MOD ford f53 upgrades

[Lado51]

We're looking to upgrade the suspension on our 2020 Vision 27A because it rides pretty rough. Any suggestions?

 

[Rich W.]

You could start by weighing the coach with a typical load and you might find you can lower your tire pressure a bit. You can also load it up if you are running it with a light load. Think empty delivery truck vs a loaded one. But other than that you pretty much just have to live with it. I put Koni FSD shocks on my Bay Star and while they i proved handling a little, they also made the ride more severe and if I hadn’t sold it I would have put the originals back on. I’ve read that a lot of people install Sumo Springs and are happy with them but have no personal experience with them. Might be worth some research.

 

[Chargerman]

I just finished installing a complete Super Steer kit on my friends 2019 Bay Star. He then headed on a trip and he called me when they arrived. Both him and his wife are so impressed with the improvement in the ride. He says the swaying and porpoising have been greatly reducing. He said he was so comfortable that he caught himself speeding a few times. Next on the list will be engine noise reduction

 

[Lado51]

You could start by weighing the coach with a typical load and you might find you can lower your tire pressure a bit. You can also load it up if you are running it with a light load. Think empty delivery truck vs a loaded one. But other than that you pretty much just have to live with it. I put Koni FSD shocks on my Bay Star and while they i proved handling a little, they also made the ride more severe and if I hadn’t sold it I would have put the originals back on. I’ve read that a lot of people install Sumo Springs and are happy with them but have no personal experience with them. Might be worth some research.

Thanks, Rich. I heard that about the koni's and we're leaving that alone for now. The current plan is Sumo Springs and Safe-T-Plus bar in front and the Supersteer Trac Bar in the rear. Will let you know how that goes.

 

[Lado51]

I just finished installing a complete Super Steer kit on my friends 2019 Bay Star. He then headed on a trip and he called me when they arrived. Both him and his wife are so impressed with the improvement in the ride. He says the swaying and porpoising have been greatly reducing. He said he was so comfortable that he caught himself speeding a few times. Next on the list will be engine noise reduction

Thanks, Chargerman. That trac bar is on out list, too. So, how do you propose to reduce the engine noise? I'd be real interested in that!

 

[Scotttkd2]

RE - Safety Plus. Works great to limit the amount of white knuckling from cross winds and semis passing. They can be finicky to adjust properly, but lots of videos available on YouTube for that.

RE - Engine noise. Dynamat type products to line the doghouse will help eliminate heat and noise. Before I traded in my Ford gasser I added the dog house insulation and was planning on covering the front floor area (mostly vinyl sheet and some carper from doghouse) with insulation and then carpet squares. If you look under the dash you will also find plenty of areas to add additional insulation.

 

[Chargerman]

Thanks, Chargerman. That trac bar is on out list, too. So, how do you propose to reduce the engine noise? I'd be real interested in that!

I have used Dynamat in a couple classic performance cars with good results and would put the same material on the doghouse and also look at any area of the firewall and footwell area that I could add it to also

 

[AbdRahim]

My Bay Star has it all, Koni Shocks, Sumo springs, Ultrtrac rear trac bar, and Safety Plus steering stabilizer. My driving instructor, who has a DP, said my coach rides almost like a DP. When you hit a bridge transition, you know you don’t have air-ride though.

The ultimate would be Liquid Springs, but that requires deep pockets.

 

[BGMAC]

One thing I noticed on my gasser is there is no engine bay, no wheel wells either. So sound, heat, air can go anywhere.
I just bought some sheet metal and my winter project is to built an engine bay/wheel wells and apply sound dreading to it. I will add extra to the dog house as suggested and under the dash.

We will see how it goes.

 

[Lado51]

Well we had the sumo's put on the front along with the Safe T Plus as well as the Supersteer Track bar on the rear and then took of for a month of traveling. The coach ran a lot smoother, especially on the turns and curves where I didn't feel like we were going to tip over. Also, passing big rigs was a bit easier and didn't feel like I had to move way over for them.
As an audio engineer and musician, the engine noise drives me a little bit crazy. I used Safe and Sound insulation panels in my studio to flatten the sound and eliminate bass nodes. I'm thinking of using some between the bulkhead and the dash, especially the doghouse, since it's pretty much fireproof and can compress fairly tight if I sandwhich it between some soundboard. I'm sceptical of the the Dynamat and similar stuff due to the lack of density, but will probably use it as well on the areas of limited space.