Shocks and Struts

[Cam Cornelius]

Looking through the forums and online I'm getting all kinds of differing info on shocks and struts. I need to replace them on the 2014 PIU I just bought, but I would like a smoother ride (don't want to feel all the bumps in the road). Compared to my Crown Vic, I can feel every little pebble on the road...of course that could be worn out suspension on the Utility. What do you guys recommend for a smooth ride? Is the Sport suspension very stiff and will it even work on a PIU, what about standard Explorer shocks and struts...aftermarket brands?

 

[peterk9]

Not having driven either a Sport or PIU, I would suspect they suspension may be very similar. The Sport is advertised as having a Sport Tuned Suspension which differs from the others. I would think that the other retail units would have a more 'forgiving' suspension. I was quite happy with my 2011 and 2017 Explorers.

Peter

 

[KayGee]

Just something to keep in mind - usually spring rates and shocks/struts are tuned/matched with each other. If you just change shocks/struts to ones that have softer rebound and dampening characteristics, they may not work well with the stock springs in the vehicle.

You could probably replace the shocks/struts and springs with those from the non-sport retail model and get a bit better ride. Switching to a higher ratio sidewall tire can also help make the ride feel smoother. As others will surely point out, the vehicle computers (abs, rsc, etc...) are all programmed for the stock setup, so if you deviate, do so at your own risk.

 

[VikingWerewolf]

I just replaced the struts in my 2014 PIU with the standard PIU struts and it rides great. It came with struts that were completely worn out. The new ones made a huge difference.

 

[Cam Cornelius]

I've been looking around and I'm seeing Bilstein B6 being recommended for the Explorer Sport and B4 for the Explorer Base. The funny thing is that the B4 is showing that it fits the Explorer Base, Sport, and the PIU while the B6 is showing it only fits the Base and Sport Explorer and not the PIU. Anyone tried the Bilstein B6 on a PIU?

 

[KayGee]

I've been looking around and I'm seeing Bilstein B6 being recommended for the Explorer Sport and B4 for the Explorer Base. The funny thing is that the B4 is showing that it fits the Explorer Base, Sport, and the PIU while the B6 is showing it only fits the Base and Sport Explorer and not the PIU. Anyone tried the Bilstein B6 on a PIU?

At the most basic level, Bilstein considers the B4 (black) to be a OE replacement and maybe slight upgrade, while they consider the B6 (yellow) to be an upgrade over OE for retail explorers.

For front, they offer B4 or B6. For rear, they only offer B4, but it looks like B6s are coming soon according to their website.

According to Bilstein US website, they have no strut or shock applications for the PIU. The B4 or B6 for the regular explorer should fit, but Bilstein doesn't consider them as compatible for some reason. Might be old/bad data, but you would think Bilstein would have figured it out and updated their application data since the PIU has been around since 2013. DId you get your fitment data from a 3rd party vendor or from a Bilstein website/publication?

Product Search Results - BILSTEIN

 

[03WIExplorerLtd]

Email bilstein. An engineer responded via email with a recommendation upon receipt of original email.

 

[Cam Cornelius]

Email bilstein. An engineer responded via email with a recommendation upon receipt of original email.

I did on the same day of my OP. No response yet.

 

[Bobs2018ExplorerSport]

Interestingly enough, I've noticed many times, on all sorts of suspension parts websites (including Ford's), that they show LOTS of front end parts as all being interchangeable between the PIU and the stock Explorers, all using the same factory part numbers... as if there were no difference between the two versions. I've never understood that, since the PIU's were alway touted as being "heavy duty"?

 

[Adam Janowski]

do not buy TRQ brand quick struts from 1AAuto. brings are thicker and ride is terrible.

ended up with monroe parts all the way around for shocks / struts - satisfied with ride quality now.

I've spent the 1st year learning, often the hard way, about what needs by beat up suspension had. after sway end links and lower front control arms and sway bushings and shocks and struts and brakes and tires and wheel bearings and I'm sure something else - finally have it sorted

i bought my 2015 model with 125k miles

 

[16vcabman]

Bilstein shocks and struts seem to ride stiffer than say monroe. I had an Audi and my brother in law talked into bilstein struts. Destroyed the ride of luxury and created this tar strip thumping monster I never wanted. I had to change them to boge strut and restore the smooth ride once again.