i wanted to lower my car a few months ago and i saw that tanabe springs looked pretty good so i put tanabe springs on my tc so that i could get rid of the ridiculous wheel gap...and now my car ride is pretty bumpy even when i drive over a few rocks..whats the best way to get rid of the bumpyness(sp) ?

thanks.

 

i was wondering that too, since my car is all stock, and is reallly bump, even on a new paved road, it still feels bumpy... suggestions?

 

new shocks. shocks are what absorbs all the bumps in the road. i have the tein s-techs with stock shocks and surprisingly it isn't that bumpy. i have over 16k miles btw.

 

yeah.. what ^ he said.. Although, it's good that you have a bumpy ride, which means your springs' spring rate is higher, wich would mean that your shocks won't go out as fast.

 

^^ so new shocks will eliminate most of the bumpyness? (sp)

 

new shocks or better springs. I have the H-Techs and even on a bumpy road, it's a smooth ride

 

new shocks should help out alot. maybe ur spring rate is too stiff. if that is the case new shocks should still help alot but i don't know by how much.

 

new shocks do help... but if u get shocks that have to stiff of a dampening then it'll be still bumpy!!! lol!!! ur best bet is getting smaller rims and thicker sidewall!!

 

You are probably complaining about our low profile tires. The tC is kinda rough even fully stock. You will end up spending alot on an adjustable setup to make you happy if this is the case.

 

So better springs gives you a smoother ride...not just better shocks? $220 is pretty affordable for some HTechs

 

bumpyness is perspective. the people on here that tell you to get h techs or s techs or trd or anything cause " thats gonna FIX the bumpy ride".are wrong and the fact is if you increase spring rate you are gonna feel more road imperfections. bumpy is not bouncy and new chocks will do NOTHING for your bumpyness. live with it or switch back to stock springs. about the only thing thats gonna help would be let out a little air(36-38psi) could help a little.

 

new adjustable shocks........

 

The tC is rough stock? You haven't been in a cavalier before have you? The tC is fairly smooth actually. But like others have said, it is all perception of the driver on how bumpy the ride really is.

Is it rough as in the impacts are rough or as in it is bouncy? If it is impact related, then let some air out of your tires. If it is bouncy that is going to be more related to your shock/spring combo.

 

Um you pick a cavalier and say the tC is smooth? I'm sorry but the tC is kinda rough. I spent 2 years picking up cars from a dealership and the tC is definately on the rougher side of all the cars I have driven. But lemme tell you, nothing is really rough compared to the older european cars. But for a modern car the tC has a pretty bad suspension setup. Its mushy but yet it still will rattle the ____ out of you on an old paved road. Its not luxury and its not sporty. Its just blah.

 

For what the tC is, a compact economy car, it has a fairly nice ride. It is not bouncy and handles most road imperfections very well. It is a tad rough on the impact side due to the low profile tires, but still absorbs them for the most part. I do agree that the tC is a tad "squishy/spongy" than it needs to be.
Now if you try to compare the tC to cars outside of it's class, then yes it will ride like crap. It is not a BMW or an Acura. Most of those cars are outside of the class and price-range. I was comparing my tC to a cavalier, grand am, probe gt, ion, etc. All cars I have owned and/or driven over the same roads. I will even compare it to a 325i and will say that other than high speed stability, the ride of the tC is comparable.
But more than anything, it goes back to what each of us considers rough. We all have different expectations, different driving styles, different road conditions, and different levels of tolerance.

So for the original poster's questions, describe what is wrong in more detail.

Is it too harsh when going over expansion joints?
Is it the actual impact of bumps (the thump thump inside the car)?
Is it the up and down motion of the car when hitting bumps?
Does the car get into a rocking motion over small ups and downs in the road?

What do you mean by a "bumpy" ride?

 

its the shocks... you put a shorter spring on the shock that wasn't designed for it... get something like the TRD struts and u'll be fine.

As for the tc's stock suspension... it isn't bad... i think the handling is quite good. Lets remember, we don't drive cadillacs

 

I went from a '92 Accord to my '06 tC. The tC handles immensely better but is a bit rougher. However, it's not as rough as my gf's '06 Corolla. But considering how much less tire the tC has vs an old school Accord, the added roughness isn't bad at all. By roughness, I mean bouncing more because of small rocks, bumps, and/or potholes

My parents have an ES330 and the difference is insane. In comparison, the ES330 doesn't drive on the road...it glides over it. But then it cost more than double...you get what you pay for.