Things to check to improve the ride quality

[MoneyJohn]

I have 2006 Sentra (~111K on the odometer). For a while, we were thinking of replacing it but over a period of 2 years, got some work done. That has improved the car really well for local errands. So we plan to keep it as long as there is no major expense. We will be finishing car payments for another vehicle in 2 months. Would love to stay without any monthly payments for a while.

The struts were leaking for a while, replaced them with Gabriel Readymounts. The wheels were bent to the various degrees, replaced them with the steelies. The tires were crappy, replaced the tires too. None of this has improved the ride quality though. I asked the mechanic about the ride quality and he thinks that the car rides reasonably OK for what it is. Recently, got a chance to drive someone's 2005 Sentra. The ride quality was remarkably different. At the moment, I feel every variation of the road surface with high fidelity.

What else would you recommend me to get checked?

 

[Boomer]

What tire pressure are you running? What size are the sidewalls on your tires? More unsprung weight (ie steel wheels) will give a harsher ride.

 

[skyactiv]

Maybe your expecting too much out of it. It's a small inexpensive car and you cant expect it to ride as good as a Nissan Altima. One thing the Sentra cheaps out on is that it uses a rear torsion beam suspension.
On the crappy roads of the NE it is not the ideal setup. You mentioned that you replaced bent wheels, what does that tell you about the roads you drive on?
Look at a Toyota Avalon if you want a good riding reliable car.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted by MoneyJohn
I have 2006 Sentra (~111K on the odometer). For a while, we were thinking of replacing it but over a period of 2 years, got some work done. That has improved the car really well for local errands. So we plan to keep it as long as there is no major expense. We will be finishing car payments for another vehicle in 2 months. Would love to stay without any monthly payments for a while.

The struts were leaking for a while, replaced them with Gabriel Readymounts. The wheels were bent to the various degrees, replaced them with the steelies. The tires were crappy, replaced the tires too. None of this has improved the ride quality though. I asked the mechanic about the ride quality and he thinks that the car rides reasonably OK for what it is. Recently, got a chance to drive someone's 2005 Sentra. The ride quality was remarkably different. At the moment, I feel every variation of the road surface with high fidelity.

What else would you recommend me to get checked?

I'm going through something similar with my 2010 Corolla. Road noise and ride quality are not what they used to be, but it's almost at 200K miles. I am sure I need new struts front and back.

To advise you better, I have a few questions.
You said your replaced your struts, did you do all 4 or just the fronts?
What exact tires do you have, and what pressure do you run them at?
What kind or roads have the most noise, asphalt or concrete?
Has the 2005 Sentra had any suspension work done on it. What tires does it have?

 

[AZjeff]

Tires can make a huge difference in ride and noise. I always look at reviews on Tire Rack before I buy tires I'm not familiar with. Many times , not always, you get what you pay for with tires. Pressure can make a noticeable difference in ride and noise. You certainly shouldn't be above placard psi and since it's an in town errand car you could try a couple of psi under to see if it makes any difference in the ride. The 2005 could be riding on smaller wheels and softer tires.

 

[DuckRyder]

I am with Hangfire and AZjeff on this one: Will add what model Sentra is it?

If I was going to jump to a conclusion, I would say the quick struts are a major contributor.

 

[The_Eric]

Agree on tires as a possible cause. We had some Coopers on our aviator and they were rough and caused a lot of "boomy" noise in the cabin. Changing to the Michelin Defender LTX solved that. I notice Lots of off brand (mostly Chinese) tires on cars that come through the shop and they pretty much all ride like garbage. Also inflate your tires to the recommended pressure as shown on the door/jam tag.

 

[IndyIan]

Check the tire pressure and try dropping it a bit? If you've got lower profile tires they certainly aren't helping and you might pick up a set of higher profile tires on rims for what you can sell your current set for. My Focus is getting rattlier with age as well, but these are the almost free years of ownership so I just replace whats needed and carry on until this last set of snow tires is done in a few years.

 

[Lolvoguy]

Originally Posted by MoneyJohn
I asked the mechanic about the ride quality and he thinks that the car rides reasonably OK for what it is.

I agree with your mechanic.

 

[HangFire]

Before advising to just live with it, let's not forget the 2005 Sentra had a much better ride. I have the same questions about that vehicle- wheel size, tire brand/model, tire pressure, suspension service history.

 

[mclasser]

How are your LCA bushings? I had some go bad and the car took bumps really poorly, almost like blown shocks. After replacing the bushings, the ride was perfect again.

 

[supton]

When I got my '99 Camry I thought the ride was a bit off. And that the rear might be sagging a bit. So I took advantage of a strut sale to replace with quickstruts. Helped but only a pinch. Replacing the worn Mastercraft Strategy's with RT43's fixed the ride to what I thought it should be.

I was kinda surprised, I didn't check sidewall thickness on either one, and you'd think all that weight would negate that, but I guess it's a system and small changes here or there can lead to... small changes that can be felt.

Maybe the seats are sagging? I wonder if a piece of eggcrate foam would fix the problem for cheap.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

If you are looking to take a long drive on a bumpy road, add more passengers. All choices should be those vastly overweight.
Guaranteed to soften the pot holes that occur. But if the ride remains jarring, be sure to open all the windows, because the heaviest blubber-butts in your vehicle will begin to pass gas.

 

[MoneyJohn]

Thanks everyone for the comments. Few more details below.

It is 2006 Sentra 1.8S Special Edition (mostly fancy radio and a spoiler on the trunk with 16" wheels compared to 1.8S)

2005 Sentra that I drove had 15" wheels but I am not too sure if the struts were replaced or which tires they were running. It belongs to a senior relative of mine who he has absolutely no idea about the car stuff. My mistake that I didn't check the tires he was running.

I replaced all of the struts with Gabriel Readymounts. The ride was horrible before replacing them. I noticed minor improvements with the replacements. So replaced the tires.
Over the period of years, I have tried a few tires, cheap to expensive, namely Falken Ziex, Continental Pro Contact (or similar name), Fuzion Touring, Goodyear Assurance (current set). There was absolutely no change in the ride. I changed the struts when I was running Fuzion Tourings.

I run 33psi in the front and 30psi on the rear as suggested on the door sticker. Sidewalls are 55. I am wary of going down on the psi because either I or DW managed to bent 3 wheels to various degrees over the period of years due to probably low tire pressure and potholes. Since we realized bent wheels and now with the new wheels, we make sure to check the tire pressure at least once a month and try to avoid as many potholes as possible. Still, I will try to go a couple of psi down in future to see if that makes any difference.

Someone asked about LCA bushings. I have absolutely no idea of the types of bushings in the car. So if there are such bushings that I should take a look at, pls suggest and I will ask the mechanic to take a look at it.

I plan to replace the tires with RT43 or Advantage T/A at Costco before the winter sets in but before I do that I would like to see if anything else can be checked. I have tried putting a lot of heavy stuff in the trunk in order to see if the weight makes any difference. The difference is negligible, esp with a full tank of fuel.

 

[HangFire]

If it has the SE-R suspension, it will have stiff roll bars that will affect ride. From my reading, that came with the 2.5L engine, but who knows...

 

[The_Eric]

It could be the Gabriel struts? I've pretty much always installed Monroe OE Spectrum shocks/struts and had good luck.

As for the tire selection, I personally feel that the BFG rubber rides needlessly rough and woul opt for the RT43.

 

[MoneyJohn]

Originally Posted by The_Eric
It could be the Gabriel struts? I've pretty much always installed Monroe OE Spectrum shocks/struts and had good luck.

As for the tire selection, I personally feel that the BFG rubber rides needlessly rough and woul opt for the RT43.

Quite possible but no idea how can I figure that out.
Thanks for the BFG pointer, will keep that in mind.