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

[markboris]

These were as close as I could get. I was staring at an actual wall of bushings. I love having offroad shops around.

When you've pulled the shocks off all the other times, did you notice the 5 to 10 degree cant on the lower bushing?

We have only have one dedicated off-road shop here in town and they have very few parts and no bushings. I use this company for all of my specialty screws, fasteners, bushings, etc. They are here in CA and anything I order from them I get in 2 days free shipping so it is almost like having a place here.
https://www.mcmaster.com/

No, I did not notice the lower busing being cantered and have had the shocks in and out quite a few times on both my previous premium and my current GT.

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[Mach-Lee]

@markboris Dumb question, but where is the resiliency in that top mount? Does it bolt through a rubber bushing? There has to be some to absorb the geometry differences (slight pivot) as the shock compresses. No resilience in the top mount could lead to metal fatigue and this happening:

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/broken-rear-strut-mount.150037/

I’m slightly worried about overloading the shock mounts on the rebound stroke if we use stiffer shocks.

 

[Mach1E]

Bilstein has a chart of technical specs on all their shocks. The one that came the closest was actually for any 2005-2014 Mustang (rear). So any shock (KYB, Monroe, Gabriel, etc) made for that car would work. While I could have chosen a lesser shock for only $30, they don't have the dampening that the Bilstein and Koni's have. I actually have one more shock coming in from Viking. it is the most expensive of the lot at $240 but it is dual adjustable (adjusts compression and rebound separately). I have a feeling I will not be testing this shock as that involves more tuning than I want to get into. I could always take the car to a suspension tuning place like Chris Alston's Chassisworks here in Sacramento (https://www.cachassisworks.com/) and have him look at it. I'm sure he can make it ride like a caddy but all of this would be a bit too much. I am mainly doing this to see if I can improve the ride for others with non magneride MME's.

The Bilstein part number is 24122245. It is their Heavy Duty B6 model.
The Koni part number is 8241 1240Sport. It is their sport yellow series adjustable shock.
The Viking part number is B226

That’s awesome someone is finally trying it.

I’m curious why use a Mustang shock? Why not a shock for the Lincoln Aviator (since it’s much closer in weight to our cars)?

 

[markboris]

@markboris Dumb question, but where is the resiliency in that top mount? Does it bolt through a rubber bushing? There has to be some to absorb the geometry differences (slight pivot) as the shock compresses. No resilience in the top mount could lead to metal fatigue and this happening:

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/broken-rear-strut-mount.150037/

I’m slightly worried about overloading the shock mounts on the rebound stroke if we use stiffer shocks.

Hey Lee, that is not a dumb question at all. Inside the top mount is a metal bushing that has rubber vulcanized around it. The shock rod attaches to it.

These shock mounts are extremely heavy duty and they have to be for this car. Just having a couple of rubber donuts and steel washers supporting the top won't do.

Took some photos for you:

 

[fpasta]

I'm almost a year in this car and I am probably changing the way I thought about the suspension. I actually like it. RWD SR. I like it this way because of the road imperfections at any place. It soaks bumps or what not good enough for me. And is the best of course in smooth roads. Any firmer it would probably chatter. I like my stock setup keeps it fun. Is actually fun to drive when you know how the suspension acts and drive it that way. I like letting mine sit. Sit at rear and blast off lol. Probably going to cc my salesman at the dealer.

 

[markboris]

That’s awesome someone is finally trying it.

I’m curious why use a Mustang shock? Why not a shock for the Lincoln Aviator (since it’s much closer in weight to our cars)?

It is not about the shock being heavy duty or not (these shocks are much more heavy duty than any OEM shocks) but what will fit the car. There are many variables. First the shock needs to be 19 3/4" in length from the eyelet to the top of the rod collar (not to the end of the rod). Second, the shock has to have a minimum of 7 1/2" of travel. You can find shocks that are 19 3/4" long but the body of the shock might be long giving you a shorter travel than 7 1/2" or visa versa. Then there is the mount which of there are all types. The shock had to have an eyelet mount at the bottom and it had to be at least 2 1/8" wide and the eyelet has to fit a 12M bolt. The top mount has to be a stud type mount.

After looking through the specs on all the shocks I could find, the '04-'14 Mustang rear shocks happen to be the one that was the closest (almost dead on). I could have cared less if it was for a Toyota truck or a Mini Cooper. It has to fit and work, that is the top priority. Maybe what you meant by your question was getting a shock for a Mustang is not as heavy duty as one for an Aviator or another vehicle? That is really not the case with these shocks. If I buy a Bilstein B4, that is their OEM valved shock and not heavy duty. No batter what car you put a B4 on, the valving is very similar. I am working with the Bilstien B6 shocks which are HD and again, no matter what B6 you get for what car, they are valved similar. Same with Koni. The yellow sport adjustable shocks I am using would be the same tuning inside the shock if it was for a mini cooper or and F150 and that one of the reasons Koni makes theirs adjustable.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Hey Lee, that is not a dumb question at all. Inside the top mount is a metal bushing that has rubber vulcanized around it. The shock rod attaches to it.

These shock mounts are extremely heavy duty and they have to be for this car. Just having a couple of rubber donuts and steel washers supporting the top won't do.

Took some photos for you:

Thanks for doing that, that makes sense how they did it.

 

[azerik]

To me the stock top mount allows a bit of movement upward (on the compression side of things), on the rebound movement it looks like it's got no room.

I doubt one would be able to grab the mount (off the car but bolted to the shock) and wobble it much, if at all. The shock angle on this car from full droop to fully compressed doesn't appear to be more than a couple degrees. It's almost perfectly vertical. When I pulled mine off to look at it my lower bushing had a couple degree cant to it. I'm not totally sure why, or if that shock bushing just crapped out. 25k on the car but who knows.

My previous plans for the weekend appear to have changed as my kid is running a fever our field trip is canceled and garage floor time might be back on.

 

[Mach1E]

It is not about the shock being heavy duty or not (these shocks are much more heavy duty than any OEM shocks) but what will fit the car. There are many variables. First the shock needs to be 19 3/4" in length from the eyelet to the top of the rod collar (not to the end of the rod). Second, the shock has to have a minimum of 7 1/2" of travel. You can find shocks that are 19 3/4" long but the body of the shock might be long giving you a shorter travel than 7 1/2" or visa versa. Then there is the mount which of there are all types. The shock had to have an eyelet mount at the bottom and it had to be at least 2 1/8" wide and the eyelet has to fit a 12M bolt. The top mount has to be a stud type mount.

After looking through the specs on all the shocks I could find, the '04-'14 Mustang rear shocks happen to be the one that was the closest (almost dead on). I could have cared less if it was for a Toyota truck or a Mini Cooper. It has to fit and work, that is the top priority. Maybe what you meant by your question was getting a shock for a Mustang is not as heavy duty as one for an Aviator or another vehicle? That is really not the case with these shocks. If I buy a Bilstein B4, that is their OEM valved shock and not heavy duty. No batter what car you put a B4 on, the valving is very similar. I am working with the Bilstien B6 shocks which are HD and again, no matter what B6 you get for what car, they are valved similar. Same with Koni. The yellow sport adjustable shocks I am using would be the same tuning inside the shock if it was for a mini cooper or and F150 and that one of the reasons Koni makes theirs adjustable.

That makes sense. And yeah, that was kinda what I was getting at.

The other “why try the Aviator shocks” is that the stock suspension in my wife’s Aviator is extremely smooth. Probably exactly what people complaining about the ride quality are looking for.

But if they aren’t the right length and won’t attach, they won’t work. I don’t know what the Aviator shock specs are.

 

[mikenindorf]

interested in seeing what the results are.

 

[Anton]

interested in seeing what the results are.

Some preliminary testing results here:
https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...ing-to-improve-the-mach-e-ride-quality.26609/

TL;DR
Konis on stiffest setting improved my ride quality and removed the resonating bounce on the roads I travel.

Testing still in progress.

 

[lamster]

Hello all, I have a GT non performance and my shocks/suspensions are very hard. I took back to the dealer to check and they said normal nothing wrong. I don’t know how to describe hard n soft as it is relative for each but am very unhappy with the ride. It’s definitely not bouncy. My Subaru Crosstrek plug-in hybrid is so much nicer ride. I read some of the posts and feel like min does hit the bottom or stop when hitting bumps potholes etc. After 6+ months I found the Engage mode is slightly better than the Whisper mode, I should have read the manual earlier. But still it’s not what I want. Does anyone have my problem?

 

[mkhuffman]

Hello all, I have a GT non performance and my shocks/suspensions are very hard. I took back to the dealer to check and they said normal nothing wrong. I don’t know how to describe hard n soft as it is relative for each but am very unhappy with the ride. It’s definitely not bouncy. My Subaru Crosstrek plug-in hybrid is so much nicer ride. I read some of the posts and feel like min does hit the bottom or stop when hitting bumps potholes etc. After 6+ months I found the Engage mode is slightly better than the Whisper mode, I should have read the manual earlier. But still it’s not what I want. Does anyone have my problem?

In the base GT, drive mode has no impact on ride quality.

Personally I think the GT ride quality is excellent except for rough roads - rebound isn't damped enough. I replaced the sway bars with the Steeda ones which greatly increased left to right stability. But rebound is too aggressive IMO.

 

[ElectrikPony]

A bit of “keeping it real” . My 22’GT ride on stock shocks and struts is bouncy and harsh. I’d literally bounce out my seat on some stretches of road. I put on the KW coilovers and it’s still what I would consider harsh. It’s a controlled harsh though and not as bouncy.

I test drove a GTPE significantly smoother and not bouncy at all.

is the $6,000 up charge worth it ?

 

[mikenindorf]

I test drove a 21 GTPE last week. used. ride was smoother than my Premium. But very noisy- tires.
the dealership is asking $58k.

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