Why do so many cars have a hard ride?
Nearly every road test mentions it, yet makers still churn out mainstream models with next to no suspension travel.
Big wheels and rubber band tyres are another problem.
Bring back smaller wheels and higher profile tyres I say, better ride, easier on the suspension, less likelihood of anythng breaking in a pot hole or over a speed hump.
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Yes I agree - its more to do with lower profile tyres than anything else - mine has 195/50s on it - what on earth you need tyres like that on a run-of-the-mill car for I don't know....
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Even with normal tyres on small wheels, the ride was firm on the last 7 or so cars I have driven, including the family Colt and my new Hyundai i30. The worst of these was the Seat Ibiza but my son's Evo is worse still. It is very much a modern tendency and seems to be based on the assumption that all roads are smooth. The best suspension I have encountered in a long time is the Peugeot 106 from about 1998, very supple and with good roadholding but too small for me, especially about the pedal box.
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I think also its part of the rather narrow view that both motoring journalists and marketiers think the average buyer is interested in "sporty" handling even on cars that frankly spend almost all their time on suburban speed limited roads and motorways. The adverts for cars seem to always show someone gunning it on a deserted road in the desert/on the beach or up to a ski resort as if that is at all normal.
I don't think any manufacturer is prepared to say that they are offering a different "relaxing" proposition especially in a mainstream car.
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My last car - a Saab 95 - I downgraded purely (a) not to get leather seats (I hate leather seats and they don't stand up to wayward dogs too well) and (b) to get higher profile tyres having had a more upmarket version with low profiles on test drive. I reckon the car actualy handled better with the higher profiles as well as being quieter!
Compared with son's Subaru - that could only be likened to sitting on a concrete slab. And on Edinburgh's badly maintained roads, you needed a weekly subscription to a chiropractor!
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I'd be interested in what other Backroomers think of the ride of the Mk I Focus Ghia. I think it's good, but opinions may depend on personal preferences.
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My pre buying qualification test consist of at least 2 speed humps and some bumpy potholed roads.
Low profile tyres are for theorists.
I live in the real world.
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Wow, I'm staggered. I've actually seen in 'print' what I've been saying for a few years now. The UK's misguided obsession with rock hard suspension.
I put it down to idiotic 'journalists' that think that unless a car can go around a corner flat out the suspension setup is wrong and/or the car is junk.
So I drive a XM and C5. My attitude is this, going fast enough around twisty roads to make use of such suspension will get you nicked and/or killed, however floating along in comfort is far more relaxing for me. In Sheffield the roads are so bad we shouldn't need speed bumps but we have them all the same.
Horses for course I suppose.
Steve.
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Couple of weeks ago I came across an ad for a 1995 Bentley Continental R with - wait for it - 22in chromed wheels, with what looked like thin strips of rubber glued round them. Presumably it was being sold to fund the private chiropractor's bill.
Not long ago the Alfa dealer near me lost the sale of a new 1.9 JTD Sportwagon because I wanted the standard wheels and 55 profile tyres, rather than the 40 profile tyres on the one he had in stock. He kept claiming no-one wanted the standard wheels and I'd have to wait for months if I insisted and take whatever colour happened to be available. It makes you despair sometimes. At least I can still stand up (more or less) straight.
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The Rover 400 from 95 was marketed as having a good ride as a selling point.
It did, I can vouch for that. Shame the steering was a bit low geared though!
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Part of me thinks this has as much to do with the deterioration of the roads as it does with the ride quality of our cars. The road infrastructure in this country is literally falling to pieces, and when they are resurfaced, they are done as cheaply as possible and last a matter of months.
If you want a decent riding mainstream car, the French are still streets ahead of anyone else in my opinion. Only they seem capable of offering taut handling and a decent ride. Interestingly, you rarely see an unmodified Peugeot, Renault or Citroen with 18" wheels and 40 profile tyres.
Cheers
DP
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Had a taxi ride in a Vauxhall Zafira recently. Ouch, what an uncomfortable ride, reminiscent of the few Far Eastern cars I've ridden in.
As for low-profile tyres, forget it.
Yes, DP, the French have always offered the least bumpy ride, even with the smaller cars. I recall riding in a Renault 12 in the 1970s and being impressed not only by its smooth ride but also its quietness. The longevity of French cars can be impressive too: a friend's Citroen ZX is still rolling along as it approaches 200k under neglectful ownership, albeit aided significantly by a life-long diet of motorway miles.
I wonder if extensive poor rural roads nurtured the French skills in ride-quality engineering. The other thing they've always got right is the train, of course.
Edited by Roger Jones on 22/04/2008 at 14:44
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My previous car was a Vectra with 19" alloys and I didn't have a problem.
Had a ride in a friends Mini Cooper convertible a few days ago. First car that's ever made me feel sick. I thought my spine was going to shatter (must be my advancing age!)
Edited by midlifecrisis on 22/04/2008 at 14:52
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I remember about 10 years ago, SWMBO's boss lent her his almost new 328i while he was on holiday.
I swear I could feel every white line we crossed in my backside as if I was being draged accross it.
It was wonderfull when we got back in the trusty 123 Series Merc - like a feather bed.
MVP
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I recently bought a Seat Leon with 17's, Sports Suspension and 45 profile tyres...i knew it was hard but after having a Kia Ceed yesterday as a courtesy car while it was being serviced I am now seriously looking for a fix or maybe a replacement. Anyone know if getting a larger profile tyre would make any difference? I feel most cars lately are more tuned for Autobahn cruising over the urban crawl...
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My Accord Type-S runs on 225/45 tyres (Pilot Sport PS2) and I don't think the ride is hard at all - even my mother consideres the ride to be very comfortable.
I guess at the end of the day that unless the suspension has been designed to work with the reduced sidewall of a low profile tyre, it'll never be able to cope properly. I seem to recall that BMW had to modify the suspension on the 3-series because the run-flat tyres were too stiff and the original set-up couldn't cope.
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I don't actually mind firm rides, but the mention above of the Leon rings a bell. A friend has the FR TDI version, and the ride is just unacceptable to me. The car will be rattling inside like an old truck by the time it's three years old. No finesse to it at all - just crashes and bangs everywhere, unless the roads are billiard table smooth, and frankly in this country they're not even that good when they're just resurfaced.
A shame, as it's otherwise a very nice car.
Chers
DP
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