UPDATED: Replacing Rear Shocks: Reducing the rear end bounce.

[HuntingPudel]

I'm fairly sure it won't fit on my Norco floor jack. I took a spin out to Harbor Freight in Manassas yesterday to check out the spreader and give the blue cruise another test run on 66. The BC works fine on my car, but not sure it's worth buying when trial is up in a few weeks. HF didn't have a spreader in a box we could open to check the connector bolt. I volunteered if they had a hex wrench the right size I could pop the bolt out of the display model and compare it to the bolt from my Norco. That was a no fly zone at HF. Go figure. I said I'd put it back together . I did call HF CS and was told the connector bolt is 1"OD, 4" long, and 8 T/I pitch. I have a metric pitch gauge and measured the Norco bolt at 1.5mm and major diameter of threads at what seems a kind of odd figure of about 23.5mm, of course I can hardly read the markings on my caliper with or without glasses. Maybe it's time to go digital ... Norco confirmed their sizes are metric. So, there you have it ... either I lift one corner at a time or make a DYI spreader.

I vote DIY. ??

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[rreddy3]

I vote DIY. ??

The craziest thing happened. The Great Poodle came to me in a vision and barked a commend. Loosely translated the command was…’take a ride to Harbor Freight and see if the HF spreader bar will fit on your jack’.

It fits the Norco jack perfectly. The HF CS person who provided the 8tpi thread pitch spec must have stopped by the Blarney Stone to get that info.

 

[JonathanEzor]

I appreciate this thread and plan on reading through it in greater detail, but I'll put this out there (if there's already a sub-thread about it, please point me towards it with my thanks): I've got a GT (non-PE) and my wife has become more and more sensitive to the suspension challenges on our local (Long Island, NY) roads, as has my aging back. I just dropped the tire pressures from their winter highs, and it's helping a bit, but I've thought about this thread frequently in terms of suspension mods that could help smooth the ride out far more.

The biggest issue, though, is that I'm about to finish the second year of a 4-year Ford Options "lease," and at this point, I don't plan on keeping my Mach-E past July 2026. I haven't done any physical or other mods because I don't want to have to undo them or somehow impact on my ability to turn it back in to Ford. Because I do not feel capable of doing this myself, even with the excellent directions at the top of the thread, I'd have to both purchase the parts and find a local garage to do the work. Assuming I wanted to make the financial investment, though, what are folks' thoughts about the potential to have to both do and undo the mods in the two years remaining before I turn back the Mach-E? Or might the mods have the potential to raise the (plummeting) resale value enough that it would be viable to pay off Ford and sell it privately afterwards?

Thanks in advance for any advice you might have. {Jonathan}

 

[azerik]

Undo'ing the shocks is sadly just as much time and reselling the Koni's after might prove to be more pain than it's worth. I just shipped my EVGlass 1/2 way across the US and it cost me $100 to ship. Shipping those shocks would be probably $50 to $100 as well. As well as having to keep the old stock shocks in order to swap them back and the labor costs I'd think of this as a one way street if you can't do the labor. The shocks will help with the bounce, they don't help with pot holes and over all roughness, the springs are responsible for that. I will say the Conti RX's on the GT are great for traction, but over all ride not so much. I had to run them around 41+ psi in order to keep the car stable, which in turn caused a rougher ride. At about 36 psi they rode great in a straight line, but if you hit a bump with one side the the car the entire car would 'swobble' on the sidewalls. I put a set of PZero AS Plus on in the stock size and am very happy with them right around 38psi.

 

[21st Century Pony]

I appreciate this thread and plan on reading through it in greater detail, but I'll put this out there (if there's already a sub-thread about it, please point me towards it with my thanks): I've got a GT (non-PE) and my wife has become more and more sensitive to the suspension challenges on our local (Long Island, NY) roads, as has my aging back. I just dropped the tire pressures from their winter highs, and it's helping a bit, but I've thought about this thread frequently in terms of suspension mods that could help smooth the ride out far more.

The biggest issue, though, is that I'm about to finish the second year of a 4-year Ford Options "lease," and at this point, I don't plan on keeping my Mach-E past July 2026. I haven't done any physical or other mods because I don't want to have to undo them or somehow impact on my ability to turn it back in to Ford. Because I do not feel capable of doing this myself, even with the excellent directions at the top of the thread, I'd have to both purchase the parts and find a local garage to do the work. Assuming I wanted to make the financial investment, though, what are folks' thoughts about the potential to have to both do and undo the mods in the two years remaining before I turn back the Mach-E? Or might the mods have the potential to raise the (plummeting) resale value enough that it would be viable to pay off Ford and sell it privately afterwards?

Thanks in advance for any advice you might have. {Jonathan}

With the facts you outline, IMHO it's not worth upgrading the suspension.

 

[markboris]

I agree with Erik and Martin. I wouldn’t upgrade to the Komi shocks. It only helps with the bounce and it will also firm up the rear even more so that’s not going to help your issue. The Eibach lowering springs will soften the ride but they will cost more to have installed and you will have to have the car aligned. It will lower the car to a height you may not like. If you plan on getting rid of the car in a couple of years, I’d live with the way it is if you can.

 

[JonathanEzor]

I agree with Erik and Martin. I wouldn’t upgrade to the Komi shocks. It only helps with the bounce and it will also firm up the rear even more so that’s not going to help your issue. The Eibach lowering springs will soften the ride but they will cost more to have installed and you will have to have the car aligned. It will lower the car to a height you may not like. If you plan on getting rid of the car in a couple of years, I’d live with the way it is if you can.

Thanks, all, for confirming my view. Ah well. {Jonathan}

 

[mkhuffman]

Thanks, all, for confirming my view. Ah well. {Jonathan}

I agree with everyone who is recommending you don't do this mod. However, people like me who have already modified the crap out of our cars should do it if you are bothered by the rear bounce.

For ride quality, I plan to do the Eibach springs like Mark mentioned. My car is already too far gone to worry about yet another mod, and the springs could really improve my experience with the car until I replace it.

 

[Marshalbob]

I did the Koni mod. Wasn't sure it helped much. We took the car to the dealer for a tire rotation and I was following my wife down the highway. Good lord that car bounces. There is almost a double bounce on each bump. My wife and another car went over one of the bumps at the same time I I saw her car move so much on the rear that I could not believe it. This bounciness is ridiculous.

Rant over. Anyway the instructions say to back the rebound on the Konis two turns out. What about another setting? Anyone try that? Would one turn out slow the rebound down?

 

[azerik]

Double bounce is low tire pressure. They need to be above 38 or the rear suspension isn't actually doing anything, most of the bounce would be from the tires squishing. Check the pressure, back the Koni's down to about 1.5 to 1.75 turns. It doesn't take a lot. If my tires are under ~38 I get the double boing. (I'm still working on if the front pressure/struts are helping cause the double bouncce, but it's 112+ here so not much going on in my garage these days)
This thread is full of our findings on different settings and pressures.

 

[Dysan911]

I did the Koni mod. Wasn't sure it helped much. We took the car to the dealer for a tire rotation and I was following my wife down the highway. Good lord that car bounces. There is almost a double bounce on each bump. My wife and another car went over one of the bumps at the same time I I saw her car move so much on the rear that I could not believe it. This bounciness is ridiculous.

Rant over. Anyway the instructions say to back the rebound on the Konis two turns out. What about another setting? Anyone try that? Would one turn out slow the rebound down?

Is this with Eibach Springs or stock btw?

 

[azerik]

It'll happen with either spring. The Koni's job is big bounces. Little bounces will behave like the stock shocks. With the stock springs theres a lot of little bounce from the 1100+lb springs. It's lighter with the Eibach as they're in the ~800lb first stage for those little bumps. An under inflated tire can only act like a squished balloon. (This was the 'fix' for most premium MME's)

 

[Anton]

Anybody know of a tool that can be used to easily adjust the Konis without taking off the wheels? I'm imagining a really long wrench with the koni adjuster at the end.

By the way, after peaking for the first time in about 6 months I noticed my caps are loose on both sides.

 

[azerik]

Yeah the caps come loose from the Koni adjuster hitting them in the hole. You could drill a bigger hole and possibly find something to work as a cap to that. I've left my caps off for almost a year. I don't get much if any rain but I did drive a few dirt roads. It'll take a LOT of build up in the mount for any noise to happen. I think it's mostly to keep it from puddling up water for days. The caps have a long way to go before it'd come off so that gap isn't an issue really.

As for adjusting I jack mine up (in the garage with a floor jack at the rear puck spot). I've done it so many times I don't even use a puck now as I need to only lift the car about 3 inches to get my arm in. I've tried to find a magic parking style on a curb but so far havn't been able to get my arm in.

 

[Rickless]

So, after much trial and error that I don't want anyone else to suffer through, here is my solution...

1. The Koni knobs don't fit above the mounted shock, but keep them so you know which way to turn for + or -
2. Head on over to you local harbor freight and grab this right angle ratcheting screwdriver for $3.
3. Take a Dremel Tool, cut the top off the 1/4 flat head bit and then cut a notch into the bit.
3a. Realize you don't have a Dremel Tool and head back to harbor freight.
4. Jack up car and adjust shocks! You may have to trim the shrouding to be able to get your tool onto the "fin" of the shock. I cut vertically and folded the remaining material back while adjusting.

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