Those of you with (First-Gen?) GTPEs, how’s MagneRide been holding up all these years???

[mkhuffman]

I would love to lower the suspension an inch or 2 and put on a stiffer sway bar, but they are not supported and even if I can get them to fit, I don't feel there is enough data on the results yet.

@markboris did both and can share his experience. I think you will like it based on what he has said in the past.

The sway bar makes a huge difference, BTW.

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[User100723]

I got my 2021 GTPE in October 2021, just a couple months after the first one was delivered.

It was at the dealership for the last week and a half for the recall and they gave me a 2023 GTPE with 300 miles on it as a loaner.

Very easy to compare brand new to mine and here are my conclusions-

Bottom line? I like mine better. I really HATE how much louder the beeps/alerts are in the 2023. It doesn’t have any extra features, in fact it’s missing some. I also don’t like how the suspension is a little softer/bouncier in whisper and engage.

The only thing I liked about the 2023? It had new tires. Mine are getting pretty bald.


Here is a thread I posted last week about the differences I noticed-
https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/2021-vs-2023-gtpe-suspension.32853/

Oh, that’s very interesting, we’re both on the same topic at the very opening of 2024, albeit on different posts! What a coincidence, somehow never saw your thread until now!

And yes, those beeps! Never heard so many beeps in a parked vehicle my entire life, though I’ve managed to work around the annoyances. Love the car otherwise, and like most posters here, really prefer Unbridled to everything else, only switching to whisper for really long trips or when I’m very low on charge.

 

[User100723]

My 2021 GTPE was exactly what I was looking for when I bought it and is still as good as it was the first day. It is an electric SUV and a very good one. Everyone that was expecting a GT 500 when they bought it had their head in the wrong place.

Great, another happy long-term GTPE driver! Confidence-inspiring to say the least.

 

[User100723]

Another job 2, early build owner here.

Suspension on mine is just fine and no change from original ride. Just over 32k miles, second set of tires (same as original).

Mostly highway miles, iñ California.

Another thumbs up, interesting to note a lot of us are around 35k in the odometer. Can’t wait to see how well it does once we’ve doubled or tripled that number!

 

[User100723]

I suspect this is pretty off topic for your post, but the suspension on my GTPE is really the only thing that would keep me from buying it again. Because it is so uncomfortably stiff. I do a lot of big city driving and every imperfection on the road is felt. I know it can’t be an S Class, but it drives me crazy. I have turned in to one of those drivers that swerve around fairly minor potholes.

That and the slow software updates drive me nuts, too.

Other than that it is perfection!!!

Not at all! Interesting, the GTPE is still too stiff for you, even in Whisper? From what I hear and read, most people lean towards the GTPE due to its suspension being somewhat better than the lower trims. Wonder if yours is not working right?

 

[Mach1E]

My 2021 GTPE was exactly what I was looking for when I bought it and is still as good as it was the first day. It is an electric SUV and a very good one. Everyone that was expecting a GT 500 when they bought it had their head in the wrong place.

People expecting a GT500 believed the advertising.

 

[Mach1E]

Oh, that’s very interesting, we’re both on the same topic at the very opening of 2024, albeit on different posts! What a coincidence, somehow never saw your thread until now!

And yes, those beeps! Never heard so many beeps in a parked vehicle my entire life, though I’ve managed to work around the annoyances. Love the car otherwise, and like most posters here, really prefer Unbridled to everything else, only switching to whisper for really long trips or when I’m very low on charge.

The 2023 dings are not only louder, they’re more frequent.

I counted 6 dings every time I started the car vs 4 in the 2021.

 

[markboris]

Biggest drawback is that, now that they have aftermarket suspension upgrades for the non-PE, they typically don't apply to the Magnaride system. I would love to lower the suspension an inch or 2 and put on a stiffer sway bar, but they are not supported and even if I can get them to fit, I don't feel there is enough data on the results yet.

Disclaimer: I'm not fully up to date on the state of aftermarket suspension parts for the GTPE.

Marty, you very much can change out your springs and sway bars with aftermarket parts. As far as sway bars go, both Steeda and Eibach make them for our cars and while they did not test them on a GTPE, they fit and work perfectly. I would however recommend the Eibach bars over the Steeda's as they use the OEM end links and so far I don't think there have been reports of any issues with them as there have been with the Steeda's. There are quite a few members on this forum that have the Eibach and Steeda bars on their GTPE's for over a year and as I and others have posted it was the single best mod we have done to the car.

Now, as far as lowering the car, (or raising it) that can be done with the PE MagneRide suspension. However, lowering it is not recommended since you cannot easily replace the bumper stops on the fronts and they are difficult to do on the rears. The GTPE already has less travel than the non GT cars and lowering it another inch or so means you will be hitting the bump stops in the shocks sooner when the car is loaded down and you go over large bumps. To keep this from happening, Eibach supplies shorter bump stops so that you don't hit them as often. The issue is, you cannot get to the bump stops on the front MagneRide struts as they are built inside the unit. On the rears, since there is a wire coming off the top of the shock, it is much more difficult to get them apart to replace the bump stops but it can be done. So because of this they are not recommended. Now, since 99% of my driving is just me in the car and I rarely load it up with any cargo, I have no issues lowering the car an inch without having to replace the front bump stops and I did replace them in the rear. After you change the height on you MagneRide suspension, you need to recalibrate the ride height which is very easy to do as long as you have or know someone with FDRS and it takes about one minute.

 

[markboris]

My 2021 GTPE was exactly what I was looking for when I bought it and is still as good as it was the first day. It is an electric SUV and a very good one. Everyone that was expecting a GT 500 when they bought it had their head in the wrong place.

People expecting a GT500 believed the advertising.

Are there members on this forum that actually expected their GTPE (or any model Mach-E) to handle and ride like an ICE Mustang? I'm not talking about a Shelby, just an ICE Mustang because if there are, yes they are very mistaken. I've posted many times in quite a few threads that this SUV is nothing like an ICE Mustang. So if they think it can be similar to a GT500 then there is a big problem.

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

I have a 2021 Job2 GTPE. Haven’t had a single problem with my MagneRide. I do like it more than my wife’s 2021 Job1 AWD-ER without MagnaRide. I also like to spell MangaRide however I feel like spelling MangoRoad.

 

[Mach1E]

Are there members on this forum that actually expected their GTPE (or any model Mach-E) to handle and ride like an ICE Mustang? I'm not talking about a Shelby, just an ICE Mustang because if there are, yes they are very mistaken. I've posted many times in quite a few threads that this SUV is nothing like an ICE Mustang. So if they think it can be similar to a GT500 then there is a big problem.

YES!

It was advertised to be a track monster.

FWIW, vs the ICE Mustang GT, the GTPE actually is…..
Faster 0-60
On par with braking
On par with skidpad handling

If it weren’t for the dang power limiter it would be on par or better around a track than a Mustang GT.

On a very short tight track it can be seen:
Here is a perfect comparison video-

 

[HuntingPudel]

I suspect this is pretty off topic for your post, but the suspension on my GTPE is really the only thing that would keep me from buying it again. Because it is so uncomfortably stiff.
<SNIP>

That just goes to show that we all have unique tastes. Personally, I find the ride too soft, even with the Steeda bars. I haven’t installed the Eibach bars yet, but I suspect will be similar.

 

[markboris]

That just goes to show that we all have unique tastes. Personally, I find the ride too soft, even with the Steeda bars. I haven’t installed the Eibach bars yet, but I suspect will be similar.

Yes the car is too soft for me also especially in Unbridle mode.

 

[markboris]

YES!

It was advertised to be a track monster.

FWIW, vs the ICE Mustang GT, the GTPE actually is…..
Faster 0-60
On par with braking
On par with skidpad handling

If it weren’t for the dang power limiter it would be on par or better around a track than a Mustang GT.

Yes the Mach-E GTPE is a very fast car for sure (until it hits the 5 second limit) but I'm talking about overall handling. I've watched that video and others and unless you have driven and owned several performance ICE Mustangs, it is very hard to explain. They do not feel at all like the same car. Suspension, steering, braking is all very quick compared to the disconnected feeling of the GTPE.

I think the GTPE is probably one of the best handling, EV SUV's out there and that is exactly why I bought it. My GTPE is lowered with stiffer springs, stiffer sway bars and much wider tires (275/40/20 F, 315/35/20 R) and the tires are similar to the GT500's (Michelin Pilot Sport 4S). However, I cannot push the GTPE through the corners like I can the 500, not even close. 1000 lbs extra weight is hard to hide. I've had a few members on this forum drive my 500 and the look on their faces was something and it's not because of how fast it goes. Out of the 38 cars I've owned, the GTPE is without a doubt my favorite (GT500 included). It handles very well for an EV but not like a performance ICE Mustang, at least not for me.

 

[Mach1E]

Yes the Mach-E GTPE is a very fast car for sure (until it hits the 5 second limit) but I'm talking about overall handling. I've watched that video and others and unless you have driven and owned several performance ICE Mustangs, it is very hard to explain. They do not feel at all like the same car. Suspension, steering, braking is all very quick compared to the disconnected feeling of the GTPE.

I think the GTPE is probably one of the best handling, EV SUV's out there and that is exactly why I bought it. My GTPE is lowered with stiffer springs, stiffer sway bars and much wider tires (275/40/20 F, 315/35/20 R) and the tires are similar to the GT500's (Michelin Pilot Sport 4S). However, I cannot push the GTPE through the corners like I can the 500, not even close. 1000 lbs extra weight is hard to hide. I've had a few members on this forum drive my 500 and the look on their faces was something and it's not because of how fast it goes. Out of close to 40 cars I've owned, the GTPE is without a doubt my favorite (GT500 included). It handles very well for an EV but not like a performance ICE Mustang, at least not for me.

For sure the subjective handling feel isn’t there.

But in terms of raw objective numbers, it is.

It’ll never be nimble, too dang heavy.

But the weight distribution helps defy physics a little.

Around a track, objective is all that matters.

But for people daily driving, the subjective feel can make a huge difference for sure.

Most people would probably say a Mazda Miata handles better than the GTPE based on feel, even though we could definitely take a corner faster and at a higher G force.

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