I have 2nd gen xB and I liked very much except a fact that ride is too much bumpy especially on rough roads. I have 10 year old camry car and I can feel the difference in ride quality. I also have changed OEM bridgestone tires to Michelin Primacy..little bit improvement.
i would like to make xB as comfortable in ride quality as Camry, where should I start...soft coils, suspension,...tires...I dont mind spending $1000..Thanks

 

theres no way ur car is gonna drive exactly liek a camry. the xb2 and tc jus has is the engine everything else is different. if u wanetd a camry u shoulda jus got one in the first place

 

You may want to upgrade to grand touring all season tires for a better ride, but you will never get it to ride like a camry regardless (I think because of the torsion beam rear suspension).

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/types/grandtour_as.jsp

 

You might also step up to slightly taller tires, to get a little more sidewall height. 205/60-16 will add almost 1/2" of sidewall height. It won't handle in curves quite as well, but this will help normal driving comfort.

 

the ride will not be "Exactly" like a camary, but you can get yourself some adjustable coilover struts / shocks and change them out or have them changed out with the stock ones you have now..
you can set them to be very soft all the way to very hard (adjustable dampening) w/o affecting the ride height too much. Some of the better brands offer adjustable dampening, and adjustable ride height options. You would want to look for brands that offer the most adjustment in these 2 areas, brands such as k-sport, progress tech, tien, etc...
That would be a start if you dont want to get rid of the xb...
At least with adjustable coilovers you can make adjustments to the dampening (shock cushioning) and ride height untill you get it set where you think it is most comfortable.
I would recomend haveing them professionally installed if you are not mechanically inclined (install can be done in 1-2 hours at home if you are decent with tools) and have the installer show you how to make the adjustments yourself so you can ride on various road surfaces and road conditions and get the "feel" dialed in the way you like, or as close to what you want anyway...

 

bag it!

 

ride like a 10 yr old Camry? easy. take it down some dirt roads at 50MPH until the shocks are blown. tada!

rants on soft suspension aside, the advice to change to a softer tire and/or taller tire would be your best and cheapest bet. softwer shocks and springs would help, but you don't have a lot of options considering the xB is a youth-oriented mildly sporty car whose aftermarket is really only geared toward carrying that theme farther.

Mike

 

i was reading another long thread about tanabe NF210 springs. Will it make my xB ride close to Camry like?....

 

No it won't. As much as everybody claims for the NF's to be smoother than stock, it (IMO) is not. It just feels very similar to stock ride although being dropped. I really payed attention HARD before/after my install and my opinions:

The car does feel better in terms of stability. It does not sway as badly into turns and is more controlled. The rear does seem to absorb bumps in the road better than stock springs (due to progressive coil), but the front is a bit more harsh (which is standard coil spring).

Overall, the upgrade is worth it if you want to get a more better response and control, as well as looks, but it will not soften your ride.

I am glad I got my NF210's, but I was not looking to get a soft ride out of them. I wanted a nice drop with similar to stock ride characteristics. They do just that. I would not say the ride is smoother than stock though, but almost equal with some improved handling characteristics.

 

fyi, bags are stiff.

 

iirc, coilovers are used for spirited driving, definitely not for comfort. Even luxury JIC FLT-A2 are not comfortable.

I know this because I've been through 2 sets of coilovers before. Each one with a different tuning setup. One for mountain carving, the other for daily. They're both stiff.

 

I have to agree here.

There's no way lowering the car will soften the ride. I remember when my xB was stock, it rode pretty well, it was considerably stiffer than our Camry though.

I suggest just getting bigger tires and smaller wheels.

Try 15" wheels with some much bigger profile tires. That's your answer.

 

softer shocks and struts

 

Throw a few sandbags in the trunk, add a lot of sound deadening to the car. It'll be more quiet and ride a bit smoother.

 

the stiffer ride will keep you awake behind the wheels

 

In all seriousness Mike has the answer. I wanted my xa to be softer, went with ebiach prosport springs, it was for little bumps, but harsher for bigger ones, but it handled over all way better.

 

lower speed rated tires

 

You know, about 10-15psi in each tire would give it a much softer ride, however that can cause the tire to over hea and fail. Best to use the door sil recommended psi, but this quest is hard to do.