Need help smoothening my ride *updated with pics*
 

my ride right now is pretty rough, im rollin on 17 in katana vr-7 wrapped in 205/40/17 tires. my question is what will help smoothen my ride? ive been looking into the h techs because they have a decent drop and provide a smoother ride. is there any other brand that softens the ride? do i need anything else besides springs to soften it? also if i do stick with the h techs do you guys kno of a good place to buy them from?

I just put on my htechs, today actually. Love the initial drop, and it will drop more too.

Another way to smooth your ride is to change out your shocks & struts. People have changed out their stockers to Koni Yellow adjustable's (which ar expensive), or have gone cheaper ways to Monroe.

The 17"s that you have don't help any either....

I would look at two different things if you are just wanting to smooth out your ride. First is a new set of tires. What you have are a bit undersized, and could be bumped up to better match the stock tire diameter. I would look into a 215/40/17 if you want to go a little bit wider. Or look into a 205/45/17 if you like the width and just want something a bit taller.

After that I would look into the Monroe shocks and struts that were mentioned. They are much cheaper than the Koni option and provide a much smoother ride from what I have heard.

After that You can look into getting your new drop springs. And though you may think that 1" will be enough, I would look at the S Tech over the H Tech for the xA. Even with the larger S Tech drop, it is hardly noticeable on the xA.

Good Luck.

thanks rton20s, one question tho do u kno where i can buy monroe shocks and struts?, and do you also know where i can get the h or s techs for a good price? thanks

Wouldn't S-Techs not be as soft as H-Techs though?

go for monroe shocks and struts. i got all 4 for $163.xx + shipping.

IMHO i thought that Goldline's had the smoothest ride i felt. i had goldlines up front and air bags in back (probably not the option you want) but they were ridiculously smooth

as for shocks, ive heard the best about konis

S Techs are a bit stiffer than the H Techs. You can get an idea of how stiff a spring is by it's spring rate. Typically, the higher the spring rate the stiffer the spring. For example...

Spring Front/Rear Spring Rate
Stock xB 148/160
Stock xA 134/134
Tein H-Tech 129/179
Tein S-Tech 145/179
Tanabe NF210 118/140
Tanabe DF210 157/168
Goldline 170/185

All of this information is straight from the "xB Spring Data" sticky at the top of this forum. You can compare those numbers to get a general idea of how stiff one brand is compared to another.[/table]

look under my posts for a good write up of what I did for a super smooth ride!!

The Progress springs for the box are by far the smoothest ride out there. I had the H-Techs over stock and was impressed. My GF and her bro both have the Goldlines and i liked the lowering, but hated the ride quality. Someone turned me on to the Progress springs and i have never been more happy with the ride. I bought the package with the rear sway bar and my box handles like its on rails. But when it comes to bumps and humps, it rides like a caddy.

So what combo of brandsfor the shocks, struts, and springs do you guys think will get the smoothest ride?

monroe sensa tracs are going to be your best bet (unless you have a lot of $$ to spend). The monroes will cost about $170 for all four, I dont know what the Koni yellows would cost you but I think its about 4X that amount... :yawn:

Do the struts make the ride smoother or the handling better??

smoother ride... handeling better would be for the springs

I have been trying to determine which Monroe shock fit the xA. Finally put enough posts together to figure that the rear shock for the Echo is the same one as the xA. So I order a pair of rears and put them on tonight. I can definately feel the difference in the ride. The part number for the Monroe's is 5987. You take the dust cover off of the stock shocks, stick them on the new ones, and they bolt right in place. Be sure the bottom attachmet point is aligned properly. The shock doesn't fit up on the stud if it is oriented wrong but slides on easily with it turned the right way. Took about 20 min to change them both.

If anyone can shed some light on which Sensa Trac fits the front of the xA and notes on installing please share.

any idea if Monroe has a part number for the xB yet? or do you know if the echo shock will work with the xB?

yeah do a search under monroe you will find part numbers listed (you might even try under my name I think I even listed the part numbers in one of my posts)...

Monroe does not list a part number for the xA or xB. At least the Monroe dealers I have asked cannot find one. One dealer called Monroe and told me they did not list it. What I did was look at the part number for the Koni sport shock (yellow) for the Echo, xA, and xB. They are the same part number both front and rear. So I got Advance Auto to get the rears for me so I could actually compare them before I put them on. I paid a couple $'s more than internet prices but with Advance I could have returned if they did not look the same. It appears to me the Monroe 5987 will fit xB as well as xA. I may have Advance order the front struts later and see if they match up. I am sure someone here has done this already but I have not seen anybody say they have and what the part number was, or give any details about installation.

Edit: Just looked up Deadringer's previous post and he used the 5987 rear and the 71575 fronts. That seems to be the NAPA and the MONROE part numbers. That looks like it will work on the xA also based on what I have learned so far.

yeah I think the suspension in the xa/xb are the same so the shocks/struts would be the same for both...

thanks for all the help guys i ordered monroe sensatracs, and h techs all for about 325 including shipping. I'll post back once i get it all installed and see how much smoother my ride is