Soft Stock Suspension?

[Kevin Lang]

What is it with Ford and dangerously soft, sloppy stock suspension? I'm starting to think that it is a fact of life that Ford's stock suspension setup sucks, like the Pope being Catholic or the Sun rising in the east.



We all know that the ST's stock shocks were awful. The Fusion is pretty soft too, but luckily it isn't as brutal as it is a sedan and not an SUV. The Escape's is awful, it reminds me of the ST. I see that its shocks are suspiciously similar in appearance to the unmarked black pieces of junk that came on the Gen 1 STs. I see that the rear sway bar is similarly puny (and I also see drum brakes...in 2012! :fire



Seriously Ford. I'm starting to think that their "sport" suspension options should be standard, I feel like I'm going to roll over on each and every turn in the Escape.



Not that other cars companies don't do this (the RAV4 is even worse) but I hold Ford to a higher standard. :banghead::banghead:

 

[Doctor CAD]

80% of the buying public don't agree with you...that's why.

 

[Jerry Gerner 2]

That's why it's called an "Escape", when you flip you need to escape the wreckage. :bwahaha:

 

[Gavin Allan]

Gen I is way too soft, but my '10 has a much firmer suspension, even over the '07 I had. I'd like to firm it up a bit more at times, but generally it is just about perfect for daily use.

 

[Todd Z]

Ride in a regular explorer, It rides like a truck !!!

Todd Z

 

[Kevin Lang]

80%?! Seriously? I just can't wrap my mind around that much of the public enjoying feeling like they could roll on any curve.



My ST's handling destroys that of these much smaller, newer suvs. On curves that I have ti craw through in the escape because I want to stay on all 4 wheels, I can blow through with flat cornering in the st. I'm just not used to soft suspension after getting stiffer shocks and beefier sway bars from this site on my st. :supercool:



Having to slow to a crawl on curves isn't too great when I'm in a 4 cylinder suv that doesn't accelerate well. I need to conserve that speed, not blast it away with outdated drum brakes on each and every curve :driving:

 

[EddieS'04]

Kevin,

When the '08 escape came out with a body change. I seen an article from motor week. That ford softened the suspension in,'08.

I beleive it. Because our '01 could corner much better than our '08.

Not sure if they changed spring rate, shocks or swaybars. They didnt say. Sometimes on sharp curves. I think the '08 did it on 3 wheels...:banghead:

 

[Kevin Lang]

80% of the buying public don't agree with you...that's why.

Sounds like 80% of the buying public would be doing themselves a service to move to a city of choice and use public transit/taxis/walking to transport themselves. Suspension this soft isn't safe for anyone. :boohoo::grin:

 

[Richard L]

KL,

Did you not test drive a Sport Trac before you bought one? That would have told you if the suspension was too soft and posed a safety factor for you.



Stock suspensions are a compromise to satisfy the desires of the largest number of customers, and since Ford makes the best selling trucks in the US, they must be doing something right.



If the stock suspension does not suit you, you did not have to buy the vehicle. If you bought it and now it seems to be too soft, you may have a lot of worn out components that need to be replaced or you may just need to upgrade to stiffer components. Better shocks, swaybars, and springs can firm up the suspension at minimal costs.



...Rich

 

[EddieS'04]

Before my dad passed away. I tried to get him to put new shocks on his grand marquis. It had over 100K on it. He said, he didnt want to loose that nice ride.

I talked my mom into monroe sensa-tracs. She loves it. She said, It rides just as soft and has better sway control. She is glad to get the oem's off of it. She feels safer.



I agree, when I drove it with the oem shocks. You could feel the heavy lean and wiggle of the suspension. Especialy at highway speeds, in curves when you hit uneven pavement.



My dad had it stuck in his head. That if the shocks dont leak they are good...LOL

 

[H D]

Our '09 Edge corners very well for its size yet maintains a smooth ride, IMO. I think the previous owner may have made some upgrades, though. Sitting beside other Edges, our's is a good 2" or so lower than other SELs and I think may even have an aftermarket exhaust. It's a nice vehicle and nothing we're interested in changing anything about so I haven't even popped the hood other than the day of purchase, let alone crawl underneath. I would say it handles very similarly to the '01 Honda Accord sedan I used to have, and that's pretty dang good.



The brakes are another story...:banghead:

 

[Kevin Lang]

Richard L, this is about the 2012 Escape that I recently inherited. I didn't test drive it because I didn't buy it.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

I don't need to read this thread other than its OP to figure out that most of it can be summarized as replies from Ford apologists that come up with lame excuses for why Ford puts crappy shocks on their products as well as replies that attack the original author for not being intelligent, etc.



The stock shocks on the ST suck. They are absolutely unsafe to drive on highway speeds if you hit a pothole, and I can claim that from experience. When I first mentioned this about 8 years ago some folks on her blamed me for not 'dodging' the potholes, like that is the right answer.



TJR

 

[Kevin Lang]

TJR, you hit the nail on the head.



I don't understand why this, Ford's soft suspension, doesn't seem to appear in auto reviews. If I were a reviewer I'd lambast Ford for their arguably unsafe suspension. The 2013 models are lauded for their handling, but the same reviewers didn't bash the 2012 and prior Fords for their weak suspension. Did all the reviewers get the Sport suspension?



I'm thinking that maybe Ford has stiffened their shocks for 2013, but I'm not sure as, despite winning the 2013 Escape won Motortrend's handling challenge hands-down, the 2013 Escape was criticized by Motortrend for having excessive body roll. That makes me think that the other crossovers have softer suspension than Ford, not that Ford has stepped up..??

Our '09 Edge corners very well for its size yet maintains a smooth ride, IMO. I think the previous owner may have made some upgrades, though. Sitting beside other Edges, our's is a good 2" or so lower than other SELs and I think may even have an aftermarket exhaust.

I'm not familiar with the Edge at all, besides seeing them around. Since the Edge isn't based on a downright ancient design like the Escape (a design that Eddie '04 points out was given even softer suspension), maybe it didn't get "stricken" with soft suspension? All I know is that if a Sport suspension option is available on any Ford, I will get it from now on if it is within my power to do so.



I have to admit that I'm surprised that you aren't sure if your ride has aftermarket exhaust or suspension.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

KL, I suspect that the OEM suspension on the older models was both cheaper and provided for a more car-like ride (like a boat afloat, lofty and all), and for that reason it was good for Ford...good because it was cheap, and while on test drives would-be owners could marvel at the comfortable ride.



However, once purchased and put a few thousand miles (or maybe even only a couple of miles), most will find that the soft suspension is simply dangerous on many common road conditions...cornering on a rough/washboard road surface, sudden encounter of uneven pavement such as a pothole or minor road buckle at highway speeds, etc. When (not if) the driver first encounters these common conditions then it's white knuckle time.



People buy a truck, and pay a premium for it. A little better, stiffer shock adds infinitely to the stability of the product, and at only a marginal increase in cost and with only a minor decrease in overall riding comfort...almost none, actually.



Shame on Ford, I say.



TJR

 

[H D]

I have to admit that I'm surprised that you aren't sure if your ride has aftermarket exhaust or suspension.

I'm afraid of feeding my sickness. I don't want to tweak anything with this vehicle.:rofl:



I parked beside another Edge of similar vintage today. Ours is definitely a good bit lower. Certainly, not such a minute amount to indicate it could just be settling or something else minor. There is a drastic height difference. Most Edge's have SUV-like ground clearance. We have sedan-like clearance. That makes me think there was suspension work done by the previous owner and along with a more sporty tone, I think it was an enthusiast, so the handling would have been improved.



The Sport Trac was terrible stock. Nobody can argue that. A torsion twist and stiff Rancho shocks put it right where it should have been, IMO. I imagine those that upgraded the sway bars feel even more strongly about it than I do. I removed my rear sway bar a couple weeks ago at Gulches and was surprised at how puny it is. I knew it was small, but actually having it off and in my hand was a different realization than just seeing it underneath the truck.



If other Fords are similar, I understand the frustration. My mom's Fusion isn't terrible, but is definitely softer than I would want. My sister's Focus is sport tuned and handles nicely (for a FWD). My dad's F150, well, it's a 4x4 truck...

 

[Kevin Lang]

I don't have any sort of lift on my ST (it's 4x2) but I do have the upgraded sway bars and Ranchos and it is so much nicer than the Escape and itself stock. I'm convinced that it has less body lean on turns than my Fusion has, but that could just be perception/bias kickin' in. The swaybars improve the ride over just the shocks almost as much as the shocks alone improved the ride over the stock suspension. Thankfully the "lowness" of the Fusion makes the soft suspension not matter as much. I'm debating whether or not I want to trade it in for a 2013/2014 though, before I investigate stiffening that suspension.



Does your Edge have Sync? My Fusion does not, my Escape does, and I'm finding myself spending WAY more time driving my Escape for that one reason. Ford made Sync standard on 2013 models (and not "possible" to aftermarket) just to spite me, I'm convinced :bwahaha:



Now, I can't find a way to write this that doesn't sound insensitive (for lack of a better word ATM), but I'm not sure how you were able to pick up a previously owned Edge without knowing that it had aftermarket mods like suspension and exhaust?