KYB Excel-G struts are set for release in 3rd qtr 2022.

[scotman]

These dampers have a good following of loyal customers. They are a popular choice of Honda owners.
Knowing that the Mazda 2 was a sister chassis to Fiesta i had considered these several years ago. But, the curb weight of the Fiesta is greater than the 2 by a good margin. So, i moved on.
KYB is a Japanese company with a good reputation for consistently high quality products.
They don't do " cookie cutter" style development of their products.
They have offered a rear shock for some time. It is #3438002
The LH front strut is #3348057
The RH front strut is # 3348056
The fronts should hit the market in late August or early September.
I expect that the average retail price of a full set to be in the $360.00 range not including any rebates or inflationary pressures, whatever that might be. View attachment 6317

 

[scotman]

I am waiting for word on KYB front struts price and availability any day now. They will be installed on my project hatchback fiesta in place of the B6 Bilstein dampers which are too harsh. They might go back on it. But, the car is about 170 pounds lighter than stock as it sits now. I think that might be part of the problem with getting the last 2 mil lights to stay off. I have to try something that might be the trick to returning it to a normal condition for mil lights.

 

[econoboxrocks]

I had KYBs on my last car. Rode smooth as stock, but they really helped it corner better. Curious to see how these do on the Fiesta.

 

[scotman]

I expect to get price information on the KYB dampers just ahead of their release.

 

[scotman]

I had KYBs on my last car. Rode smooth as stock, but they really helped it corner better. Curious to see how these do on the Fiesta.

The two Honda Fit owners i know that had the KYB praised the smooth ride quality without giving much body roll during a quick maneuver. Which is basically the same behavior as you described.
I also have looked at the offerings from Monroe and Gabriel. Back in the 70's Gabriel had some interesting products. But, now neither have anything to compare to Koni, Bilstein or KYB.
I know that Tokico is back in North America after a long hiatus, but I am not aware of any Tokico for Fiesta. I liked the set of Tokico's that came as part of the equipment spec for my Escort ZX2 SR.

 

[econoboxrocks]

I just bought Koni rears for my car. They're not installed yet. The consensus over on the FiST forum is that they smooth up the ride considerably for non-racers. I'll have a 4000+ mile road trip to try them out the next day.

 

[scotman]

Yellows? If so, dont screw them down to "firm". I can't recall if it's just go half firm or exactly how much. I found the sweet spot for me at " firm minus one and a half rotations". I wish that Koni sport dampers were available as dyno matched sets for an added cost! Rears especially. Each Koni sport damper is slightly different from one another. So even if you know what each corner weight is, the shock adjustment is not going to get you there at first.
You are going to love them yellow shocks! They totally eliminated the brutal ride quality and didn't sacrifice the sharp handling one bit. The worst part of the stock dampers was the way that they crashed over uneven concrete pavement. Im not even at a considerable rate of speed and it was just very harsh.

 

[econoboxrocks]

Oh, sorry! I should have said I got the orange STR-T. They're just plain struts with no adjustment.

I love the agile feeling of the stock suspension, though it's too harsh for some. It's more about daily driving and not getting a lot of squeaks and rattles as the car ages.
The rear damping on the stockers is really stiff. It's a legendary car for bombing corners, arguably the best hot hatch in the world for that, but I don't do any race tracks these days, and the roads here are boring.
I'll sacrifice some of that cornering intensity for a less bouncy ride. I might feel differently if I was in Colorado.

 

[scotman]

That works too! Your spinal column will love you. Word on the street is that the STR-T are like the yellow version set at the softer end of the scale.

 

[FiEscort]

Nice find! I had these on my ZX2 and they were definitely better than stock and Monroe struts too. A KYB rep informed me that the valving specs had a 10% increase in damping over OEM. They rode smooth and were mildly firm.

 

[scotman]

The stock, original equipment dampers on the ZX2 when new were supplied to Ford by Gabriel de' Mexico. So, they were not really a very good quality item. Very much a " built to a price" component.

 

[scotman]

At some point this week I should have a pair of KYB Excel G struts delivered to my house.
All the other KYB parts and the rear dampers are waiting.