Best way to reduce the "bounciness" during highway driving.

[FLORIDAST]

We all know this car rides rough and it's bouncy, especially on the highway. I drive on the highway almost exclusively and I'd like to soften things up a bit without sacrificing too much of the sharp handling. What are my best options for this?

 

[Zormecteon]

Mountune springs.

 

[Quisp]

+1......

 

[deathratt1e]

I would love to see everyone's input on this. I drive 19 miles round trip M-F on perpetually under construction I35. there are a few spots that if i hit at speed the car handles it fine, but the bounce causes me to bump my head and I have redo my hair.

 

[awwwww_shift]

One other way to reduce some of that would be going to a smaller diameter wheel with the same overall height tire on it(i.e. 16" wheel)
More sidewall = more cushion for bumps. You would be giving up a little bit of the snappiness on turn in, but the overall ride quality would be greatly improved. YMMV

 

[deathratt1e]

One other way to reduce some of that would be going to a smaller diameter wheel with the same overall height tire on it(i.e. 16" wheel)
More sidewall = more cushion for bumps. You would be giving up a little bit of the snappiness on turn in, but the overall ride quality would be greatly improved. YMMV

Ive been looking at that route too. and Tire Rack has the Sparco Trofeo 16s for 100/wheel right now. There also seems to be more Bridgestone options at that size

 

[Manta Ray]

ive found that the quicker i go, the smoother the car. local roads are tough.

 

[neeqness]

I second the springs as they do help a bit. However, if your local roads are really bad, it won't be good enough. If money is tight and you are not tracking, you could keep the stock springs and go with the koni Str.T shocks (do not run aftermarket springs with aftermarket shocks though as usually they are designed to be run with oem and not each other). This has worked for me and I've been using this for months now.

I prefer the lowered spring look and feel though so I am currently looking for 15" wheels to put a higher aspect tire (maybe 205/50). This is supposed to help also and if it does work with the lowered springs, that will be my new setup.

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[enamelizer]

I would assume the higher spring rate on the stock shocks would only compound the issue, and the best way to improve ride would be upgraded dampers. Is the improved ride of Mountune springs due to them having progressive spring rates?

 

[neeqness]

I would assume the higher spring rate on the stock shocks would only compound the issue, and the best way to improve ride would be upgraded dampers. Is the improved ride of Mountune springs due to them having progressive spring rates?

Yes. But it only goes so far. I liked it and it was an improvement however it didn't help as much as the koni struts so I switched. The koni str.t although they are still somewhat sporty they are relatively soft and do not work well with the progressive springs which is why I recommend them with the oem springs. I have tried different kinds of setups and the koni str.t with oem springs worked best for me. Keeping in mind that the koni str.t are designed for oem springs and the progressive springs are designed for oem shocks.

I also do a lot of freeway miles and live in an urban area with terrible roads so I can relate. I don't track my car otherwise I would recommend the koni yellows, but if you are looking for more comfort with a sporty feel, the str.t is it. But if it were just the highways that had a problem and I weren't living around these terrible roads, I'd likely stick with the progressive springs on oem shocks.

That said, I have heard good things about higher aspect tires and their ability to improve the ride so I'm currently considering smaller wheels and going that route so I can use the lowering springs and still have a decent ride on these terrible roads. Even if it doesn't work as expected I will keep the wheels as I also like the look.


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[awwwww_shift]

I just read that Billstein has some options for us now aside from their coilovers. May have some choices there if you didn't want to go with a koni sport adjustable shock or the str.t line of struts.

I'm going to be experimenting with the koni sports that I have for the car and combinations of them and the Billstein offerings (koni front, billstein rear... billstein front, koni rear.... etc) next season on my car. I'll report back when there's data to be shown, but I know that does nobody any good here at the moment... *shrug*

 

[neeqness]

I just read that Billstein has some options for us now aside from their coilovers. May have some choices there if you didn't want to go with a koni sport adjustable shock or the str.t line of struts.

I'm going to be experimenting with the koni sports that I have for the car and combinations of them and the Billstein offerings (koni front, billstein rear... billstein front, koni rear.... etc) next season on my car. I'll report back when there's data to be shown, but I know that does nobody any good here at the moment... *shrug*

True, there are some people who liked the bilstein shocks too. I haven't personally used them though so I can't provide any feedback on them.

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[awwwww_shift]

I've had them on other vehicles and really liked them. Usually the digressive valving had a large effect on the overall feel of the cars, and helped the ride immensely

 

[Siestarider]

I went with lighter wheels and BFG SC2 in 205/45/16 to soften harshness. The improvement in comfort was worth it. No sacrifice in handling, probably a little better than stock due to stickier tires.

After two years on that setup I put on MeisterR GT1's with 5/4 linear springs. Playing around with dampers and ride height now, but the package is far more comfortable on street than stock springs and dampers despite stiffer springs. Then again, $2K is more money than I ever imagined spending on shocks for a Fiesta, so it would be surprising if they were not an improvement over stock.

Need track testing, want to try different tire pressure and damper settings. Try Swift 6/4 or 6/5 springs (what the dampers are actually valved for) before I settle on something. Great feature of the Meisters is both front and rear are adjustable by hand without removing anything, just twist knobs.

From all I have read, the Koni STR's are good for street comfort, not so good for track as OEM.

 

[enamelizer]

Yes. But it only goes so far. I liked it and it was an improvement however it didn't help as much as the koni struts so I switched. The koni str.t although they are still somewhat sporty they are relatively soft and do not work well with the progressive springs which is why I recommend them with the oem springs. I have tried different kinds of setups and the koni str.t with oem springs worked best for me. Keeping in mind that the koni str.t are designed for oem springs and the progressive springs are designed for oem shocks.

I also do a lot of freeway miles and live in an urban area with terrible roads so I can relate. I don't track my car otherwise I would recommend the koni yellows, but if you are looking for more comfort with a sporty feel, the str.t is it. But if it were just the highways that had a problem and I weren't living around these terrible roads, I'd likely stick with the progressive springs on oem shocks.

That said, I have heard good things about higher aspect tires and their ability to improve the ride so I'm currently considering smaller wheels and going that route so I can use the lowering springs and still have a decent ride on these terrible roads. Even if it doesn't work as expected I will keep the wheels as I also like the look.


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Thanks for the info, I am running 45 series tires on 17lb 16" wheels and it didn't make as big as a difference as I hoped.

The str.t is the orange? I was thinking of saving up for some coilovers at some point so I can run a stiffer spring and adjustable dampers without the full 1" drop of a lowering spring. I already scrape the air dam if I don't come out of my driveway just right, so don't really want the headaches of going too much lower. But since this is a daily driver on some really crappy city streets, that str.t damper might be the better option, coilovers would be overkill for my use.

 

[neeqness]

Thanks for the info, I am running 45 series tires on 17lb 16" wheels and it didn't make as big as a difference as I hoped.

The str.t is the orange? I was thinking of saving up for some coilovers at some point so I can run a stiffer spring and adjustable dampers without the full 1" drop of a lowering spring. I already scrape the air dam if I don't come out of my driveway just right, so don't really want the headaches of going too much lower. But since this is a daily driver on some really crappy city streets, that str.t damper might be the better option, coilovers would be overkill for my use.

Yes, the str.t are the orange ones. I felt that coilovers and koni yellows were overkill for what I needed also. That's exactly why I chose them. They work best with the oem springs which pretty much keeps it at stock height.

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[FLORIDAST]

Yeah it's just the highway that I have issues with. The streets in my town are pretty nice but I don't do a lot of driving in town during the week. Based on all the opinions I think some progressive springs might do the trick. I don't track the car and don't intend to.

 

[neeqness]

Yeah it's just the highway that I have issues with. The streets in my town are pretty nice but I don't do a lot of driving in town during the week. Based on all the opinions I think some progressive springs might do the trick. I don't track the car and don't intend to.

If the highway is just a bit bumpy the springs should be fine, but if it has potholes and things like that I'd get the shocks.

Also I think pretty much all of the progressive springs lower the car a bit. If that's a problem for you, you might want to consider the shocks for that too.

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[FLORIDAST]

If the highway is just a bit bumpy the springs should be fine, but if it has potholes and things like that I'd get the shocks.

Also I think pretty much all of the progressive springs lower the car a bit. If that's a problem for you, you might want to consider the shocks for that too.

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It's really just the highway that's a bit bumpy in spots that I'd like to tame. Springs should do the trick and if they don't, I may look into a coil over setup.

 

[neeqness]

It's really just the highway that's a bit bumpy in spots that I'd like to tame. Springs should do the trick and if they don't, I may look into a coil over setup.

I think you're right about the springs. I've driven through Florida when I still had stock suspension and the highways there are not that bad at all.

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