Ford Expedition 2003 - softer shock absorbers
 

I have a Ford Expedition 2003 model, with coil springs.

I changed OE shocks for Bilsteins for some years ago. Truck handles really well, but it is a little to firm for my liking. I would like a soft handling, almost like riding on a cloud. I am not worried about the truck handling as a sailboat, as I almost never do any high speed driving.

Does anyone have experience to share with soft dampers? I don`t know if there is oildampers for second gen. Expedition, but I wuld thing that would be more comfortable for my type of driving.

Thank you for any help.

Switch to Monroe Gas shocks. You'll still get good control but it won't be so stiff of a ride.

Thank you.

Any Monroes which are prefered, or perhaps there is just one type which fit Expeditions?

I really would like this "ride on a carpet" feeling.

I have a friend with a Tahoe 2003, and it has a much softer and comfortable ride.

Tires are one year old Coopers in OE dimension, and pressure is also OE.

The Bilsteins are very good quality, and handles really well on roads which isn`t straight, but I could feel dumps a little to much. Even the letters and roadmarkings is felt, hehe.

I'm not sure you'll notice the difference your looking for by simply changing shocks. I think the spring rate would dictate more what your looking for and as far as I know (maybe some one does?) there aren't any softer after market springs. You can try a softer side wall tire and it will help some. I recently switched from continental lx20 to michelin and there was a very noticeable difference, but it's still pretty rough.

Thank you.

I have thought about spring rates. Ford in the USA wont tell me if there is different spring rates for my year. They keep telling me dealership in Norway should provide me this information. Problem is that there is only a few US trucks in Norway, and dealership cant give me any information.

I have searched for aftermarket springs with lower springrate, but cant find any.

As for tires, I cant change to P tires. Norwegian laws tell me I need LT tires.

Last year, I bought a set of Gabriels and it seemed like we felt every pebble and crack in the road. Took those out and replaced them with a set of Monroe's and the ride is MUCH smoother.

Go with the Monroe's! :-drink

Thank you.

Seems like Monroes is the way to go.

I see that Summit has shocks and coils as a package. I wonder if the coils has the same springrate as OE? Perhaps the easiest way to choose is to buy these, since I then dont need to compress coils.

Will need to do same math, since shipping and tax to Norway is expensive.

Thanks for any experiencesharing.

I don't know if you will see much difference by switching shocks. I have noticed a significantly better ride by dropping the air pressure in the tires to around 30. Two problems with that is a bit more abnormal tire wear, and the tire pressure warning light will come on in colder temps.

The tires are most of your ride quality issues. The LT tire will be a stiffer ride. When we put 10 plys on the F250, we could notice a significant ride quality difference (rougher) than the 8 plys...

That is just flat out bad and dangerous advice. Running your tires low reduces traction and braking ability because the tires are not flat across where they touch the road. It also decreases MPG, and cause the tires to run hotter. Low tire pressure also causes excessive flexing of the tire and leads to early breakdown and cracking of the rubber material.

Low tire pressure also causes more traffic accidents.
Study finds low tire pressure a factor in many crashes | Fox News

thank you !! my truck feels like this! now I know why!!!!