I bought a Scion xB Monday, after test driving on a local road. Later after driving it on the highway, I find that the ride is not acceptable (my wife gets sick).

I'm looking for solutions to fix the ride. Alternative is to trade it in.

1. Larger tires? The stock 185/60/15's are very hard. Considering Michelin Harmony for the quality and soft ride.

What I need to know is what is the larget tire I can safely mount? The dealer won't even return my calls (over 10 calls since Tuesday)

2. Suspension problems? How is the ride on your xB? Could my suspension be bad?
My 2 year old thinks the ride is fun, but he will go crazy on the spring horse ride for hours. Is there some way to tune the suspension? or replace parts?

References to info sources would be great.

Thanks

 

Switch out the shocks, get matching springs, and put anti-sway bars. Tokico makes a 16-way adjustable shock set so you can set it from really soft to a really stiff ride. I recomend it along with the sways, that way your able to try different settings and make sure to find one your wife will like...or if you wanna have some extra fun when she's not there, set it to how you want em.

 

just get trd or some really cheap lowering springs with a small drop and it'll be so much softer. it'll be almost unbelieveable

 

since you just got it monday. wait about 2 weeks too...the springs will settle better and break in. it will still be a little stiff , but you'll notice your head wont wobble back and forth as much on the highways and all the cracks and so fourth on the regular streets that most will encounter hope this helps a little hehe...

 

The ride does smooth out bit after about a month, but if you're not feeling it after that you should invest in some Tien H-tech springs. Word on this board is that they're great for smooth ride and just a little bit of drop (enough to make your wheel gap equal all the way around).

Have you considered putting in 14" wheels with tires that have the same overall diameter?

 

You may want to check the air pressure in the tires. They tend to overinflate them when you get your car at the dealer. The proper pressure should be in the drivers manual. It helped when I reduced it, but it is still a stiff ride.

 

Check your tire pressure!- mine were blow up to 38 PSI when when I got it... I lowered the PSI down to 29 (which is reccomended by the label on the door)- that will REALLY smooth it out!

 

are you joking? I got the TRD springs and shocks, and my xB rides stiffer than any car I've owned... I get in my VW GTi, and I think I'm in a cadillac...

 

YEAH, thats what i thought...
isnt the TRD spings intended to STIFFEN the ride?

 

Larger tires will make ride stiffer. Stay w/stock tires. I would check air pressure, keep on the soft side. After I brought mine home for a week or two I was very dissappointed with the ride. The car will soften a bit, and now after a month I do not even pay any attention to the ride. What you will notice is the car handles like a go cart and is the most fun you can have on four wheels. . . . .

 

I had the same problems and when I switched to larger wheels and lower profile tires it made it worse, get some springs and your wife will thank you, and your two year old will be board. Bill

 

i mean tein h techs i only said trds cuz i just installed a pair. forget what i previously said

 

Hello?
NO aftermarket shocks or springs are going to SOFTEN the ride guys. Springs and shocks in the aftermarket are designed for performance. Less suspension travel = ROUGHER RIDE.

Honestly, the only thing you could do short of having custom springs (with a softer spring rate) cut, would be to get a tire with a slightly taller sidewall and even then the difference will be marginal. 14" wheels would give you a lot more sidewall and a "cushiony" ride, but at the cost of handling prowess and it would limit you to the low-end crap tires that come in 14" sizes.

One other possibility would be to put some of those rubber spring spacers in the coils. J.C. Whitney sells them for most cars, they are designed primarily to support springs in the rear for cars towing trailers so they don't sag, but they would also serve to reduce the suspension travel a bit without stiffening the ride.

Personally, I think you will just have to learn to live with it. This is why I typically insist on a 30+ min test drive before I buy anything.

Personally I find the ride a little busy, but it's an excellent compromise. I'd take this over a squishy, sloppy typical suspension you get on an economy car that would require aftermarket parts just to get acceptable handling.

You also might look into the springs they put on the Echo. The xB is essentially the same car, but I suspect the Echo springs are tuned more for a grandma-type ride than the xB. Echo springs should be a direct swap and they could be the solution you are looking for.

Good luck!

P.S. Try buying the wife some Dramamine, that's your cheapest option.

 

trust me it's softer and smoother with a slight drop

 

^^^ agreed. My H-Techs took the jarring out of the bumps.

 

The Tein H-tech have a repuation for a softer ride. These are the only lowering springs that seem to soften the ride. I've rejected this route as the xB is pretty low already.

You could make an Echo owner's day by swapping wheels with him and get a set of 195/70R14 tires. Almost the same diameter and a much taller sidewall. Most quality tires, with the exception of high-performance tires, come in 14 inch sizes.

Nope. rubber spacers will stiffen the ride. That is what they are designed to do!

I know that the Echo springs have a 25% lower spring rate and seem to be similar in design to the xB springs, but I havn't researched it beyond that. To work on the xB, the preload of the Echo springs would have to be greater to make up for the lesser spring rate. Not knowing the free length of the stock and Echo springs, I'm not sure that this would work out. You might end up with a really soft, but low car!

 

You know my butt and kidney tel me different, and george states a fact that with a lower spring rate it can soften the ride, do you suppose that engineers working for aftermarket company discovered this, no, they couldn't have, I been wrong before though. Bill

 

Thanks to all for the advice on the suspension. I think I'll go with a 2 week break -in period. That seems to be a common theme.

But.... nobody took a shot at the first question: What is the larget tire that will safley fit?

So far the only answer I have found other than stock tires is in the Scion Life FAQ: Wheel Fitment

Anybody care to comment? or post to the FAQ. It could use more data.

BTW, I do tech support and "George" aka Super Mod looks to be a tech support worker. Though shomewhat of a lurker by nature, I suspect, his comments are by far the most "act based". He gets four for four stars.....any other competition?

 

diameter or 225\xx\xx size?

 

Considering some of the large 19s I've seen, a 205/65R15 would probably fit, but the only way to know for sure is to get one mounted and try it on the car. You might play around with one of the tire size calculators out there like I have. I intend to try larger tires when the stock tires wear out, both for ride and to lower the effective final drive ratio a bit.

Thank you for the kind words. I do tech support in person to groups of 30+ people. Others call it "teaching".

As far as "act based", I have crawled under my xB and under an Echo to measure the spring wire diameter and then calculated the spring rate. I haven't measured free length, so I don't know if the echo spring swap is feasable. I tried to get some data from the Echofans group but the numbers they provided varied quite a bit, leading me to believe that not all Echo springs are the same. If I ever run across an Echo in the wrecking yard I'll measure for myself.

George