Koni or Bilsteins are better than OEM defintely. Id say Bilsteins are a little better than Koni but are harder and not adjustable. I have Konis and can fine tune the setting to what I like. Konis are a little cheaper also.

 

My 2.4 SW is in a similar condition (seems like it will bottom out over ramps, very very low looking), Im going to take a chance on these:
ALFA ROMEO 156 SPORTWAGON LOWERING SPRINGS + SHOCK KIT bei eBay.de: Performance Tuning Parts (endet 19.06.10 21:44:01 MESZ)

Apparently the same (rebadged) as the £100 more expensive set by FK Automotive.

 

dont waste your money !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pay good money for quality :thumbs:can you afford to replace twice??????????

im sure someone on here had them and leaked within 12 months if that

 

buy koni street kit wich is non adjustable and comes out in region of 350

 

I've fitted 2 sets of those and neither set laste on the car longer than 6 months, the first ones had a rear shock leak out after only 2 weaks due to contraction of the seals in the cold wether last winter.

My personal choice and recommendation is Koni FSD's and Eibach pro/Koni pro srings depending on if you want red or blue springs on the golden dampers.

 

I can beat EBSpares Bilstein B4s price by about 10%. I've got a set of 156 B4s in stock ready for immediate dispatch, if you wanted to go down that route

 

Those shocks sound dodgy to me. Agree - dont waste your time and money on those FK things. Buy Koni or Bilstein or nothing. IMHO the Konis are only slightly better than the Boges OEM so getting anything less is going to be worse than OEM in my opinion.

 

Ill let you know when I get them so we can make that assessment based on results, not feelings.

 

Wow, sounds a lot like my approach, I got a pair of eBay special MAFs last year too, car (non-Alfa) wouldnt even start on them. For 1/10 the price, I had to give them a shot though.
For £210, I too have no issue trying and if necessary berating the suspension kit. FK Automotive (assume they are rebranded) are no fly by night operation either. My stock shocks have 130k on them and are completely dead by my reckoning.

 

I have a set of FK Automotive coilovers on a Golf Mk2, bought them 6 years ago, done track days and about 30000 miles on the road. Other than the height adjuster platforms seizing I have found them spot on. Plus with them having Koni inserts they have been great when top adjustment is required. Just my 2p on what I know about FK.

 

Just remember what ever you do you need to consider the cost of installation of the shocks just on their own. It cost me $350 or 200GBP just to install 2 shocks in the front. Plus $550 or 225 GBP with the cost of the shocks on top of that. So for me my Konis cost $900 or 450 GBP to have the front koni shocks installed -Total.

If you want to experiment with cheaper shocks what happens if your not happy with them? You will have to pay $350 or 200 GBP again to have them removed an install new shocks again together with the cost of the new shocks again on top of that.

And I havent even started on the rear shocks yet. So it becomes very expensive experimenting on shocks in order to save money. Unless you like to install them yourself and only risk your own time thats up to you.

I would prefer to make a safe and conservative investment on proven products like Konis or Bilstein as you know they will work best the first time.

 

And I havent even started on the rear shocks yet. So it becomes very expensive experimenting on shocks in order to save money. Unless you like to install them yourself and only risk your own time thats up to you.

I would prefer to make a safe and conservative investment on proven products like Konis or Bilstein as you know they will work best the first time.

Well I will be installing them myself so...

 

Just a thought, have you had your front suspension arm bushes checked? Just recently my GTV developed very crashy front suspension to the point where I was considering up grading/replacing my springs/dampers but when it went in for a service it was discoverd that one of the rubber bushes had come adrift from it's sleeve and had been squeezed out. Resulting in the 'riding on girders' feeling that was annoying me so much. One new lower arm later and all is good with the world again

 

I had the 'crashy front' and still do even with the new Koni FSD and Eibach spring combination. All control arms, bushes, and droplinks are now replaced. It all made little difference apart to get rid of a few knocks. The problem is a shuddering feeling in the front of the car, a bump sets off a shaking that oscillates a couple of times. Body control is fine, corners really well, feels balanced... but just can't go over a bump in the road without the shaking and the body flex (steering wheel vs. seat vs. floor). Maybe my car is missing a load of welds or something... :lol:

The root cause - I suspect the unsprung mass is really high on the 156 - large discs and calipers, a cast-iron upright and lower control arm, thick driveshafts and big CV joints, the upper arm, AND the weight of the strut, and that's before you bolt on huge wheels and tyres

The upper arm and strut are probably inconsequential - their weight seems low relative to the other parts.

I'm using GT 17" wheels/tyres which I think look lovely, but they are so heavy at 20kg each. If only there was a way to lighten them and reduce the unsprung mass that wobbles around every time the 156 hits a bump. I'm pretty certain that the only way to reduce the 'crashy front' will be to get the unsprung mass back down to 80's car levels (you know, when cars had tiny brakes, pressed-steel McPherson struts (rather than cast iron), and 14" steel wheels weighing 10kg).

Carbon-ceramic brake discs would be a good start (if only they were available), alloy brake calipers like the old days would be good... and is it possible to reduce the weight of that upright (spindle) in a safe manner, by grinding material off it, for instance?

The ratio of sprung to unsprung mass is what determines the ride quality, but I don't think we want to increase the sprung mass that Alfa Romeo tried so hard to reduce with plastic engine parts, magnesium seat frames in the early 156s, etc. Having said that, you can see why the V6 versions always ride better than the Twinsparks - the unsprung mass is the same, but there is more sprung mass to maintain an even keel as the unsprung mass moves around. Basically, every moving part in the suspension needs to be made lighter, but with the 156, it seems that Alfa Romeo made every moving part heavier - and then made the not-moving parts (such as the rear crossmember) lighter. I think this is why the ride quality is so much worse than the old 155 or even the 75.

-Alex

 

The ratio of sprung to unsprung mass is what determines the ride quality, but I don't think we want to increase the sprung mass that Alfa Romeo tried so hard to reduce with plastic engine parts, magnesium seat frames in the early 156s, etc. Having said that, you can see why the V6 versions always ride better than the Twinsparks - the unsprung mass is the same, but there is more sprung mass to maintain an even keel as the unsprung mass moves around. Basically, every moving part in the suspension needs to be made lighter, but with the 156, it seems that Alfa Romeo made every moving part heavier - and then made the not-moving parts (such as the rear crossmember) lighter. I think this is why the ride quality is so much worse than the old 155 or even the 75.

-Alex

sorry but if spring and damper rates are matched there should be no crashing ,problem with alfa's is over sprung and under dampened shockabsorbers typical italian
if you go up market to say kw coil overs these units are perfectly matched and any poor road doesnt bother handling,thats if bushes are in good condition thouh:thumbs: at the end of the day kw i had are about 1400 quid now but you pay for quality and testing

 

so did anyone buy the ebay kit?

 

0of0 bought and fitted a similar kit a few years ago. Still happy with it on his v6.

 

looks like this might be on the cards for later in the summer, scrapped the underside of the bumper the other morning coming off a speed havent done that since i had a non-sportpack 156 back in '05, its definately a little crashy of late.

the kit 30/40mm lowering, thats the standard sportpack height correct?

 

I also bought the kit and finished fitting it today. So far so good, the old parts were Magneti Marelli branded, all 4 shocks were effectively dead and the two front springs had broken coils. Clearly the "ebay" kit (hate that term, there are loads on ebay, Im referring to the yellow and red ones I linked to) is a vast improvement.
The new ones with the advertised 40mm drop are not overly low, the rears are much lower now (they were sky high before) and the fronts about the same height as the broken spring Magneti's.

For anyone doing a self install, have all 4 Drop Links for the Sway bars ready and to hand before starting. You will also need an mini-angle grinder (cutting wheel) as the Alfa appears to be the most rust prone car I have ever seen. The rust friendly design is shocking. :wow:
Many parts will be completely siezed and will require cutting to remove.