I'm trying to get a sense of what firm, stiff and rough mean in several different cases....

Everything I've read on here says that getting 18s or 19s (probably 17s for that matter) will make your ride more stiff. I also know that getting springs and struts will make your ride more stiff.

My only real experience with this is that I installed Eibach springs and Tokicos on my 92 SE when I had it. With stock rims, the ride on that thing felt pretty stiff, in my opinion.

Can anyone compare or contrast how adding rims only, and eventually springs/struts as well, will compare to the Eibach/Tokico setup I used to have?

Thanks,

Jeff

 

Not neccesarily just rim size makes the difference. If you had 16s with super low pro tires, then your ride would be as stiff as 18s or 19s. The reason being, you're tires wont "give" as much since they have a much stiffer side wall, hence the "stiff" ride.

I dont know how they would compare to your other setup, but you can definately tell when you do either the springs, or the bigger rims, so Im assuming both combined would be a fairly stiff ride. Also, the type of spring you get will determine ride quality (ie, coilovers, progressive rate, etc).

 

When I installed my 17" wheels, I felt virtualy no difference. Then I got maxspeeds, with stock shocks. The car was a bit tighter not as boatty, otherwise it was almost like stock. Now I have Sprints/AGX, and that is a big difference. I think the struts make the biggest difference in the way a car feels and handles. before on speed bumps my car would bounce and float all over the place. With my new stup I assumed it would be worse because of the lower springs. Not the case. The car goes up, and down on speed bums as opposed to bouncing several times. Also when you are parked and you press down on a corner your car will bounce a couple of times. With sprint/agx I can't even push it down it's so stiff.

 

i had the original 15" sawblade rims with H-rated 60 series tires on, then when i changed to 16" Z-rated 50 series i noticed a pretty substantial diffence in stiffness. going down the road i would notice more bumps and what not. i wouldnt trade it back for anything though. just with 16" Z tires and a strut bar i can tell a huge difference for the better. it is not harsh or unbearable by any means. i will see how it rides with progress springs and AGX shocks here in a few weeks.

 

FIRM = the car follows the contours of the road more.

STIFF/ROUGH = High frequency motions (big bumps, etc.. ) are transmitted to the body and not absorbed well by the suspension.

Adding an RSB or FSB bushings is a big contributor to making the ride more towards the rough side because it prevents the left side and right side suspension from moving as independently as they normally would.

Not that an RSB is bad for handling; it actually makes a decent difference but it does make the ride rougher.

Its all relative. If you are starting with a mushy GLE suspension and you make it twice as stiff, its still bearable.

 

Actually I found that the mod that most affected my ride quality (i.e. made it worse) were my 17" rims. I used to have the steelie 15" GXE rims with tall stocker tires, so when I switched to 17" it was quite a difference.

Right now I love my H&R/AGX combo. Definitely the smoothest riding lowered combo, with handling good enough that you will never exceed the limits on the street.