Ride Quality - Tires vs Suspension

[Deleted member 19354]

Thanks. I’m not waiting for them to wear out. Digging through all the good info on the forum to decided what to go with.

Depending on your region I love Les Schwab or check out Costco. MHO

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[HuntingPudel]

Depending on your region I love Les Schwab or check out Costco. MHO

Never done tires at Les Schwab myself (not convenient for me), but I know people who like them. I just had my first experience with @Discount Tire (America’s Tire out here in CA) and it was a good one. ??

 

[tuminatr]

Bad tires make a huge difference, cheap tires are designed to be cheap. I would try the suggestion others have made and reduce the pressure to 36psi as a test. I would not run this way for an extended period as the tires don't support the car's weight at that inflation pressure.

If you think that improves the ridge quality, consider replacing the tires with a set of 245/50/19 105. That size has a higher load rating so it can be safely run at 36psi and support the weight of the MME correctly.

There are many threads on this website about what's a good tire for the MME but anything from a premium manufacturer is likely to be better than what you have. By Premiumn I would reference Pirelli, Michelin, Continental, Vredestein. Tire rack is a great resource

last thought if you pick tires designed to work on an EV you are also likely to increase the range of your car the the cheepy cheaps are likely not low rolling resistance.

Depending on where you live in Ohio the folks at AAA Bob Sumerel could be a good place to go.

 

[EasyPass]

Out of curiosity, what tire and size are on your MME? BTW, not all Chinese tires are poor quality.

BF Goodrich Advantage Control 225/55 R19, Prorated 60k miles
Dealer priced at ~$1,100 including 4 wheel allignment

 

[tuminatr]

BF Goodrich Advantage Control 225/55 R19, Prorated 60k miles
Dealer priced at ~$1,100 including 4 wheel allignment

As long as it doesn't rain those are very poor in the wet.

 

[helium89]

Bad tires make a huge difference, cheap tires are designed to be cheap. I would try the suggestion others have made and reduce the pressure to 36psi as a test. I would not run this way for an extended period as the tires don't support the car's weight at that inflation pressure.

If you think that improves the ridge quality, consider replacing the tires with a set of 245/50/19 105. That size has a higher load rating so it can be safely run at 36psi and support the weight of the MME correctly.

There are many threads on this website about what's a good tire for the MME but anything from a premium manufacturer is likely to be better than what you have. By Premiumn I would reference Pirelli, Michelin, Continental, Vredestein. Tire rack is a great resource

last thought if you pick tires designed to work on an EV you are also likely to increase the range of your car the the cheepy cheaps are likely not low rolling resistance.

Depending on where you live in Ohio the folks at AAA Bob Sumerel could be a good place to go.

Switching to a similarly sized tire with a higher load index doesn’t mean you can safely run a lower tire pressure; it just means that the tire can be run at a higher pressure to support more weight (and is likely to feel less supple at any given pressure). Some tire manufacturers publish tables of their tires’ weight capacities at various air pressures. Toyo’s table is pretty easy to find; it is missing some newer tires, but there are enough there to see the pattern.

 

[Snakebitten]

I personally think tires are perhaps the lowest hanging fruit on many vehicles.
Or put another way, the literal contact patch is what connects your seat and the actual road, and is the determining factor for so much of the feedback you experience.

You might be numb to it, or very tuned and sensitive, but regardless it is the fundamental interface of the transfer of energy to/from the object in motion and the big giant ball we reside on.

The Mach-E is heavy and powerful and insanely quiet.
That contact patch faces amazing challenges in a vehicle like such.

 

[tuminatr]

Switching to a similarly sized tire with a higher load index doesn’t mean you can safely run a lower tire pressure; it just means that the tire can be run at a higher pressure to support more weight (and is likely to feel less supple at any given pressure). Some tire manufacturers publish tables of their tires’ weight capacities at various air pressures. Toyo’s table is pretty easy to find; it is missing some newer tires, but there are enough there to see the pattern.

Indeed it does, that's the exact way automobile manufacturers set the inflation pressures.

Inflation pressure is set by load requirements.

Here is an example using the MME

a 225/55/19 103 @ 39PSI supports 1819 LBS
a 245/50/19 105 @ 36PSI supports 1808 LBS
I have 255/50/19 and could run them @ 35 PSI to support 1852LBS

If you install a 245/50/19 105 and run it at sock 39 PSI it will support 1929lbs and will be overinflated for the MME application. The contact patch will bow wear in the center and not provide optimal traction. If you lower the pressure to 36PSI the contact patch will be flat with the road (like the 225/55/19 103 size @ 39psi) It will wear normal and be correctly inflated to the load.

a 245/45/20 103 @39psi Supports 1819LBS (its 103 load range is the same as a 225/55/19 so the supported weight is the same @ the same pressure)

The other MME size is a 225/60/18 104 this is very close @ 39psi it supports 1874lbs

The load and inflation tables are the industry standard. Tires are marked with the load index they support. Just like if you grab a 10mm socket it's the same regardless of the brand.
https://tirepressure.org/general-metric-tire-load-inflation-chart

The high pressure that Ford specked on the MME was for efficiency. So if you lower the pressure your car will have a much better ride but be less efficient.

This is why it is relevant to the conversation @ lower pressure tires work as part of the suspension absorbing many of the bumps in the road. @ high pressure, they pass them on through the suspension and to the passengers.

 

[helium89]

Indeed it does, that's the exact way automobile manufacturers set the inflation pressures.

Inflation pressure is set by load requirements.

Here is an example using the MME

a 225/55/19 103 @ 39PSI supports 1819 LBS
a 245/50/19 105 @ 36PSI supports 1808 LBS
I have 255/50/19 and could run them @ 35 PSI to support 1852LBS

If you install a 245/50/19 105 and run it at sock 39 PSI it will support 1929lbs and will be overinflated for the MME application. The contact patch will bow wear in the center and not provide optimal traction. If you lower the pressure to 36PSI the contact patch will be flat with the road (like the 225/55/19 103 size @ 39psi) It will wear normal and be correctly inflated to the load.

a 245/45/20 103 @39psi Supports 1819LBS (its 103 load range is the same as a 225/55/19 so the supported weight is the same @ the same pressure)

The other MME size is a 225/60/18 104 this is very close @ 39psi it supports 1874lbs

The load and inflation tables are the industry standard. Tires are marked with the load index they support. Just like if you grab a 10mm socket it's the same regardless of the brand.
https://tirepressure.org/general-metric-tire-load-inflation-chart

The high pressure that Ford specked on the MME was for efficiency. So if you lower the pressure your car will have a much better ride but be less efficient.

This is why it is relevant to the conversation @ lower pressure tires work as part of the suspension absorbing many of the bumps in the road. @ high pressure, they pass them on through the suspension and to the passengers.

I apologize for correcting you then. I hadn’t run the numbers for the Mach-e’s actual weight. I’m used to seeing really bad advice about load ratings on the Tacoma forum, so it was a knee jerk response. It’s good to know that the ratings are standardized. I thought I remembered the Toyo document referencing a standard, but I couldn’t remember which organization it was from.

 

[tuminatr]

I apologize for correcting you then. I hadn’t run the numbers for the Mach-e’s actual weight. I’m used to seeing really bad advice about load ratings on the Tacoma forum, so it was a knee jerk response. It’s good to know that the ratings are standardized. I thought I remembered the Toyo document referencing a standard, but I couldn’t remember which organization it was from.

No worries, most tires dealers don't understand load ratings.

 

[Dear_OP]

That’s the suspension. You can air down a bit, say to 35psi and get a little help.

I'm not sure lowering the pressure on these 225 width tires are good idea with how heavy the MME is. I feel it is under-tired for the weight class.

 

[medriver]

Just buy a decent tire gauge and make sure they are at the cold tire pressure in your door jamb, small changes make a big difference, mine were over and dropping them just like 1.5 psi made a HUGE difference.

Does not fix the occasional wibble wobble from the under dampening though.

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