mondeo handling

mondeo zetec · 17-11-2014, 07:52 PM

I recently purchased a Mondeo Zetec with 17" rims and was wondering what fellow Mondeo drivers are pumping their tyres at. Are the majority just following the Tyre placard or has anyone experimented with higher pressures?
I have tried 40psi fronts and 37psi rears but the car feels squirmy like they are soft.

ope126 · 17-11-2014, 09:27 PM

Do you have an MC Mondeo with 215/50 tyres or do you have an MA/MB with 235/45 tyres?

mondeo zetec · 17-11-2014, 09:37 PM

I have the MC with the 215/50s.

ope126 · 17-11-2014, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mondeo zetec

I have the MC with the 215/50s.

I changed mine to 225/50 tyres. This thread might give you some insight also; http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11381397

mondeo zetec · 17-11-2014, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ope126

I changed mine to 225/50 tyres. This thread might give you some insight also; http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11381397

Thank you ope126 for the information, always helpful!
The tyres the car's running are near new Kumhos, put on before i bought car. Wheels are going in for a balance as i get slight vibration through steering wheel at 100km/h. When they go I will change to 225s.

Binny · 17-11-2014, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ope126

I changed mine to 225/50 tyres. This thread might give you some insight also; http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11381397

That other thread is really interesting
I think ford need to seriously reconsider their deal with Goodyear.
My Focus TDCi came with goodyears and they lasted forever but were noisy as heck and lacked ultimate grip. All reviewers of the Focus said the car was great but the tyres were too noisy.

I also bought a used falcon wagon that had OEM Goodyears with plenty of life still in them. It had a shimmy at highway speeds so I swapped each tyre with the spare one at a time and the shimmy was still always there. So I took it to a tyre place to get them all balanced and found out that two of them were out of round.
I could not believe how much quieter it was when I replaced them with Bridgestones.

Now my Mondeo LX is doing the same thing with it's goodyears. It has a decent shimmy at motorway speeds. I have swapped 3 of the tyres with the spare so far and no difference. It seems to vary in severity at times as well. I'm at the point again where I need to take it in and get them checked on a balancer.
I think it must be time for some 17s and 235/45s.

allanv6gt · 17-11-2014, 11:01 PM

I could not believe how much quieter it was when I replaced them with Bridgestones

I replaced my OEM Continentental ContactSport 2 235/40x18 with Yokohama C-Drive.
Like chalk and King Island Double Brie....and no more tramlining.

b2428 · 18-11-2014, 08:24 PM

I know its probably a different size so there for different handling but I run 235 17s and run a minimum of 42 in the front and 36-8 in the rear normally. This was recommended by several tyre places due to our rough roads in a bit to avoid side wall damage. Currently am running 44 which is getting close to being to hard. (down from 46) I think it steers very nicely indeed and I am happy to deal with a slightly harder ride. Oh and the tyres wear extremely evenly and love wet roads. Tyres are currently Hankook Ventus something or other.

mondeo zetec · 18-11-2014, 08:46 PM

Went and balanced 215/50 17" wheels - no more vibration at high speed. I have tried 40psi fronts with 37psi rear but it seems the back is a bit floaty when pushing through corners while the front is not as crisp on turn in. I know the Mondeo is a relatively heavy car and maybe i'm nitpicking. I will continue experimenting with tyre pressures, i will put a bit more all round.
Interestingly, the bloke who balanced the wheels suggested i try 36 psi all round......sounds a bit soft!

msford · 19-11-2014, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mondeo zetec

Interestingly, the bloke who balanced the wheels suggested i try 36 psi all round......sounds a bit soft!

I was told by the bloke at Bridgestone that 40 psi all round is recommended by them as that is what they pump them up to when they put them on.

mondeo zetec · 19-11-2014, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msford

I was told by the bloke at Bridgestone that 40 psi all round is recommended by them as that is what they pump them up to when they put them on.

Thanks msford, I'll even the pressures up to see whether that makes a difference.

mik · 06-12-2014, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Binny

That other thread is really interesting
I think ford need to seriously reconsider their deal with Goodyear.
My Focus TDCi came with goodyears and they lasted forever but were noisy as heck and lacked ultimate grip. All reviewers of the Focus said the car was great but the tyres were too noisy.

I also bought a used falcon wagon that had OEM Goodyears with plenty of life still in them. It had a shimmy at highway speeds so I swapped each tyre with the spare one at a time and the shimmy was still always there. So I took it to a tyre place to get them all balanced and found out that two of them were out of round.
I could not believe how much quieter it was when I replaced them with Bridgestones.

Now my Mondeo LX is doing the same thing with it's goodyears. It has a decent shimmy at motorway speeds. I have swapped 3 of the tyres with the spare so far and no difference. It seems to vary in severity at times as well. I'm at the point again where I need to take it in and get them checked on a balancer.
I think it must be time for some 17s and 235/45s.

Any looseness in the steering gear at all ! will exacerbate wheel shimmy problems, warped discs will also add to this.

Binny · 06-12-2014, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mik

Any looseness in the steering gear at all ! will exacerbate wheel shimmy problems, warped discs will also add to this.

Thanks I'll keep that in mind. The steering feels pretty good. Still haven't had a chance to get the wheels balanced yet. I'm away at work all week and Saturdays always seem to be planned out for me in advance.

I'll have to take some time off and get it done before we do 3000km at Christmas......

whitetdci · 06-12-2014, 10:16 AM

If the balance does not fix it get the axial run out checked as it may be more there than the wheels. I am a self appointed @n@l tyre freak who is consumed with the task of having good wet weather tyres fitted to our cars. I have previously had the Goodyear Assymetric 2s on the Mondy which were a sensational tyre but probably a bit on the over kill side. I run 40 all round at least and have the 235/45/17. I personally would not go above 42 psi unless I was going to be hammering it. There are not to many gains to be had by running over 40. Remember you are putting more pressure into and on the tyre as well. If you do run over 40 you will need to monitor closely the wear on the middle of the tyre to make sure it is even. Play around with your tyre pressures and see what they all feel like. Yes you can run 44 if you like that but the ride will be harsher. Mind you I do run coilovers in the mondy as well lol

mondeo zetec · 12-12-2014, 08:26 PM

I have used different pressures on the tyres (currently running Kuhmo KU23 on the 17" Zetec rims) but there was a squirmy feeling from the back during spirited driving. Took the car to Pedders to assess the shocks and the back ones were rated as fair to soft. The car is two and a half years old with 34000km on the odo. I find it unbelievable that the back shocks already need replacing. Has anyone else had issues with the back Mondeo shocks needing replacement so early on? Cheers.

whitetdci · 12-12-2014, 09:05 PM

judging by what i have seen taken out of my mondeo they do not put very rear shock absorber in as mine was totally shot and weren't working at all. I suspect that this is only going to get fixed properly by getting a decent set of shock absorbers for the rear. Good luck on finding them. that is why i went for coilovers as your choices and the cost of them was prohibitive in relation to coil overs.

cobrin · 12-12-2014, 09:59 PM

So did you keep the rear spring in and get the coil overs for the forward shock absorber?

Binny · 12-12-2014, 10:47 PM

Whitetdci had 240,000km on his so I would expect the shocks to be shagged on any car with that mileage.

I wouldn't expect them to to be shagged at 34,000km though.
I have always been skeptical of Pedders though as ultimately they want to sell you stuff so its their aim to find things even slightly worn and over dramatise it.
I'm not saying there isn't anything wrong with yours but i would take it with a grain of salt. If you told them it felt squirmy in the rear they can be just telling you what you want to hear.

whitetdci · 13-12-2014, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cobrin

So did you keep the rear spring in and get the coil overs for the forward shock absorber?

I would definitely not do that as it be greatly imbalanced. I would get a better set of rear shocks and leave it at that unless you want to go the full monty with coilovers front and rear. but make sure you do your research on them first.

whitetdci · 13-12-2014, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Binny

Whitetdci had 240,000km on his so I would expect the shocks to be shagged on any car with that mileage.

I wouldn't expect them to to be shagged at 34,000km though.
I have always been skeptical of Pedders though as ultimately they want to sell you stuff so its their aim to find things even slightly worn and over dramatise it.
I'm not saying there isn't anything wrong with yours but i would take it with a grain of salt. If you told them it felt squirmy in the rear they can be just telling you what you want to hear.

Yes they shouldn't be but judging by the crap they put in the rear as OEM it wouldn't surprise me. I would be interested if anyone can actually find any decent shocks at a reasonable price. Mine had been deceased for quite some time lol

mondeo zetec · 13-12-2014, 04:11 PM

Thank you all for your input.

When i went to Pedders i did not tell them about what i thought the problem was.....just went there under the pretense that i wanted a safety check. Their result confirmed my suspision about the back shocks being soft. Funny thing is that the car behaves beautifully when running straight and anything up to seven tenths. Beyond that the back gives up. I agree that if the car has some mileage under its belt you expect that....not in a car that has done 34000ks. I think whitetdci's suggestion is best for me at this stage. I'll replace rear shocks with better ones but i'll wait till the rear brakes need to be done (not that long to go). Further down the track I will consider coil overs all round but only when fronts need doing. I will also put decent rubber on the car as these Kuhmos are crap. Cheers again for the comments, they have been helpful!

whitetdci · 13-12-2014, 05:04 PM

Zetec
have a look at these, Nexen Nfera SU1. I have just put them on the front of my mondy and they are pretty good (I am talking wet grip here). I got them for $125 a corner for the 235/45/17s. Gave them a good try out in a thunderstorm and was very impressed with them.http://www.jaxquickfit.com.au/tyres/...exen/nfera-su1
Not an add for anyone just where I got them from

cobrin · 13-12-2014, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitetdci

I would definitely not do that as it be greatly imbalanced.

No. That's not what I'm gonna do, you misunderstood, don't worry about it.

mondeo zetec · 13-12-2014, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitetdci

Zetec
have a look at these, Nexen Nfera SU1. I have just put them on the front of my mondy and they are pretty good (I am talking wet grip here). I got them for $125 a corner for the 235/45/17s. Gave them a good try out in a thunderstorm and was very impressed with them.http://www.jaxquickfit.com.au/tyres/...exen/nfera-su1
Not an add for anyone just where I got them from

Appreciate it whitetdci will look at them.

Binny · 17-12-2014, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitetdci

If the balance does not fix it get the axial run out checked as it may be more there than the wheels.

Well I got wifey to drop it off at the local tyre joint yesterday to get all the wheels balanced while I was at work. What a waste of time and money that was!
They told her a couple of them were out of balance and they were all good now. When I bought the car 6 months ago it had oem good years all round that are about half worn and a brand new Michelin spare. (The previous owner put a full size spare in)
As soon as I got home I saw they had put the new michelin spare on the front left when all the other tyres are 50% worn OEM goodyears.
As expected when I drove it to work today it pulls to the right under acceleration and is twitchy on the motorway due to the mismatched tyres on the front. Idiots.
To make things worse it still has a shimmy at motorway speed grrrr.
I'm not sure what it will be now. Its either incompetent balancing, a wheel thats buckled or tyre out of round. You think they would have spotted anything like that when the wheel was spinning on the balancer though.
What a pain, we leave Brissy in 4 days to drive to Canberra. The shimmy isn't bad but its there and I'm a bit @n@l myself so it bothers the heck out of me but we will have to put up with it until we get back.

Binny · 11-07-2015, 12:38 PM

How are those Nexen's going Whitetdci?
I'm over my OEM Goodyears. They are still not worn but have gone hard and are cracking and chunking out. Time to replace them. I've been considering Bridgestone adrenalin but if I can't get them for a decent price I will look at the Nexen.
It's annoying that the 16 inch tyres are more expensive than the 17 inch as they are an odd size.

whitetdci · 11-07-2015, 01:34 PM

Nexens are great bang for buck so far. If you intend to keep the car for a while it would be worthwhile getting a set of 17" rims even second hand Mondeo ones as you will save hundreds in tyres and improves handling. Don't forget to price around and remember that Bob Jame will price match too.

Binny · 10-12-2015, 11:21 PM

Here I am 5 months later and I still have the factory Goodyears. There has always been some other expense that has taken priority. They have now done 93,000k's and are still not worn out but I'm over them and it's time. So I have it booked in on Saturday to get some Yokohama BluEarth A50.
Really wanted Potenza RE003 so called the local Bridgestone Select thinking they would be able to sell their own brand for the cheapest but they wanted $240 each. Even with buy 3 get one free that's a lot of coin for 16 inch tyres.
I got a good deal at Bob Jane for the Yokohamas which are also 4 for 3 at the moment so I will give them a go. Probably not as much grip ultimately as the RE003 but 60 out of 80k a day that I do is non stop on the motorway so comfort and noise are important to me as well.
I'm keen to see how it feels with the new tyres on, hopefully no more noise or vibration.

NZ XR6 · 11-12-2015, 02:33 AM

Haven't seen this thread before, I've just read the last few posts.

I fitted a set of Michelin Primacy 3 ST 16" tyres earlier this year. These are the Malaysian ones, so not that expensive - about $200 a tyre in rip off NZ.

They have transformed the car. Honestly, I could not believe how much nicer it is to drive. Good grip wet and dry, smooth and quiet, and great feel through the steering. The only weakness is they start to understeer when really pushing it.

This is in comparison to Falken FK452s and the OE Goodyear's.

Binny · 11-12-2015, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NZ XR6

Haven't seen this thread before, I've just read the last few posts.

I fitted a set of Michelin Primacy 3 ST 16" tyres earlier this year. These are the Malaysian ones, so not that expensive - about $200 a tyre in rip off NZ.

They have transformed the car. Honestly, I could not believe how much nicer it is to drive. Good grip wet and dry, smooth and quiet, and great feel through the steering. The only weakness is they start to understeer when really pushing it.

This is in comparison to Falken FK452s and the OE Goodyear's.

My car came with a full size spare rim with a brand new Primacy on it.
I can't really comment on it though because when I swapped it with the OE Goodyears to try and find the source of the shimmy the car didn't like it at all. Probably because of the sheer difference in grip and probably diameter as well due to it being new. I did price them but they are 200 each here and no 3 for 4 deal at the moment.
I'm looking forward to having 4 identical brand new tyres.