I am adjusting my coilovers this weekend (Bilstein PSS10). Bringing them up a bit as the ride continues to be too rough for a daily driver. Would like to compare the height to stock.
Stock suspension height and wheels, looking for a quick measurement from the ground to the bottom of the fender edge (Across the center of the wheel) for front and rear?.
I have a 20th ae, and I figured how to lower the fronts a bit...but the backs, I tried searching but didn't find much......
View 3 RepliesLooking to upgrade my struts to a stiffer ride, without lowering it. I've heard that coilovers aren't that great as far as ride quality....
View 5 RepliesSo, I am starting to look at coilover kits. I really want to have as close to stock ride height in the winter. Deep snow and chunks of snow/ice on the road are common here and I don't want to break bumpers. At least I don't want to break bumpers any more than a stock car would.
In the summer however, I want to lose the gap. Really given the last couple of winters, it would be really nice to be able to change the ride height in just a few minutes, without removing wheels or jacking the car up.
It seems that the coilover kits I have seen so far start at about 1" lower than stock. Are there any kits out there that start at, or close to, stock height? I know 1" isn't much lower than stock, but again I am trying to get as close to stock for winter driving. Is there something that can be added to these kits to push the max height up some?
Oh yeah, ride quality and cornering performance are important too!
I'm reaching out to see if any other MQB platform owners who had DCC/Magride are experiencing suspension errors after upgrading to coilovers while employing a delete kit. Some of us S3 owners have been running into this issue after such an upgrade and using this kit by KW. I can throw a suspension error on demand in my S3 by taking a turn/curve at 40mph+ (highway on/off ramps work perfectly for this). A bumpy road or hard braking can also cause an error to be thrown.
Aside from the error being annoying sounding and looking it also re-enabled traction control. You cannot turn traction control back off until you've power cycled the car. This is a pretty annoying side effect that could also be pretty dangerous under the right circumstances. KW seems to think their kit is operating correctly and that the height sensors are out of range due to lowering the car. Currently there's no way to adjust where the height sensors sit so in my personal opinion this seems like a massive oversight on KWs part and their product is not working correctly.
Installed ST coilovers at 2200 miles, my only suspension mod. When I'm backing up or going at really slow speeds and turning there is a very annoying creaking/grinding noise. I've taken everything apart and looked at it again to no avail. Anything I should be looking for in specific?Could it be from over-tightening? Just thought I'd ask here before I take it to a shop.
View 3 RepliesSo let me start off with telling you I only ha email 6500 miles on my car now. At 800 miles I installed h&r sports springs on the stock shocks and struts. No noises what so ever. Now I've had PLENTY of time on the drive on them and just not happy with how low I am. I ordered a set of solo werks coil overs, to put on until I can afford a bag setup. My question is, should the bearings be changed now, or am I still good with them being low miles? What's the mileage, that most people are installing and getting this sound?
View 6 RepliesInstalled coilovers last weekend, and heard a clunking on the rear drivers side. I figured i'd let it settle a week before going back and double checking everything and setting the height i wanted, but everything seems tight and it still clunks when i go over bumps.
I realize I can speculate all i want online, but I'd like possible causes before I start digging.
- top strut mount gone bad (there a way to test this?)
- top strut loose (either to the car or to the strut itself)
- springs not seated perfectly
And I have searched, but i cant find any possible solutions.
The ABS is kicking in during hard acceleration on a GTI... is there a way to tone it down with VAGCOM or is my only option to disable it?
View 11 RepliesI'm driving a 2013 Avalon XLS Touring - stock 18 inch wheels and stock Bridgestone tires. Bought it new and today I have 28,400 miles on the odometer. Have had a thumping ride since new and now the ride seems rough and loud. No steering wheel shaking, just a loud rough ride. At first I thought it was flat spots on the tires ... maybe the car had been sitting ... but this dealer seems to have a habit of not bring the tire pressure down to the proper level at delivery. Tires were overinflated at delivery so I'm not sure about the flat spots. I don't do the 5000 miles maintenance. Rather I rotate tires at the 10,000 mile interval with the free oil changes. I've had too many broken wheel studs for rotating too often. Dealer states its BECAUSE I don't rotate enough. I'm thinking its the tires... maybe the belts moved or something else ... maybe just the way the tires ride.
View 1 RepliesI have a 2011 Camry SE with about 25K miles on it. I was pretty happy with my car until I purchased 4 new Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires. Based on overwhelmingly positive reviews, I decided to purchase those Michelin tires. However, as soon as they were put on, the nightmares began.
First, steering wheel started to shake and car felt very wobbly at highway speeds. The ride also felt a lot bumpier and the front of the car (floor, center console, etc) vibrated a lot. I thought, okay, tires probably just needed to be rebalanced. So, I took the car to the shop and had them rebalance the tires. That didn't work, so I took it back again and had 2 other shops attempt to balance them. It got slightly better, but still did the same thing.
Thinking the tires were defective, I had the shop swap them out for 4 new Bridgestone tires. The shaking continued despite having the tires changed but the wobble went away. So, I had them rebalanced 2 more times with the last time being at a shop with the latest Hunter Road Force Touch machine. The mechanic told me he road force balanced it and the machine got it down to 0 with no indication of defective wheel or tires.
After the road force balance, it's gotten a lot better, but I still feel mild shaking/vibration on the steering wheel at speeds > 70 mph on most freeway surfaces (but not all). The floor vibration has also gotten a little better, but remained, and the ride is still bumpy.
I took my car to 2 different dealers and told them the situation. Both of them said nothing was wrong with the suspension or struts, nor were any mounts broken.
I have noticed in the past few weeks that my car ride has become very rough as I go over bumps in the road (which we have a lot of after this winter). It is quite loud and feels like I have lost "support" in the front end (I have limited car knowledge). Could this just be due to old tires (50k miles).
View 3 RepliesMy 2005 Prius is riding a little rough in the front. It seems like it might be the drivers side front wheel. I can hear the revolutions of the tire/wheel and I get a slight feeling of those revolutions from the drivers seat. I was thinking warped rotor but I'm no mechanic.
View 1 RepliesI have a 2011 Santa Fe - I have noticed it is quite a rough ride. I guess I am used to the suspension in my Passat, but I still find it is not as smooth as it should be. I thought maybe giving it a bit of time would work, but so far at 25,000km it is still the same. Find it's a bit of a rough ride? Or should I look into it?
View 39 RepliesBackground: I had new rear brake pads/shoes installed today. The dealership installed them, and let me know that the front wheels still have another 10,000 miles before they'll need new pads. I have 55,000 miles on my Passat. Back in August, I put new Nokian tires on.
So, when I took my car from the dealership, after they installed the brake pads, I went on the highway, and my ride felt different. It was a rumbly roughness, but it was subtle. I am not even sure if I am imagining it, but I don't think I am.
I checked the air pressure of the tires, and it's fine. The invoice from the dealership said "replace rear pads/shoes, service drums/rotors and check wheel cylinders". I do not know how any of that could make my ride have this slight roughness to it.
I called 2 VW dealerships but they couldn't give me an answer on how much adjustment for camber is possible. I did the search but only found rear camber adjustment info.
View 2 RepliesInstalled coilovers and took it for a drive today/tonight..I turned the headlights on and they adjusted side to side like normal..when they went to adjust up they moved like an inch..making it almost impossible to drive at night..I reset the battery and still the same scenario..is this a setting I have to change or can change thru vag com? Everything worked fine prior to install, and no I did not break anything.
View 7 RepliesI like most everything about my new v five, except the low profile tires. The ride is noisy and rough, especially compared with the Camry LE we traded and the Tacoma, of course, which we still drive.
View 19 RepliesI just had a 2008 Jetta 2.5 as a loaner car and it made me realize how rough our GLI's ride over bumps on the road. This thing rode like a cadillac and it was a really pleasant change here in new york city where the roads are terrible.
View 7 RepliesI took my 2007 Rx 350 in for a tire sensor replacement and was given a 2013 Rx loaner. While the cabin was quieter the ride was horrible. Very rough and bumpy. When I asked the service manager about the ride, he said Lexus had changed from an independent suspension to a solid suspension in 2010 and the ride was bumpy. Why would Lexus change to a less comfortable ride???
I am in the market for a new car, and wanted a new RX but the ride is so bad compared to my car, they lost my business. If you are considering an RX, get ready for a rough ride.
I have owned my 2011 Azera Limited for 12k miles. It has been a great car except for the rough ride and road noise. I have rotated my Michelin MXV4 Energy Plus Greens ( P235/55R17) every 6k miles. I was told, by the dealer, that the ride is because of a "European Suspension Style design", which calls for a stiffer ride but more control. I asked Michelin about this and they said the tires are made up of a new type compound which might make them ride a little harder. They suggested it was in the design of the car also.
After getting the run around from everyone, I went to and old retired Michelin Dealer/Owner, who I've known for years, and he said, forget these tires, they will cup easily and always run rough. Look for a brand with a higher speed rating, you'll get a better ride but expect less mileage out of them since they probably will be a performance tire. Tire sidewall stengths have changed so don't think a higher rating will make a stiffer sidewall. This is not true today at all.