Rough ride 2020 Ecoboost Convertible

[Bikeman315]

Yes I checked at discount tire and the guy thought I could take a 45 series tire instead of the 40. Today I drove another used mustang convertible at a Ford dealer just to see how it rode on the 18 inch 50 series tires. It was definitely a bit better than my 40 series but still didn’t ride as good as my 2014 did. The base suspension on the mustang is an odd combination of harsh on rough surfaces and floaty on dips and such. But I can tell I be throwing my money away to bother to change the wheels to 18 inch after driving one with those. The improvement is too small for the cost. The transmission in the one I drove today was even rougher and poorer behaved than mine is after the reflash. So it looks like my issues are just normal for the car, and I may as well live with it. If I keep it long enough to need new tires I will definitely change to a different brand in a 45 series. What’s involved in having the speedometer corrected?

Good morning. So now that you have driven a car with 18” wheels you realize the difference is negligible. Going from a 40 series to 45 series would be even less (on the same tire). So instead of having to endure an ill riding car why not change the one thing that will make the biggest difference? The tires. Maybe even consider moving off a performance based tire to one designed for comfort. Check out this one.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...QuietTrack&partnum=54VR9TQTXL&fromSurvey=true

Could make all the difference in the world and allow you to enjoy your beautiful car.

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[Alan2955]

Your experience is absolutely not typical nor are these new Mustangs known for bad rides as you describe. I would go get it checked out.

Well there’s lots of other people on mustang sites bitching about the ride too. What’s a bad ride to me might be fine to you. And just for grins I drove another one yesterday with 18 inch wheels, and it rode slightly better, but was still no prize. My 2014 rode better than any of these new generation models, especially over broken or patched pavement. It obviously had softer springs and shock valving. There’s nothing wrong with mine. It just is what it is. After driving one with 18 inch wheels I definitely can tell that I won’t get enough improvement to waste the money changing to them. So my little experimental test drive wasn’t a waste of time.

 

[Alan2955]

We just love looking at Mustangs. Beautiful color by the way.

Thanks. I love the color too. It’s what sucked me into buying a new one. Velocity blue. I don’t see many in this color. A big Ford dealer near me currently has about 12 used 2019 and 2020 mustangs, and none of them are blue. Had to drive 150 miles to get my used one. I was pretty much dead set on it. I also like the Kona blue and the metallic red. Those are scarce too compared to white, black, and various gray shades.

 

[Alan2955]

Good morning. So now that you have driven a car with 18” wheels you realize the difference is negligible. Going from a 40 series to 45 series would be even less (on the same tire). So instead of having to endure an ill riding car why not change the one thing that will make the biggest difference? The tires. Maybe even consider moving off a performance based tire to one designed for comfort. Check out this one.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...QuietTrack&partnum=54VR9TQTXL&fromSurvey=true

Could make all the difference in the world and allow you to enjoy your beautiful car.

Yes I saw the review on those. They definitely are worthy of consideration. Since my current tires only have 16,000 miles on them though I think I might milk them out a bit longer before I buy new ones. They look like they’ll probably go mid 20s to 30,000 but I won’t go that long with them. Do you think I should bother switching to 45 series or just replace with a better riding 40 series?

 

[Alan2955]

Check this thread out for your tranny issues. Could just be a relearn issue or low fluid. These tranny's rock so you may want to have yours checked out.

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/th...h-or-no-shift-conditions.135463/#post-2787479

It’s already been checked out and re-flashed. It’s substantially better than it was but it’s by no means the smoothest transmission I’ve ever driven. I figure it’s guaranteed over four more years so I’m not going to sweat about it too much. LOL

 

[Bikeman315]

Yes I saw the review on those. They definitely are worthy of consideration. Since my current tires only have 16,000 miles on them though I think I might milk them out a bit longer before I buy new ones. They look like they’ll probably go mid 20s to 30,000 but I won’t go that long with them. Do you think I should bother switching to 45 series or just replace with a better riding 40 series?

I’m basing my opinion on your drive with the car with 18”/50 series wheels/tires. Although you did not mention what tires were on that car I’ll presume they were OEM. You indicated the although there was a difference it was minor. Going from 40 to 45 would be even less so. I doubt you would even notice a difference using the same tire.

 

[EcoVert]

I've come late to this party and I'll give you they are different years but my 2015 Ecoboost 50Year Anniversary convertible on the original 19's rides great better than any S197 I've driven. I think you are probably just use to a softer tire wheel combo.

 

[Hi-PO Stang]

This is a great thread. I have a 2.3 Hi-PO Mustang on order with the 19 x 9.5 wheel and 265/40R19 Pirelli Corsa4 Tires. I would like to use a 18 inch wheel for daily driving to work and save the Pirelli tires for cruising and track use. The wheel I want to use only comes in 18 inches. How wide a wheel would be best and what brand tire would give me good wear for daily driving ? I do not mind a stiff ride. What tire would still work well with MAGNE-RIDE ?

 

[shogun32]

I have a 2.3 Hi-PO Mustang on order with the 19 x 9.5 wheel and 265/40R19 Pirelli Corsa4 Tires. I would like to use a 18 inch wheel for daily driving to work

don't assume your choice of 18" wheel clears the 4-pots... Make sure you have a return policy. And if you do any kind of earnest track work you'll be putting 19" rims on to clear the Brembo 6-pots. I am using those factory Pirelli Corsa on me EB as daily-drive and I like them.

For daily, any A/S will work fine as long as it's not Pirelli Neros - though you might score some cheap from fellow Mustang owners who can't wait to be rid of them.

 

[Hi-PO Stang]

Yes, brake caliper clearance was a big concern of mine. I was wondering what clearance issues others have had using 18 inch wheels. Will the clearance issue with the brake calipers be taken care of with wheels having more offset ?

 

[ice445]

don't assume your choice of 18" wheel clears the 4-pots... Make sure you have a return policy. And if you do any kind of earnest track work you'll be putting 19" rims on to clear the Brembo 6-pots. I am using those factory Pirelli Corsa on me EB as daily-drive and I like them.

For daily, any A/S will work fine as long as it's not Pirelli Neros - though you might score some cheap from fellow Mustang owners who can't wait to be rid of them.

I honestly don't hate the neros, like...they suck, but they're not chinese tires level of suck. They just don't hold power and aren't that great in the wet. I'm switching to the Michelin Pilot Sport AS4 soon.

 

[shogun32]

Yes, brake caliper clearance was a big concern of mine. I was wondering what clearance issues others have had using 18 inch wheels. Will the clearance issue with the brake calipers be taken care of with wheels having more offset ?

depends on the shape of the barrel. But yes, some of the time that takes care of it.

 

[mustanghammer]

Regarding wheels and tires, if your car has the base ecoboost brakes 17" OE wheels will fit. Which means you can increase the sidewall height of the tires even more. Next is what tire pressures are you running? I recently had new tires installed and the store set them to 35-36PSI cold. That really affected the ride. I run 29-30PSI cold and monitor the tire pressures on the dash display which is incredibly accurate (I compared them to my race car gauge and the dash is spot on). Did you check the tire pressures on the car you test drove? It really matters.

I still think the ultimate solution is a set of quality Shocks and Struts. Bouncy cars feel unsettled. I also think a contributing factor is the fact that you have a convertible which means your car is less rigid than a fastback. Body flex, in my experience, can also contribute to the feeling of harshness. Not much can be done about that.

I spent some time driving around Indy in 2017 when I was there for the SCCA Runoffs. I-70 is really bad in Indiana but none of the surface streets in Speedway or Avon (where we stayed) were better or worse than the ones in KC. Hope to be going back in 2021 when the Runoffs return to Indy. Love the track and the town.

 

[Alan2955]

Regarding wheels and tires, if your car has the base ecoboost brakes 17" OE wheels will fit. Which means you can increase the sidewall height of the tires even more. Next is what tire pressures are you running? I recently had new tires installed and the store set them to 35-36PSI cold. That really affected the ride. I run 29-30PSI cold and monitor the tire pressures on the dash display which is incredibly accurate (I compared them to my race car gauge and the dash is spot on). Did you check the tire pressures on the car you test drove? It really matters.

I still think the ultimate solution is a set of quality Shocks and Struts. Bouncy cars feel unsettled. I also think a contributing factor is the fact that you have a convertible which means your car is less rigid than a fastback. Body flex, in my experience, can also contribute to the feeling of harshness. Not much can be done about that.

I spent some time driving around Indy in 2017 when I was there for the SCCA Runoffs. I-70 is really bad in Indiana but none of the surface streets in Speedway or Avon (where we stayed) were better or worse than the ones in KC. Hope to be going back in 2021 when the Runoffs return to Indy. Love the track and the town.

I absolutely hate the ride of this car. It’s just dreadful on anything but a good road. Floaty and harsh..worst of both worlds. Being a convertible no doubt adds to the sub par impression. It shivers like a wet dog on rough pavement. I tried dropping the tire pressure from 33 to 30 and it made little difference. I can’t believe all the good reviews this body style got when it came out considering that my 2014 rode so much better than this thing does. I know the 2014 verts had a softer suspension than the hardtops because of the lack of structural integrity. This thing is so bad I literally have to think about where I want to take my pleasure drives so as not to be pissed off at the harsh ride. It’s a pleasure on a nice road, but unfortunately Indiana doesn’t have very many of those excepting interstates and state highways. LOL. I drove a GT on 18 inch wheels and it definitely rode a bit better than this thing (plus the V8 sounds so much nicer), although I didn’t really get to take it on a super bad road. At this point I have no doubt I will be trading this car off on something by next spring. Maybe either a GT on 18 inch wheels, or maybe look at an Audi A5 convertible.

 

[shogun32]

At this point I have no doubt I will be trading this car off on something by next spring.

do it now, or at least put in for a quote to Carvana, Vroom and similar. You might well get over top-dollar.
Also go find a car meet and see if you can't convince a fellow Mustang driver to let you borrow his wheels for an afternoon and see if it really makes any difference. Are you SURE the shipping pucks have been removed from the springs?

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