Handling

[markboris]

It’s been a while since I looked at the thread on front sway bars.

have their issues been resolved? Rubbing and grease issues. I held off initially after I had the rear put on and then saw all the feedback about noise, squeaking and lubing , hacking off a bit of the sway bar etc.

when I had contacted Steeda about all that they said they weren’t aware of any issues, granted that was early on .

I also did see somewhere that the front was changed a bit.

would appreciate any thoughts

Hey Ken, this is a tough one to answer. I believe I am the second member to add the front sway bar (first to add the rear) that I know of. I did have to take off the last hole (1" off of each end) and lube the end links as they were dry when I got them, or barely greased. Since then, I've had it on the car for more than 15K miles and haven't had any issues. I know quite a few members all did the same thing and haven't had issues since.

I heard Steeda slightly changed the bar but cannot verify that myself. About two months ago I met up with a member having knocking noises with his and found the shop he had it installed put it in upside down. This is kind of an easy thing to do since there is no markings on the bar which side is up. I also know of one or two members that are still having some type of noise issue with theirs and don't know if their bar was installed incorrectly or their end links were never greased.

I would have to say if the bar is installed correctly and the end links greased and adjusted to the proper length prior to installing them that you shouldn't have any issues. I'm sure you are happy with the rear bar and how it helps keeping the car flat in the turns. Adding the front bar doubles that and completes the setup. Unless you have changed out your OEM tires for high performance summer or all-season tires, I do not recommend setting either bar to the firmest setting. However if you ever do upgrade your tires and set to the firm setting, your car will handle nothing like it did when it was stock (will be much much better).

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[kennethjk]

Hey Ken, this is a tough one to answer. I believe I am the second member to add the front sway bar (first to add the rear) that I know of. I did have to take off the last hole (1" off of each end) and lube the end links as they were dry when I got them, or barely greased. Since then, I've had it on the car for more than 15K miles and haven't had any issues. I know quite a few members all did the same thing and haven't had issues since.

I heard Steeda slightly changed the bar but cannot verify that myself. About two months ago I met up with a member having knocking noises with his and found the shop he had it installed put it in upside down. This is kind of an easy thing to do since there is no markings on the bar which side is up. I also know of one or two members that are still having some type of noise issue with theirs and don't know if their bar was installed incorrectly or their end links were never greased.

I would have to say if the bar is installed correctly and the end links greased and adjusted to the proper length prior to installing them that you shouldn't have any issues. I'm sure you are happy with the rear bar and how it helps keeping the car flat in the turns. Adding the front bar doubles that and completes the setup. Unless you have changed out your OEM tires for high performance summer or all-season tires, I do not recommend setting either bar to the firmest setting. However if you ever do upgrade your tires and set to the firm setting, your car will handle nothing like it did when it was stock (will be much much better).

Mark

I did see this on their website “These feature greasable ends.” Don’t know if that’s new

I e mailed them to find out more info and will probably call.

I will have the car in Florida in a few months and might have them install It for me as they have a service center near my home in Florida.

thanks for the quick response

 

[markboris]

Someday, maybe. Too many other projects going on for what the wife would say as unnecessary. I feel like the car is more limited by traction from skinny tires than suspension, though.

You are absolutely correct Steve. The car has very little traction do to the tires being too skinny. This is especially true with the power of the GT models and having EV specific tires on them makes it worse. This is why I always recommend to go up one size on the OEM wheels (which is as much as you can go anyway on them) and get high performance summer non-EV tires for maximum traction. High performance all-season tires will have less traction than the summers but still much better than any of the OEM tires. Adding in an EV specific tire will reduce the traction a bit more. The thing is, you will never be able to buy a tire that will do everything well. Something has to give. You either go for max performance, max comfort or max range.

For me personally, I wanted an all-season tire on my GTPE since it is my DD and don't want to change out tires as the seasons come and go. I don't need an all out performance car since I already have one of those but just wanted to improve on the handling of the Mach-E. Changing out the wheels to wider ones, I can run much wider tires allowing me to run a high performance all-season tire giving me the traction I would get from a high performance summer tire in the narrower size that fits the OEM wheel. All of this has to do with traction but won't improve the poor way this car handles in the turns and wallows about side to side. Adding the front and rear Steeda sway bars take care of that and completes the overall upgrade to the handling of this car.

 

[markboris]

Mark

I did see this on their website “These feature greasable ends.” Don’t know if that’s new

I e mailed them to find out more info and will probably call.

I will have the car in Florida in a few months and might have them install It for me as they have a service center near my home in Florida.

thanks for the quick response

Well then, having Steeda install the bar I doubt you will have any issues. Their end links have ALWAYS had grease fittings on the ends. The issue was, they were not greased prior to shipping and we assumed they were. After several hundred miles quite a few members here, me included, started getting knocking noises and found they were dry. After greasing, no more knocking and squeaking noises. Just make sure they are greased prior to installing.

 

[Benny’66]

One of the great things about when Ford increases the power limit on the GT (they announced this last week)……. No more 5 second jokes. If you do get the chance to test drive a GT, you’d probably be surprised how much fun you can have in 5 seconds.

I live my life 5 seconds at a time. (Had to be said)

 

[Benny’66]

I went with Pirelli Scorpion Winter XL tires (255/45/20) on my GTPE and I have to say I like them better than the factory Pirelli summers. I don’t think I noticed it as much after my first winter cuz I picked the car up mid-January, had the dealer install the winter tires at delivery, summers put on mid-April, but didn’t drive my GTPE for 2.5 months that summer due to the HVBJB replacement. After swapping this summer it was very noticeable, specifically with traction. Not so much ride comfort or side wall stability in cornering, but definitely in cornering traction. Hard to believe a winter tire in freezing temps can do so well.
To be fair, the factory summers are still 245/55 and EV rated, but I will be swapping them when their time comes.

 

[HuntingPudel]

Well then, having Steeda install the bar I doubt you will have any issues. Their end links have ALWAYS had grease fittings on the ends. The issue was, they were not greased prior to shipping and we assumed they were. After several hundred miles quite a few members here, me included, started getting knocking noises and found they were dry. After greasing, no more knocking and squeaking noises. Just make sure they are greased prior to installing.

Yeah, assuming they were greased was a bad assumption on my part. I thought the bolts had come loose after less than 100 miles. @kennethjk Make sure the end links get greased before they’re installed. I also modified the frame mounts to accept zerk fittings because the bushings squeaked like nutz. No more squeak since injecting the marine grease I use on my Trans Am’s suspension bearings. ??

 

[Anton]

'21 AWDe Premium
Mods:
TSW Sebring 20x8.5+40 wheels
Pirelli Scorpion A/S+ 255/45/20 tires
Front and rear Steeda sway bar
Koni shocks

Car handles like a champ. Much better than stock. Much more confidence turning up the Gs on turns. This is what I was expecting a "mustang" to feel like.

Thanks again to this forum and @markboris

 

[Shkval2]

Um. It's a really heavy car. And it's on relatively skinny fuel efficient tires. Wider wheels and more performance-oriented tires may help? Or slow down. But that probably isn't as fun.

This. It’s much larger and MUCH heavier than what you’re used to. I had to recalibrate my brain from “sport sedan” to “SUV” when I changed. I find my MME Premium to have well balanced handling but it’s a long way from tossable

 

[Art]

I love my Mach E Premium, but this is the worst handling vehicle I have owned in the last several years. My wife's Toyota Corolla SE handles better than the Mach. Any suggestions that I can do to make it better?

Wow! I consider the MME as being a great handling van.
If you are having troubles with curves, I would suggest letting a service tech drive it to find any faults.
This is the first post on the forum that I've read that commented on the handling.

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