Hi i'm a new scion xb owner near the NYC area and I was wondering what i could do to make the ride a little more tolerable. I drive quite a bit on the FDR and BQE and the ride is violent. I know those expressways are the roughest beasts of road to drive smoothly over no matter what car i drive but even at low speeds it feels like my car is taking a hell of a beating.

I was wondering if a chassis brace and/or a sway bar would noticeably improve the ride quality. i'm looking for an inexpensive add on as i dont have much to spend. If anyone has any other suggestions that might help i would greatly appreciate the input. Thanks guys.

 

Try the struts/shocks.

Konis are popular, but expensive. Monroe Sensatracs for the Echo are also popular, and much less expensive.

 

spiderbox:

both the Progress Tech sway bar and then the GTSpec chassis front brace calmed down the 'roughness' of the ride (especially the front chassis brace).

see my reviews in the parts review of SL.

 

nice review thanks

 

Sway bars reduce the side-to-side independence. They will improve the handling by reducing roll, but will in most cases reduce ride quality. I am reminded of my stiff rear sway every time I drive home from work as a portion of the road has dips on one side but not the other. A real wobbly, E-ticket ride.

 

shocks! either sensatracks or koni's . there's kyb's too.

 

Proper shocks and a tire size/brand/type that works better on rough surfaces.

(Lets face it though, an improvement in ride often come with a matching reduction is handling qualities - a Porsche doesn't ride like a Lincoln (or a Lincoln handle like a Porsche) for precisely the the differences in them that make them good at what they do.)