Can't deal with the bouncy ride anymore after two weeks with the Mach-E. What do I do?

[Sureshot125]

I am glad you posted your findings on these two cars. It is what I have been saying about my Premium 4X after I replaced the springs and shocks with the GT parts. Now you see the difference in both cars. Much less bouncy and a more firm, smoother ride with better handling. That is how I describe it. I now have a GTPE and it is a little smoother with a bit less bounce BUT the difference between the GT and GTPE is not nearly as great as was the Premium with stock suspension going to to the GT suspension.

How much did it cost you to do that?

Sponsored

 

[mkhuffman]

How do you mean on this one? Where would one check?

Examine the springs on each wheel. The shipping blocks are inserted into the springs to prevent car movement when transporting. I believe they are more commonly used for overseas shipments, and only some rare cases U.S. buyers got cars with the blocks inserted. The dealer would hopefully notice when prepping the car, and remove them, but since they are not common on domestic shipments, they might not notice.

It is probably not your issue, but it is easy to check.

 

[markboris]

How much did it cost you to do that?

It was around $800 at the time but that was back in September so prices may have gone up.

I have to say again, while changing out the stock Premium suspension with the GT (non PE) suspension made it ride better (more hunkered down) over irregular road surfaces (potholes, dips, uneven surfaces) it still has quite the bounce over constant expansion joints on freeways. My recommendation has always been to find someone with a GT or a dealer that has one for a test drive and take it on the roads you are having issues with to see if it is worth it for your roads.

Here in my area we have NO freeways with expansion joints so it was not until I drove my car to Arizona to deliver it to my friend that bought it, that I experienced more bounce than I had here. Is it worth spending the $800 changing out the springs and shocks to the GT versions to reduce the bounce? After driving it to Arizona, in my opinion, no it isn't. Would I do it again? Yes I would because the original reason I did this was to lower the car 1/2" and get better handling and both were achieved.

 

[Sureshot125]

It was around $800 at the time but that was back in September so prices may have gone up.

I have to say again, while changing out the stock Premium suspension with the GT (non PE) suspension made it ride better (more hunkered down) over irregular road surfaces (potholes, dips, uneven surfaces) it still has quite the bounce over constant expansion joints on freeways. My recommendation has always been to find someone with a GT or a dealer that has one for a test drive and take it on the roads you are having issues with to see if it is worth it for your roads.

Here in my area we have NO freeways with expansion joints so it was not until I drove my car to Arizona to deliver it to my friend that bought it, that I experienced more bounce than I had here. Is it worth spending the $800 changing out the springs and shocks to the GT versions to reduce the bounce? After driving it to Arizona, in my opinion, no it isn't. Would I do it again? Yes I would because the original reason I did this was to lower the car 1/2" and get better handling and both were achieved.

Have a GT in the family and the ride quality is night and day to me, the underdamping on the premium is nightmarish and exhausting after 9mos of ownership. Was that $800 with you replacing all the parts yourself? I have the GT rear springs on order but I wonder if I shouldn’t order the fronts and struts for front/back and have someone do the job for me instead given I don’t have a lift.

 

[Sureshot125]

Examine the springs on each wheel. The shipping blocks are inserted into the springs to prevent car movement when transporting. I believe they are more commonly used for overseas shipments, and only some rare cases U.S. buyers got cars with the blocks inserted. The dealer would hopefully notice when prepping the car, and remove them, but since they are not common on domestic shipments, they might not notice.

It is probably not your issue, but it is easy to check.

Checked, if only it were that easy

 

[markboris]

Have a GT in the family and the ride quality is night and day to me, the underdamping on the premium is nightmarish and exhausting after 9mos of ownership. Was that $800 with you replacing all the parts yourself? I have the GT rear springs on order but I wonder if I shouldn’t order the fronts and struts for front/back and have someone do the job for me instead given I don’t have a lift.

I did it all myself. I have a lift in my garage so it's less time consuming and a bit easier. I am very use to changing out springs and shocks as I have done this on the Escape, Focus RS and recently my 500. For me (I am 67 and slow) it takes about 90-120 min to do the fronts and 60-90 minutes to do the rears (that's springs and shocks). I have an old fashioned manual spring compressor so that takes up a bit more time. With the amount of springs I've changed in the last 10 years, I really should have gotten a proper one. I ordered all the parts from Tasca Parts as they were much cheaper than the dealers prices. I listed all the part numbers in a post way back in this thread can can find it if you don't have them.

Like I said earlier I was only interested in lowering the car 1/2" so I replaced the springs only at first. After I liked the ride a bit better, decided to change out the front struts (had to remove the springs again) and the rear shocks to complete the GT suspension upgrade. Figured would be better to have the stiffer shocks to go along with the new springs and yes, they are stiffer. The only thing I did not do is replace the sway bars with the GT versions.

 

[Sureshot125]

I did it all myself. I have a lift in my garage so it's less time consuming and a bit easier. I am very use to changing out springs and shocks as I have done this on the Escape, Focus RS and recently my 500. For me (I am 67 and slow) it takes about 90-120 min to do the fronts and 60-90 minutes to do the rears (that's springs and shocks). I have an old fashioned manual spring compressor so that takes up a bit more time. With the amount of springs I've changed in the last 10 years, I really should have gotten a proper one. I ordered all the parts from Tasca Parts as they were much cheaper than the dealers prices. I listed all the part numbers in a post way back in this thread can can find it if you don't have them.

Like I said earlier I was only interested in lowering the car 1/2" so I replaced the springs only at first. After I liked the ride a bit better, decided to change out the front struts (had to remove the springs again) and the rear shocks to complete the GT suspension upgrade. Figured would be better to have the stiffer shocks and yes, they are stiffer. The only thing I did not do is replace the sway bars with the GT versions.

Ah see, while my family has a 4-point lift, I do not have a spring compressor. I’ll see if maybe a shop around town could quote it out given it’d be my first time ever having done such a job.

 

[markboris]

Ah see, while my family has a 4-point lift, I do not have a spring compressor. I’ll see if maybe a shop around town could quote it out given it’d be my first time ever having done such a job.

You can also rent them (old fashioned manual) at most auto parts stores. They are not that easy to use but I have air tools so it's not so bad.

 

[Sureshot125]

You can also rent them (old fashioned manual) at most auto parts stores. They are not that easy to use but I have air tools so it's not so bad.

I might be a bit concerned to have that much force as an amateur, I saw your post for the rear springs but did you say you had the full part list for springs/shocks?

 

[markboris]

I might be a bit concerned to have that much force as an amateur, I saw your post for the rear springs but did you say you had the full part list for springs/shocks?

Below are the part numbers for the GT springs and struts/shocks:
Front struts: Left LK9Z-18124-A, Right LK9Z-18124-B
Rear shocks: LK9Z-18125-A x2
Front springs: LK9Z-5310-B x2
Rear springs: LK9Z-5560-B x2

 

[Sureshot125]

Below are the part numbers for the GT springs and struts/shocks:
Front struts: Left LK9Z-18124-A, Right LK9Z-18124-B
Rear shocks: LK9Z-18125-A x2
Front springs: LK9Z-5310-B x2
Rear springs: LK9Z-5560-B x2

Lifesaver, thank you!!

 

[Sureshot125]

Below are the part numbers for the GT springs and struts/shocks:
Front struts: Left LK9Z-18124-A, Right LK9Z-18124-B
Rear shocks: LK9Z-18125-A x2
Front springs: LK9Z-5310-B x2
Rear springs: LK9Z-5560-B x2

Do you reckon that I could get away with getting most of the benefits from just the spring replacement and not the shocks?

 

[Mach1E]

Do you reckon that I could get away with getting most of the benefits from just the spring replacement and not the shocks?

If anything I would guess the opposite.
Shocks seem to be more of the problem.

 

[markboris]

If anything I would guess the opposite.
Shocks seem to be more of the problem.

Exactly. I think it is at least 50/50 if not more the shocks.

 

[taikajim]

For what it’s worth, I got the KW’s installed, and running them on defaults has helped with the pitching motion, a lot.

The problem with the car is ”over-suspended under-dampened”, meaning the car exhibits a firm posture with the slight increase of harshness, with the inability to control the mass resting on the springs.

It’s really hard to quantify the change, and the best I came up with is a container of liquid on the dash (handsanitizer in a clear bottle). Before the coilovers, the liquid was moving constantly along the length axis as the increased pitching suggests it would. After the install, the liquid is much calmer, often remaining stable on stretches of highways that were problematic before.

And as a subjective opinion, every aspect of the ride has improved. It still retains the same firmness, but now feels slightly more capable of absorbing the small bounces with increased grace.

And most importantly, I no longer get motion sickness.

Sponsored