Ok hears the deal,i have a 96 max auto.I recently changed the shocks and struts because it was riding kinda hard.I put in stock parts.My car still rides like a skateboard and i told my friend that i wanted that smooth ride and not too feel every bump in the road.I said maybe i had to change my springs and he said that i springs are not the problem and rarely need to be changed and that my car is old and i can never get that smooth ride again.please someone tell me he is wrong.There must be some way.

 

Tom might be able to answer your Q better than a lot of people on the .org.. but if you asked me.. you might want to make sure you changed your strut bearings and/or make sure they used the GXE or GLE struts and shocks instead of the SE struts and shocks.

 

uh oh,whats wrong with the SE struts and shocks?Those are the ones i put on

 

I always thought that the SE shocks were the same as the GXE ones

 

The SE shocks are stiffer because I have a 95 SE and a 97 GXE and the SE handles better but didn't run as smooth as the GXE. I just changed the suspension to AGX+ Progress Springs on the GXE, and well now the ride is slightly more rough than the SE but the handling is amazing.

 

Ok ay cool,i feel better now.I thought that maybe something was broken.I hear that the Tockico or whatever shocks are the best for a smooth ride.Anyone know where to get em cheap.?

 

you need an alignment.

 

alignment wont do jack for a smoother ride.. if you changed out your suspension with stock parts, including shocks, your ride should be smooth, unless something is installed incorrectly. yes the SE shocks are stiffer than GLE/GXE, but the ride should still be fairly smooth

 

since when alingment won't do jack ???

if he had alingment done with his lowering springs
now he's riding on stock suspension with lowered settings thus bad choppy ride
/been there , done that

Nick

 

What size wheels and tires and what tire pressures are you running?

If your all stock, you should be nice and smooth.

You should have gone with Tokico Blues struts and rear shocks. They would have been cheaper then OEM and personally I think they ride better on the stock springs.

 

The struts are no different on a GXE than a SE. The springs are what make the difference. I just put a set of SE springs on my GXE and a set of AGX struts. The ride is stiffer and I don't have to listen to the wife complain about being bounced around in the car. I just notice a little less body roll thus more steering response.

My only regret is not getting the ajustable AGX's. Worth a few extra bucks to get that feature.

 

ok the other day i went to my buddie's place to get an oil change.. so, he checks my tire pressure and asks when was the last time i checked my tires?(kumho supra ecsta stock size) i say not too long ago.. he says well they are very low at 30 lbs or so. so i tell him that i go by the maual and that the figures are also right under the middle console lid...32 in the front and 29 in the back. he says no. that these tires are supposed to be running at 40 lbs or pressure. so he points out at the writing on the tire and the tire says 44 psi max.
so i just agreed with him and said gee thanks, as soon as i drove out of the bay and half way home i stopped and let out a bunch of air down to owner's manual spec.

 

You might want to check that he actually put oil in your car too

 

i did.

 

Ok heres the deal.I dont have lowering springs,just stock.I put SE struts and shocks on my GXE.The ride is extremely hard.Its bad.Maybe i should have changed the Boots, strut mounts, strut bearings???Whatever those are??

 

You have no idea what youre talking about.

a) if the struts/shocks on your car are not adjustable, they are not AGX, they are GR2 .

b) I'm 90% sure the struts ARE different for an SE and a GXE, didn't someone say that the SE uses the Tokico Blues. The springs are THE SAME for SE and GXE, hence the same ride height.

c) the reason your ride is stiffer is because of your struts, not because you put on SE springs

 

Whatever.

I did a bunch of research on the subject before I did this swap. Most of the research was here on the ORG, ORG members, and a couple of mechanic buddies.

a) I did NOT say I put AGX's on the car. I said I wish I had. Yes struts DO CONTRIBUTE to the stiffeness of the ride by compressing slower and/or rebounding slower thus preventing the suspension traveling to far too quickly. However, the springs are what bear the weight of the car. The GR2's are about 10-20% stiffer than stock. That's why I bought them.

b) I checked stock numbers on the GR2's for a SE and a GXE when I bought them from Tire Rack. They are the same.

c) I wish I could recall the exact rating difference of the SE and GXE/GLE springs. All I remember is the SE springs are SLIGHTLY stiffer. But if I wanted a whole lot stiffer, I would have gone aftermarket. I was trying to eliminate some body roll. I feel I succeeded. There is not a HUGE difference but it's noticable. The springs were the same height but they were stiffer and were factory marked differently. Actually the SE rears had about an extra 1/2 coil at the top. The mech that replaced the struts, replaced the front springs but wouldn't replace the rears cause he didn't feel right getting them to seat. I brought the car home and did it myself in front of the house about a week later. Believe me, there was a difference with the GXE and SE springs with the GR2's.

In short, I did my research. I did some of the work myself. I felt the difference of the springs and the struts before I ever put them on the car.