why is my gf's 98 honda ride smoother than mine??
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wheels aren't so much the problem as much as tire size, but the fact remains with the initial settings and same wheels/tires with the crappy springs and tires, there is very little mentionable difference in ride comfort vs the konis and the strano springs. strano springs are good since they raised my car up from the cut springs i had which allows for better shock movement. i doubt weight at the wheels means much. front tires/wheels weigh 57lbs and rear tires/wheels weigh about 60lbs.
what can be said about sfc's is moot, i'm comparing the same setup and everything else on the same car vs a strano springs/koni setup, which did not give me a mentionably better ride quality. i will be making adjustments to see if things get better, but right now with what stated, this car does not feel comfortable as a bmw and i would be shocked if this package is to rival or beat a z06 on the track. this is my experience thus far with the setup as stated and i will be making adjustments when i get some time and see what the problem is and if it could get resolved through adjustments. i'm still in the review process on everything and will make a topic when i have more input, but bottom line is as stated, if you have my setup, it rides like crap for the most part, handling is better, but far from great.
i will be get a hold of sam on suggestions and hopefully be able to make a better report and will post a topic.
what can be said about sfc's is moot, i'm comparing the same setup and everything else on the same car vs a strano springs/koni setup, which did not give me a mentionably better ride quality. i will be making adjustments to see if things get better, but right now with what stated, this car does not feel comfortable as a bmw and i would be shocked if this package is to rival or beat a z06 on the track. this is my experience thus far with the setup as stated and i will be making adjustments when i get some time and see what the problem is and if it could get resolved through adjustments. i'm still in the review process on everything and will make a topic when i have more input, but bottom line is as stated, if you have my setup, it rides like crap for the most part, handling is better, but far from great.
i will be get a hold of sam on suggestions and hopefully be able to make a better report and will post a topic.
You got 19 inch wheels on rubber bands.... that's where most of your poor ride quality is coming from. Going to 17's isn't going to transform your car into a BMW as far as ride quality is concerned, but most people's reviews of the strano/koni setup come from 17 inch wheel setups. 19 inch wheels will probably make your opinion be a tad bit different from the rest I'd think..
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#23
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Hey man, don´t give up. Play with the settings and see what you like. I went Stranoized just a week ago. I haven´t had the time to play around with the setting that much but I can tell you this; I´m driving a fuel injected suicide machine! Love it! Firm, solid, maybe not a BMW (it´s a Camaro right?) but very much like a German sport Sedan. A player. My focus has been on the rear damper settings and front/back tire pressure and already that´s paid of. Stick with it! Maybe your wheels/tires is the problem, I don´t know. If you have another set sitting in the garage, throw them on and let´s see what happens. Patience!
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i'm definitely not giving up on the setup and will be doing adjustments and report back. i'm just throwing out what my experience thus far is. i'm glad a couple of you came out and said this is not a bmw ride comfort. i was not expecting that at all when i purchased the koni/stranos but was hoping for something along the lines of a 300k mile civic. lol.
it's weird because there are rare times that the car feels real good all around but i'm attributing it to perception. but the overall feel most of the time is not much better than my old setup.
it is much better at 80mph or so when following freeway turns. i can keep the car on track with the lines much better than before. but lower speeds, things are far from great. i hit railroad tracks much harder now without thinking about it but i was doing this with the strano springs alone. adding the konis didn't make things better.
the first couple of days after springs, then after sway bar, then konis, the car did seem better. i also installed a new racing seat before the konis and this may have made things "feel" better.
maybe the konis settled in and need to be bumped up. i know that the rear konis installed alone were very hard to push to collapse when new. the rear konis actually raised the car up when installed. i can tell due to my headlights aiming lower.
it could be bushings on the car, the sfc, tires, whatever else but right now i do not have a night and day difference. my tires are at 40psi with a max psi of 51. i had them at 46psi before these suspension mods but the rears were not putting much tread on the ground so i lowered it.
i'm at roughly 1000 miles total with everything on at the same time. is there such a thing as the konis settling in? at how many miles?
it's weird because there are rare times that the car feels real good all around but i'm attributing it to perception. but the overall feel most of the time is not much better than my old setup.
it is much better at 80mph or so when following freeway turns. i can keep the car on track with the lines much better than before. but lower speeds, things are far from great. i hit railroad tracks much harder now without thinking about it but i was doing this with the strano springs alone. adding the konis didn't make things better.
the first couple of days after springs, then after sway bar, then konis, the car did seem better. i also installed a new racing seat before the konis and this may have made things "feel" better.
maybe the konis settled in and need to be bumped up. i know that the rear konis installed alone were very hard to push to collapse when new. the rear konis actually raised the car up when installed. i can tell due to my headlights aiming lower.
it could be bushings on the car, the sfc, tires, whatever else but right now i do not have a night and day difference. my tires are at 40psi with a max psi of 51. i had them at 46psi before these suspension mods but the rears were not putting much tread on the ground so i lowered it.
i'm at roughly 1000 miles total with everything on at the same time. is there such a thing as the konis settling in? at how many miles?
#27
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i'm definitely not giving up on the setup and will be doing adjustments and report back. i'm just throwing out what my experience thus far is. i'm glad a couple of you came out and said this is not a bmw ride comfort. i was not expecting that at all when i purchased the koni/stranos but was hoping for something along the lines of a 300k mile civic. lol.
Overall best ride quality is Konis and other wise stock suspension.
The impact harshness increased for me when I installed my rear swaybar (front already installed, no change in ride quality).
Springs made it slightly more harsh, still not jarring.
it is much better at 80mph or so when following freeway turns. i can keep the car on track with the lines much better than before. but lower speeds, things are far from great. i hit railroad tracks much harder now without thinking about it but i was doing this with the strano springs alone. adding the konis didn't make things better.
the first couple of days after springs, then after sway bar, then konis, the car did seem better. i also installed a new racing seat before the konis and this may have made things "feel" better.
As I already mentioned, the rear swaybar increased harshness for me, if you want to compare it to your old setup use the same swaybars.
Did you over tighten the swaybars? Did you grease the bushings?
And on the rear springs, did you use the stock rubber piece on top of the spring, or something like the hose mod?
maybe the konis settled in and need to be bumped up. i know that the rear konis installed alone were very hard to push to collapse when new. the rear konis actually raised the car up when installed. i can tell due to my headlights aiming lower.
What are your rears set at? And did YOU set them, or just throw them on the car?
it could be bushings on the car, the sfc, tires, whatever else but right now i do not have a night and day difference. my tires are at 40psi with a max psi of 51. i had them at 46psi before these suspension mods but the rears were not putting much tread on the ground so i lowered it.
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My tires are set at 32 front, 30 rear....
Sounds like you are driving around on bowling *****...
And you never answered me before, did you use the upper spring perch on the front shocks? One last question, what set of Konis did you go with (SA or DA) and did you buy them new from Stranoparts?
Honestly there is something wrong if you don't think the handling is great compared to before, unless you daily drive an Elise...
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You have 19 inch wheels and 30-35 profile tires running 41 psi on the strano koni setup. Dude its gotta be the suspension that's causing the problems.....
Sorry for being a smart ***. I'm trying to slip you a little hint here though
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#29
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Did the civic have 19's and rubber bands for tires? ![Happy](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_stretch.gif)
You have 19 inch wheels and 30-35 profile tires running 41 psi on the strano koni setup. Dude its gotta be the suspension that's causing the problems.....
Sorry for being a smart ***. I'm trying to slip you a little hint here though
How did the car ride before you put on the new suspension with those wheels anyway?
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You have 19 inch wheels and 30-35 profile tires running 41 psi on the strano koni setup. Dude its gotta be the suspension that's causing the problems.....
Sorry for being a smart ***. I'm trying to slip you a little hint here though
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i do have my fronts on the top perch.
by pushing the rear konis i meant as trying to collapse them by hand. with the lowest setting, i think they are to hard.
i appreciate everyones help but i will find out what's going on when i do adjustments to the setup. i have 245/50/16 tires that i'll try too.
but for some more background, i've had the old setup which was 2.5" cut front springs and 3-4" rear cut springs on stock shocks 3 corners, and a used autozone shock on the front driver side running 215/40/18 front tires and 245/35/20 rear tires which rode like crap. i changed the tires to 245/50/16 eagle rsa tires and there was no difference in ride comfort. so tires on the old setup didn't do any good. the 19" tires feel the same as the other tires i had on the car with the old setup.
i'm not going to be in this topic any more because i'm typing too much of what is going on with the setup. i'd rather make a topic soon and review everything and get suggestions there and not have to type so much because i tend to do that just like this post. lol. but bottom line is that with the setup now, there is no night and day difference attributable to the konis on the initial settings.
Last edited by caliswangin916; 05-05-2008 at 12:25 AM.
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Hey maybe you will toss on 17s and still not like it... who knows? Suspension ride quality is definitely subjective to ones opinion, and you may never like the setup. Not everyone likes everything.
41 psi is a bit high though. Is having a lot of air pressure in tires important on the smaller sidewalls to keep them stable?
Basically everything between the ground and tires to your seat and your **** can have an effect on ride quality. When I go over bumps or like railroad tracks slowly, yeah my car feels like I'm losing a few bolts and a BMW doesn't feel that way. Then again you can probably attribute that to the incredible chassis and build quality of the 4th gen![Happy](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_stretch.gif)
If you swap out the stock driver seat with a metal seat, then that will probably hurt ride quality. If you increase the shocks dampening way more than the spring needs, that will probably hurt ride quality. If you shorten the tire sidewall using a crappy compound tire and increase the tire pressure, you will probably hurt ride quality.
41 psi is a bit high though. Is having a lot of air pressure in tires important on the smaller sidewalls to keep them stable?
Basically everything between the ground and tires to your seat and your **** can have an effect on ride quality. When I go over bumps or like railroad tracks slowly, yeah my car feels like I'm losing a few bolts and a BMW doesn't feel that way. Then again you can probably attribute that to the incredible chassis and build quality of the 4th gen
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If you swap out the stock driver seat with a metal seat, then that will probably hurt ride quality. If you increase the shocks dampening way more than the spring needs, that will probably hurt ride quality. If you shorten the tire sidewall using a crappy compound tire and increase the tire pressure, you will probably hurt ride quality.
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See this thread: https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspension-brakes/915755-koni-s-strano-s-installed-my-thoughts.html
Sam mentions some good points in there.
Sam mentions some good points in there.
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#35
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Man you definitely need to bleed off some of that excess tire pressure. 51 psi is like having no tire at all. I drove home from the shop with that much air in my 18s and it was like not having any rubber on the pavement at all! Bumped it down to 35 and eventually down to 30 which is just fine. I wouldn't go any higher that 32 now. Even going from 35 to 30 made a huge difference in high speed tire impacts (surface changes, expansion joints, railroad tracks etc). In your case I definitely think it's worth a shot. Try it, if you don't like it you can always put some air back in ![Icon Confused](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies2/icon_confused.gif)
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wtf were you doing with 51 psi in your tires?!?!?!
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Have you ever tried like between 30-33? 40 is generally what I run in my fronts at autocross, and some fbody owners don't even like to use that much for autox never mind street driving.
You are also an SS too right? So you probably have the blunt ended rear axle bumpstops. Z28 ones are more progressive and don't spike the suspension rate at full suspension travel the way the SS/WS6 ones do. The switch has been known to give better ride quality to some people. I recently just bought a new set of bumpstops because my originals were getting old and cracked. They aren't too expensive.
You are also an SS too right? So you probably have the blunt ended rear axle bumpstops. Z28 ones are more progressive and don't spike the suspension rate at full suspension travel the way the SS/WS6 ones do. The switch has been known to give better ride quality to some people. I recently just bought a new set of bumpstops because my originals were getting old and cracked. They aren't too expensive.
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I don't know about anyone else but I think my camaro rides pretty good for a sports car... granted i'm still on stock suspension. But my wife has an 06 Honda Civic... that thing will bounce you to death over everything I hate riding in that car. But what is to be expected out of a solid axle sports car? You aren't going to get lincoln towncar ride quality, its just a fact of life.
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It's time to add a few things here. First of all, just because the tire is built and can handle a maximum psi of 51 does not mean in any way that you should be running 51 psi. That's the maximum pressure the tire can take @ full load for one hour, at the rated speed of the tire. It is not in anyway indicative of what you should be running. 40 psi is too much even for an f-body if the tires have any sidewall structure to them at all.
As for the "BMW" thing. There are various BMW's, and you will never get a solid axle, nose heavy car to feel exactly like any of them. However when I talk BMW like I'm thinking M3/M5, not 330i. The Bilstein's are not as performance oriented as the Koni's are, and to me would be overall more Volkswagen than BMW in their performance aspect. And I hate to beat a dead horse, but the above Bilstein vs. Koni thing is not a 100% apples to apples comparison because the car also sits a bit lower on the Koni's. Now, I'm not saying the two shocks will ride exactly a like as they are valved differently and have different missions. But for the most part, folks don't mind firm in a GT type car, but we dislike harsh. But with the range of the Koni's and the fact I tend to run the fronts about half firm, most can find something they like if they need softer.
As for the "BMW" thing. There are various BMW's, and you will never get a solid axle, nose heavy car to feel exactly like any of them. However when I talk BMW like I'm thinking M3/M5, not 330i. The Bilstein's are not as performance oriented as the Koni's are, and to me would be overall more Volkswagen than BMW in their performance aspect. And I hate to beat a dead horse, but the above Bilstein vs. Koni thing is not a 100% apples to apples comparison because the car also sits a bit lower on the Koni's. Now, I'm not saying the two shocks will ride exactly a like as they are valved differently and have different missions. But for the most part, folks don't mind firm in a GT type car, but we dislike harsh. But with the range of the Koni's and the fact I tend to run the fronts about half firm, most can find something they like if they need softer.
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Results matter. Talk is cheap. We are miles beyond the success anyone else has had with the 4th gens, and C5, C6, C7 Corvettes,
10 SCCA Solo National Championships, 2008 Driver of they Year, 2012 Driver of Eminence
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