back side) of your custom rim, along the edges. These cracks flex as you corner and grow with every bump in the road you hit. Over time, they will effect your high speed (58-69 miles per hour) driving. You will feel slight vibration in your steering wheel. If you drive below 58, you won't feel it. If you drive over 69, you won't feel it. But in the range of 58-69, if you have stress fractures, you will definitely feel it. The fix was for me to go to a wheel specialist and have them find the cracks (using a magnifying glass). Then they would polish them and weld and re-polish to re-strengthen the crack. Problem is, the weld area is now stronger than the rest of the rim and other cracks will come up. Eventually, you will not be able to balance the rim at all. This just is the way it is with rims and low profile tires. They have stronger rims now, but the cost is really high, and the stress of lowering the car now moves to other areas of your suspension. I always knew this when I got rims and lowered my car and just paid the extra money for the cool look. Hopefully this has not been an issue for you guys.

 

Had the Koni FSR struts/shocks installed on my 2011 this week. Stock springs. Mounts were replaced as well.

I'm comparing them to the original struts which had 108K miles on them and were worn out (but not leaking), so to be fair, I really can't remember much of the brand new ride of the car.

The FSRs are excellent though (as they should be for the price). A couple things I'm sure of is there is much less body than the car had new with original struts and the car doesn't bottom out on large bumps like it used to.

The ride is much improved of course compared to struts with 108K miles on them. Very comfortable considering how little body roll they have. Our Gen3 Highlander has very little body roll, but that thing has a rough ride compared to these Konis.

So far a big thumbs up on these. My only annoyance is the mechanic didn't replace the rear bushings because "he thought the shocks would come with bushings. Most do." so I have some knocking at low speed under breaking coming from the back.

 

Your mechanic should have reused the old bushings in that case.

 

Been waiting to install the FSD's on my car. This sounds hopeful. Do you think it is necessary to replace the bushings? If so do you have a list of which ones should be replaced? Thanks a bunch!


iPhone ?

 

I'm not a mechanic, but based on what I remember, you don't need to replace the bushings unless they are cracked and dry and look bad. You can reuse them if they look good.
For the struts in the front, it's recommended to replace the strut mounts which attach to the top of the strut in the engine bay. I found a pair online for about $100 when I did mine.

 

He did but the rubber was all cracked and worn

Victor, I believe the bushings to be replaced are the control arm bushings 48725G & 48725F:

2011 Toyota Prius. #4872547030: BUSHING, REAR AXLE CARRIER, LEFT; BUSHING, REAR AXLE CARRIER, RIGHT. BUSH

 

Update on my situation:
I had the rear bushings replaced and it did nothing to solve the "popping" sound at low speeds. I took it to another mechanic and he figured it out in 5 minutes:
I have a defective driver's side rear shock.

When the shock starts to compress it makes a popping sound, kind of like something is binding internally. There was no play / nothing loose on the shock to indicate a problem. When the strut was disconnected from the suspension and the car moved, the sound was gone.

I have the replacement part from Koni in my garage ready to put on (which I had to pay for but they'll reimburse me once I send the defective shock back). I'm a little disappointed that Koni has said they won't pay for labor costs, but I may call them back and try again.

 

Did this solve your problem? I have the same problem on the exact same shock. Called Tire Rack, waiting on a response.