Ford UK re multi link change 30th Aug 2019

[Guy Heaton]

The collision "assist" is way too sensitive, even when set low it will go off when overtaking quickly.

 

Tbh I've realised I couldn't care less about all these so called driver aids. i certainly wouldn't pay extra to spec them.  I've turned lane assist and speed warning off.  Can't turn the collision assist fully off though.

[Alex.S]

46 minutes ago, Guy Heaton said:

The collision "assist" is way too sensitive, even when set low it will go off when overtaking quickly.

 

Tbh I've realised I couldn't care less about all these so called driver aids. i certainly wouldn't pay extra to spec them.  I've turned lane assist and speed warning off.  Can't turn the collision assist fully off though.

He said it’s a software update needed re the collision assist. 

The guys a driving instructor hence the 22000 in 1 year..

[Eric Bloodaxe]

2 hours ago, Guy Heaton said:

Tbh I've realised I couldn't care less about all these so called driver aids. i certainly wouldn't pay extra to spec them.  I've turned lane assist and speed warning off.

I'm a bit that way myself. Turned lane assist off before I even left the dealers. Do find the Fiesta speed warning (though not 100% reliable) to be quite helpful, though - possibly because I had to attend a "re-education" course a while back!😀

[TomsFocus]

 

11 hours ago, Micro said:

It's a  6-speed manual, i'm not fond of autos (although the modern ones are quite nice). Can't stand bigger wheels - what's the point, when you hit a pot hole and it destroys the tyre / alloy? I'd rather have smaller wheels with more air between the road and wheel to cushion the inevitable pot holes (Plus means my current snow chains fit the new car too! :P).

Bigger wheels are just for looks in my case.  (Although they do also offer a sharper turn in on fast, smooth corners, not something I need lol.)  

But there's rarely a middle ground which is why something like the Vignale appeals to me, I usually have to settle for Grandad spec looks (Titanium, Match, etc) to get decent ride comfort......as the alternative is usually just rubber bands fited around some unnesseraily large rims and springs so hard they just crash and jitter even at 30mph...  

On that subject, I was having a good look around the new Civic Type R yesterday at a Honda event...the tyres on those are utterly ridiculous... 245/30/20!!!!!!!  Honestly looked like they'd been painted on...  

 

[Eric Bloodaxe]

45 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

On that subject, I was having a good look around the new Civic Type R yesterday at a Honda event...the tyres on those are utterly ridiculous... 245/30/20!!!!!!!  Honestly looked like they'd been painted on...  

Yeah, I do struggle a bit to see why such extreme tyres are needed for road use.. I don't recall ever running short of grip back when, say, something like a 195/50 x 15 was regarded as pretty extreme, though I appreciate you can't compare directly due to increases in size and weight of cars.

[TomsFocus]

1 hour ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Yeah, I do struggle a bit to see why such extreme tyres are needed for road use.. I don't recall ever running short of grip back when, say, something like a 195/50 x 15 was regarded as pretty extreme, though I appreciate you can't compare directly due to increases in size and weight of cars.

195/55/15 was standard on the 306 GTi6...I always hated the cheaper 50 profiles that previous owners used to fit...nowadays they still look fairly chunky!! 😮

I think some of the extreme low profile is to do with emissions, a large rolling radius helps efficiency at speed but tyre flex wastes energy.  The only way around that is to either inflate balloon tyres to bursting point, as seen with the latest Focus 65s, or fit super low profiles.  Neither are any good for comfort!!

 

[Eric Bloodaxe]

17 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

195/55/15 was standard on the 306 GTi6...I always hated the cheaper 50 profiles that previous owners used to fit...nowadays they still look fairly chunky!!

I had the earlier 309GTI. I found a copy of the original road test online a while back and was surprised to be reminded that the tyres on that were only 185/55x15 - they seemed flippin' enormous at the time!😀 

[TomsFocus]

11 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I had the earlier 309GTI. I found a copy of the original road test online a while back and was surprised to be reminded that the tyres on that were only 185/55x15 - they seemed flippin' enormous at the time!😀 

Lol, I do like the 309...especially the Goodwood edition in green!  

Capri alloys always make me laugh at retro meets...  They're only 13" with something like a 205/65 profile!  Look like sofa casters against that huge front end!  

[Guy Heaton]

Interesting commentary on the suspension a little way down the page.

https://www.netcarshow.com/ford/2019-focus_st-line/

 

[Botus]

On ‎9‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 10:28 AM, Eric Bloodaxe said:

While I'm pretty much in agreement with the sentiment of the post, (and I think most of us agree that a multi-link should perform better all round than a beam, if set up correctly), I can't say that I've ever felt safety being compromised simply by virtue of a car having torsion beam. Certainly I've felt a lot more confident in some cars than others, due to a better judged balance of springing and damping for example. I certainly did use to feel unsafe in some of the old rear cart spring cars, though, (done 360 degree spins in both a Morris Minor and a Marina TC in my youth)!😀 And cars like the much praised Renault Megane RS have a beam, though I understand the ride on the Cup version can be a little "firm"!

 

 

the purpose of suspension is to allow the wheel and tyre to follow the road maintaining the correct alignment and contact patch so as to optimise the available grip and stability across all the wheels.  if you can feel a difference in ride comfort.... that's coming from the car better managing the task

when driving a given car it may well feel "safe enough", but in extreme conditions a well designed sophisticated suspension set up could easily be what allows you to maintain control, and thus be the difference between getting away with it, or a total loss of control

 

 

[Eric Bloodaxe]

14 hours ago, Botus said:

a well designed sophisticated suspension set up could easily be what allows you to maintain control,

As earlier post, very much agree. My point was I don't necessarily feel a given car is less safe just because it has torsion beam, other factors of suspension tune - springs, dampers, bushes - plus the battery of electronic aids nowadays (ESP etc) can all make a difference. Have driven plenty of cars (usually German "premium" brands) where the theoretical advantage of multi-link has been squandered by poor application.

And in many classes of car you can't get to choose anyway . The only supermini for example that I know with multi link is the MINI, and I've never felt the ride/handling on that to be anywhere as good as the Fiesta, for instance.

Anyway, I'm just off on a cruise (to please the Mrs!) so probably won't be lurking on here for a week or so as internet tends to be unreliable. Hope the ship has the nautical equivalent of multi link so I don't get seasick!😀

 

[Alex.S]

https://www.goauto.com.au/news/ford/focus/why-most-ford-focus-models-ditch-irs/2018-07-24/74335.html

[Alex.S]

On 9/2/2019 at 4:48 PM, Guy Heaton said:

Interesting commentary on the suspension a little way down the page.

https://www.netcarshow.com/ford/2019-focus_st-line/

 

As far as I can tell that was written in 2019. I’ve got an article here from an Australian Website from July 2018. Seems Australians knew they were changing to twist beam whereas forduk kept it under their hat until after it’d been changed May 2019..

https://www.goauto.com.au/news/ford/focus/why-most-ford-focus-models-ditch-irs/2018-07-24/74335.html

I’d say a ST-Line X at £27k + should be classed as a higher grade Ford Focus 

[Eric Bloodaxe]

44 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

I'd say a ST-Line X at £27k + should be classed as a higher grade Ford Focus 

That's a very interesting article. Yes, £27k + sounds like pretty high grade money to me as well - but then Yorkshire folk and Scots have a lot in common when it comes to parting with cash!😀 

[Alex.S]

12 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

That's a very interesting article. Yes, £27k + sounds like pretty high grade money to me as well - but then Yorkshire folk and Scots have a lot in common when it comes to parting with cash!😀 

😂 mines on motability! Short of robbing a post office where else does a Glaswegian get £27k from! 

The article speaks highly of the twist beam you have in your fiesta. 

Out of choice I’d go for the SLA but if the twist is not noticeably different...

 

[Alex.S]

23 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

That's a very interesting article. Yes, £27k + sounds like pretty high grade money to me as well - but then Yorkshire folk and Scots have a lot in common when it comes to parting with cash!😀 

Sorry Roger, I’m assuming your fiesta is twist beam? I’d read the 2018 ST had it.  Not sure about the ST-Line fiesta?

[Guy Heaton]

Interesting article alex, and they're right in one sense, like I've said before, I don't think I'll ever reach the situation where it would make a difference what my rear set up was.

 

That said though, when I ordered the stline X I expected to get the best ford had to offer at the time, which should have included irs.

 

You want to get what you've paid for.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

12 hours ago, Alex.S said:

Sorry Roger, I’m assuming your fiesta is twist beam?

Yes, that's right Alex. It works pretty well (in my opinion) handling/ride wise too. As the article you quoted shows, Ford have sort of dug themselves into a hole on this, by making the multi link rear a bit of a Focus USP over the years, abetted by the UK motoring press. If a similar article to the one you quoted had appeared here outlining the background to the change and that Ford had really achieved similar results through different means, I doubt there would have been many complaints. To me, it's placing an order and then finding out that you're not getting what you expected that causes folk to get upset.

[Alex.S]

[Alex.S]

Just now, Alex.S said:

 

1 minute ago, Alex.S said:

The amended ford uk website. Makes no sense whatsoever! Basically says the 2ltr diesel is the only one getting SLA. 

The solid blocks mean ‘as standard’ If that’s correct then it’s saying every models getting the multi link . 

[Eric Bloodaxe]

2 hours ago, Alex.S said:

The amended ford uk website. Makes no sense whatsoever! Basically says the 2ltr diesel is the only one getting SLA. 

Ford literature rarely makes sense in my experience!😀 But yes, apart from the full fat ST which is a separate case, it does seem to show that only the 2.0 diesel gets SLA. The 1.5 petrol Vignale was previously shown as SLA, the brochure seems to have no box at all for the petrol Vignale (perhaps they don't have rear suspension at all now?😀), the 2.0 diesel is shown as SLA. And CCD is shown as an option on twist beam, whereas previously it was on SLA only. No doubt a further revised brochure will follow in due course..........

[Alex.S]

[Alex.S]

1 minute ago, Alex.S said:

Hit a brick wall !

 

[Spoona]

31 minutes ago, Spoona said:

Stumbled across an article talking about the mulitlink, so did a quick search and found this thread.

I orderd my ST-Line X last October, was told there was a delay in production and i wouldnt get it until late December, got a call to say another delay due to "my options", all i asked for was different headlights. Finally got my car on 7th March.

I had forgot all about the suspension thing until now, it wasnt something i thought about as i remember in the brochure it said my car will have it and made sure i checked with the saleman.

Just gone out to look under my car.. torsion beam !! gutted.

Now looking back, there is a road i drive often and i noticed the car handling felt it was skipping around this corner, thought it strange at the time.

Starting to wish i had kept my old car.

On another note, my dad has a petrol 182hp ST-lineX, he was giving me a lift and i was in the back of the car, i did noticed it was a bounce in the ride. I have also noticed it if i have been driving behind him, the car seems very springy in the back.. and he has the independent rear suspension (68 plate)

 

[Comares2001]

This has already been discussed at great length on here. As someone with multilink suspension on the Mk4 I can only say I have not noticed any bounce or springyness from the rear . On the contrary it soaks almost anything up from potholes to speedbumps .

Worth noting again is that at launch when the Mk4 variants were exhaustively tested the conclusion of many testers was that most drivers would not notice any difference between the multilink and the torsion beam suspension and that the multilink on really came into its own when the car was pushed to the limits.

Maybe thats why Ford eventually changed the spec on a number of models.