I have a set of the adjustable yellow sports using the stock springs. Firm but not harsh, I run them around halfway between soft and hard. One of the best upgrades I've done.
I’m quite partial to koni struts/shocks. You can adjust the rebound rate to make them softer for your commute but stiffen them up when you get to hit those mountain roads
Plus they work on stock springs if you’re like me and like the car not bottoming out
After almost two months and driving 4000 kilometers on varying quality mountain roads, I think I made a good decision when opting for the Koni Special Actives for my 2006 Mazda3. I expected them to be a bit softer, as they are stiffer than the Koni FSD. They are not uncomfortably stiff, shielding people inside the car from harsh roads and speed bumps. The car feels really stable. Summarizing my impressions so far: reduced high frequency noises and jolts, reduced body roll and pitch, increased stability, the car feels more composed even in extreme situations, and feels more premium. The faster I go on bad roads, the smoother it feels.
If you prefer a firm ride, go with B6. The damper shaft is almost twice as thick as stock (and the B4 units). I had B8 with ACS springs and rrrrreally enjoyed the setup (same as B6 but shorter). If I wanted to maintain standard ride height, I’d definitely get the B6.
I swapped in Bilstein B8 shocks, now it looks great and the ride is great too.
I have an Alltrack with GTI springs and B4s. It's well controlled but doesn't take as hard a set when cornering as the Koni's I had previously. I got tired of replacing the koni struts and they were too firm for the wife so the B4's were an easy choice.
I did koni inserts with epic engineering springs on my saabauri before I converted to sti suspension and ohlins fp struts. The konis felt great.
You will probably find what you're after just entirely from upgrading shock absorbers. There are stock height options from Koni and Bilstein at least (and plenty of others, I haven't dug too far into it). It will improve the ride as a lot of the poor ride quality standard is in the shock absorbers and how they're set up, not the spring rate being too soft.
I just put Bilstein 5100’s front and rear on my ‘13 platinum. Just can’t use the sport/comfort modes.
I have Bilstein B8 Performance shock absorbers with Eibach EW 2067001VA springs; on a sedan 2002 530i manual transmission.
Great ride on a perfectly smooth road and stable on the highway at high speeds.
Horrible where I live.
To be honest, I kinda regret installing them.
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