General ride quality after lowering?

[FarisR]

Alright guys?

My 06 mk6 Fiesta ST sat a little too high for my liking and wasn't stiff enough in the corners or under breaking so I got the eibach pro kit bolted on. Really happy with the improved handling when giving the car some stick, but the general ride quality has got noticeably worse!

I understand that there's a tradeoff between stiffness and ride quality however the car almost feels as if the shocks are bottoming out. Particularly when going over unavoidable pot holes or when driving on poor road surfaces which are unevenly bumpy.

Could my factory shocks be knackered and need replacing?
Should I change my shocks altogether for an aftermarket brand?

Thanks in advance, Faris

 

[BronxBomber]

Alright guys?

My 06 mk6 Fiesta ST sat a little too high for my liking and wasn't stiff enough in the corners or under breaking so I got the eibach pro kit bolted on. Really happy with the improved handling when giving the car some stick, but the general ride quality has got noticeably worse!


I understand that there's a tradeoff between stiffness and ride quality however the car almost feels as if the shocks are bottoming out. Particularly when going over unavoidable pot holes or when driving on poor road surfaces which are unevenly bumpy.

Could my factory shocks be knackered and need replacing?
Should I change my shocks altogether for an aftermarket brand?

Thanks in advance, Faris

Although we never got the mk 6 version here in the states, but your question applies to any car. If you're running lowering springs on stock struts, you are effectively shortening the shock travel since the shock/strut is now constantly in a compressed state, travel is now shorter which will cause the strut to bottom out since the effective travel has been reduced. Also the age and mileage will also have an impact. The more miles on the strut the weaker they will become and less capable of proper dampening. Hope this helps.

 

[FarisR]

Ah okay, that was my Dads thought process!

If I swapped out the shocks for some brand new ford ones, what difference could I expect to feel? Seeming as all I'm doing is putting a newer part on?

Would I be better off looking into changing the struts for an aftermarket set then? If so could you point me in the right direction please?

Thanks!

 

[our guile]

You need to replace the struts with new ones that are valved to match the spring rates of your Eibach Pro kit. Installing lowering springs on stock struts is never a good idea for the reasons BronxBomber mentioned. You'll blow out the struts and then the ride quality will be even worse.

I don't have a FiST yet, but in my experience with BMWs and Hondas, Bilstein and Koni make very high quality for good prices. I have Bilstein Sports on my E30 now, and they were reasonably priced.

 

[Sekred]

Of course it depends on what sort of conditions the Vehicle is subject too and the quality of the Damper, but a general rule for service life is around 60-80,000kms. Peak performance from your shocks starts to drop off well before that.

Lowering springs always need to be stiffer to compensate for the loss of suspension travel. IE, OEM 5 inches of suspension travel, 100 pound per inch spring. Now one inch lowering spring, 4 inches of suspension travel = 125 pound spring.

 

[FarisR]

You need to replace the struts with new ones that are valved to match the spring rates of your Eibach Pro kit. Installing lowering springs on stock struts is never a good idea for the reasons BronxBomber mentioned. You'll blow out the struts and then the ride quality will be even worse.

I don't have a FiST yet, but in my experience with BMWs and Hondas, Bilstein and Koni make very high quality for good prices. I have Bilstein Sports on my E30 now, and they were reasonably priced.

Appreciate your help, looks like the Bilstein B8's are made for the fiesta, double the price at each corner but I'm sure you get what you pay for!

 

[FarisR]

I dropped the car 30mm and 35mm with the eibach pro kit. Is it best to look up the info on those struts and then buy the suitable replacement struts?