Koni STR.T (orange) and Swift Springs review
Koni STR.T (orange) and Swift Springs review
Hi there,
I know that there has been quite a few threads on both products. I just wanted to add my own impressions after having the Swifts on factory struts for nearly a year, and then switching to Koni STR. T shocks.
The Swift springs are great, they offer a small drop, comfortable spring rates and a linear design which in my opinion is much easier to control vs. standard progressive springs that you get in most other lowering springs. One thing about them that I find is a big improvement over the stock springs is that they seem to bottom out less than on the stock springs! I swear with the stock springs I bottomed out at least once a week, and with the Swift springs even without trimming the bump stops down, I almost never bottom out anymore.They did take about a year of driving to fully break in IMO. The first few weeks driving on them was ROUGH and it slowly but surely got better over time. I've had quite a few Swift spring products over time and have always found that it takes about a year for them to break in. I never notice any additional sagging, but I do notice a big change in ride quality over that time. In the end, I usually find that although Swift lowering springs are stiffer than the stock springs, they are a lot less busy. Every time you feel suspension movement, it's because the springs are reacting to the road (with intent and purpose) and they offer usable feedback to react to the road, but the stock springs feel like they just randomly move up and down.
The stock dampers always seemed like a weak spot to me, but being on a budget - I decided to try to Swifts on OEM dampers first and see how I felt. The ride got a little better, but just like with the stock springs, the car CRASHED over big bumps. I'd constantly be eyeing the road for potholes and ruts because the car simply could not handle them with any sort of dignity. After a year and a half and two sets of springs later, I decided to replace just the rear shocks first (because I saw that they had started leaking) with a pair of Koni orange shocks. First impressions were bad, the ride was bouncy and choppy, the car rode like a 90s Honda on cut springs. I didn't feel any improvement over a few hundred miles of driving and just tried to accept that I turned my daily driver into a wannabe tuner car... Well a few months later I started to notice that the ride smoothed out, and the damping was quite nice. And about 5 months in now and I'm really happy I made the change! The rear moves more softly and slowly than with the OEM dampers, but it is better controlled and much more comfortable.
Today: A friend had a barely used set of Koni STR. T struts for the front and offered to give them to me! He had only a few thousand miles on them so they're fairly new but most likely broken in already. I threw them on and immediately I noticed the familiar slightly "under-damped" sensation that I felt from the rears. This translated to the car slightly bobbing sometimes because it doesn't control the motions fully like the OEMs do, but my goodness. The ride is now totally transformed. There is a 80% reduction in crashing over road imperfections and the feel is just completely transformed. The stock dampers IMO feel like weak shocks that are really not up to the task, but are valved very stiff, but the Koni's feel like meaty shocks with more relaxed damping. So although sometimes the car has a few extra small movements, when it hits something big or when going over large undulations, the car is way better behaved. Whereas the stock dampers sometimes feel like they give up and free fall, the Koni's feel like they're constantly supporting the movement of the car!
Braking feels much more natural too, weight transfers feel more calm and sure footed. Besides the small additional oscillations, overall it is much more comfortable and supportive. I am bi-polar and drive quite spirited 10% of the time, with 90% of the time driving slow and calm. I feel that although the stock dampers appeared "stiffer". these still felt better for performance driving. I have 100% confidence that even with the stock springs, these would be a worthwhile upgrade. They will make long trips a lot more comfortable, I wish I would have gotten them much sooner!
I hope this informs well!
I know that there has been quite a few threads on both products. I just wanted to add my own impressions after having the Swifts on factory struts for nearly a year, and then switching to Koni STR. T shocks.
The Swift springs are great, they offer a small drop, comfortable spring rates and a linear design which in my opinion is much easier to control vs. standard progressive springs that you get in most other lowering springs. One thing about them that I find is a big improvement over the stock springs is that they seem to bottom out less than on the stock springs! I swear with the stock springs I bottomed out at least once a week, and with the Swift springs even without trimming the bump stops down, I almost never bottom out anymore.They did take about a year of driving to fully break in IMO. The first few weeks driving on them was ROUGH and it slowly but surely got better over time. I've had quite a few Swift spring products over time and have always found that it takes about a year for them to break in. I never notice any additional sagging, but I do notice a big change in ride quality over that time. In the end, I usually find that although Swift lowering springs are stiffer than the stock springs, they are a lot less busy. Every time you feel suspension movement, it's because the springs are reacting to the road (with intent and purpose) and they offer usable feedback to react to the road, but the stock springs feel like they just randomly move up and down.
The stock dampers always seemed like a weak spot to me, but being on a budget - I decided to try to Swifts on OEM dampers first and see how I felt. The ride got a little better, but just like with the stock springs, the car CRASHED over big bumps. I'd constantly be eyeing the road for potholes and ruts because the car simply could not handle them with any sort of dignity. After a year and a half and two sets of springs later, I decided to replace just the rear shocks first (because I saw that they had started leaking) with a pair of Koni orange shocks. First impressions were bad, the ride was bouncy and choppy, the car rode like a 90s Honda on cut springs. I didn't feel any improvement over a few hundred miles of driving and just tried to accept that I turned my daily driver into a wannabe tuner car... Well a few months later I started to notice that the ride smoothed out, and the damping was quite nice. And about 5 months in now and I'm really happy I made the change! The rear moves more softly and slowly than with the OEM dampers, but it is better controlled and much more comfortable.
Today: A friend had a barely used set of Koni STR. T struts for the front and offered to give them to me! He had only a few thousand miles on them so they're fairly new but most likely broken in already. I threw them on and immediately I noticed the familiar slightly "under-damped" sensation that I felt from the rears. This translated to the car slightly bobbing sometimes because it doesn't control the motions fully like the OEMs do, but my goodness. The ride is now totally transformed. There is a 80% reduction in crashing over road imperfections and the feel is just completely transformed. The stock dampers IMO feel like weak shocks that are really not up to the task, but are valved very stiff, but the Koni's feel like meaty shocks with more relaxed damping. So although sometimes the car has a few extra small movements, when it hits something big or when going over large undulations, the car is way better behaved. Whereas the stock dampers sometimes feel like they give up and free fall, the Koni's feel like they're constantly supporting the movement of the car!
Braking feels much more natural too, weight transfers feel more calm and sure footed. Besides the small additional oscillations, overall it is much more comfortable and supportive. I am bi-polar and drive quite spirited 10% of the time, with 90% of the time driving slow and calm. I feel that although the stock dampers appeared "stiffer". these still felt better for performance driving. I have 100% confidence that even with the stock springs, these would be a worthwhile upgrade. They will make long trips a lot more comfortable, I wish I would have gotten them much sooner!
I hope this informs well!
Last edited by accordguyintake; Mar 7, 2020 at 10:12 PM.
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