Koni STR.T opinions

[FukuokaKid]

Thinking I may try Koni STR.T shocks. With the koni sale $366.20 shipped to Hawaii. Going to pair these with H&R sport springs. Would love to get bilstein mono tubes but $$ is to much for a DD. FSD cannot be used with springs. And, I just dont want to deal with the adjustables especially since the koni rears are not adjustable externally. Since the FSD and the Sports seems to share the same part number as the MS3 for the 2012, I figured the MS3 STR.T would work for the 2012 as well.

Anyone else running these? Or, have experience with these? In the past my Miatas have had full mono tube coilovers like JIC Magic FLT-TAR.

 

[90210]

My Miatas had teh full mono tube coilovers too.

Last weekend I met up with a member here who is running OEM struts on H&R Springs. Ride was pretty good. However, I am not sure how long the OEM struts would last.

THus I have been looking at shock options as well to pair with the H&R. Mine is also a DD, and would be interested to see how yours ends up.

 

[philrab]

I have STR.T's on my Mazda 3, with OE springs and an OE Speed3 rear sway bar. The Koni's seam to have a softer valving scheme in bump (about equal to stock) than they do in rebound (noticeably more energetic). Most probably won't notice it, I used to autocross so shock/strut valving really stands out to me. The end result is the shock is VERY compliant over road irregularities and in that aspect will feel very close to stock. The difference comes in that the car settles back to a steady state much more quickly than the stock shocks did, and this definitely lends an air of control to the car. Other guys have used these with mild lowering springs, and have had nothing but positive things to say about them. For a daily driver, they are my whole hearted recomendation.

 

[snorlax]

I have had STR.Ts on our B5 Passat ('98-'05) for a bit over a year (10k miles) and am very happy with them. Like philrab said they have a stiffer rebound valving than they do for impact, which has worked well for me. The car was fitted when almost new with an Eibach Pro-System kit which had matched springs and shocks. The dampers were made by Sachs and had a unique part number from anything else they or Eibach sold. The car handles great and had a better than OE ride over broken pavement. When the shocks/struts finally died after 70k miles they were no longer available, and the STR.T valving was about as close to what the kit had, according to some graphs I got from Eibach and on Koni's site. With new suspension links it drives like a new car.

Please post if the MS3 parts work on your 5. I've been thinking for some time of getting either a manual-trans 5 or CX5. I'm looking for cargo space, not passenger space, and fun to drive.

 

[FukuokaKid]

Koni's application guild had me all confused. Called their tech line yesterday. For the MS3 2010+ the rear shock bushing is 35mm. I measured my 2012 5 bushing yesterday and it's 50mm. Which, is the same as the MS3 07-09. Unfortunately, there is no STR.T application for the MS3 07-09 rears. Koni lists it as TBA.

 

[turbo den]

I drove the mz5 in stock form for two weeks, and then changed to Koni STR & H&R springs (for mazda 5 specifically) for over a week now.

impression... very easy to live with. I have lowered all my rides before this mz5.... VW GTI MK3, Lexus IS300, Scion FRS, and more... and they all have one thing in common that mz5 doesn't.... bumpy ride. In contract to stock, the new suspension is slightly more bumpy, but the damping is good that it's not too stiff and get bouncy... the koni takes the bumps really well. Ride quality over pothole is similar to stock, no bottoming or hitting bump stops. I think there is enough suspension travel.

My mechanic buddy did cut both front and rear bump stops. Especially important to cut the rear bump stops... because at first, we didn't cut it. And the rear bump stop gets noisy rubber against the dust boots for the koni. After cutting it, no more noise.

I am amazed how well this van handles in contrast to all my previous cars. I can go into on ramp and off ramp in about 8/10 of the speed in the Scion FRS (modded to SCCA STX class allowed). I plan to take my mz5 on an autox against my Scion FRS.. and see how close the mz5 can get near the FRS' speed and time.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Did Koni finally release a Mz5 rear STR.T strut!? I though they only offer the MZ5 front shock (share with MS3) but do not offer the rear strut (Mz3 and MS3 share the rear strut, which is probably under valved for the Mz5's heavier rear end)? Do report back after 20K or so (or after a few track events) and let us konw how she's holding up. Sounds positive so far.