Ride Quality - not crashing and potholes but the bouncing and choppy bit

[unclefester]

Morning folks,

Got a 2014 ST which i've had for a year and love but .....

I find that on motorways particularly the car will bounce and jitter like the rebound or damper rates just don't suit it. Speed is irrelevant, it's as bad at 80mph+ as it is at 50mph. There is nothing wrong with the handling or the way it holds a line through corners. If the road is butter smooth, it is of course fine. It feels to me like it needs more grown up suspension that doesn't upset the ride over undulations / pitches in the road. I accept that the ride is going to be on the firm side but this is an entirely different issue to that.

Is there an accepted 'fix' for curing this? I'm not done with fun yet so switching out to some lardy 4x4 barge with air ride and an accompany price tag for upgrade is not an option yet.

1. Wife has a bad neck and the choppy bouncing ride is driving her and ultimately me nuts.
2. Changed out to WInter tyres on 15s so this is not about harshness or NVH as that has been dealt with.
3. I've had Koni STR.T on another car and wasn't overly impressed with quality.
4. I could fit springs but the dampers are now 6 years old.
5. This is NOT about lowering the car!!
6. Needs to be 'night and day improvement' not just a bit better.

Would appreciate some answers from people who have experienced the same issue AND cured it.

For the resident comedians swapping out issue number 1 is not an option as if i can't cure the ride, i'll keep the wife and change the car

 

[unclefester]

After a bit of reading, it looks like Bilstein B6 shocks and stock springs is the route i need,

 

[unclefester]

Or they would have been if they weren't discontinued - ok. Back to reading or waiting for input

 

[SteveS]

It sounds like the shocks are just worn out.

 

[Intuit]

.............. the car will bounce and jitter .................. Speed is irrelevant, it's as bad at 80mph+ as it is at 50mph. ....................... If the road is butter smooth, it is of course fine..............................

Struts are bad. Unless you find damaged paint and rust on them, you can keep the springs. But the struts need replacing.

I don't have any recommendations on replacements since I've not had to research doing that, for this vehicle.

 

[Ford ST]

Or they would have been if they weren't discontinued - ok. Back to reading or waiting for input

They are not discontinued.
It appears RockAuto has them in stock. Both the rear and front.
I see that you are in the UK.
If us Americans can get them you should be able to.




Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

 

[unclefester]

Thanks gents. I'd concluded shocks too. I'll do a bit of searching.

 

[theblue]

also remember the short wheelbase nature will make these cars much more prone to it.

 

[sonicmn]

This probably isn't the best idea to move forward with, however it is an idea. You could go the route of putting the base fiesta hatch springs and dampers on the car (the setup from an SE). This would probably raise the car quite a bit, and change the handling characteristics as well, I would assume it makes the car handle much more similar to a base model fiesta (not really what your looking for). That is if a new set of dampers does not solve your current problem.

 

[LanT5]

After a bit of reading, it looks like Bilstein B6 shocks and stock springs is the route i need,

If you are looking for 'night and day difference' then this isn't your fix. I've run B6's with stock springs as well as Eibach's. Still a jarring, rough ride. I found the change to 16's made a bigger difference than struts - shocks and spring combo's. Still even with 16's the FiST is very firm. I toy with the idea of trying Meister R coilovers but living in a snowy climate I am torn on the maintenance of coilovers and winter exposure.

 

[unclefester]

That's the issue. Talking about £1000 plus inc fitting and stuff. I dont mind it but it drives her mad on longer trips. Shes happy in her car but I detest driving it ... Honda Fit with 100 snoring ponies. It's just so practical but dull and gutless.

I actually think the 15s it's on make it worse as it adds more bounce.

Might just stick a set of PS4 on the 17s come spring and enjoy it until i change the car.

 

[Ford ST]

If you are bouncing then I would say your dampers are just worn out.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

 

[AZSP33D]

16 wheels with 50 series tires makes a huge difference in improved ride quality (and appearance/grip also in my opinion).. but will not solve the lack of rebound damping issue... for that you need better shocks and struts. Bilstein or Koni is cheap and effective and both have softer high speed compression damping also. Shocks/struts are
Consumables.

 

[Tonda-B]

Morning folks,

Got a 2014 ST which i've had for a year and love but .....

I find that on motorways particularly the car will bounce and jitter like the rebound or damper rates just don't suit it. Speed is irrelevant, it's as bad at 80mph+ as it is at 50mph. There is nothing wrong with the handling or the way it holds a line through corners. If the road is butter smooth, it is of course fine. It feels to me like it needs more grown up suspension that doesn't upset the ride over undulations / pitches in the road. I accept that the ride is going to be on the firm side but this is an entirely different issue to that.

Is there an accepted 'fix' for curing this? I'm not done with fun yet so switching out to some lardy 4x4 barge with air ride and an accompany price tag for upgrade is not an option yet.

1. Wife has a bad neck and the choppy bouncing ride is driving her and ultimately me nuts.
2. Changed out to WInter tyres on 15s so this is not about harshness or NVH as that has been dealt with.
3. I've had Koni STR.T on another car and wasn't overly impressed with quality.
4. I could fit springs but the dampers are now 6 years old.
5. This is NOT about lowering the car!!
6. Needs to be 'night and day improvement' not just a bit better.

Would appreciate some answers from people who have experienced the same issue AND cured it.

For the resident comedians swapping out issue number 1 is not an option as if i can't cure the ride, i'll keep the wife and change the car

You have maybe the same feeling like I have: https://www.fiestastforum.com/threads/whats-your-fiesta-st-suspension-plan.1510/page-10
Now I am testling custom springs and shocks.

 

[unclefester]

I'll watch with interest. Bike was in for MOT today and needs 2 new discs, a new front tyre and apparently a fork rebuild - given i quite like the Fiesta / Del Sol but really LOVE the motorbike, for now that's where funds will go.

I do like the Fiesta though, it does all of what i need really well and has that chuckable playful character that is missing from so many of todays cars.

 

[Tonda-B]

Do you like motorbikes? OK.
Try to image, you have at disposal a bike usually used by 120 kg-guy and you have only 75 kg.
His suspension set-up will give you similar feeling.
Your (as well as my) Fiesta has perfect set-up for Laguna Seca or Northern Loop of Nuerburgring - very fast cicuits with flat surface without all bumps.
But on normal roads is the set-up nonsense - when you go fast you are more in the air than on the road
when you go slow is it just unnecessary uncomfortable
It is the reason why I have ordered custom suspension.
Suspension for normal roads and not for circuits.

 

[unclefester]

I presume the roads where you are ... are no better than they are here. Potholes everywhere, broken surfaces, poor road joins etc etc. Yes there are smooth roads but they are not fun roads.I find the Fiesta driven hard on any road is great fun because i am not focusing on comfort or ride quality.

At anything like normal driving, it just jiggles, annoyingly so.

As for taming the oversteer - no thanks, i came from a RWD car ... I love that the Fiesta has that same feeling

 

[Tonda-B]

It seems you are happy with the suspension set-up...
I am not.
My focus is not to make from my Fiesta a Rolls-Royce.
But to improve its ability to go fast on normal roads.
Now is it so, that when a bump comes, the wheel goes up, but on the leeward side is not able to copy the surface - because of too hard rebound of the shock absorber - and you fly.
Being in the air you are not able to accelerate, to brake or to change direction.
Uncomfortable is this set-up too. But it is not the most important thing.
The most important thing is - for me - to make the set-up faster on normal roads.
That it means also the set-up will be more comfortable is just welcomed bonus.

 

[Dr Awkward]

Morning folks,


I find that on motorways particularly the car will bounce and jitter like the rebound or damper rates just don't suit it.

Is there an accepted 'fix' for curing this? I'm not done with fun yet so switching out to some lardy 4x4 barge with air ride and an accompany price tag for upgrade is not an option yet.

Would appreciate some answers from people who have experienced the same issue AND cured it.

I found the bouncing to be unacceptable and now it's GONE. My solution violates one of your criteria, but it worked easily and completely: Koni STR.T (orange) shocks in the rear. No bouncing, none, end of story.

The car still handles really well. I do have some other handling mods: a strut bar and six-point under chassis brace, urethane transmission/engine mounts, the rear torsion stiffener (this is marketed as a chassis brace, but I think it's more of a suspension mod), and an MFactory LSD. I also run Nitto NeoGen tires on 15" Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 wheels in summer. In winter I run Michelin X-Ice tires on these wheels. The summer setup handles really well: the winter tires are not remotely in the same handling league, but acceptable for the season.

The stock setup had two flaws IMO: the harsh crashing on crappy roads, and the bouncing. I fixed the crashing by going to 15" wheels. Then I hoped to fix the bouncing and gain overall handling excellence by running high end coilovers (MeisterR GTs), which ended all bouncing, handled great, and brought the crashing back to an unacceptable level. Reluctantly, I pulled the coilovers and mounted up the Koni rears. To my suprise, this turned out to be an excellent street setup. I don't think it would be the thing for track days, but it's amazing and totally usable on twisty roads, and has neither crashing nor bouncing flaws.

 

[OrangeFiST]

This probably isn't the best idea to move forward with, however it is an idea. You could go the route of putting the base fiesta hatch springs and dampers on the car (the setup from an SE). This would probably raise the car quite a bit, and change the handling characteristics as well, I would assume it makes the car handle much more similar to a base model fiesta (not really what your looking for). That is if a new set of dampers does not solve your current problem.

It will look like this but it definitely rode like butter.
It actually did some downhill curvy parkways pretty well but you won’t be able to toss it around. Now, correct me if I’m wrong but won’t there be extra turbulence underneath? Also looks kinda of like a mini SUV.