Hello, I just upgraded my shock on my 1995 civic. I put some bilstein shocks in. But i thought it would give me a smoother ride than my stock shock , but its more like the some, But with far supirior handeling cornering Etc.. , i used the stock springs. What can i do to make the ride smoother ? i was thinking o losening a bit the nut that on th actual sturt , I think maybe that will decompress the spring slightly ?

Any Opinions ?

Thanks for any help !

 

Your comment is pretty common about the Bilstein and is a risk with mono-tubes in general. Ride complaints are not uncommon when going from a twin tube to a mono-tube damper. Bistein makes a good dampers with good quality and engineering but their mono-tube sare often known to ride rough especially on lighter weight cars or if the car or driver are particular about ride quality.

Do not loosen your nuts, that will do nothing whatsoever other than potentially cause trouble because your upper bushing will be loose. Since the Bilstein is not adjustable, you have what you have until you change dampers. Maybe they might wear in a bit but Bilsteins are good enough that they will probably wear very slowly.

 

you think stock springs ride to rough, man

 

I should of asked before getting the shocks. But these shocks make the car handle very very well. They have great handeling, What about if i put in some softer springs ? You think it would make a diffrence ? I hope .

 

Good handling comes at the price of comfort if you are riding on the street.

 

do NOT put in softer springs! deal w/ it or go back to OEM shocks

 

Why not, how would the car handle ? Have any Idea ?

 

like ****, seriously dont soften them up. Ive jus never heard someone say a "basically" stock set up is to stiff. Shocks are valve to be matched w/ certain spring rates you could damage the shocks and i dont know where you would get softer springs


Modified by SleepnCiViC at 8:00 PM 6/28/2005

 

I agree, don't go to softer than stock springs to try to salvage some of the ride quality deterioration caused by the shock. The car is already rather soft by most standards already and you will effect more than ride quality (like roll, general handling, etc.) plus you might pay as much or more for the parts to bodge it together than better riding dampers costs.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by chowmien &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Good handling comes at the price of comfort if you are riding on the street. </TD></TR></TABLE>
You haven't sampled the new Koni FSD (Frequency Selective Damping) yet, it was just released to the press last week. It is a new technology of valving that greatly improves ride quality and improves handling without the tradeoff of the otehr. Lamborghini has been using it for several years , and another Euro supercar has just deceded on it but it hasn't been announced yet and other European manufacturers are studying it. Unfortunately it is mostly on aftermarket European applications for now and I don't think Hondas are on the sort list.

 

Actualy now that i think of it better, I like the shocks i got, And i dont mind the hardness. What i dont like is the Road noise that i hear in the cars cabin. And i also can feel the vibration, slightly, of the tread rolling on the pavement. It felt the same with the stock shocks too. So i think its not the shock that transalate all the treade vibration on to the cabin ?

Could it be the tires ? I have cheap Quadra tires, but i think a friends corrolla has the same and there is no noise or vibration.

What could it be ?

I apriciate you guys Help !

Thanks

 

Check the tires for any wear pattern, often known as cupping or feathering, where some parts of the tread are raised more than others. If your rear toe settings get off and you let it go, it can wear what essentially become small flat spots at 45 degree angles across the tread face. This will definately increase tire noise even with the slightest patterning and make it sound like a log truck if it gets bad enough. Often this occurs on the rear while you don't notice it but if you then rotate your ties as you should, moving them to the front quickly identifies the trouble with noise and steering wheel vibrations. Once a pattern wears into a tire, you will never get rid of it until you discard it.

I worked at a tire store for several years after college and one of the most valuable things was to take the open palm of your hand and run it smoothly around the circumference on the tread and you can usually pick up if there is patterning. You can learn a lot about the alignment and general condition in this quick step. I don't know anything about the Quadra.

 

CRX Lee, Thenks for the help, but i checked my tires but seems to be fine.

 

Maybe you should've got the Bilstein TC shocks. They have more of an emphasis on ride quality and are twin tube. They should handle a bit better than stock and ride a bit better as well. Never experienced the TCs though.

I'm loving my Bilstein HD's (integra models) on a '98 coupe. It feels very connected to the road and controlled without being too harsh on the chopped up pavement.

What kind of condition are your suspension bushings in?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRX Lee &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You haven't sampled the new Koni FSD (Frequency Selective Damping) yet, it was just released to the press last week. It is a new technology of valving that greatly improves ride quality and improves handling without the tradeoff of the otehr. Lamborghini has been using it for several years , and another Euro supercar has just deceded on it but it hasn't been announced yet and other European manufacturers are studying it. Unfortunately it is mostly on aftermarket European applications for now and I don't think Hondas are on the sort list.</TD></TR></TABLE>

So throw my comment down because I haven't sampled out a new shock that was only released to the press last week, only available on Lambo's, and is unfortunately not going to make it to the Honda market.

 

I have Bilsteins on my CRX w/ Eibach ProKit springs.

Ride a little rough, yes.....but handling is great.
Kind of reminds me of the handling of my old 944
Damn that thing rode on rails.