FrankieD

Greetings all! We purchased a 2007 Accord EX coupe (V-6) this year as a used car with less than 2k miles on it back in February. The one feature that is just driving me nuts is the ride quality and had I driven it on a long trip before buying it I'm sure I would not have. The ride is just so jarring at times! At highway speeds, my teeth practically chatter on uneven surfaces. I also have a '97 BMW 328is with a sport suspension and a Toyota Sequoia, and the ride in both of these is far more comfortable.

I guess my question is whether this is normal function for the coupe? Do they all suffer from highway chop like mine?? Or, do I have a possible problem? I keep the air pressure in the tires at the recommended pressure and don't know what to think of this problem. If not for this, I would love to keep this as a car for longer trips but right now it just ain't cutting it.

Any suggestions??

Thanks,

FrankieD


Modified by FrankieD at 4:14 PM 11/25/2007

YeuEmMaiMai

what size tires are on the car? low profile tires are a lot more choppy than regular profile ones since there is less sidewall to "absorb" the small road irregularities.

My CL type S has 235 45R17's and the ride can be choppy at times especially on pavement that is all busted up.

FrankieD

Tires are Michelin MXM4's, size 215-50-17. No too much difference from the 225-50-16's that I run on the BMW..

BLKFLSH

If it's a 4cylinder, and the fact that it's a coupe (lighter), and one inch less tire flex, combine to make it pretty harsh. Some people swear by the Goodyear Comfort tread tires, but a tire can only do so much. Maybe the combination of smaller wheels (Sedan wheels maybe), and a softer tire would be enough to satisfy your needs.

YeuEmMaiMai

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BLKFLSH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If it's a 4cylinder, and the fact that it's a coupe (lighter), and one inch less tire flex, combine to make it pretty harsh. Some people swear by the Goodyear Comfort tread tires, but a tire can only do so much. Maybe the combination of smaller wheels (Sedan wheels maybe), and a softer tire would be enough to satisfy your needs. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I had those on my '98 accord LX V6 very good grip and ride quality

BLKFLSH

I have not tried them, but some people repeatedly recommend them (almost to the point of being irritating ) whenever someone complains about their Accord's harsh ride.

FrankieD

Thanks for the replies so far! I edited my first message to indicate that the EX is the 6 cylinder model. I'd rather not have to go to the expense of changing out the rims and tires at this time, but this may be an option in the future I guess. From BLKFLSH's last response, I'm wondering if this is a common issue ("whenever someone complains about their Accord's harsh ride"). Is this ride quality something that I have to just accept on this car as it stands?? Or is this something that I should be discussing with the dealer when it is serviced this week? Any other suggestions and it there really that much of a difference between the sedan and coupe??

BLKFLSH

Accords will typically transmit road coarseness to the driver. Some owners are ok with this, and some are not. I don't personally have experience with the Goodyear tires, but I have found that Bridgestone tires are somewhat better than the Michelins as far as ride and sound. Since I don't spend much time riding on very rough surface roads, I don't find it a problem in my 03 V6 Sedan. I don't know how much harsher the coupe is than the sedan or if my 16 inch wheels help. Those two things probably help, at least a little. Hope you find a solution to the problem.

hurleyint

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FrankieD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it there really that much of a difference between the sedan and coupe??</TD></TR></TABLE>

Take a sedan for a test drive and see for yourself.


I'm not sure how a car with stock suspension can be "jarring", perhaps you need a ride in a car with good stiff suspension, to see how comfortable your's really is.

If you want a more comfortable ride, switch to 16" wheels with a higher profile tire.

FrankieD

I'm supposed to take the car in tomorrow so will try to test a sedan for comparison sake. But, for the record, I have driven in cars with a stiff suspension and thought that my BMW, with the sport suspension, would have been far stiffer than this coupe, with a much less comfortable ride. But that isn't the case! That's one of the reasons that this ride quality issue is so questionable for me.

Any other coupe owners out there questioning this issue? If not, maybe there is just something unusual going on with my car..

Thanks for the input, and I would certainly welcome more...

FD

YeuEmMaiMai

wow I loved my 98 coupe and I love my CL type S that thing haus butt and rides very smooth as well. TIRES MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE in how a car rides

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

Tires and Air Pressure can be a huge part of ride quality.

George Knighton

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FrankieD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm supposed to take the car in tomorrow so will try to test a sedan for comparison sake. </TD></TR></TABLE>

We have a 2006 Accord 6-6 HFP Coupe and a 2006 Accord 6-6 Sedan in the same family.

The Sedan does ride a little smoother, more nicely, and a little more solidly predictable.

However, I have a feeling that what you are complaining about is actually something that the typical Honda driver likes, even treasures, and that you'd have an issue even with the Sedan.

The G7 cars are sensitive to alignment issues, and if you have the feeling at very high speeds that the car is darty or that the front and rear are fighting each other, then you should really get a good, laser four wheel alignment. The alignment can affect the car in ways that a FR driver might not consider, and the effects can extend to a perception of increased road noise or steering feedback as you and the car struggle to keep the car doing what it should be doing despite a bad alignment.

Unless the car's rather high mileage for the year (say, 80K plus) then that's really the only suggestion I have.

I'm afraid you really might be complaining about something that the Honda drivers <u>like</u>!

bbandco_keevee

I have Falken ZE-512's on 17" Alloys on my 2003 Accord Coupe, and the ride quality is amazing. Handles like charm in the rain, snow and on regular dry roads! :D Too bad it was almost 500 bucks for the set. lol.

MuddinPede

Get your tires rotated and balanced and get the car aligned. It just might be the problem. If it doesn't fix your problem, it's good to do anyway and you'll know the car's straight when you try to fix the problem.

Bravenrace

I just recently bought an 07 EX-L V-6 coupe, and have to agree that the suspension is VERY stiff.

I think with the manual trans this might create a car that's a lot of fun to drive, but by necessity (not choice) mine is an automatic, which for me takes a lot of the fun out of the driving experience. Because of that, I find myself wishing my car had a smoother ride.

I checked with a Honda Parts Manager friend of mine and the V-6 coupe and the sedan do use different shocks and springs, as well as the 4 cylinder coupe and the V-6 coupe (this is more than just compensating for the weight differences - I test drove a 4 cyl coupe and it had a smoother ride). I'm considering changing mine out for a sedan suspension.

However, I happen to have quite a bit of experience with different tires, and have always found Michelin's to be over rated for anything except wear. One of the problems is that to acheive more life the tire needs to be made of a harder durometer rubber, and this very attribute has a detrimental effect on noise, grip and ride quality. I've also found Michelin's that I've had to be overly prone to squeeling.

On my wife's TL-S I changed the tires when new to Bridgestone Potenza's, and there was a dramatic improvement in noise, grip and ride. In fact, I tried to talk the Honda dealer into swapping out the Michelin's on my Accord for Potenza's, but they wouldn't do it. I'll likely do it myself while the miles are low on the Michelins and sell them on Ebay like I did my wifes tires.

I don't have any experience with the Goodyears that others mentioned, but my buddy has some model of Goodyears on his new Civic and they do seem much better than the Michelins on my Accord.

I hope this helps. I don't think there's anything wrong with your car unfortunately, they just ride very stiff. I do think a change to a different tire will help, but it has to be the right tire. Beyond that, you may have to consider using different springs and/or shocks.

I hope that anyone that has done this and seen an improvement will post it so others will have a better chance of making the right changes on their car.


Modified by George Knighton at 11:54 AM 12/1/2007

tjs723

I found the same thing when I test drove one. It's in all the Gen 7 coupes when it hits broken pavement. That's why I didnt buy it!

c6cpa

My EXL (V-6) came with new Coopers, and they seems pretty good. Still not great on pavement cracks, but tolerable.
As far as price - $500 for a set of good, low profile 17" tires is not such a difficult pillto swallow. My Corvette tires run nearly that much, each.

fomoco69

I had the same issue with my 2007 EXL V-6..sedan ...came with 17 inch rims & 215x50x17......changed to OEM Honda 16 inch alloy with 205x60x16......much better...different car now....love it, .this was the original set-up on 2005 models. & then stupid Engineers could not leave a good thing alone

205x60x16. General RT43 Altimax