I have the same awful, jarring ride on concrete roads where each slab has a very small crack in between it and the next slab, and my tires at still at the stock pressure. I don't notice it on asphalt, but the concrete is really bad (and most of our new highways are concrete in Colorado). I would love to hear about any suspension swaps and their ride effect.

 

My main ride is a Ford F-350 1 ton dually 4x4 diesel. While the ride is far rougher than the FEH it handles the small stuff much better than the FEH which tends to tell me that one of 3 things are happening....

The FEH is setup not very well to absorb the minor stuff but swallows the bigger stuff well.

Or the shocks/struts are of such poor quality that a better replacement will solve the problem.

Or the factory shocks/struts are defective.

Since my fullsize 1 ton dually rides better up to the point of bigger road defects at which point the stiffer truck suspension designed to carry 5000lbs in the bed starts to stiffen and the ride starts to go away, totally to be expected.

As for running less air psi to help the ride this to me is possible but contrary to the whole idea of better mpg's. After all I got a FEH to get better FE and if I have to give some back for a better ride I don't want to do this.

I rented an non hybrid escape in 04 and I never noticed this issue. I think the 08 is either defective or designed differently. I guess I should take it to the dealer and see what they say.

I was just hoping others here had some input about after market shocks.

 

Having gone from a 95 Mustang with small sidewall/performance tires to the 08 FEH, I think the ride is almost pillow like. It's not an air-ride Cadillac but I wouldn't complain.

Could it be that the 6 wheels on the dually suck up a bit more road variations than the Conti's. What PSI do you run in them and are they LRR? I wonder if you would feel the same bumps if you inflate the dually tires to the same % of Max sidewall.

Ride quality just like exterior design like/dilike seems to be relative. I hope you can find a happy medium for you suspension preference but for me... I'm all set.

 

They are rated to 80psi and I run them at 78psi.

There is about 3200 lbs on the four rear tires and bout 4800 on the two front.

I realize there is a taste issue involved but when running down the freeway at 65 mph and the small stuff causes the whole truck to chatter and vibrate so much that your head is moving up and down to the point of blurring your vision something has to be a-miss.


Since most here seem happy I think a trip to the dealer is best. After all it is new and under warranty.

 

Yea, I can't say I've had any vibrations remotely close enough to blurry vision. I think you're on the right track to have the dealer take a look.

 

I have replaced my front struts with the Monroe SensaTrac struts, and there is a definite improvement in ride both on and off road.

 

Before you replace your shocks, you might want to consider a set of upgraded all-season tires such as Michelin Cross Terrains which shouldn't cost you much in mpg.
I'd suspect that the KONI shocks probably will be a little stiffer than stock.