Tooly
Drag Race Newbie
- Location
- Kelowna, BC Canada
- Car(s)
- 2018 GTI Autobahn
FYI I reached out to Bilstein and they're now showing an ETA for the B12 kit of September-October. AJUSA.com is also saying October. 
7
Who is on Bilstein B8s?
- Thread starter SugarMouth
- Start date
Bäsemödel
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Lancaster PA
ECS just told me end of july for B8s
E-rok
Passed Driver's Ed
- Location
- North Idaho
Damn still waiting? Im glad that I cancelled my order and went with ST coilovers for less money.
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Tooly
Drag Race Newbie
- Location
- Kelowna, BC Canada
- Car(s)
- 2018 GTI Autobahn
Spoke to the Bilstein Canada distributor today and from what they tell me all these shocks and kits are readily available in Germany and they've been ordering directly from Germany, bypassing Bilstein North America altogether. I'm seriously considering going this route.
Bäsemödel
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Lancaster PA
ECS is trying to talk me into the new Koni special active shocks that just came out. Based on the FSD but improved... cheaper than B8's... lifetime warranty as well (which was a big reason I got the B8's)... could get them way way quicker. thoughts?
MK7 AP2
Go Kart Newbie
- Location
- Tucson, AZ
I am not sure about the new ones but I thought that FSD's were designed for a stock height car.
Bäsemödel
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Lancaster PA
thats what i thought too.. VWR springs provide a 1.25" drop... im going to call a few places and have some conversations to see what knowledge I can gain...
99% Sure the "Active" FSD is just an update and rebrand of the original FSDs. Red is faster, etc. where the old gold shocks probably didn't appeal to people looking for a techy shock in sporting applications. Just an assumption, but if that is the case, like the original FSD, it was not designed for lowering springs and had factory shock body lengths.
If they offer them, I used the Str.T shocks on my CC and they rode great. The commonly repeated info on them is that they were just non-adjustable Sports, with damping similar to Sports set to low. Perfect for stock or mild lowering spring rates.
https://www.koni.com/en-US/Cars/Products/Sport-Tuning/STR-T/
If they offer them, I used the Str.T shocks on my CC and they rode great. The commonly repeated info on them is that they were just non-adjustable Sports, with damping similar to Sports set to low. Perfect for stock or mild lowering spring rates.
https://www.koni.com/en-US/Cars/Products/Sport-Tuning/STR-T/
Bäsemödel
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Lancaster PA
so in my conversations today with ECS, they said, based upon their meetings with Koni engineers, the FSD and the replacement Special Active shocks will do their job with anything from stock spring all the way to 35mm drop which is what I have with the VWR springs.
I left a message with Koni and im going to talk more about it with them... that said, there are kits from reputable companies online that include FSD's paired with something like an eibach sport spring...
I left a message with Koni and im going to talk more about it with them... that said, there are kits from reputable companies online that include FSD's paired with something like an eibach sport spring...
Could have sworn the FSDs were not recommended for lowering springs, but I'll one up a reputable online company with Koni themselves:
https://www.koni-na.com/en-US/North...ies-backup/Street-Performance/FSD-Eibach-Kit/
My mistake!
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No, you are actually correct. They are not recommended to be installed with lowering springs but there are certain tolerance where the FSD will work without issues. I had FSD’s on a MINI with H&R springs and they were totally NOT recommended lol but I did it anyways and the ride was awesome compared to the original and keeping that Go cart handling ( God i miss that car)
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snobrdrdan
former GTI owner
- Location
- Southeast Michigan
Bäsemödel
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Lancaster PA
Good grief... I’ll try to get ahold of koni directly tomorrow...
Bäsemödel
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Lancaster PA
well i guess i need to start a new thread... who is on koni special active? soon to be me!
Couldnt wait any longer for the Bill's to arrive. ECS had contacted me and asked if I was interested in trying the new FSD replacement/update called the Special Active. They are roughly the same in opperation just updated look and materials as well as being able to be bought individually, something I guess could not be done with the FSD's.
I spoke with Lee at Koni for about an hour before making the decision. He was very knowledgable and described in detail how the FSD tech works and how the change in spring rate, or drop due to spring rate, might affect the ride quality. I actually just found a post on mk6golf.com where someone else talked to him as well. This was almost word for word our conversation as well:
The whole thing with the FSDs is that they need to stay off the bump rubbers most of the time. They are great for stock or mild lowering springs where the car is not expected to hit the bump rubbers much. You can't just willy-nilly apply them to any springs as many springs will regularly hit or are even designed to use the bump stops as supplemental spring rates. We have great results matching them on many cars with Eibach Pro-kit lowering springs which tend to have a somewhat conservative drop.
In a nutshell, the FSD filters out short, high frequency impacts from the road surface that normally cause negative ride quality issues. When a car is low enough that it hits the bump rubbers fairly often, the FSD sees that just like a road impact and doesn't generate much damping force however normally a bump rubber impact is actually asking for more rebound damping and not less. So a car with FSDs that regularly hits the bump rubbers sharply may feel underdamped at those times. Some cars and springs rarely hit the bump rubbers and other cars (Minis, new Mustangs, Pontiac G8, Chrysler 300, etc.) hit the bump rubbers very quickly if lowered at all so those cars are recommended for FSD only on OE springs. Others (most BMWs, VWs, Audis, etc.) do great with moderate lowering and FSD. It just requires testing to confirm if that car and spring package are bump rubber impacters or not.
For cars that are lower or likely to hit the bump rubbers, then KONI Sports are always a safe bet as they could care less if you hit the bump rubber or not.
Lee Grimes
Automotive & Motorsports Mgr.
KONI America
(https://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showpost.php?p=541670&postcount=23)
He also mentioned a recent customer, an MQB A3, who installed the special active series along with eibach pro kit and said he loved the results. He also mentioned they will soon be releasing kits for the mk7 and 7.5 with a special actives and paired springs.
SO! All that to say, I think the VWR springs/35mm drop will be a good match for the Special actives and I am looking forward to testing it out!
Couldnt wait any longer for the Bill's to arrive. ECS had contacted me and asked if I was interested in trying the new FSD replacement/update called the Special Active. They are roughly the same in opperation just updated look and materials as well as being able to be bought individually, something I guess could not be done with the FSD's.
I spoke with Lee at Koni for about an hour before making the decision. He was very knowledgable and described in detail how the FSD tech works and how the change in spring rate, or drop due to spring rate, might affect the ride quality. I actually just found a post on mk6golf.com where someone else talked to him as well. This was almost word for word our conversation as well:
The whole thing with the FSDs is that they need to stay off the bump rubbers most of the time. They are great for stock or mild lowering springs where the car is not expected to hit the bump rubbers much. You can't just willy-nilly apply them to any springs as many springs will regularly hit or are even designed to use the bump stops as supplemental spring rates. We have great results matching them on many cars with Eibach Pro-kit lowering springs which tend to have a somewhat conservative drop.
In a nutshell, the FSD filters out short, high frequency impacts from the road surface that normally cause negative ride quality issues. When a car is low enough that it hits the bump rubbers fairly often, the FSD sees that just like a road impact and doesn't generate much damping force however normally a bump rubber impact is actually asking for more rebound damping and not less. So a car with FSDs that regularly hits the bump rubbers sharply may feel underdamped at those times. Some cars and springs rarely hit the bump rubbers and other cars (Minis, new Mustangs, Pontiac G8, Chrysler 300, etc.) hit the bump rubbers very quickly if lowered at all so those cars are recommended for FSD only on OE springs. Others (most BMWs, VWs, Audis, etc.) do great with moderate lowering and FSD. It just requires testing to confirm if that car and spring package are bump rubber impacters or not.
For cars that are lower or likely to hit the bump rubbers, then KONI Sports are always a safe bet as they could care less if you hit the bump rubber or not.
Lee Grimes
Automotive & Motorsports Mgr.
KONI America
(https://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showpost.php?p=541670&postcount=23)
He also mentioned a recent customer, an MQB A3, who installed the special active series along with eibach pro kit and said he loved the results. He also mentioned they will soon be releasing kits for the mk7 and 7.5 with a special actives and paired springs.
SO! All that to say, I think the VWR springs/35mm drop will be a good match for the Special actives and I am looking forward to testing it out!
Tooly
Drag Race Newbie
- Location
- Kelowna, BC Canada
- Car(s)
- 2018 GTI Autobahn
How do you test that though?
I'm probably going with the Eibach Euro Linear spring kit and want the Bilstein B8 to create my own B12 kit. But the B8's are impossible to source and the time frame for them to arrive keeps getting pushed out. I don't need the adjust-ability of the Koni Sports but I worry the Special Actives will not be a good fit.