Smart Solutions

Body Control to The Next Level

KONI presents its Special Active range, equipped with Frequency Selective Damping (FSD), a world-first first shock absorber offering superior handling without compromising comfort.

This revolutionary damping technique combines the benefits of both firm and comfortable suspension in a single, refined shock absorber. Firm for sporty driving on even road surfaces. Comfortable for a smooth ride on uneven road surfaces.

KONI’s engineering team sought to resolve two seemingly diametrically opposed concepts – comfort and handling. An obvious example is a Formula 1 racing car which offers the best possible roadholding but with minimal comfort. In a personal or sports car, one expects to experience the ultimate in comfort, combined with safe roadholding. Minimum damping is required for your comfort whilst strong damping is needed for safe and stable driving.

In general suspension terms, this conflict between comfort and handling can be split in two different frequency areas:
• For comfort, with the suspension moving in a high frequency area (± 10 Hz), it is necessary for low damping forces for the vehicle to remain comfortable
• For handling, with the suspension moving in a low frequency area (± 1 Hz), it is necessary for high damping forces for the vehicle to remain safe and in control Conventional dampers are unable to solve the conflict in terms of comfort and handling, however if one could create a damper which can change the damping force level in relation to the frequency of the movement, then this conflict would be resolved. The KONI FSD technology does just that, but how?

In standard shock absorbers, the main damping characteristic is defined by the oil flow going through the piston assembly. KONI added to this a special FSD valve, which controls the parallel oil flow next tothe one going through the piston.

This parallel oil flow is closed by the FSD, giving a rise in damping force almost linear to the time that the piston is moving in one direction. Put simply: the FSD feature is a hydraulic amplifier that delays the build-up of pressure.

Since it is an integrated part of the hydraulic valve system inside the damper, no additional cables, sensors, or any other electronic devices are needed. In comparison with costly electronic systems with complex computerised technology and sensors, FSD is the simplest and most economical way to significantly improve the ride and driving characteristics of every car.

Position-dependent shock absorbers will give you extra comfort, as they allow more movement of your car, but as a result the roadholding is inferior. Sudden bumps in the road will still be very unpleasant. Pneumatic shock absorbers may improve roadholding, but they are very expensiveand time consuming to set up correctly.

KONI FSD technology combines the ultimate in comfort and roadholding. Being a purely mechanical technology, it removes any cost, reliability, or complexity problems which can arise from using electronically controlled suspension components.

KONI Special Active dampers with FSD has been proven on more than 1.5 million factory equipped vehicles and is available in Australia from Toperformance Products as an aftermarket upgrade for many modern European and Japanese vehicles.

Visit www.toperformance.com.au

Send this to a friend