TankII

Nice to know there are other options out there cr08. Thanks!

I'm thinking of the future. I keep cars for 20+ years these days, so a future upgrade would be nice. The main concern I have is external temperature and the effect it has. The Pacifica is gets 30 miles on battery (unless it is really, really cold out) of its battery if I pre-warm the car. The C-Max - 11 miles best, if at the same temperature and pre-warmed. 8 miles if driven cold. It would be nice to get 20-30 miles when cold out and be less impacted by temperature overall. I understand it is designed for more aggressive discharge/recharging - so is the Pacifica. And that would limit energy recovery when driving on the hills around here. If there was a kit that used the Panasonic 4680 cells or similar, kept the voltage the same as existing, but with higher density it would probably work well as they are slower discharge/recharge units. In optimal weather, I can drive to my old job (No A/C or Heat, mostly downhill) on a full charge or run Hybrid mode to work, then drive back and have the last five miles on battery. When I do run errands, I'm out for a couple hours easy, and having 14KW would cut my gas use by another 25%. My Highway driving is for 2-4 hours (sometimes 12), so I wouldn't expect any benefit there. I do have to rust-proof the frame and suspension this spring if I want to see that 20+ years I hope for.

So, I've been poking around on the Ford UK site, and they still sell a Focus in the UK. Assuming you could get the parts shipped to the US at a reasonable price (Or cajole a US dealer to get them), does the thought of making your own 2022 C-Max interest anyone? I haven't looked at the parts list, but I would assume: Struts/springs, knuckles, sway bars, Lower Control Arms would do it. I doubt the rear cross-member would be different. Maybe the Transit Connect has the same parts as it is based on the same platform? My wife loves how easy it is to get in and out of the C-Max. Anything higher is a pain (Like our Pacifica Hybrid) so if I replaced our C-MAX, I would want to duplicate the entry/exit experience along with the PEV abilities. Thoughts?

I added CAT-Clamps to both C-Maxes. Since the entire CAT system is $2000 for the parts alone, I didn't want to chance having them stolen.

So, the Energi has a much higher quality air-cooled battery (According to Ford) than the competition. My care and feeding has been: If outside temp is below 80 F (or below 75 F with high humidity), then normal Level-2 charging anytime is fine. If the temp is above 80 F or 75 F with high humidity, I will either defer charging for an hour after driving to let the battery de-stress, or switch to Level-1 charging if doing lots of driving. Otherwise, I switch to night-only charging during summer months. Both mine and my daughter's Energi's are around 75K miles. I generally use my battery on my way home, which is a long uphill stretch so the battery mileage is always around 11 miles. If I reset it for trips that are not long hills and highway, I'm back up around the 20 mile mark. I was looking at Ford's Escape battery pack as an optional upgrade. Ford claims it is a Suitcase-sized unit (so I would guess around the same dimensions) with 14KWH capacity. Assuming the existing fan cooling is switched to a glycol system with a small radiator, pump, and fan using the existing sensors and fan power leads via relays, I don't see why it wouldn't work though the mini radiator and fan will likely have to have custom ducting made/molded. Does anyone have any specs on the new battery system? Has anyone come up with alternative higher-density liquid-cooled setups on their own?

There is a company that sells the upgrade kit, as a full, tested pull from wrecks and guaranteed compatibility. That being said, it is nearly $2000 for the upgrade kit. I had looked into it myself, but then stumbled across a very nice 2017 Energi with SYNC3. I gave my 2015 Energi to my daughter.

Update: The Factory rear shocks are: Collapsed Length 22.5 inches Extended length 28.5 inches Total length 30.3 inches. Stroke calculates out to around 6 inches. KYB 553389 (Shared part number with 2010 Mazda 3) are: CL 18.89 EL 28.34 Stroke 9.45 Gabriel 51983 (2010 Mazda 3 specific) CL 18.58 EL 26.5 Stroke 7.92 Monroe 39129 (C-Max, Some Focus) CL 20.230 EL 28.270 TL 32.25 Stroke 8.04 Gabriel G511134 (2011 and up standard Focus) CL 18.74 EL 27.95 Stroke 9.21 I could not find any data on Bilstein models. I also couldn't find specs for Sachs models. I think the G511134 is a really close match to stock, with the exception of the much longer stroke which all the aftermarket units appear to have. The Mazda specific fit Gabriel is too short, especially compared to the KYB offering for both models. I would say any of the aftermarket ones with variable valving would ride better/control better than stock, though from experience the KYB is significantly softer on my Energi. I would put the Monroe at the same ranking as KYB based on experience with other car installs. The one thing the Gabriels above don't have listed is the piston diameter. On my '09 Focus, the piston was 0.25" larger than stock, really firming up the back. From the Gabriel site picture, it is hard to tell if there is a difference over stock with this part number. While I would love to run coil overs, I haul with my cars, and would rather keep things at stock connection points just stiffer. FYI, the equivalent Konis for the same year Focus are are re-bound adjustable dampening only - which I really grew to hate on my '91 SHO.

I have a Steeda 1" rear bar on my '17 Energi (and my daughter's '15 Energi) and it really took a major portion of the understeer out. Much safer to drive in the snow/rain now. Also evens tire wear. I do swap the rims/tires for snows. Front suspension is stock on both. So far, I've replaced the rear shocks with OEM and KYBs, and spoke with Bilstein about their offerings. OEM - Better cornering support than KYB, but the cars are twitchy on the highway because they are not variable valve rate. The KYB solves that issue - but are excessively soft (even my daughter is complaining) Bilstein - the C4 is the only offering. I spoke with them about the C6, and they stated it is uniquely valved but softer (sounded like the KYB) and not recommended. I won't touch Monroe anymore after they went from Sensatrac to OE Spectum and went soft. I had one of each on the front of my '91 SHO for a while and the difference was remarkable - and unsettling. Sachs - I put them on our old '01 Stratus ES Sedan, and they were great at low speeds, but slightly soft at high speeds because of no variable valving. I would say they would be better than stock, but not much more. I now run Gabriel Ultras on my SHO and they are stiffer than the Sensatrac were (and much better than the single-adjustable Konis I was running for years). I put Gabriel Ultras on the rear of our '09 Focus which was my daughter's daily until I gave her the '15 Energi and she really liked it. She doesn't like the KYBs at all. But, Gabriel doesn't list a part for the C-Max, so the '10 Mazda 3 rears are the closest equivalent. I plan on picking up a set soon, with the hopes they are at least as stiff as the OEMs at low speed and nice and stable at the Highway due to the variable valve rate. TankII