I'm becoming increasingly convinced that its not just the terrible quality of the roads out here in Seattle that are contributing to my harsh ride. I feel like my struts are not actually doing their job of absorbing shock. Let me try to describe how the car rides.

Going over small bumps, the entire car tends to shake. Even when going over a speed bump at 5 mph, it seems like the struts don't absorb any of the shock. When I was driving my friends Acura TL, I noticed that I was able to drive over speed bumps and driveways much faster and it felt much smoother. When he drove over large bumps, the car remained planted, but the front end would dip slightly, followed by the rear end dipping slightly.

With my LS, when I go over bumps like that, I feel like I went over a huge bump, the front of the car gets jolted, then the rear of the car gets jolted, and I tend to drive over speed bumps and driveways very slowly now due to this.

What could be contributing to this? Here is my suspension setup:

Tokico Struts (~30k miles)
Daizen Sway Bar Bushings
Daizen CA Bushings
Otto Strut Tower Bar

What should I look into replacing? Strut cushion bar? Tie rods? Tie rod ends? New struts?

My theory is that for your struts to properly absorb shock, all the other suspension components need to be tight, otherwise there will be play among those components, and the impact of the road will distribute through those other components and to the vehicle, and not be dispersed by the strut.

I'm thinking about getting those Megan coilovers and using them on their soft settings, and that way I can also account for the extra weight I have in my trunk, and pre-load the suspension for having passengers in the rear.

Also, note that the rear end of my car sits a good 1" lower than the front end of my car. Part of this is due to some heavy stereo equipment in the trunk.

 

From my own exprience Tokico shocks are very soft. That's why I went with KYB and Eibach. Stiffer springs and slightly stiffer shocks. If you are riding stock springs with Tokico shocks, then the ride is pretty soft like stock.

 

its generally taken that the KYB are the softer of the two shocks.

Tokico is more of a sport shock.

 

Suneet,

I remember how bad the roads were in PacNW. Sinkholes, potholes, debris, DEER!!! Drive safe.

 

it might be all the weight in the back throwing hte balance of the car off. the suspension wasn't designed for all that weight, ALL the time you know?
all that weight unloads the front end while loading down the rear end. kind like a pick up truck with a heavy trailer...it's throwing everything off.

 

It's not that much weight though. 2 amps which weigh 20 lbs each, plus one subwoofer enclosure that probably ways 50lbs. So 90 lbs in the trunk? Maybe 120 lbs with random other junk I have back there...

 

oh ok about what i have then. i thought maybe you had some HUGE sub enclosure and batteries and all that... well, in that case i dont' know. i'll think about it.

 

hmm, id give the car the bounce test, the sad thing about the tokicos is that they are known to give out early once in a while...

 

OK so what should I look for in the bounce test..

 

if theres alot of rebound..

 

Shock absorbers can be tested with a simple bounce test:

• Ensure the car has been driven recently and is on a level surface.
• Do one corner of your vehicle at a time.
• Press down firmly on one corner of the vehicle.
• Your vehicle will push down and bounce back up again.
• As it bounces up again it should rise above its starting point and then setting back to the original starting point (one bounce)
• If it drops below this starting point and then only rises back up to it – your vehicle’s shock more than likely will need replacing.
• Do this to each shock (each corner of your vehicle)

 

So I should actually see two bounces from each shock.. one to slightly higher than the original point it was at, and then a second where it settles to that point? I'll try this and post results.

 

no it goes higher then settles..1 bounce..if 2..then time to changie ur shocks!!

 

I think some of you may have misunderstood what I'm saying-- I'm complaining that these shocks are way too hard. Even over little bumps the entire car shakes. I'm looking for a smoother ride.

 

oh! well lose those tokico's for some kyb's, that should soften it up.