What's up, everybody?
I'm Justin with americanmuscle.com.
And, in this video, I'm gonna break down the MagneRide suspension option found in the new
2018 Mustang.
I'm gonna do my best to explain in a nutshell how it all works, what the advantages are,
the disadvantages, if any.
And then last but not least, we'll hop in and go for a quick little spin and talk about
how the car feels in each mode.
There's gonna be a lot of talking in this video, guys, so I apologize in advance.
But, if you're curious about the MagneRide, and wanna nerd out with me for a little bit,
hang out.
We'll break it all down.
And if you like what we're doing here in the Mustang world, be sure to subscribe to our
YouTube channel.
So MagneRide is, basically, the brand name for the adaptive suspension system, originally
developed by Delphi Automotive for use on GM cars, dating all the way back to 2002.
So this isn't exactly a new technology here.
But, over the years, tech has gotten better, and you can now find MagneRide setups on cars
like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi, Land Rover, and yes, now, the Mustang.
Now, the Mustang actually joined the MagneRide party back in 2015, with the inclusion of
the adaptive suspension found on the GT350 and the 350R.
And, as someone who actually got to experience the MagneRide setup on a GT350R, I was totally
pumped to hear it was gonna be making the jump over to the GT and EcoBoost models.
And if you guys are actually shopping for a 2018, you should be pumped, too, because
at nearly 1,700 bucks, it really offers a ton of bang for your buck and is a fantastic
option.
But what is MagneRide?
Well, on the surface, a lot of these components appear to be very similar to a traditional
suspension setup.
You have your shocks and struts and your springs, but that's really where the similarities end.
Inside these shocks or struts or dampers, as they're oftentimes called, is gonna be
a magnetorheological fluid or MR fluid for sure.
Now, this is a synthetic damper fluid that contains millions and millions of these tiny
little metallic particles, which can be magnetized.
Along with that MR fluid, these shocks and struts also contain a perforated piston damper
and rod, which allow that MR fluid to pass through.
That damper actually contains little electromagnetic coil, which is controlled by the brains of
the MagneRide system.
The magic actually happens here once the brains magnetize those coils, thus magnetizing the
metallic little particles in the MR fluid.
Thus changing the effective viscosity of the fluid itself, going from thick to thin or
vice versa, essentially changing the stiffness of the damper itself.
So the basic operation of each damper is kind of easy to conceptualize, for the most part.
However, it's all worthless without the brains or the control module of the MagneRide system.
The control module is gonna take into account things like driver input, so steering angle,
breaking, lateral acceleration, pitch.
And you all combine that with road input, which is essentially the smoothness of the
road.
Compute all of that.
Determine the amount of damping needed, given the mode you are in, and then make adjustments
from there.
What's even crazier is it's doing all of these 1,000 times per second, essentially giving
you feedback in adjustments in real-time.
So we know you're getting that lightning quick dampening adjustment here with the MagneRide,
but you're also getting a crazy amount of dampening force, so much so that it actually
force-forward engineers to strengthen and bolster the knuckle and the wheel bearing
on the MagneRide's specific cars, which is just crazy.
And it goes to show you just how much is going on with the MagneRide setup.
So we've talked about the MR fluid-filled dampers.
We've talked about the brains or control module.
What about springs?
Well, according to Ford engineers, the MagneRide car actually shares the same performance pack
springs as the non-MagneRide cars.
But that doesn't mean you can just throw on any set of standard lowering springs and call
it a day.
In fact, that might be one of the only drawbacks when going with the MagneRide system as you're
essentially stuck with the right height Ford gave you from the factory.
Of course, there are gonna be manufacturers out there, who are gonna produce a set of
lowering springs for the MagneRide-specific cars.
In fact, Ford Performance already offers a set for the 350 and 350R, which will drop
the car about 20 millimeters, about three-quarters of an inch.
So you know they're common.
However, if you're looking to slim your ride, MagneRide probably isn't gonna be the best
starting point.
But I do wanna quickly go back and talk about the MagneRide and, more specifically, those
driving modes that we talked about a little bit earlier.
Because it's very important to point out that MagneRide isn't just on or off, it's adaptive,
meaning, it's always changing and adapting to the environment, based on these pre-programmed
maps from Ford, in addition to those inputs we talked about a little bit earlier.
So, in an attempt to make this a little bit more digestible, let's hop into our Race Red
2018, go for a quick little spin.
And we'll talk about how the car feels in each different mode.
So, Normal mode now.
We're just getting out of the shop and just doing a couple of these guys here to feel
the difference between the modes.
That was Normal.
Here's Sport Plus.
The car definitely feels a little firmer there, and then Track, which should be full stiff,
essentially.
Probably harder to see from your guys' vantage on video, but behind the wheel and in the
seat right now, the car definitely feels tighter, flatter, just in between the three different
modes.
Obviously, it feels like the MagneRide stuff is doing its job already.
And that's one of the nice things again, too, about MagneRide.
You're getting this kind of adjustability and on the fly.
You know what I mean?
With an older coilover setup or with an old adjustable damper, you have to get out.
Get your little key, pop the hood, give it a couple turns.
Obviously, you couldn't do that stuff on the fly.
With this, literally by using a button on the dash here.
But what we're gonna do is just head to this little strip of a road we know around the
headquarters.
It's got a little section of bumpiness to it on a straightaway.
Then there's a big sweeping right-hander and then a sharp left-hander.
We're gonna do that in each mode, and tell you guys how it feels.
So there you go, Normal mode, just on the straightaway.
This is gonna be the least aggressive of the settings, basically built for comfort.
But here's our first right-hander.
I mean, Normal mode, performance pack feels pretty darn good.
I mean, the car's got, you know, 1,000 miles on it.
It's really tight and, obviously, the performance pack stuff is even better in regards to handling.
So Normal mode in the books, gonna turn it around and go back to the same thing with
Sport Plus and see if we can feel the difference.
All right, guys, we are back to our same stretch of road here, this time in Sport mode.
Let's go.
Wow.
That's funny.
I had to look down because, honestly, I was going about 10-mile an hour faster over that
same section.
And the car felt more sure of itself.
So already, just going over some uneven pavement, the car feels much better, just with a slightly
firmer setting.
But now, here comes our right-handers.
Left-hander here, a little slower.
What a step out.
Okay, a little salt, a little wet still around these roads in the northeast but, overall,
it's still enough for me to gather that from Normal to Sport, a noticeable difference and
flatness.
The car is definitely feeling a little bit more flat through the turns, a little bit
more rough around the edges.
I mean, you felt things a little bit more, but that's kind of the give and take of adding
a little bit more dampening, right?
So you're getting a firmer strut or you're getting a firmer shock.
You're definitely gonna feel the bumps more while driving.
But in return, you're gonna get a car that's a little bit more responsive, a little flatter
through turns and just, ultimately, a better handling car.
The last but not least, this is our final mode, Track mode, the most aggressive dampener
settings.
So I'm gonna hit it one more time and see how she feels.
Let's go.
Wow.
Granted, I've done this road more times than I can remember.
It's our unofficial test track.
One time in particular, we took our 13 down here, and the car's stock suspension was all
over the road.
We just went pretty darn quick down that same road, and this thing felt absolutely planted
in Track mode.
So I'm very impressed.
Just going over some uneven pavement, but let's go through some turns.
A heel-toe action coming in on this left-hander.
You can definitely feel the car's a little bit more planted, right?
I mean, that's the goal of Track mode.
It's certainly a little bit more aggressive.
It's a little bit more bone-jarring, for lack of a better word, but body roll is all but
eliminated.
Unfortunately, I don't have the best road to test this on right now.
Again, it's a little salty, a little wet still here in the northeast after a snow last week.
So I could probably be carrying an extra 10 mile an hour through those turns.
But overall, guys, to recap, noticeable differences between all three modes.
Normal mode is what you would think, definitely a little bit more forgiving, certainly a little
bit more soft.
We're kicking that up to Sport mode.
You're getting a good balance of both, right?
So you're taking some of that softness out.
You're taking some of the waviness out of the car, going at speed over those uneven
sections.
But, at the same time, it's not gonna knock your feelings out like the Track mode will.
I like loud exhaust.
I like stiff suspension.
To me, that's part of driving a Mustang.
So I would probably leave it in Track mode more often than not, because I like how the
car reacts.
And how does it react?
Well, like you would expect for Track mode, right?
Super flat, super stiff, and just very, very responsive.
The car basically just feels like it's ready for another 5, 10, 50-mile an hour no matter
what you're putting it through.
As a 2014 owner, I'm a little jealous right now.
Every time you get into a newer car with all these new fancy bells and whistles, it kinda
makes you hate your car a little bit.
That might be a stretch, because I certainly don't hate my car, but it's nice to have these
different modes on the fly with a flick of a button.
You didn't think we'd get out of here without testing Drag mode, did you?
Me neither.
All right, so obviously, it's not gonna dead hook on a street tire in 40-degree weather
with salt on the road.
But for scientific purposes, I had to try all the modes, right?
Now, the idea behind Drag mode, guys, in all seriousness, and hats off to Ford for even
thinking of this, is to give you a little bit more flexibility with the MagneRide because,
sure, guys love going around turns in their Mustangs, but it's a Mustang, right, guys?
You're gonna wanna take this thing to the strip.
So they gave you Drag mode, which obviously gives it some cool features, traction control,
you know, digital gauge cluster and all that.
But it also kinda softened up the front dampers a little bit, add a little bit more firmness
to the rear to help promote that weight transfer, help promote traction, and help get you off
the line a little bit better.
And it's hard to tell back there, of course.
I'm sure it has its place at the drag strip.
Well, guys, that's gonna do it for our brief little explanation of Ford's MagneRide system
with the 2018 Mustang.
Again, for about 1,700 bucks, it's money extremely well spent in my eyes because a decent set
of aftermarket coilovers are gonna cost you way more than that.
In fact, double if not triple, if you really wanna get something nice.
So for around 1,700 bucks, to get something that you can actually change on the fly from
the comfort of the driver seat, definitely, money well spent.
And I can tell you...the modes work.
Well, guys, that's gonna do it for our brief little explanation of Ford's MagneRide system.
We're option here with the 2018 Mustang.
We hope we shed a little more light on the very advanced suspension setup.
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel if you haven't already done so.
And for all things Mustang, keep it right here at americanmuscle.com.