I lowered it - a set of sportlines, bilstein hd's in the rear, spohn panhard bar. Rims are 35 on the profile. When i hit the smallest bump, it feels like i hit a crater in the road. It's drivin me nuts...i didn't think i'd lose that much ride quality. Do you all think it's the low profile, or maxin out travel in a short amount of time and hitting the bump stops? Any suggestions to fix? Would the spohn fabb'd upper strut mounts help, or a better quality adjustable strut?

thanks!

 

Swap the sportlines for a prokit. The tires seem awfully thin.

Also what shocks are up front?

 

Why swap... PPLS complain that sportlines are too soft, He complaining that it is too rough so it is not the springs...I have sportline, and it is the perfect give (low) and take (softer) for me.

Now to anwser the question.. What shock as the poster above asked and what PSI are you running in the tire... Did you install a poly bushing kit???

Now I don't know nothing about the shock you are running in the rear but they could do it. Hopefully someone will step in here that has some exp with them

 

I think they're still stock.i've never replaced them...the prior owner may have. I feel like the travel is maxing out though....would the strut up front do that?

 

Naw... You got to look at it like this.... Before you did all of theses mods... It didn't rided rough... So what did you do to make it rided rough? U installed sportline spring... Unless they are installed wrong, they shouldn't do it. You installed new rear shocks and low profiles... So before we start swapping parts lets go to tire psi... What psi are you running in your tires? Can you lower it abit and see how it rides. And if that doesn't do it. Try swapping out the rear shock to the ones that were in there before and see if that fixes it.

 

when i installed my sportlines i did a whole bunch of mods too... car was a stock 130,000 mile WS6 formula 350(except wonderbar, poly front swaybar and endlinks, subframes, handmade panhardrod and tubular LCAs). i did UMI adj panhard rod with spherical end, UMI rear LCA adjustable mounts, poly front LCA bushings, rear sway bar poly and endlinks, poly trans, poly tq arm bushing, KYB GR2 front struts, KYB gas-a-just rear shocks, sportlines and all new front MOOG tierods etc. all this made a HUGE difference over the stock stuff and it does ride kinda hard but im not sure wat your definition of a "hard" ride is. over stock the ride will be a good bit harder, but it shouldnt feel like its rattling your teeth out unless your roads suck. the sportlines are alil stiffer than stock in the front but the rears are softer untill they compress so your ride quality shouldnt suffer.

you have to take into account that u have loww profile tires i have 245/45/R17 nitto 555 tires and they ride harder than regular tires. yours will offer very little vibration dampning being only 35 profile. i would rule out your sportlines as being the problem since they arent that stiff and shouldnt be on the bumpstops all the time, they will hit on bigger bumps (supposidly) i would make sure you have them indexed correctly tho. i doubt the rear blistens rear shocks are that big a deal, and the panhard rod wont do that either. strut mounts wont matter even for the extra travel as far as ride harshness, since you shouldnt bottom the strut out until you compress a good bit,

i would trim your bump stops and then mark them and ride it for a while and see if it rubs off on the car. also i think the ride harshness could just be pyschological on your part. they should stiffen up the ride alil bit but compared to sagging 20yrold stock springs/struts the diff should be very different... might just take sum time getting used to on your part. you want a softer ride dont get prokit(they are stiffer springs) fronts not really but the rears are a good bit stiffer.

only thing would be to go moog replacement springs, front and rear, and there are like 4 diff springs for the front that have different spring rates so you can get the ride quality you like.

 

it's the tires that are killing the way it feels over bumps I ride a 35 series on my other car and I think that I mess my rim on most bumps

 

welcome to lowering and low profile tires! No its not just your tires its also the fact that its lowered. I had a lowered 89 RS that rode hard and it had stock iroc rims/tires

 

What size are the rims?
The ride is probably a combination of stock shocks on lowering springs, the Sportlines are probably letting you hit the bumpstops on every bump, and the fact you have very low profile tires. Replacing the front struts and getting aftermarket (maybe progressive) bump stops should help. As would lowering the tire pressure. But, lowered tire pressure can lead to uneven tread wear.

 

Thanks everyone - 91 - i think your approach makes sense thus far. I didn't know they made progressive stops - have any recommendations for a mfr? Customblackbird - my roads **** the bed man...i live in buffalo ny. to say we have a lot of potholes would be an understatement..more like craters. I think i'm runnin somethin like a 245/35 18 up front and a 275 or 285/35 out back.

 

u could try the progressive bump stops but im not sure if thats gona help. i think its your overall combo. lowww springs, thin wall tires, etc. i would trim your stockers a bit and see if that helps as a quick check. stock shocks should be replaced... i must have missed that lol thats the first thing i would have said. get a good set, most say koni yellows.. but 700$ a set is not me. i'll prob go with KYB AGX, i had to go with KYB GR2's when i did my sportlines due to budget issues... they are better than stock/monroes but i will need a stiffer strut. your rims arent helping either. and yea i kno about pot holes... in northern NJ our potholes eat hondas and subaru's lol

 

I think KONI makes good bump stops for our cars. Might be able to find some by searching here or on Google. They'll keep you from bottoming out the struts/shocks and they'll be a nicer ride than hitting the stock ones (cut or not). Also, you won't suffer from snap-over/understeer from hitting the stiff stock ones- they are ALOT higher spring rate than the springs so hitting them in hard corners will be like going from a spring rate of, say, 650 front to like 1500 instantly.
The KONIs are more expensive, but they are better than other brands priced for less. More dampening control, rebound adjustable, and with a lifetime warranty. If you bust them, they replace them. Once they wear out, they rebuild them for you. But the price does make them more for the serious enthusiast.
But, I agree with blackbird on the fact that you'll have to live with some discomfort due to the size of your wheel/tire combination. A 17 would probably provide a nicer ride.

 

Cut the factory bump stops down in half and see how that feels. Look at my specs. I also have a rough ride but i think thats just the way it is.

 

how long is the lifetime warrenty on the koni yellows? and how much does it cost to rebuild them? do u have a part number or link to the progressice bump stops? id be interested in them too since i'll hacking a set of moog 5664s for about a 1.5" drop and expect a spring rate of close to 875lbs/in. as well as sum cut moog 5665s in the rear. sportlines actually cracked one of my front bumstops

the KYB AGX's are also adjustable and actually preferred by autoX racers. but the koni yellows are also preferred. id say get wat ever your budget allows.

 

To my knowledge, it's for as long as you own the shocks/car. It has to be the original purchaser of the shocks. Rebuilding is free, to my knowledge. You have to pay shipping, though I think. Never had it done, just read post where people have had it done.
I don't have a link or anything for the KONI bumpstops, but I remember reading a post on here from Dean about them. I'd say a search would turn up some information about them.
One (maybe two, can't remember) of my front bump stops are cracked as well. I have the mods in my sig. Probably a common thing on lowered 3rd gens.

 

ride rough uhmmm.. just part of it. i have 255/35/18 up front and 305/35/19 rear lowered on sportlines. put umi lcarc and lca's along with a pandhard bar, new shocks all around and sub frame connectors all at once expecting to inprove my ride quality, but i feel every little bump and its a rough ride quality. i've learned to live with it. its the tires, thin sidewall its no good but then anyone using 35 series tires is looking more for a physical look rather then drivebility, but i must say with my suspension mods and 305 tires my car does hook alot better,

 

I agree. It's in the design of the suspension, the design of the uni-body, and the age of the cars. Throw on tires with that low a sidewall... You can improve what you have, but it'll never behave like a newer car.