azi90

I just bought a car 04 civic si .. the car runs well its just it is very rough on broken roads and unusually bumpy ... i dont think so i need to replace shocks or w.e considering car is fairly new .. like its just 9 years old ? and yeah i do noticed that alignment of my car is out .. would that be the reason ? if not how can i make it less bumpy as it is kind of embarrasing

lazlong

In my experience the Civics are bumpy when brand new. I don't know weather it's because it's a small vehicle or the McPherson struts. Either way, the OEM struts and springs are pretty weak. I've had to replace mine (struts and springs) every 50-60K miles. You may just have worn out suspension.

Things that will make the ride more bumpy:
- different size wheels
- low profile tires
- lower vehicle

azi90

Its not brand new its second hand car .. 9 year old model.. so hold on do i have problem in suspension or struts ? or is it both ?

lazlong

By suspension I mean struts but, there are 2 parts to the strut assemblies- the strut itself and the spring. Think of the strut as being a shock absorber but, instead of it cushioning the ride only it's actually an integral part of the structure.

I've just changed the struts and not the springs before but, ended up putting new springs on too. The OEM springs are pretty weak and experience spring sag fairly quickly.

azi90

So its not the alignment thats causing the problem ?

lazlong

Alignment wouldn't make it bumpy.

To test the suspension push down on a corner with your hand. It should go down, come up, then settle- that's it. Any more than that and you need new struts... and maybe springs.

azi90

Ok so ya i tried doing that ... but damnn my car is too hard to make it bounce .. i mean like i was able to bounce my front bumper and the bounce was okay it was just once up and down but the back part i couldnt even push it down it was so hard .. could that mean there is some problem ? i tried doing it on my dads car just to make sure if im pushing hard and i was able to bounce that properly..

lazlong

Yeah, the struts are either blown or seized.

azi90

what the hell does that mean ? i need new one ? do i have replace the front ones tooo coz they seem pretty fine

if struts are blown i should be able to push the car down still .. it wont come back up tho ..

lazlong

blown= they blew out and all the fluid leaked out

seized= rusted or seized due to grit and debris

Symptoms for both are as you described earlier- no bounce at all. Replace any strut that doesn't pass the bounce test.

Zedt3

Does this guy even know if he has stock suspension or not? For all we know he could have inherited coilovers on that car or cut springs or some other horrid combo. He needs to post some pics of the suspension, if he doesn't know what he has.

azi90

ill doo that .. but im pretti sure they are stock .. coz my car is not like lowered or anything

azi90

here is the picture of suspensions ... seems stock to me

Belmont

Is this your first car?

azi90

yeah .. why? i used to drive my dads corolla 02 so its not like i dont have anything to compare my car with

lazlong

"Replace any strut that doesn't pass the bounce test."