I know the overwhelming trend these days is for lower, firmer, tighter suspensions...coupled with giant wheels and rubber band tires, but I think this is a stupid fad. Honestly, I'm not sure where people live to be able to drive these vehicles, but around here, the roads look like what you would find in a 3rd world country. Rough sections, potholes, washboard areas, pavement breaks, the whole nine yards. It's terrible, and unlikely to change anytime soon.
About 4 months ago I purchased a 2014 Dodge Charger R/T from the next state over. Build sheet shows that it has the "sport" suspension (whatever that means...can't find any specifics about it) and 20" wheels with 245/45r20 tires. When I test drove the car (on decent roads) I thought it rode fine. Maybe a tad firm, but comfortable. However, once I got it home I have found the ride to be completely unacceptable! It is extremely jarring over sharp bumps or pavement breaks. So much so that there is a notable crashing/creaking sound that travels from front to back in the interior as the road force gets transmitted into the cabin. As a result, the car has developed not 1, not 2, but 3 interior rattles due to being shaken like a paint can on these awful roads. I would like to make some modifications to the suspension to help soften up the ride a bit and make it more tolerable (and save my nice interior from going to ****).
The car did have bad front control arms, which I have replaced. All the suspension parts are tight and the bushings appear to be in good shape. Also, the old bounce the corner of the car trick indicates that the shock absorbers are working fine.
Unfortunately, finding good, scientific evidence about suspension and ride quality seems nearly impossible. Everything is so subjective. What is completely unacceptable to one person is too plush and floaty for the next. Everything you read is given in relative terms. For instance, smaller wheels with taller tires ride softer...but no data is given about how much. It's completely qualitative.
So my question is this. Realistically speaking, how much ride quality improvement should I expect to be able to obtain by downsizing to 18" wheels (increasing tire sidewall from 4.3" to 5.1"? How does one find a "softer" shock absorber? There seem to be no actual ratings for shock absorbers, leaving one to make their entire purchase based purely on subjective ratings and marketing wank. Would swapping to lower rate coil springs be advisable?
Warmest Regards
About 4 months ago I purchased a 2014 Dodge Charger R/T from the next state over. Build sheet shows that it has the "sport" suspension (whatever that means...can't find any specifics about it) and 20" wheels with 245/45r20 tires. When I test drove the car (on decent roads) I thought it rode fine. Maybe a tad firm, but comfortable. However, once I got it home I have found the ride to be completely unacceptable! It is extremely jarring over sharp bumps or pavement breaks. So much so that there is a notable crashing/creaking sound that travels from front to back in the interior as the road force gets transmitted into the cabin. As a result, the car has developed not 1, not 2, but 3 interior rattles due to being shaken like a paint can on these awful roads. I would like to make some modifications to the suspension to help soften up the ride a bit and make it more tolerable (and save my nice interior from going to ****).
The car did have bad front control arms, which I have replaced. All the suspension parts are tight and the bushings appear to be in good shape. Also, the old bounce the corner of the car trick indicates that the shock absorbers are working fine.
Unfortunately, finding good, scientific evidence about suspension and ride quality seems nearly impossible. Everything is so subjective. What is completely unacceptable to one person is too plush and floaty for the next. Everything you read is given in relative terms. For instance, smaller wheels with taller tires ride softer...but no data is given about how much. It's completely qualitative.
So my question is this. Realistically speaking, how much ride quality improvement should I expect to be able to obtain by downsizing to 18" wheels (increasing tire sidewall from 4.3" to 5.1"? How does one find a "softer" shock absorber? There seem to be no actual ratings for shock absorbers, leaving one to make their entire purchase based purely on subjective ratings and marketing wank. Would swapping to lower rate coil springs be advisable?
Warmest Regards