ST220 suspension.....

[RichGault]

Evening all. After having owned my 04 plate 220 for just over 3 years now I am looking to give the suspension a refresh. With the car now being 14 years old and sitting on 64k,I feel replacing sprins,dampers,bushes etc in a piecemeal fashion isn't the best way to go.

So the question I am asking I suppose would be what various owners over the years have felt is the best way to go in terms of either replacing like for like with OE components or go down the route of lowering kits,polybushes etc. Or combinations of both.

This question I feel would be best answered by the kind folks in here as you have probably been there and done it all before seeing as these cars are getting on a bit now.(as well as the relevant independent forums etc)

Cheers for any replies.

[gdaybruce]

I bought my ST220 a couple of years ago and one of the factors that helped sell it to me was that it had had new front springs and dampers. On the test drive it all seemed good but once I was running it every day I realised that the damping was really poor - very bouncy over larger bumps and crashy over sleeping policemen. I investigated and discovered that the new front dampers were Monroe items and I then further discovered that Monroe market their product as "suitable for all Mk3 Mondeos", i.e. not specifically tuned for the ST.

I spent a little while investigating the options. I decided I didn't want to lower the car as it's already lower than a 'normal' Mondeo and mine is used for everyday duties, including occasionally carrying quite heavy loads. Eventually I thought that as the standard set-up was so well praised in road tests when the car was new, it made sense to buy the proper items, as supplied by Ford. They are actually Sachs units but after shopping around, my local Ford dealer more or less matched the best price I could find elsewhere so that's where my money went.

I fitted all four corners with new dampers and have since added some 40k miles, enjoying the ride and handling all the way!