Installed Mach-E Rally Springs on my 2023 RWD ER

[leehinde]

They're like "dude, we've sold 12 Rallys. Why do you need 45 sets of springs?"

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[motto]

After ordering from a place that supposedly had RK9Z-5560-A in stock (which is the Rally's Rear shock that @giwu42 referenced) I am now being told the following...

My apologies, their seems to be an issue with Part# RK9Z-5560-A in our online system. This part# is no longer available, and is replaced by part #RK9Z-5560-B. This happens automatically in my inhouse system, so I was not aware that it did not happen on the online system.​

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RK9Z-5560-B is a much more expensive price.​

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Retail: $492.75 CAD ea.​

Sale: $394.20 CAD ea.​

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My apologies for the confusion. Your new total to order and ship these parts would be $1,107.03CAD including tax.​

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Please let me know if you wish to continue. I perfectly understand if you do not, that is a major price differential.​

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Has anybody heard of RK9Z-5560-B ? I am taking this all with a grain of salt of course but wanted to share the next chapter in my odyssey.

 

[giwu42]

I think it is the new rear spring for the Rally. I doubt it is any different besides from price

 

[giwu42]

Which is absurd might as i might add

 

[giwu42]

Just completed a 240 mile road trip from Dallas to Houston today. I set cruise control at 75mph the entire time, and I was getting roughly 2.8-3.1 mi/kwh . Morning temps were in the low 50s in Dallas and warmed up to the 60s when I arrived in Houston. Prior to spring installation, I would roughly get about 3 mi/kwh driving the same route back and forth from Dallas to Houston at 75mph. Granted there was a decent tailwind today, so that potentially masked any potential efficiency loss which may have occurred given the 0.8" lift. Otherwise, the ride was really smooth and I enjoyed it!

 

[Billyk24]

Just completed a 240 mile road trip from Dallas to Houston today. I set cruise control at 75mph the entire time, and I was getting roughly 2.8-3.1 mi/kwh . Morning temps were in the low 50s in Dallas and warmed up to the 60s when I arrived in Houston. Prior to spring installation, I would roughly get about 3 mi/kwh driving the same route back and forth from Dallas to Houston at 75mph. Granted there was a decent tailwind today, so that potentially masked any potential efficiency loss which may have occurred given the 0.8" lift. Otherwise, the ride was really smooth and I enjoyed it!

Some of us are not complaining about smoothness driving on the interstate. It is the other roads causing issues.

 

[giwu42]

Some of us are not complaining about smoothness driving on the interstate. It is the other roads causing issues.

The rally springs do a really good job of smoothing out the ride on uneven surfaces. I no longer feel the small road imperfections, and the big dips in the road are very dull compared to before.

 

[HuntingPudel]

The shocks are stiff to protect the rear motor. If I wanted to smooth the landing on a speed bump, isn't the fix softer rebound and progressive springs?

I test drove a Rav4 and it was floaty. Softer springs = more body roll. OP, does it feel slightly top heavy now?

Pretty much the opposite is happening with the stock setup. It's under-damped in the rebound direction, which allows the overly-stiff springs to extend the suspension too much/too often, causing the "bouncy" ride. The rear shocks that Mark and Erik were working on had much more rebound stiffness to help tame that tendency. ??

A set of progressive springs helps further in that they're softer at static height but stiffer when compressed. This actually helps velocity-sensitive shocks clamp down quicker while also reducing spring rate at static height and beyond. That reduces the tendency to over-travel on rebound, making the car less "bouncy." ??

 

[Kachook]

So, I want to give much thanks to Giwu (OP) for the assistance in this matter. I got lucky and ordered the springs pretty much after I saw the post. Delivery happened in about 3 days. This was something that has been on my mind since we purchased the vehicle back in mid-21. My wife has become the daily driver for the last year and I forgot about it except when I rode in the vehicle and would see my kids (literally) bouncing on any mid-sized bumps on the road and hearing everything in the hatch area bounce as well.

I have a few more comments. First, in re: stealership v. private suspension shop, I really would have preferred a private suspension shop familiar with EVs. However, as multiple folks pointed out, I purchased the extended warranty for a reason from Ford (online). I don't want to risk wasting the money because some Ford dealers states I got this work done somewhere else. That is the only reason. Here is my experience. I called the Ford dealer with whom I have done my two services. Their quote was $1549.95, which included the cost of the alignment. Keep in mind that I am bringing the parts to them. That was a hard no.

Next, I called a different dealer. The gentleman told me $500 plus a wheel alignment cost (approx. $130) and they'd do a tire rotation for free. Man, I was excited. So, I drop the car off on Friday morning and the dude says, "Man, I am so sorry. I only quoted you for the front springs. I didn't realize you wanted all four corners." It is normally $600 per axle. I am sorry I quoted you that, but I have to charge you $500 per axle and the cost of the alignment. " He was quite apologetic. Was this an "honest" mistake or not? I don't know. The issue was that with the other dealer still being $350 more, I decided to pull the trigger. Plus, I had to rearrange my work schedule and my wife rearranged hers to be able to pick me up from the dealer. Yes, I could have Ubered, but it would have been more $. Lastly, car was supposed to be done by early afternoon - ends up being done right before close making us both late to different things. Really, the delay in getting it (really it was only 4 hours) would not have bothered me if the cost hadn't almost doubled.

Now, onto the ride quality itself knowing we have only driven it for two days. My kids definitely noticed it and I did. My wife did not until I pointed it out to her. The difference is primarily when going over bumps, the car in the back is not hopping. We have some terribly constructed and maintained roads near where we live. It also smoothes out some of the bumps. I didn't expect and wouldn't expect a Cadillac-type ride. But, it is definitely more livable. So, overall, I am happy with it. The total cost including alignment, parts and labor ended up being ($290 for parts w/delivery and $1195 at dealer) a little less than $1500. I kept the old springs - don't know what I am going to do with them. Thanks again, @giwu42!

PS - I did not realize until after I wrote this that all four tires are at 45 psi (after being driven for about an hour). I am going to drop them all once cold to about 36 psi.

 

[giwu42]

So, I want to give much thanks to Giwu (OP) for the assistance in this matter. I got lucky and ordered the springs pretty much after I saw the post. Delivery happened in about 3 days. This was something that has been on my mind since we purchased the vehicle back in mid-21. My wife has become the daily driver for the last year and I forgot about it except when I rode in the vehicle and would see my kids (literally) bouncing on any mid-sized bumps on the road and hearing everything in the hatch area bounce as well.

I have a few more comments. First, in re: stealership v. private suspension shop, I really would have preferred a private suspension shop familiar with EVs. However, as multiple folks pointed out, I purchased the extended warranty for a reason from Ford (online). I don't want to risk wasting the money because some Ford dealers states I got this work done somewhere else. That is the only reason. Here is my experience. I called the Ford dealer with whom I have done my two services. Their quote was $1549.95, which included the cost of the alignment. Keep in mind that I am bringing the parts to them. That was a hard no.

Next, I called a different dealer. The gentleman told me $500 plus a wheel alignment cost (approx. $130) and they'd do a tire rotation for free. Man, I was excited. So, I drop the car off on Friday morning and the dude says, "Man, I am so sorry. I only quoted you for the front springs. I didn't realize you wanted all four corners." It is normally $600 per axle. I am sorry I quoted you that, but I have to charge you $500 per axle and the cost of the alignment. " He was quite apologetic. Was this an "honest" mistake or not? I don't know. The issue was that with the other dealer still being $350 more, I decided to pull the trigger. Plus, I had to rearrange my work schedule and my wife rearranged hers to be able to pick me up from the dealer. Yes, I could have Ubered, but it would have been more $. Lastly, car was supposed to be done by early afternoon - ends up being done right before close making us both late to different things. Really, the delay in getting it (really it was only 4 hours) would not have bothered me if the cost hadn't almost doubled.

Now, onto the ride quality itself knowing we have only driven it for two days. My kids definitely noticed it and I did. My wife did not until I pointed it out to her. The difference is primarily when going over bumps, the car in the back is not hopping. We have some terribly constructed and maintained roads near where we live. It also smoothes out some of the bumps. I didn't expect and wouldn't expect a Cadillac-type ride. But, it is definitely more livable. So, overall, I am happy with it. The total cost including alignment, parts and labor ended up being ($290 for parts w/delivery and $1195 at dealer) a little less than $1500. I kept the old springs - don't know what I am going to do with them. Thanks again, @giwu42!

PS - I did not realize until after I wrote this that all four tires are at 45 psi (after being driven for about an hour). I am going to drop them all once cold to about 36 psi.

please let us know how it goes after you deflate your tires! I run mine around 37psi

 

[HayaCruza]

Has anyone found an alternative to the Rally springs that are on back order?

With this much spring range between rally and stock on both K value and height, there has to be alternatives that are similar. Ford Edge, Mustang, ?

 

[markboris]

Has anyone found an alternative to the Rally springs that are on back order?

With this much spring range between rally and stock on both K value and height, there has to be alternatives that are similar. Ford Edge, Mustang, ?

Besides Eibach's "Rally" springs that raise the car, at this time, there are NO other after market alternatives. Unfortunately the Eibach springs have the same spring rate as the standard Mach-E trims where as Ford's Rally springs have a reduced rate. Other Ford springs (Edge, ICE Mustang) have a much lower spring rate since they don't have to support a heavy battery.

 

[HayaCruza]

I would have thought with such a huge reduction especially in the rear we would be getting close. I also would have expected the fronts to be close to 5.0 Mustang.

 

[markboris]

I would have thought with such a huge reduction especially in the rear we would be getting close. I also would have expected the fronts to be close to 5.0 Mustang.

For an ICE Mustang, none of the springs would be tall enough for the Mach-E even though the rates are similar. The Edge might be high enough but the spring rates would not work.

 

[Ford_orr]

Question for the experts. I'm definitely going to change out the suspension as many have done. Going w/the Rally springs (if the rears ever come down in price) and Eibach sway bars. I feel this setup gives me the best of all worlds.

So I've started calling shops around me to get installation quotes and when I asked about alignment, a couple mentioned there might be extra considerations to the wheel alignment of a Mach E and thus be more costly than a standard wheel alignment (I did mention the camber adjustment bolts for the front springs and that I would be providing them as well).

The question is, does this wheel alignment call for any extra considerations, or is it just a standard alignment like most vehicles?

Thanks all

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