[Flash]

Received my lightning this weekend (lariat ER, non-max tow) and feel super fortunate to get it this early. This is my first F150, but have borrowed a 2018 F250 superduty previously to compare with. All of the reviews and specs state that the suspension has been beefed up but I feel like the suspension is still pretty soft.

Don't get me wrong, it is comfortable over rough roads, which is appreciated. But driving on uneven roads at speed results in the feeling of bouncing down the road. Twisty roads have body roll that exacerbate motion sickness sensitivity of everyone in the car, so i feel compelled to slow down significantly to avoid it. And even gunning it from a stop, if you are not 100% straight, i have experienced a tinge of torque steer that can upset the suspension resulting in a bit of a floaty feeling.

Kind of feels like the shocks are not sufficiently strong enough to keep things planted. With this much power on tap, I think the suspension should not be as soft as it is. Full disclosure, I may be overly sensitive to the bouncing coming from the car/SUV world that have much firmer and less forgiving rides. Perhaps this is just par for the course when it comes to pickups and I have to accept it. The F250 had some bounce on the freeway, but not as much, iirc.

I realize it is a BRAND new product to market, but does anyone know of any aftermarket options used to tighten things up to improve handling?

 

[FM_Jack]

Rip out the strut towers and put in an air suspension. Lower it so it is really flat. Basically what you do with a sports car.

 

[krypto]

.......Twisty roads have body roll that exacerbate motion sickness sensitivity of everyone in the car, so i feel compelled to slow down significantly to avoid it. .....

I realize it is a BRAND new product to market, but does anyone know of any aftermarket options used to tighten things up to improve handling?

Thank you posting driving impressions, it will be my first truck too and am very apprehensive about getting it as floaty rides make me nauseous too. (2010 and older Toyotas had this problem for me). At the same time firm suspensions just beat me up as I have 50 mile mostly highway commute.

 

[krypto]

Rip out the strut towers and put in an air suspension. Lower it so it is really flat. Basically what you do with a sports car.

That's going to be a radical solution that may not be entirely safe for a Lightning.

 

[greatbreweh]

maybe an adjustment from a car in the body roll for sure, thats pretty typical of a pickup truck, I have had lots of trucks gm, toyo and ford and they ride similar to me but my vette, now thats a totally differant beast she can corner 4 times faster than any truck i got, lol!! just part of driving a truck maybe! Love my trucks!!!!!

PS Truck or a vette? Truck all day Long!

 

[FM_Jack]

That's going to be a radical solution that may not be entirely safe for a Lightning.

An air suspension that is in the Rivian and RAM 1500 trucks?

I wasn't completely serious, the Lightning rides just fine to me. Every reviewer I've seen has said it rides better than the standard F-150.

 

[Mini2nut]

Aftermarket companies should have suspension options available by the end of this year.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Many drivers of the Mustang Mach E have said the same thing about its suspension. One of the longest threads on the Mach E Forum is entitled "Can't deal with the bouncy ride anymore after two weeks with the Mach-E. What do I do?". It has 72 pages and 1078 posts.

Some folks have reported the suspension firmed up with time. The GT Performance Edition has a magnaride suspension that firms up the ride significantly.

Personally, while it is a little soft under some circumstances it is quite firm under others. I've been fine with the Mach E's ride. Both the Mach E and the Lightning are heavy vehicles because of the big battery packs.

We'll see what folks thing about the Lightning ride as more drivers take delivery.

 

[FM_Jack]

Interesting that so many complained about the Mach E. I love the way that one rights. I wouldn't say it is bouncy. To me it doesn't numb you to the road, it isn't soft at all. I'm expecting the Lightning to go over stuff and not feel it and I'm down for that.

 

[MicahO]

This is my one complaint of any real importance with the truck. It does float and roll quite a bit. It's a truck, and I'm not at all comparing it to my prior daily-drivers, which were massively different veehickles. But my Suburban with GM's adaptive shocks rides very differently. The Sub is maybe 1000 lbs lighter, but it is hampered by a solid rear axle in a similar package, and the ride is significantly more controlled.

This much weight requires a lot of management, and I'm not really sure that a typical gas shock can really be valved to not float a bit when carrying this much weight, at least not without the sort of rigidity one gets in an unladen 1-ton truck. I'm not going to advocate making this truck even more expensive or complex to maintain over time, but a modern, adaptive shock could correct the float without making the initial bump too stiff....

That said, it's not that bad and I'm getting used to it. None of my passengers has complained - not even my wife, and her daily is a JCW Mini that rides like it's on rails. I don't feel the need to stock barf-bags, so that'll do.

 

[Flash]

Sounds like this is how a truck rides, so I’ll adapt. Thanks for all the replies

 

[RattMann]

I feel it too. I call it bucking. My sons 2019 F150 does the same thing occasionally. The light ride is better though.

 

[greatbreweh]

Im a f350 guy this is gona feel like jello!! But i am pretty beaten up by the 350 😣

 

[Vandy1981]

The ride is definitely more bouncy and less settled over bumps compared to our 2019 Ram 1500 with air suspension. There's less body roll with cornering, but that's primarily a function of the low center of gravity. There's also quite a bit of porpoising with aggressive acceleration and stops. The Ram also had this, but it was less noticeable since I did not drive it as aggressively as the Lightning. I'm also kind of spoiled with our Jaguar I-Pace EV with air suspension and adaptive dampers and (in my opinion) the best ride in an EV outside of Porsche.

The Lightning's ride is just fine for a truck and I'll get used to it, but I think it would improve greatly with the MagneRide adaptive dampers. Maybe they'll add an ST trim that adds this feature at some point.

Edit: by "porpoising" I meant the front and back motion you get with hard acceleration and braking. Squat and nose-dive are probably more accurate terms.

 

[greatbreweh]

There's also quite a bit of porpoising with aggressive acceleration and stops

Oh My!

 

[GoGoGadgetTruck]

when I test drove a Pro it felt like the suspension was less "bouncy" than the non-GTPE Mach-E (the GTPE has Magneride so it's different) but still a little bouncy... but it felt in line with what I expected for a pickup (keeping in mind that a 1990s F-series and a ~2002 Sport Trac were my reference points for past experience there)...

given that some leveling has been done with Lightnings in the field already, and there have been third-party Mach-E suspensions released already, I have some confidence that there will be sufficient tweaks available for those that find they need them on their Lightnings.

(wow, that second paragraph, holy cow, that's a lot of syllables)

 

[ogdobber]

Coming from a raptor I can say the front suspension is crap. (Of course everything probably is😂) I’ll probably do an upgrade in the front shocks when available. The rear is pretty darn good so no complaints there