Help- rough ride, Car rides really rough Options

[Teblhasa]

I am having a strange problem with my car. Whenever I hit a bump/pothole/crack in the road, depending how fast I hit it (usually over 20mph), the car skips to the side instead of bouncing over it. It also have a very rough ride and I swear I can feel even the pebbles on the road. I got new BF Goodrich tires last year to factory spec and my mechanic couldn't find any problems with the car. He suggested the ride was rough because its a small car, which is a bunch of bull. The ride is slowly getting worse and I don't know what to do, and I might end up having to sell the car because I cannot bear to ride in it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I am guessing its the struts, even though my mechanic swears they are fine and so is the alignment. If its the struts, are there any good but cheap brands of struts out there?

[CelicaQT]

I'm guessing it's your shock. Word of advice, don't put cheap replacements in there. If you're going to go for something close to stock, go with KYB's. They're pretty much similar to OEM ones. Rears are direct shock/strut replacements and the fronts are drop in replacements.

Other than that, I can't seem to figure out what else could be the problem.

Anyone else??

[CelicaQT]

Also, how long have you had your celi and what's the mileage on it?

[Digndoug]

ok, having worn shocks or struts wont give you a rough ride, just to let you guys know... They will give a very soft bouncey ride.... do you by chance have cheap springs on there? or are you just a pu.ssy and cant deal with the nice sporty feel of the road.

[Teblhasa]

I have a '95 GT with 78,800 miles on it, original factory shocks as far as I know... I've had the car since 2001.

I enjoyed the stiff, sporty ride until I hurt my back a few weeks ago in an accident; and ever since, I really dislike all the bumps and jarring! Not to mention my heart racing when I take a bump too fast and my car skips over a few feet (a bit dangerous at times!).

When I got my new tires a year ago, the skipping problem went away for a few months, but has slowly returned. I wonder if the tires are bad, even though they are nice performance tires and have good, sticky tread.

I appreciate your suggestions!

[95STHATCH]

Get yourself some kyb struts. Since your tires are kind of new you should change your struts as soon as you can. The struts on my car went bad in stages. At first I know the ride was getting harsh but a little bouncy at the same time. Then it would jump all over the place when going over bumps. Finally I couldn't even drive the car because once I would hit a bump in the road the tires would start boucing like a basketball. Look at your tires and feel them with your hands to see if they are starting to have very uneven tread wear. It is a sign that your struts are too far gone. KYB struts don't even cost a alot either, if you put them on yourself that is.

[Digndoug]

I replaced my whole suspension at 125k just because .. iw anted a better ride, well handle better, but my car at that many miles never had a problem with the suspesion, i guess it is how the car has been treated the whole life, but also, you shouldnt be going over speed bumps 20 mph... you shouldnt even go over speed humps that fast ... that could be one reason ..

[97GTinKC]

What air pressure are you running? could be just too much air press. As the weather warms up, you may need to re-adjust, and depending on wear factors, may want to go around 32-34 lbs press. too much air and you ride hard and wear the center of the tread out, too low and you wear the edges and get soft/mushy handling ,,,

[Teblhasa]

I want to correct my second statement- I never take speed bumps over 5mph! The other bumps are usually bigger cracks in the road (I live in MN and the wintertime murders roads!).

I had my tire pressure at 32, as the manual suggested, and then my friend was telling me that was why it was riding so rough, so I lowered them to I think 28. I think I will put them back to 32 today; I know underinflation is a bad thing. Especially since its nicer out now, and it will help the gas mileage greatly!

The census says its the struts so I will have them replaced with KYBs. I don't know how to replace them (I am an auto body person, not very mechanically inclined) but I think I will buy them and have a mechanic put them in for me. What's the best, cheapest and quickest place to buy them, online or in a store?

Thanks!

[CelicaQT]

tirerack.com Mostly run you about almost $250 for all for.

The rears are direct replacements. You could probably do that yourself, if you want to save $$$. Only thing that'll probably give you a hard time is the swaybar link that's attached to it. That's really a pain.

The front's you have to take the existing shock out, drain the oil, screw the new cartridge back in, etc. So if you don't want to do that, then yeah take it to a shop.

Hope everything works out for you. And I really hope that it's really your shocks!

[LatinKraze]

www.tirerack.com has good reviews from 6gc.net members.

[Teblhasa]

I checked my tires tonight and they were at 35 psi after the car had been running for 20 minutes. I was shocked!!! I remember having the tires at about 28 psi for the winter, after having them about 32-33 psi in the summer. So I let out a couple of pounds and the car seems a little smoother already!

I dunno what to do about the struts yet; Tires Plus is asking over $800 to put the KYB struts in and I cannot afford anything more than $300. My other option is to put them in myself (oh dear lord... hehehe). Thanks for the advice and help!

[97GTinKC]

,,,and use an accurate tire gauge, the digital ones seem to be pretty accurate and are now around $10. I have 2 of those and a $39 Milton dial gauge, all read the same. (and NEVER drop the Milton-its history if you do)
The struts aren't all that hard, but you will need to buy or rent a strut spring compressor. and the sway bar link is usually no problem if you soak it with penetrating oil the day b4. and get a GOOD metric hex key to fit in the end of the stud to hold it from turning.
As far as which ones, I have used Monroe replacements with good luck many times on various cars. KYB or Koni are both good brands, both are more performance oriented, If its softer ride you're after, I'd stick with stock replacements. And costwise, the house brands most of these regular parts stores carry are the exact same strut as their name brand, with less warranty. should find the same part no inside both boxes, only difference is the house brand warranty is from the parts store, while the name brand is good nationwide at any dealer. Worth the difference if you move a lot.