Downgrading from 20" to 19" on GTPE for ride quality improvements

[Mach1E]

Thanks for all the replies!

I really appreciate the feedback and suggestions.

I usually drive in Whisper mode since it feels the smoothest, though I’ve noticed that Unbridled is firm in comparison but does help reduce some of the floatiness.

I didn’t know about the sway bar and bushing upgrade option—thanks for that suggestion! Is that something I can tackle as a DIY project, or would it be better handled by a dealer? Eibach also says not compatible with magride GTs

One of the main issues I’m dealing with is how the repetitive minor bumps and the tilt of the road get translated to the driver’s body and head more than I expected. For example, I find my head bouncing against the headrest a lot more than in my 2018 Mustang GT or our X3. Strangely the ride feels worse with passengers.

That said, the suspension does work well for handling larger impacts, like railroad tracks, and the overall handling and road holding are quite good.

I’ve already tried lowering the tire pressure from 39 to 35 PSI, but it didn’t make much difference, which is why I’m considering the downgrade to smaller wheels. However, I’m also starting to think that the root cause might be the overly damped suspension on such a heavy vehicle, so I’m wondering if the wheel swap will fully address the issue. (as some suggested here)

I am also considering switching to the new Rally edition which supposedly has a great ride quality, or something with an air suspension like the Audi E-tron.

Really would love to improve this because I absolutely love everything else about the car.

Since you already dropped the tire pressure and didn’t get the results you want, that should tell you right away that different wheels and tires aren’t going to solve your problem.

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[tuminatr]

The sway bar bushings are not hard to do but it depends on how mechanical you are. Make sure you measure the bars before you buy bushings the size i sent is just an example of the type to buy.

 

[HuntingPudel]

The stock set bar bushings are bonded to the bars in a manner that places a preload on the bars. This means that if you were to try to replace the bushings you need to cut them off of the stock bars and polish the bearing points clean before replacing the bushings. My opinion is you’re better off buying aftermarket bars and replacing them due to the amount of effort involved in cleaning up the stock bars. ?‍?

Many people already have the aftermarket bars on their GT-PEs. They fit fine on Magneride cars. The Steeda front bar requires modification to fit (swing arms need to be trimmed to avoid contact with the tie rods at extreme steering angles). The Eibach bars are a direct swap. Either brand is a swap that can be done in the driveway. I have done several in my driveway. @markboris has probably done 4x the number I have but he does his in his garage so he don’t count. ??

 

[Jerrytball]

I know Mark Borris has done a lot of these swap outs with the Eibach, And I’m interested in doing this to get a little better ride on my GT, I’m just wondering if I’m gonna have a clearance problem I don’t know if anybody can tell by this picture that’s gonna lower it too low for me?

 

[HuntingPudel]

I know Mark Borris has done a lot of these swap outs with the Eibach, And I’m interested in doing this to get a little better ride on my GT, I’m just wondering if I’m gonna have a clearance problem I don’t know if anybody can tell by this picture that’s gonna lower it too low for me?

See https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...springs-anti-roll-sway-bars.32640/post-753169

Too low for you and too low for me may be very different things. I had less than 3.5” ground clearance on my ‘71 street Celica and I regularly flogged it out to the Federal Wildlife Preserves to go hunting. ?‍?

 

[Jerrytball]

See https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...springs-anti-roll-sway-bars.32640/post-753169

Too low for you and too low for me may be very different things. I had less than 3.5” ground clearance on my ‘71 street Celica and I regularly flogged it out to the Federal Wildlife Preserves to go hunting. ?‍?

I read through a lot of that Steve I guess the question would be what would be the better ride, taller or shorter lol?

 

[HuntingPudel]

I read through a lot of that Steve I guess the question would be what would be the better ride, taller or shorter lol?

It’s not taller or shorter that makes the difference. Eibach has a progressive rate lowering spring that is softer for the initial part of compression, stiffer around mid-way. The rate is what will make the ride softer. Whether softer or stiffer is a “better ride” is subjective, but most people prefer less of an initial hit because it reduces harshness. ??

 

[Jerrytball]

It’s not taller or shorter that makes the difference. Eibach has a progressive rate lowering spring that is softer for the initial part of compression, stiffer around mid-way. The rate is what will make the ride softer. Whether softer or stiffer is a “better ride” is subjective, but most people prefer less of an initial hit because it reduces harshness. ??

I guess what I’m looking for is like I think Mach Lee said one time was the short jerky when you hit like a bump I’m trying to get away from that, when you turn like into your neighborhood and it’s kind of a downhill and it just throws you back-and-forth I’m trying to get rid of that whatever do you wanna call it that quick jerk or throwing you back-and-forth feeling?

 

[HuntingPudel]

I guess what I’m looking for is like I think Mach Lee said one time was the short jerky when you hit like a bump I’m trying to get away from that, when you turn like into your neighborhood and it’s kind of a downhill and it just throws you back-and-forth I’m trying to get rid of that whatever do you wanna call it that quick jerk or throwing you back-and-forth feeling?

So the initial impact is bugging you. The progressive springs should help then. ??

 

[Jerrytball]

So the initial impact is bugging you. The progressive springs should help then. ??

So is this the set right here?

 

[HuntingPudel]

So is this the set right here?

I think @azerik put the GT springs in his Premium. ??

 

[markboris]

So is this the set right here?

Jerry, those are not the springs you want. You want progressive springs front and rear and the kit above has linear rear springs. We all (Premium, GT and GTPE) have been using the GT lowering springs since that is the kit that has progressive springs for both front and rear. Part# E10-35-054-04-22

Looking at your photo above in an earlier post, I don't think you will have clearance problems with your tires. It will lower the car a hair over an inch and in normal driving you will be fine. However if you have the wheels fully cranked to one side or the other and you happen to go over a very large dip in the road at a high speed, yes you might contact the inner lip of the wheel moulding with the tire but that would be rare. I have not had that issue yet with my car and have had it lowered for more than 25K miles.

 

[load97]

The summer tires that came on my 23 were not that memorable. Though I switched to a 20x9” aftermarket wheel, the all season tires I put on are 255/45/20 and my ride is definitely better. Traction also better. I’m guessing the combination of wheels/tires for me made a big difference.

 

[Dysan911]

One of the main issues I’m dealing with is how the repetitive minor bumps and the tilt of the road get translated to the driver’s body and head more than I expected. For example, I find my head bouncing against the headrest a lot more than in my 2018 Mustang GT or our X3. Strangely the ride feels worse with passengers.

Must just be the characteristic of this vehicle. I have the GT non-magnaride and specifically put in the Eibach springs to lessen the stiffness of the stock springs which it did that 100%. The cost came at lowering the vehicle which I am not a fan of but it is what it is. I then added the Swaybars for a huge improvement in handling and finally, Koni rear adjustable shocks to tone down the undampened rear-end bounce or more specifically what you described above. I thought for sure the Magna ride owners didn't have this to deal with that whatsoever and I had major regrets I didn't splurge for the GTPE w/Magnaride but it sounds like even it can't 100% eliminate that design flaw. (Perhaps it's less than the GT though)

FWIW.. I have mine dialed in as best as it's probably ever going to get. I experimented with different rear shock settings for a few months and compared the settings to how it affected ride quality vs rear-end bounce (pitching). For me, I found anything greater than 1 to 1.5 turns towards stiffness got me into a point of diminishing returns. Meaning, sadly that further adjustments provided less improvement.

The only thing left to try I think is the KW V3 Coilovers but that's a hefty investment I'm personally not prepared to spend anytime soon on this thing. (It's already lost a lot of value as is).

Overall where I have everything dialed in is pretty good. It could use a touch more rear dampening but for me anything more and the comfortable ride qualities start to slip. I really wish a Shock Company like Tein, Bilsteins or Koni would just come out with a Comfort Ride set Front and Rear matched product. Guess there's just not enough of us to warrant them developing anything though.

 

[markboris]

Brian, you've done all you can like many here and have gotten improvements in the ride (less harsh), handling (corners flatter) and have lessened the rear end bounce.

Your comment about the GTPE with the mag-ride shocks not eliminating the rear end bounce is true however it is less than any other trim even the GT. When I was developing and testing the Koni rear shock setup for the Mach-E, I was doing so on a Premium but also tested my GTPE along side the test car. The GTPE had about half the bounce the Premium had to start with but when I started dialing up the stiffness on the Koni's, the bounce became less than the GTPE. The GT has ever so slightly less bounce than a premium because the shocks on a GT have slightly higher dampening.

Steve (HuntingPudel) has said this multiple times and so have I, the GTPE is still too soft in Unbridle. We would like to have more dampening in Unbridle like we get with the Koni's to lessen the bounce even further and to lessen the float that the car still has at least that is Steve and my opinion. When I set the Mag-ride shocks to Track drive mode on the Focus RS or the GT500, they firm up nicely. The car doesn't have one ounce of float and everything feels well connected. I replaced the suspension controller on both of those cars with a custom one made by DSC Sport which further helped because you can dial in the dampening you want for any drive mode. Unfortunately they do not and will not make one for our cars. I have tried for the last 3+ years talking to them about this sending them photos and wiring diagrams of our controller and they keep telling me there is not enough GTPE's out there and or people that would be interested in such a product. Steve and I drive exclusively in Unbridle just so we can have the most firm setting however if Koni ever made a front shock that would fit the Mach-E or come close and I can modify it to fit like I did for the rear shocks, I would replace my mag ride shocks with them.

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