I agree. I bought a set of Koni's and it made a noticeable improvement in ride with out sacrifcing handling with stock springs. Don't listen to the crowd that espouses the philospohy that "if you don't like the ride don't buy a sports car". If you're willing to spend the money, you can improve most anything! Try Koni's, you'll agree (it is not a Cadillac ride - just a comfortable sports car ride). No question that softer tires would also help but then you give up performance.

 

I just change to Koni shocks with stock springs SRT6 '05 big difference !
No more bobbing down the 101 ventura fwy ! worth it ! AJUSA.com
I would also recommend this shock over the LTDs, because after I tested the LTDs against SRT6 shocks they are almost the same ! Thank God for KONI !!!

 

Konis aren't going to save you DAN!

 

We'll see soon ! But I plan on a few more secret weapons ! Besides the 60 lbs weight difference haha. I also ordered a battery that's 30 lbs lighter !

 

Bring it Dan. Your going to need it.

 

http://www.koni-na.com/konisport.html[/quote]

What koni do you got? koni yellow or koni fsd? what's the difference between the two shocks?

 

i have the slk32 and went with koni adj. shocks. while the ride on my 32 was great (imo) i lowered the car via pads and figured why not. i tried lowering springs and the ride went to pot also rolling my inner fender lips in the process!! so out came the lowering springs and back wqith the oems
one thing to consider. the slk32 oem springs are eibach springs while it seems the srt-6 springs are a different brand

 

seems like as I read thru all these threads, they get off topic, personal, then back on topic....lol
Always a good read though.
My .02 would be with those who told you to change both the springs and the shocks. They work in conjunction of each other. You can't change one without the other....especially the SRT6...those springs are stiff...good luck....

 

doc i was able to lower my car a small amount with pads. its not much but enough for me. with the konis i can soften the ride while cruising around town and then stiffen the fronts at the track. now if you want the slammed look (which is great but the ride sucks!) springs are the only way to go.

 

The only way to change a spring rate, is to change the spring...you can cut them, but I would think the rate would remain close to the same...shocks control what the spring does...without shocks you would just bounce up and down...the shocks control that up and down motion. The longer the travel, the better the ride...

 

quite correct doc. i wasnt thinking spring rate as i cant find if the 32 springs and the 6 springs are then same. my ride for the most part wasnt bad not really stiff, but i wanted the slammed look. it cost me in the fender dept as i went to low. so my oem went back on and the konis allow me to soften the bumps in the road while cruising. im tempted to get bmorgans springs to cut and play with but its such a hassle to drop the supension parts im thinking just leave well enough alone!
the op just wants a softer ride so maybe the konis would be a good option for him

 

OK, lets say it this way...the springs on the SRT don't give hardly at all...so a very stiff spring rate...if they don't give, then the ride is harsh whether you change shocks or not. You need a little "travel" in the spring in order to get a better ride.

 

You're pretty close to being accurate, but I'm not sure how much knowledge you have with shock technology overall. If you don't mind, I'll go into it a little bit, and make it clearer what causes what inside of a shock.

A shock is a fairly simple device that keeps your car under control on the road.
There are two main forces that the shock controls:

Compression forces and Rebound forces.

Compression forces are very easy to explain.
You are driving down a very smooth road, and you hit a bump.
The tire travels up, and compresses the shock absorber.

Depending on how the compression damping inside the shock is set up, this controls how much of the compression force is absorbed by the shock, and how much is transmitted into the body of the car, which ultimately is felt you you in the driver's seat.

Basically, the compression damping is controlled by the size of the orifices in the piston body inside the shock. The larger the size of the holes, the more fluid can travel through when the piston compresses the fluid. The larger the holes, the softer the ride can be. The smaller the holes, the more resistance there is the the fluid passing through, and more of the impact force is transmitted through to the body of the car, and the driver.

Now, once the shock compresses, it eventually has to go back to its normal position. The job of the spring is to push the suspension back apart, but by itself, the spring will just oscillate uncontrollably. The shock absorber has to stop this from happening.

This is where the Rebound damping takes place.
As the piston in the shock goes back to its normal position, there is a check valve in the shock that seals off the compression damping orifices, which then forces the fluid to travel through another set of holes that control the rebound damping rate.

Again, as with the compression orifices, the ones that control the rebound damping will allow more fluid as they are larger, and less fluid as they are smaller. But in this case, too large makes the ride jarring, while too small causes the suspension to take too long to get back to its original position.

In other words, too little rebound damping causes the back end of the car to jolt back into position, causing the rear end to get light and skittish, like a bucking feeling. Too much rebound damping feels like your suspension is made out of tar and molasses. The rear end seems to stick in the compressed position, and really can put the car out of sorts on a bumpy, curve, right quick.

Personally, I would want a shock that offers just a smidge too little compression damping, and also a smidge too little rebound damping. This means that the shock will travel up and down on the firm side, without being overly jolting in either direction.

Hope this helps you understand what is going on with the suspension a bit better.

BC.

 

terrific. wonderful input. thank you very much.

 

even if the post was done back in 2010, the data still is valid and of great help.
and am learning that the shocks now come with an improvement that allows us to adjust/calibrate them easily at any moment until reaching the most convenient. great!
they come with a **** that we place on top and turn and then remove and store for future use.
and this are for the other versions of the crossfire too !

 

I just could not stand the harsh ride, so went with na OEM rear springs and bilsten springs for na in fronts, matted with b4 bilstein shocks front and back.
way better smoothness, no more steering wobble. but boge shocks are even softer, may be too much at least for me.

 

same happened to me, but i went to adjustable shocks as in here: https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...ispreloading=1
it took some fiddling but eventually found the setting that made driving most pleasurable. now i feel the car the way i think should be. at least for my way of driving.