Hi all & happy new year! 

I've recently got a 2019 Active X which is brilliant, apart from the ride quality is a bit harsh, a common complaint it seems; ironic as I got it over a Titanium for a smoother ride over rough roads! 

I'd like to swap the 215/50/18 alloys+tyres for taller 215/55/17 wheels to improve things. Has anybody done this & has it made any positive difference? Or does anybody have an Active with the 17" wheels & how do you find the ride quality? 

I guess other options are fitting 215/55/18 tyres but will they fit?! Or fitting softer springs? Or even going 215/60/16 if these will fit over the calipers etc? 

Any advice, thoughts & wisdom greatly received!

Many thanks all, 

Leo

 

 

17s will be fine

6 hours ago, Leonardo101 said:

got it over a Titanium for a smoother ride over rough roads! 

I recall @TomsFocus did that and might comment!😀

A new set of wheels/tyres is a big investment (though you might recoup some of that by selling your existing ones). I'd certainly try and get a drive or ride in a car with 17s before taking the plunge. 

Iirc another member went down to 16s and was still disappointed. Problem is, ride comfort, like noise, is incredibly subjective.

 

1 hour ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I recall @TomsFocus did that and might comment!😀

Indeed.  I did actually have a Titanium X before the Active X.  The Titanium X was more comfortable despite a much lower profile tyre.

Personally I don't believe tyres would improve the Active.  They're already very chunky as standard anyway.

I also don't believe softer springs would help.  I believe the standard springs are already too soft.  So they're still on the rebound from the first bump when the next bump hits, which just results in a crashy mess rather than a lovely smooth glide.  I also doubt you'll find aftermarket springs for the Active as they are physically different to the standard Focus, and presumably not much demand for them.

Ultimately I don't believe the Active suspension can be improved.  IMO Ford should have fitted adaptive suspension to them as standard.  That should have been able to control the ride much more effectively.  But it would be prohibitively expensive to try and retrofit now.

Hi guys, huge thanks @Eric Bloodaxe & @TomsFocus, this is incredibly helpful advice... Despite perhaps not being the advice I wanted to hear tho! 

Really interesting you've 'been there, done that' Tom & sharing your knowledge, will save me a lot of time, effort & money jumping through the same hoops also for very little gain. I do wonder how they designed such a bad set up whilst actually trying to improve the ride over rougher surfaces?! I'm not even talking country tracks, just the local road surfaces & potholes are awful now; I did take it for a decent test drive & it felt lovely & smooth... Maybe the tarmac is much higher quality in the south east! 

I have read all season tyres can help improve the ride, so that's a quick, easy thing to try. If I feel the urge I'll keep an eye out for a set of 17's locally, but it sounds like I'll mostly just have to learn to live with it as is then!

At least the 18's do look absolutely mint to be fair!! 

Thanks again guys 👍

 

 

Bigger Sidewalls doesn't necessarily mean a softer ride. My non-Active Titanium has 195/65 x16 Tyres and the ride is harsh and I think the reason is that they are rated at 92V and to get that rating with that ratio the Sidewall must be very stiff.

Your Active is a heavy car and I would imagine the Tyre Rating will be high as well. I haven't driven a Focus with more normal size Tyres but I would imagine that the ride will not be worse.

Thanks @Tizer that's really good info to know, a 65 profile is much taller than the 55 I was planning with the 17's, I hadn't really considered the load rating & sidewall stiffness. I guess on that basis if I could get the lowest safe load rating possible they'll be squishier & more cushioning! 

I've never got round to driving any Mk 4 Focus, let alone an Active, so just talking in theory. It seems odd though, that every review of the Active I've come across talks of a slightly smoother ride (at the expense of some body roll) yet I've seen several threads on this and other forums complaining of the ride. Or is it that the Mk 4 ride is not great anyway?

As Tom mentions, 50 is not particularly low profile by todays standards, and gives 102.5mm sidewall depth with a 215 tyre (compared to, eg, 82mm from the 205/40x18s on mine.)

Tom's theory of a mismatch between spring rate and damping may well have some validity.

15 hours ago, Leonardo101 said:

I did take it for a decent test drive & it felt lovely & smooth... Maybe the tarmac is much higher quality in the south east! 

There's no doubt the road surface has a lot to do with noise and ride. My local roads are largely resurfaced with the tar and chipping method (aka surface dressing) which is bad to start with and quickly deteriorates. One road locally has recently been completely resurfaced properly with tarmac and my car glides smoothly and silently over it - it feels like a totally different car. Sadly, I'm old enough to remember when this was the norm rather than the exception!😀

More thoughts. Regarding John's point above on tyre rating, I recall at least one thread where an Active owner had found his car was fitted with XL rated tyres, another had HL which I think are primarily intended to cope with the extra weight of EVs.

Michelin website says this:

Can I fit reinforced tyres to my vehicle?

If your vehicle does not require XL tyres because of its weight, there is no point in using them.

Indeed, a reinforced tyre is heavier than a standard tyre, which implies more stiffness with the disadvantage of a slightly less comfortable ride. It also has a higher rolling resistance, which means that it consumes a little more energy.

 

.

3 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Or is it that the Mk 4 ride is not great anyway?

Can only speak as I find, my 2019 Focus Titanium X, Estate has a smooth ride and no roll. Is it as nice a ride as the Jaguar F Pace that I used to own?  The answer would be no, but it's way better than most other similar cars.

44 minutes ago, unofix said:

Can only speak as I find, my 2019 Focus Titanium X, Estate has a smooth ride and no roll. Is it as nice a ride as the Jaguar F Pace that I used to own?  The answer would be no, but it's way better than most other similar cars.

The Estate has a form of Multilink Rear Suspension, different from the few Non-Estate Focus cars that still have Multilink, and probably different Front Spring set up, maybe that is the reason it rides better🤔 

29 minutes ago, Tizer said:

The Estate has a form of Multilink Rear Suspension, different from the few Non-Estate Focus cars that still have Multilink

Good point. Some discussion here on that feature:

https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/153730-focus-mk4-rear-suspension-situation/

 

I think the Multilink on the Estate cars is slightly different to allow the Estate to have a level Load Space.

Hi guys, 

Thanks again for everyone's thoughts on this, loads of great info to work with; what to try & what to not bother with!

I've decided the best starter plan is to simply get the tyres replaced first & foremost, the Goodyear's on there have seen better days & are approx 3mm, and I've researched Michelin Primacy 5's are some of the comfiest around. This seems like a good, easy place to start! 

Cheers all! 

1 hour ago, Leonardo101 said:

I've decided the best starter plan is to simply get the tyres replaced first & foremost

So while you're at it ...........

Remember to replace all the TPMS sensors at the same time. A set of 4 new sensors costs under £20 and getting them changed now will save you £20 fitting per wheel if you have to get them changed later.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/366103274549

Thanks @unofix that's a top tip, wouldn't have thought of that!

Will the sensors automatically sync with the car's onboard system? 

 

16 minutes ago, Leonardo101 said:

Will the sensors automatically sync with the car's onboard system? 

 

On 8/13/2025 at 2:31 PM, unofix said:

Now regarding the TPMS. The batteries in all 4 of your 2015 cars wheels will be at the end of there life, so you may as well replace them all and do the job just once.

You programme them once they have been fitted and the wheels are back on the car.

Training tool EL-50449 available from Amazon or eBay for about £10

Thank you, that's very good to know!