trishw Report post Posted April 2, 2016 Im buying 6 new tires soon and will replace the shcoks as well (it has the originals on the 2004 coach) My question is Koni or Bilstein? Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted April 2, 2016 Please tell us what chassis you have? What year is it? How many miles on it? What symptoms of bad shocks do you have: Porpoising? Bouncing more than 1.5 times when going over parking lot "topes" at regular low speed? Rough ride? Other? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trishw Report post Posted April 2, 2016 I have a Spartan Mountain Master IFS 1370 on a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star 4025 About 76k miles Just bought it so very little info that I can provide on ride other than it seems to drive fine. It has the original 2004 Monroe shocks so feel they need to be changed out along with the 8 yrs old tires. Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blakeloke Report post Posted April 2, 2016 Trishw, Years ago we upgraded our Monroe shocks to Bilsteins. At the same time we changed out the tires from Goodyear to Michelin. Glad we made the switch. Our coach has much better road manners now. Check out this website if you plan to order the shocks yourself. I ordered ours from there. Make sure you get the application correct as the first set I ordered were not correct (tower top mount rather than eye bolt top mount). I actually still have them....brand new in box if anyone wants them....free. Bilstein F4-BE5-F627-HO. I never got around to returning them and when I ran across them it was too late. I'll send them to someone if it fits their coach and they plan to use them. http://www.shockwarehouse.com/index.cfm?mode=results&selected_model=30568&selected_year=2004 Blake Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted April 2, 2016 Both Koni and Bilstein have shock that should be substantial upgrades over the OE Monroes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trishw Report post Posted April 2, 2016 So in your opinion either is just fine? Go with price? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blakeloke Report post Posted April 2, 2016 Concur with Brett on Koni or Bilstein. Price may be deciding factor. Blake Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted April 2, 2016 Actually, I would do research on both for your chassis. Both have come out with new products/series in the last couple of years. I know I went with a brand new series of Koni (99 series) early this year. Were not even available until the very end of 2015. So, advice on what others did a year or two ago may not be "best current advice". Some are more performance oriented, some more comfort oriented. No "here is the one that is always best". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dickandlois Report post Posted April 2, 2016 Blake, Nice offer Regarding the shocks. Could you post the chassis your coach is built on for the group? Makes it easier for others to compare their chassis info. with your 2005 Monaco. Sometimes they change part numbers over the years! Rich. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted April 2, 2016 Yes, and even for the same year and make of chassis, IFS vs straight axle are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blakeloke Report post Posted April 2, 2016 Sure Rich...... 2005 Monaco Windsor. RR8R Chassis. Data sticker indicates manufacture date of 3/2005. Blake Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trishw Report post Posted April 3, 2016 Trishw, Years ago we upgraded our Monroe shocks to Bilsteins. At the same time we changed out the tires from Goodyear to Michelin. Glad we made the switch. Our coach has much better road manners now. Check out this website if you plan to order the shocks yourself. I ordered ours from there. Make sure you get the application correct as the first set I ordered were not correct (tower top mount rather than eye bolt top mount). I actually still have them....brand new in box if anyone wants them....free. Bilstein F4-BE5-F627-HO. I never got around to returning them and when I ran across them it was too late. I'll send them to someone if it fits their coach and they plan to use them. http://www.shockwarehouse.com/index.cfm?mode=results&selected_model=30568&selected_year=2004 Blake Wow Good to know about these differences. I'll check to see which I have.... Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trishw Report post Posted April 14, 2016 Update - Got Bilstein shocks. I called Spartan to ID exactly the right ones for my MoHo and there was nothing to worry about as far as 'application' they were direct replacements for the old ones. No plates or anything special needed. The 6 new tires are on 4 with date stamps of 0616 and two with 0816. When I first got there I asked them to show me the date stamps to ensure they were what I'd been told I was getting. The very first tire he showed be was 0615 (yes 2015) I was like NOPE, not gonna work. So that led to a bunch of manager escalation calls and fast drive down by one of the managers with the correctly dated tires (from their other shop location). Apparently the fellow I had talked to initially personally saw all 6 of the correctly dated tires but some communication breakdown occured (ahem) and 3 of those that were sent down were 2015s). They fixed it promptly and wrote on each tire 1-6 next to the date stamp so I could be sure they were the correct one. Bought them via the Michelin tire plan at FMCA right here..... worked great and ended up with the correct tires. She floats down the road like a dream now. Oh, neglected to say that they also found she needed 2 Ball Joints (lowers only) for the front axle. I was able to order them direct from Spartan (just like I did the shocks) for a savings of $150 per Ball Joint than what the tire shop could get them for. (347 each vrs 499) It pays to do your own leg work and double check everything Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
