GT Ride Comfort

[Canti]

With my setup, I wasn't trying to get the ride to be super plush. And I guess that's where I mess up in replying to OP's question. I wanted body control where that the stock springs could not give. When I switched over to the stiffer BMR springs, the ride felt better to me because the weight of the car was under control now. It wasn't lazy in composing itself over harsh bumps anymore. That felt like a big improvement to me because the dampening with the stock springs didn't feel good. Also, I thought trucks like that ride like crap because they are compensating for when you have weight in the bed. Then the ride settles down and it feels just fine. Also, My GT has 19" wheels so the 35 sidewall was an increase from what was on there before. It was noticeably more plush of a ride from the previous tire setup.

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[shogun32]

I thought trucks like that ride like crap because they are compensating for when you have weight in the bed. Then the ride settles down and it feels just fine.

my 2020 F150 pitched and wallowed something fierce with OE dampers. Bilstein at 4 corners, no change in spring and now it rides vastly flatter, some pitch remains of course and over sharp impacts I get tactile feedback whereas with OE the truck would glide over everything - pothole? what pothole?. Granted I also have section 45 tires on now instead of 65.

When you put 1500lbs in the bed you're just masking the shock's weakness in compression damping (too much) because the impact driving into the body has to accelerate an extra 1500lb that wasn't there before. And since the chassis hasn't been accellerated, weakness in rebound is less obvious.

 

[dman]

On my 2016 PP1 car, I did Steeda Pro Action Adjustable shocks and struts, and Firestone Indy 500 tires.

The combination was incredibly comfortable. Firm and stable, but comfortable. No impact harshness.

The difference that really high quality shocks and struts make is amazing.

The Steeda adjustable s are Konis made to Steeda specs, made
in Holland. Konis are known to be firm even at full soft. It’s all
about the spring/damper match, especially if looking for ride
comfort.

 

[shogun32]

made in Holland.

very unlikely that. The contract manufacturer is in Alabama if I remember right. 'Koni' may have it's own factories but they don't stoop to making the cheap sh*t, only the $1000+/each stuff. Similarly sub-$1000 Ohlins parts come out Vietnam and Indonesia as I recall. Sweden only makes the high-end good stuff.

 

[dman]

I’d switch to 18” wheels and tires and then If your car is a performance pack, I’d put in some stock premium GT shocks and struts and change the springs for same.

M8

very unlikely that. The contract manufacturer is in Alabama if I remember right. 'Koni' may have it's own factories but they don't stoop to making the cheap sh*t, only the $1000+/each stuff. Sub-$1000 Ohlins parts come out Vietnam and Indonesia as I recall. Sweden only makes the high-end good stuff.

made in Holland right on the case body…I‘ve asked. I am in a ‘17

 

[dman]

very unlikely that. The contract manufacturer is in Alabama if I remember right. 'Koni' may have it's own factories but they don't stoop to making the cheap sh*t, only the $1000+/each stuff. Sub-$1000 Ohlins parts come out Vietnam and Indonesia as I recall. Sweden only makes the high-end good stuff.

What planet are you on? $1000 and up Konis? Vietnam? Indo?
do your homework…

 

[69mach1-395]

Here comes the blasphemy...
I went the other way with rear shocks, not the very expensive ones spoke to on this site. The stock rears tend to bounce weird on rebound so I tried the Monroe OESpectrum Monotube Shock Absorber (# 5512) recently and so far, so good. And they use the stock mounts also.

 

[Roger Blose]

I have 19 factory wheels on my GT and the ride is tough especially in the winter with these P Zeros. I drop the tire pressure down to 29 to try and soften the impact and ride. Michelin AS3/4s can't come soon enough!

 

[dman]

I have 19 factory wheels on my GT and the ride is tough especially in the winter with these P Zeros. I drop the tire pressure down to 29 to try and soften the impact and ride. Michelin AS3/4s can't come soon enough!

another factor of ride quality can be wheel weight. Ford OEM wheels are known to be heavy, Performance Pack wheels weigh in at 33/34 lbs! lighter wheels help make the suspension more compliant to the road and help remove harsh reaction. my first mod has always been the wheels.
I would believe that could improve the ride comfort as well as the better braking, quicker acceleration and better suspension response which is why i dump factory. you also lighten the car overall...

 

[DaveB]

I checked those on Steeda's site. Since I can't install those myself, where would be the best place to have them installed? Also, do the Firestones ride better than the factory 18"s? More flex on their sidewalls?

Where are you located?

 

[JCFoster]

Here comes the blasphemy...
I went the other way with rear shocks, not the very expensive ones spoke to on this site. The stock rears tend to bounce weird on rebound so I tried the Monroe OESpectrum Monotube Shock Absorber (# 5512) recently and so far, so good. And they use the stock mounts also.

A lot cheaper too. They sound similar to Koni Actives which were junk especially the rears. How many miles do you have on them? The Koni actives I had lasted about 10k miles before they started failing.

 

[RogV]

Where are you located?

Monroe 48162

 

[1stBluesCup]

I have the '17 GT PP, 20" Niche wheels & 275 35 20's Firestone Indy 500's. My car really hurt my neck on these bumpy Dallas concrete roads. I talked to Steeda and they recommended their rear ProAction dampers and to cut the top pleat off the foam bump stops. PROBLEM SOLVED!!
I also track this car at 2 local DFW tracks and drive the pi$$ out of it, but it is now comfortable to DD. The stock PP Ford rear dampers are very stiff and the car would really slam off the bump stops so this took care of problem. If you look in the wheel well, you'll see that there's only about 1-1/2" of damper travel before it hits the bump stop. It just needs a little more travel. I did nothing to the front set up. BTW, Indy 500's are great tires- low price, good traction, fairly durable and it can be a poor man's track tire if you're not looking for top performance. Just not as grippy as 200 treadwear tires.

 

[TricarboNate]

How plush are you guys trying to go??

I just took my Ford Racing suspension with GT350 springs off and put the base suspension back on..... It is now super plush to the point that it sucks the fun out of the car!

 

[K4fxd]

Bilstein B6's work well with the stock springs. Firms it up enough to have fun but soft enough to keep the ride nice.

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