Suspension problems...
08-28-2010, 11:10 PM
#1
6th Gear Member
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: NJ
Posts: 6,817
Suspension problems...
CLIFF NOTES: My car bounces BADLY on rough roads yet rides great on nice paved surfaces. I think it's the rear of the car. Will bilstein HD's do the trick even though i heard they are bouncey or will some tokico D serve me well for adjustability purposes to fix my under/over steer problems? Help me fix this bounce. It seriously isn't safe
Houston, we've got a problem!
As you guys know, i cut my springs the other day... Idk if my front wheels are angled inwards so that i am slightly driving on the inner areas of the tire which would vastly increase grip, but my car handles pretty damn well compared to what it was.
BUT THERE IS A CATCH
I figured let me drive my car in all sorts of conditions to see if i want to keep the cut springs on the car. What i have come up with is that the front end rides pretty damn well from what i can tell... It doesn't seem to bounce or any of that. It's comfortable. But its hard to tell which part of my car is bouncing since the suspension is a whole system...
The rear end seems to be the biggest f*ckin PITA i've ever had to deal with and i'm not willing to go back to the old springs... Here is the situation. If i'm riding on a nice smooth surface, the car rides on rails, and is pretty damn predictable and VERY comfortable. IT DOESN"T BOUNCE. I have SO much grip on my front end now that i am almost nervous about my rear end kicking out on me under REALLY hard cornering. But it feels tighter than the other springs i had on the car
Bouncier/ Rougher roads is another story. If i hit one bump, my car f*ckin bounces like a jalopy sportin' hydrolics at a stop light. It's seriously pissin me off. I am willing to get some new rear shocks to hope that it will fix it, but i would hate to spend all the money on some shocks and it not get the job done... I don't want to go back to 4x4 status
The bouncing is just so uncomfortable on rough roads that i want to pull over and walk to where i have to go.
Do you guys think this is a shock/damper problem?
Also, i have heard that the bilstein HD's are bouncy? Is this true? That wouldn't help me at all in this situation.
I have heard AWESOME things about those D-specs. The only bad thing is the $135 per shock price. But the adjustability sounds great...
Fox body length/ sn95 length? I have heard people HATING the fox dampers on our cars and others not minding them so idk...
Somebody just shed some light on this for me please... My car is bouncing so badly. I think i'll drive the honda from now on
P.S. - I took my car around a curve at a high rate of speed and it was a rough surface and i thought the car was going to float off the road. It didn't feel planted to the road like it used to -- NOT AT ALL. I think i have some serious damper problems... These tokico HP's suck for a drop anywhere at 2" or more. I don't mind a rough ride bc i would think a rough ride would be planted to the road... It's the bouncy ride that is just not safe IMO and it needs to be addressed ASAP.
P.P.S - Was driving today and some kids in another car were snappin pics of my car
Houston, we've got a problem!
As you guys know, i cut my springs the other day... Idk if my front wheels are angled inwards so that i am slightly driving on the inner areas of the tire which would vastly increase grip, but my car handles pretty damn well compared to what it was.
BUT THERE IS A CATCH
I figured let me drive my car in all sorts of conditions to see if i want to keep the cut springs on the car. What i have come up with is that the front end rides pretty damn well from what i can tell... It doesn't seem to bounce or any of that. It's comfortable. But its hard to tell which part of my car is bouncing since the suspension is a whole system...
The rear end seems to be the biggest f*ckin PITA i've ever had to deal with and i'm not willing to go back to the old springs... Here is the situation. If i'm riding on a nice smooth surface, the car rides on rails, and is pretty damn predictable and VERY comfortable. IT DOESN"T BOUNCE. I have SO much grip on my front end now that i am almost nervous about my rear end kicking out on me under REALLY hard cornering. But it feels tighter than the other springs i had on the car
Bouncier/ Rougher roads is another story. If i hit one bump, my car f*ckin bounces like a jalopy sportin' hydrolics at a stop light. It's seriously pissin me off. I am willing to get some new rear shocks to hope that it will fix it, but i would hate to spend all the money on some shocks and it not get the job done... I don't want to go back to 4x4 status
The bouncing is just so uncomfortable on rough roads that i want to pull over and walk to where i have to go.
Do you guys think this is a shock/damper problem?
Also, i have heard that the bilstein HD's are bouncy? Is this true? That wouldn't help me at all in this situation.
I have heard AWESOME things about those D-specs. The only bad thing is the $135 per shock price. But the adjustability sounds great...
Fox body length/ sn95 length? I have heard people HATING the fox dampers on our cars and others not minding them so idk...
Somebody just shed some light on this for me please... My car is bouncing so badly. I think i'll drive the honda from now on
P.S. - I took my car around a curve at a high rate of speed and it was a rough surface and i thought the car was going to float off the road. It didn't feel planted to the road like it used to -- NOT AT ALL. I think i have some serious damper problems... These tokico HP's suck for a drop anywhere at 2" or more. I don't mind a rough ride bc i would think a rough ride would be planted to the road... It's the bouncy ride that is just not safe IMO and it needs to be addressed ASAP.
P.P.S - Was driving today and some kids in another car were snappin pics of my car
Last edited by hpwrestler220; 08-28-2010 at 11:18 PM.
08-29-2010, 10:54 AM
#4
TECH SAVANT
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Saint Augustine, FL
Posts: 10,938
Cutting the springs has decreased the available suspension travel, and increased the spring rate. This doesn't matter much on a smooth roadway (as are most race tracks, even "road-racing" courses), however these changes are the precise opposite of what is needed for rough road handling-- look at any off-road racer to see the extremes to which they carry travel and jounce/rebound control for really rough "roads".
But even on regular run-of-the-mill "washboard" secondary roads you need enough range of travel, and sufficiently compliant control of jounce and rebound, to keep the tires in contact with the road.
The bouncing cause by the increased spring rate can be somewhat controlled by using shocks with a higher rebound rate, however the lost travel is gone forever so try to avoid those nasty roads--or just accept that you will have to slow down.
Be specially cautious on unfamiliar roads where a bumpy corner may pop into view when you're halfway through a sharp turn at 65 mph!
That happened to me years ago on a 750 Kawasaki triple that was set up for drag racing--I got partway through a turn and hit a series of bumps, it rapidly became one of those "it's a good thing shìt sticks to vinyl" experiences...
But even on regular run-of-the-mill "washboard" secondary roads you need enough range of travel, and sufficiently compliant control of jounce and rebound, to keep the tires in contact with the road.
The bouncing cause by the increased spring rate can be somewhat controlled by using shocks with a higher rebound rate, however the lost travel is gone forever so try to avoid those nasty roads--or just accept that you will have to slow down.
Be specially cautious on unfamiliar roads where a bumpy corner may pop into view when you're halfway through a sharp turn at 65 mph!
That happened to me years ago on a 750 Kawasaki triple that was set up for drag racing--I got partway through a turn and hit a series of bumps, it rapidly became one of those "it's a good thing shìt sticks to vinyl" experiences...
08-29-2010, 11:17 AM
#5
6th Gear Member
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: NJ
Posts: 6,817
Damn.... I don't want to spend all that money on shocks and not have them do their job... I'm slightly lower than h&r ss out back, just with a linear rate spring
I just wish that there was a way for certain to tell if some new shocks would do the trick...
It looks like I may have to put the old springs in which is a HUGE disappointment
I just wish that there was a way for certain to tell if some new shocks would do the trick...
It looks like I may have to put the old springs in which is a HUGE disappointment
08-29-2010, 12:29 PM
#7
6th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: NJ
Posts: 6,817
I understand what cliffy is saying about how i lost a lot of my suspension travel by droppiung the car to 26" out back from ground to fender, but it rides on f*ckin rails on nice surfaces. It's just the bouncing that i can't take when i hit some hilly areas on the freeway or bumps around a turn.
Don't get me wrong -- if i hit a normal bump, the car is stiff, but its not unbareable. It's when i hit a series of bumps or a series of hills where the car is like a f*ckin bucking bronco...
I know that some bilstein HD's will raise the rear up for me (which i wouldn't mind 1/4") but i have heard that even those are bouncy which i don't understand. I am really liking the idea of tokico D-specs... Adjusting how much stiffness or softness i want would be REALLY nice and i would think that it would be able to control the bouncing if the shocks are much stiffer... It's just the pricetag. Idk if i am ready for it.
Don't get me wrong -- if i hit a normal bump, the car is stiff, but its not unbareable. It's when i hit a series of bumps or a series of hills where the car is like a f*ckin bucking bronco...
I know that some bilstein HD's will raise the rear up for me (which i wouldn't mind 1/4") but i have heard that even those are bouncy which i don't understand. I am really liking the idea of tokico D-specs... Adjusting how much stiffness or softness i want would be REALLY nice and i would think that it would be able to control the bouncing if the shocks are much stiffer... It's just the pricetag. Idk if i am ready for it.
08-29-2010, 12:35 PM
#8
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,830
hp - are the d specs on the to do list for your car or the wish list?
do u plan on doing soomething first, or are u done modding for a while?
if they are on ur list, just not next on it, i say rearrange it and do it! i have a lot on my list some of which i had no intention of doing at this point, but jumped on good deals or necessity type stuff... if ur done modding for a while, then i guess old springs it is..... (i have a set of stock springs, front and rear and shocks, if you need haha)
do u plan on doing soomething first, or are u done modding for a while?
if they are on ur list, just not next on it, i say rearrange it and do it! i have a lot on my list some of which i had no intention of doing at this point, but jumped on good deals or necessity type stuff... if ur done modding for a while, then i guess old springs it is..... (i have a set of stock springs, front and rear and shocks, if you need haha)
08-29-2010, 12:41 PM
#9
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: NJ
Posts: 6,817
Well they weren't on the "to-do" list, but now they are. But if they don't fix the bouncing and handling problems in rough corners, i am going to be PISSED that i spent all of that money.
I used to think the tokico HP's were awesome, but it seems that the shocks can't handle anything more than a slight drop.
It just breaks my heart to see that the shocks cost an arm and a leg hahaha.
I might be able to get outta this with Under $200 spent on the HD's. But if i want the D-specs on the rear, it's going to cost me around $270...
I am hoping some damper guys chime in here and which is better...
Or i could just put the old springs in a ride for $0
Or i could just live with the bouncy ride on rough roads...
I just dont want to sacrifice the orgasm i get when im on a nice road and hit some twisties or slam the brakes.
I used to think the tokico HP's were awesome, but it seems that the shocks can't handle anything more than a slight drop.
It just breaks my heart to see that the shocks cost an arm and a leg hahaha.
I might be able to get outta this with Under $200 spent on the HD's. But if i want the D-specs on the rear, it's going to cost me around $270...
I am hoping some damper guys chime in here and which is better...
Or i could just put the old springs in a ride for $0
Or i could just live with the bouncy ride on rough roads...
I just dont want to sacrifice the orgasm i get when im on a nice road and hit some twisties or slam the brakes.
08-29-2010, 12:46 PM
#10
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,830
^haha well ive got the shocks ur talking about, and i love them, but they were def made for the 1.5" drop the springs give. wish i could give input on the others. dunno man, tough call, and i know what u mean about not knowing for sure on the fix.
