Hi all,
Recently updated the suspension on my 2016 Kona FiST and I couldn’t find a comprehensive review on what I wanted to go with so I’m here to write one myself and hopefully steer some people in the right direction when it comes to getting some new suspension!
I decided to go with a set of Bilstein B8 shocks front and rear paired with swift spec r springs as well as all the OEM rubber bits (bump stops, boots, spring pads) power flex upper spring pads, and KYB mounts. I’ve heard a lot about the shocks and the springs by themselves but not a lot about people running them together and I thought I’d share my thoughts. I’ll split this into 3 parts; Installation, first impressions, and current impressions with photos in between. IMPORTANT INFO ON BILSTEIN SHOCKS FOR THE FIESTA!!!!! I’ve heard a lot of confusion about bilstein shocks and internal bump stops, it’s true that most bilstein B6 and B8 shocks have internal bump stops HOWEVER the shocks for the fiesta DO NOT!! You will need to run you’re stock bump stops both front and rear.
INSTALLATION
one of the benefits I’ve found with these cars is how easy the suspension is to work on/replace. No special tools needed just a good set of basic sockets and extensions, jack and stands, a spring compressor and torque wrench (rented from orileys) a buddy and a few beers. The most annoying part of the whole process as I’m sure a lot of you know is in order to have good access to the shock towers in the front, both headlights and upper and lower cowls need to be removed, not hard, just time consuming. A second set of hands is definitely recommended for installing the rear springs as you need to hold both springs in place as you jack up the rear torsion bar and fit the lower shock bolts. Overall took us about 2-2.5 hours for the full install.
View attachment IMG_4957.jpeg View attachment IMG_6556.jpeg
INITIAL THOUGHTS
I knew the ride was going to be harsh but I wasn’t expecting how harsh it would be on my first drive. The car definitely drove great and turn in was definitely improved but every bump and crack in the road wasn’t terrible, you just felt it more. Less crashy and more solid, yet firm, but I know I had to give everything some time to settle in and soften up. I did run into one unsettling noise on my first drive coming from the back passenger corner. It was almost a grinding noise, like metal on metal reverberating through the back of the car on nearly every bump, very alarming for sure. Turns out it was improper alignment of the upper shock mount in the frame. When you bolt the shock to the frame part of the shock shaft (and the corresponding 12mm nut the shock uses to attach to the mount) has to fit through a small hole in the frame. If this isn’t centered when you bolt the 2 10mm bolts holding the shock mount to the car, that 12mm nut will rub on the frame causing this gross noise. Luckily no damage was done and loosening and retightening the shock mount fixed the issue.
THOUGHTS AFTER ~ 1000 MI
after driving the car around for a few weeks and letting all the parts settle into their new homes I couldn’t be happier with this setup. Yes the ride is firmer than stock, however It is so much less crashy feeling than the OEM suspention. (granted the suspention I pulled off the car was far from perfect) The best way I can describe the ride is SOLID, the car feels like it’s glued to the road and no matter how big or rough the bumps are the car just eats it up. Yes you feel all the imperfections in the road but not in a loud and busy way but in a confident, almost commanding way. Through the corners the car is nearly perfect, it corners flat but not too flat, and feels sharp but not twitchy. Really just takes all the natural playfulness and handling characteristics and turns them up to 11. What I didn’t expect however was a much better ride on the highway. This is my daily driver and as much as I hate to say this car spends most of its time at 70mph on the freeway. With putting these parts on I was ready for the inevitable compromise of having a bumpy and harsh ride on out not-so-smooth 101 hwy, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only was the ride not terrible, but actually improved over stock. Like I said before you do feel those bumps, dips, and expansion cracks a bit more, but the car settles so much smoother and quicker after those bumps. Instead of feeling like you’re being bounced around after a dip, you have one somewhat harsher hit then the car settles and smooths out again. It’s honestly a really smooth ride at speed. Of course however, low speed cruising on rough roads is still a bit of a bumpy mess, but it’s a trade-off I’m willing to accept, and that can always be fixed my going with the softer spring rates of mountune springs. Overall ride it’s firm but solid and improved at hwy speeds.
RIDE HEIGHT
As this is my daily driver I didn’t want to absolutely slam the car, hence why I decided to go with the swift springs as they only drop the whole car about an inch all around. Of course you should still be careful on steep drives but speed bumps are not an issue whatsoever. Definitely drops the car enough to give it a good stance and look but not enough where you’re sweating every time you see a bump in the road, below are some pictures that should show a good before and after.
before
View attachment IMG_5222.jpeg
after
View attachment IMG_6623.jpeg View attachment IMG_6639.jpeg View attachment IMG_6640.jpeg
CONCLUSION
Bilstein B8s plus Swift Spec R springs are a perfect mix of daily driver comfort and firm, racecar-for-the-road performance and a huge upgrade over stock. Definitely give the suspension time to break in, it will soften up after the first few hundred miles. Hopefully I can add more to this post as I hopefully plan and doing a few AutoX sessions in the future and can speak more on the performance driving side of this setup. Thanks for reading
Recently updated the suspension on my 2016 Kona FiST and I couldn’t find a comprehensive review on what I wanted to go with so I’m here to write one myself and hopefully steer some people in the right direction when it comes to getting some new suspension!
I decided to go with a set of Bilstein B8 shocks front and rear paired with swift spec r springs as well as all the OEM rubber bits (bump stops, boots, spring pads) power flex upper spring pads, and KYB mounts. I’ve heard a lot about the shocks and the springs by themselves but not a lot about people running them together and I thought I’d share my thoughts. I’ll split this into 3 parts; Installation, first impressions, and current impressions with photos in between. IMPORTANT INFO ON BILSTEIN SHOCKS FOR THE FIESTA!!!!! I’ve heard a lot of confusion about bilstein shocks and internal bump stops, it’s true that most bilstein B6 and B8 shocks have internal bump stops HOWEVER the shocks for the fiesta DO NOT!! You will need to run you’re stock bump stops both front and rear.
INSTALLATION
one of the benefits I’ve found with these cars is how easy the suspension is to work on/replace. No special tools needed just a good set of basic sockets and extensions, jack and stands, a spring compressor and torque wrench (rented from orileys) a buddy and a few beers. The most annoying part of the whole process as I’m sure a lot of you know is in order to have good access to the shock towers in the front, both headlights and upper and lower cowls need to be removed, not hard, just time consuming. A second set of hands is definitely recommended for installing the rear springs as you need to hold both springs in place as you jack up the rear torsion bar and fit the lower shock bolts. Overall took us about 2-2.5 hours for the full install.
View attachment IMG_4957.jpeg View attachment IMG_6556.jpeg
INITIAL THOUGHTS
I knew the ride was going to be harsh but I wasn’t expecting how harsh it would be on my first drive. The car definitely drove great and turn in was definitely improved but every bump and crack in the road wasn’t terrible, you just felt it more. Less crashy and more solid, yet firm, but I know I had to give everything some time to settle in and soften up. I did run into one unsettling noise on my first drive coming from the back passenger corner. It was almost a grinding noise, like metal on metal reverberating through the back of the car on nearly every bump, very alarming for sure. Turns out it was improper alignment of the upper shock mount in the frame. When you bolt the shock to the frame part of the shock shaft (and the corresponding 12mm nut the shock uses to attach to the mount) has to fit through a small hole in the frame. If this isn’t centered when you bolt the 2 10mm bolts holding the shock mount to the car, that 12mm nut will rub on the frame causing this gross noise. Luckily no damage was done and loosening and retightening the shock mount fixed the issue.
THOUGHTS AFTER ~ 1000 MI
after driving the car around for a few weeks and letting all the parts settle into their new homes I couldn’t be happier with this setup. Yes the ride is firmer than stock, however It is so much less crashy feeling than the OEM suspention. (granted the suspention I pulled off the car was far from perfect) The best way I can describe the ride is SOLID, the car feels like it’s glued to the road and no matter how big or rough the bumps are the car just eats it up. Yes you feel all the imperfections in the road but not in a loud and busy way but in a confident, almost commanding way. Through the corners the car is nearly perfect, it corners flat but not too flat, and feels sharp but not twitchy. Really just takes all the natural playfulness and handling characteristics and turns them up to 11. What I didn’t expect however was a much better ride on the highway. This is my daily driver and as much as I hate to say this car spends most of its time at 70mph on the freeway. With putting these parts on I was ready for the inevitable compromise of having a bumpy and harsh ride on out not-so-smooth 101 hwy, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only was the ride not terrible, but actually improved over stock. Like I said before you do feel those bumps, dips, and expansion cracks a bit more, but the car settles so much smoother and quicker after those bumps. Instead of feeling like you’re being bounced around after a dip, you have one somewhat harsher hit then the car settles and smooths out again. It’s honestly a really smooth ride at speed. Of course however, low speed cruising on rough roads is still a bit of a bumpy mess, but it’s a trade-off I’m willing to accept, and that can always be fixed my going with the softer spring rates of mountune springs. Overall ride it’s firm but solid and improved at hwy speeds.
RIDE HEIGHT
As this is my daily driver I didn’t want to absolutely slam the car, hence why I decided to go with the swift springs as they only drop the whole car about an inch all around. Of course you should still be careful on steep drives but speed bumps are not an issue whatsoever. Definitely drops the car enough to give it a good stance and look but not enough where you’re sweating every time you see a bump in the road, below are some pictures that should show a good before and after.
before
View attachment IMG_5222.jpeg
after
View attachment IMG_6623.jpeg View attachment IMG_6639.jpeg View attachment IMG_6640.jpeg
CONCLUSION
Bilstein B8s plus Swift Spec R springs are a perfect mix of daily driver comfort and firm, racecar-for-the-road performance and a huge upgrade over stock. Definitely give the suspension time to break in, it will soften up after the first few hundred miles. Hopefully I can add more to this post as I hopefully plan and doing a few AutoX sessions in the future and can speak more on the performance driving side of this setup. Thanks for reading
