Shock absorbers KONI or OLD MAN EMU
Fresh suspension, Koni shocks and H&R Springs. New front and rear shock mounts
My recommendation for street is Koni Yellows with the FM springs.
Koni Special Actives are an excellent choice for your objectives.
Have a look at some Koni sports they keep the car handling well and can lower it to close that gap up a bit and take off the blue tint.
I\u2019d personally recommend some Koni yellows off FM.
Family member has a f30 with b8s and I've had countless cars on stiff coilovers. I ended up doing koni orange (str.t) and Hr springs. Feels like a click above fresh factory suspension. Tight and responsive but never jarring. Iirc koni yellows on a lower setting can achieve the same feeling.
I have the entry level E46 Ground Control setup that includes Koni shocks. It's a vastly superior ride to the bilstein PSS kit I had before this but the kit is not perfect
It has Old Man Emu Shock absorbers on it already (no idea which or hold old as they came with the car)
I swapped them into my 2018 performance and the difference was extremely subtle.
I went back to OEM after Koni Yellows with Eibach springs on both. The freeways in SoCal were too rough and it felt like I was crashing constantly
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Show allWhich shock absorbers to choose — KONI or OLD MAN EMU?
If choosing shock absorbers across many manufacturers, check the part ranking. If your choice is down to two brands, the PartReview part comparisons help.
We compare shock absorbers across these categories:
- PR Score.
- Overall ranking.
- Vote balance.
- Average rating.
- Number of reviews.
- Feature ratings.
- Car owners’ choice.
Which shock absorbers are better — OLD MAN EMU or KONI?
In March 2026 on PartReview, shock absorbers KONI were overall better than OLD MAN EMU.
- KONI received a PR Score of 88 out of 100, and OLD MAN EMU scored 78 points.
- KONI ranked 2 in the overall ranking, and OLD MAN EMU ranked 8.
- The average rating is higher for KONI (4.2) than for OLD MAN EMU (4.1).
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Shock absorbers KONI have better feature ratings than OLD MAN EMU:
- Bottoming - owners believe, that this property for OLD MAN EMU is better than KONI.
- Body bounce - drivers claim, that this property for OLD MAN EMU is outperforms KONI.
- Leaks - reviews suggest, that this property for OLD MAN EMU is preferred to KONI.
Which shock absorbers are more popular — KONI or OLD MAN EMU?
In March 2026 on PartReview, shock absorbers KONI were overall more popular than OLD MAN EMU.
By vote balance, shock absorbers KONI surpassed OLD MAN EMU:
- For KONI, the ratio of positive (726) to negative (99) votes is 627 votes.
- For OLD MAN EMU, the ratio of positive (25) to negative (7) votes is 18 votes.
By number of reviews, shock absorbers KONI surpassed OLD MAN EMU:
- For shock absorbers KONI there are 266 reviews: 224 positive, 27 neutral, 15 negative.
- For shock absorbers OLD MAN EMU there are 10 reviews: 7 positive, 2 neutral, 1 negative.
Which shock absorbers do car owners prefer — KONI or OLD MAN EMU?
In March 2026, according to PartReview, shock absorbers KONI led more car-specific ratings than OLD MAN EMU:
KONI are chosen by owners of cars such as: Ford Mustang, Honda Civic, Mazda 3, Volkswagen Passat, Volkswagen Tiguan, and others.
Shock absorbers OLD MAN EMU have not yet taken leading positions in car-specific ratings. You can help by adding a review and specifying your car.
Other comparisons of shock absorbers
If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.
For example, comparisons of shock absorbers KONI with: Bilstein, KYB, Monroe, Sachs, Rancho, Dobinsons, FOX, GABRIEL, OEM Toyota, OEM Volkswagen.
Also available: comparisons of shock absorbers OLD MAN EMU with: Bilstein, KYB, Monroe, Sachs, Rancho, Dobinsons, FOX, GABRIEL, OEM Toyota, OEM Volkswagen.
You can also see who is better among other shock absorbers manufacturers: Bilstein or KONI, Bilstein or KYB, Bilstein or Monroe, Bilstein or Sachs, Bilstein or Rancho.