[RRRon]

Approaching the three year mark with the R and my biggest complaint would be the suspension and how it crashes over bumps and potholes. I'm just tired of feeling like my teeth are being knocked out every time I hit a ridge in the road.

There have been many discussions of how the 4C stiffens the shocks whenever it detects a bump. So instead of letting the strut absorb the bump, it overcompensates, goes rock hard and goes "BANG".

Last week when switching back to summer mode, I stopped and looked at the accelerometer and thought if it were mounted on the chassis it would not be able to detect the pot holes. The 4C system would simply think it were running on a smooth road. Otherwise the system should still know when I'm braking or accelerating hard. The baseline settings for the shocks would still be the same when changing from Sport to Advanced. They struts would not stiffen when hitting a bump.

So I did a temporary relocate of the front accelerometers to the chassis using black outdoor cable ties. I made sure they were mounted in the same orientation and secured the cables away from harm.

Took it for a test drive and wow! The crashing is gone! I still have control over ride stiffness. Comfort Sport and Advanced feel a bit softer, because the struts don't stiffen up on bumps. The struts do seem to stiffen up when accelerating and braking in Advanced just as before. The system has not thrown any codes.

I'm not sure if this has been done before, and it's probably not for everyone. But I sure do like it!
I expect this will also extend the life of the struts and other suspension components.

I'm going to drive around for a couple more weeks and if I have no issues, then I will be finding a permanent home on the chassis for the sensors.

I may also try moving the rear sensors at one point, but for now I could not be happier with the R.

UPDATE: I have added a complete HOW TO on Page 4 of this thread.

 

[FORD420diesel]

VERY intriguing!!

 

[Karpiak]

This is a great idea, what I wonder is if these accelerometers 'wear' out over time, even tho there electronic maybe the function of them has depleted. Would new ones maybe correct the crashing?

 

[qwkbrk]

Clever idea Ron! Be sure to update this thread after some driving.

 

[Rick101]

This is an amazing idea. Nice going for thinking outside the box, the front end and crashyness of this car is what i hate the most with roads here.

 

[o2k]

Mine crashes too.. I'll have to give this a try!

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[RRRon]

This is a great idea, what I wonder is if these accelerometers 'wear' out over time, even tho there electronic maybe the function of them has depleted. Would new ones maybe correct the crashing?

Not sure if they wear over time. I can say that the harsh reaction to pot holes has not changed in the three years I've had the R. It's always been there since I picked it up from the dealer.

Clever idea Ron! Be sure to update this thread after some driving.

Spent over 2 hours driving around Toronto today. Funny thing is that I was intentionally looking for the worst roads I could find.
I'll give it another two weeks before I make this permanent and update the thread with the final mounting.

 

[o2k]

Is it possible the crashing is due to bad software?

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[SectorNine50]

Have you noticed any adverse handling effects in sportier driving? My concern is that 4C's reactions are going to be "delayed" by this move since the body moves far after the shocks do, curious if that creates any funny characteristics. Another concern to consider is that now body movement (ie. roll, bounce, etc.) are going to trigger different 4C reactions.

Anyway, this is a very interesting idea...!

 

[magicaljake]

not to poke holes in this..... but, does anyone know if this will accelerate the deterioration of the $400 ea. struts?

i mean.. they seem to be working harder.. and giving more.... i am in NO way saying this is a bad idea... i just have to wonder... does anyone else have a better answer?

 

[JRL]

They all crash, some more than others, even if your car is at its best (my Sonic was).
This is interesting. Are your lights still working properly and no codes showing?
I used to just pull one fuse at the end of the dash on my 04 during the daytime and just pop the fuse in at night. It defaults to a more or less a stiffer sport but that's the way it would remain, no constant changing and the ride was QUIET.
Not that easy on an 05-07 to just pull one fuse.

I always found 4C to be quite overrated. Frankly I hated it, the GM metallic ride control is MUCH better, ie: Corvette, Cadillac, FERRARI! (which used a GM license for their metallic ride system)

It would be interesting to know if you have any stored codes in the system.

Is it possible the crashing is due to bad software?

No, the software is not bad, per se, it's GARBAGE, always has been no matter how many variants they made (still five I believe)

 

[SectorNine50]

not to poke holes in this..... but, does anyone know if this will accelerate the deterioration of the $400 ea. struts?

i mean.. they seem to be working harder.. and giving more.... i am in NO way saying this is a bad idea... i just have to wonder... does anyone else have a better answer?

The way these shocks are designed, having them react to sharp bumps is actually making them work harder.

To stiffen and lighten the dampening of these shocks, they have a valve on the bottom that basically opens a bypass for the shock oil. This means that when the valve is open (soft), no (or very little) oil is forced through the shock's dampening valve, and when it's closed (stiff) it's pushing most (if not all) the oil through the shocks' dampening valve.

Long story short, less wear should occur when the valve is open.

 

[rotorwash]

Wow! Good for you - eager to try this myself. Probably won't until my next day off from work... in May

 

[RRRon]

...This is interesting. Are your lights still working properly and no codes showing?

...It would be interesting to know if you have any stored codes in the system.

Everyting is working perfectly so far. After one week, there are no codes that I know of. Unfortunately I don't have VIDA to check for stored codes.

 

[RRRon]

Have you noticed any adverse handling effects in sportier driving? My concern is that 4C's reactions are going to be "delayed" by this move since the body moves far after the shocks do, curious if that creates any funny characteristics. Another concern to consider is that now body movement (ie. roll, bounce, etc.) are going to trigger different 4C reactions.

Anyway, this is a very interesting idea...!

My observation is that Advanced is not as harsh. It's still a firm ride, but has more give over the bumps. I supose if you are tracking the car, this may not be a good mod.

I know what you mean that the sensor will now measure body movement instead of wheel movement. But I think the sensor is calibrated to measure fast acting wheel movement. Body roll/bouncel is slow by comparison. So far I have not noticed any funny characteristics. I wasn't sure how this was going to work either, which is why I waited so long before posting.

 

[907S60R]

Scribed, wanna see how this pans out

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[4pownag3]

Im in for the results

 

[ukinne]

OK, this is one I am going to have to try ... great out of the box idea.
Nick

 

[xman04]

Interesting, although you'd be putting more wear on the struts as there will be a lot more compressing/decompressing (in terms of shock travel) and that's what leads to leaky struts, not the valve IIRC.

 

[RRRon]

Interesting, although you'd be putting more wear on the struts as there will be a lot more compressing/decompressing (in terms of shock travel) and that's what leads to leaky struts, not the valve IIRC.

Keep in mind that the struts still have comfort, sport and advanced baseline settings. The ride is still very firm in advanced.
The only difference I can see or feel is that they don't go rock hard when they hit a ridge or pot hole.