oops, made my ride too firm. what should i do?

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Bonnewagon

Lost in the Labyrinth
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Sep 18, 2009
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What is the psi in the tires? Can you safely lower it a bit? A hard compound tire will ride stiffly too, you may need something softer.
 
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Longroof79

Rocket Powered Basset Hound
Oct 14, 2008
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He's running 60 series tires. If they had been large rims with super low profile tires...talk about harsh ride. At least the 60's have some give in the side walls.

I agree with Mark, try a lower air pressure in your tires.
 

pencero

Royal Smart Person
Feb 20, 2008
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Idk where you shop but the stock bushings are sold at napa around here anytime. Different tires with more meat might make a difference too. My tires are 275. You should certainly be able to get away w/ up to that size if your suspension is really tight. Moog springs add a little spring rate and put the car a fraction of an inch higher as well. Is it possible your steering shaft is reacting to the new tighter suspension? It might just be time to upgrade the steering shaft. If you still have the stock one it is probably struggling to keep up. On my 79mc the stock steering shaft and joint were the first thing to wear out after firming up my suspension.
 

Longroof79

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Did you notice that he doesn't live in our country? He's from the Netherlands...no NAPA stores there.
 

G_Body_Enthusiast

Royal Smart Person
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Feb 28, 2005
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Louisville, kentucky
That "cushy" ride some people like so much is just a worn out suspension. I haven't replaced the body bushings but I've added every piece of factory bracing I can find, better springs, Bilstein and KYB shocks, a rear sway bar, poly urethane bushings from PST and I like the stiffer ride. It's not harsh, it's just not mushy anymore.

I'd say grow to like it. Bilsteins are great shocks. It seems as though you fixed the problems the car had but you still want that worn out suspension feel. Stock springs, even for a V8 aren't very stiff compared to those for an S10. Even new rubber body bushings would give the car a whole new feel compared to the worn out ones. The car is probably behaving more like it did when it was new than you realize. It also takes time for new parts to settle in. When I had the front suspension rebuilt, my car felt stiff for a while.

I could change the engine in my car for a fresh rebuild and the car would probably feel very different to me. Just because that's how the car felt, doesn't mean that's how the car should feel. Cars feel differently after fixing them, you have to adjust for that. If you used solid metal body bushings and 800 lb rate springs, I could see the complaint about a harsh ride.
 
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Longroof79

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pfcvdv

Apprentice
Jun 7, 2010
81
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Noord holland, the netherlands
by your first post it sounds like everything was ok even with the shocks until you changed the body mounts.
yeah thats true, i replaced the body mounts because the metal plates/shims were all gone (rubbers were all good). after replacing the mounts the car car felt slightly better during cornering but i lost a lot of comfort. the difference in that is huge. now i can feel EVERYTHING. i can even feel a bump when im driving over something like road markings. and when feeling something like that i also notice a lot of vibrations in the interior lol. (gm built quality FTW)

from now on i can just say dont get the polyurethane mounts, the shocks are nice tough!
 

pfcvdv

Apprentice
Jun 7, 2010
81
0
6
Noord holland, the netherlands
Idk where you shop but the stock bushings are sold at napa around here anytime. Different tires with more meat might make a difference too. My tires are 275. You should certainly be able to get away w/ up to that size if your suspension is really tight. Moog springs add a little spring rate and put the car a fraction of an inch higher as well. Is it possible your steering shaft is reacting to the new tighter suspension? It might just be time to upgrade the steering shaft. If you still have the stock one it is probably struggling to keep up. On my 79mc the stock steering shaft and joint were the first thing to wear out after firming up my suspension.

Sorry I missed some of the posts. But yeah i have the steering shaft problem i gues. can you describe the symptoms? i do have a worn out cv joint.

When i drive thru a pothole or something nasty like it, it feels as if my front suspension is falling apart... is this a symptom of a bad steering shaft?
 
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