Hard hits on potholes. What's the problem?
 

Overall I have been very happy with the Illuminas(set 2f2r) and h&r , but compared to many cars ,whenever I hit a large pothole it feels as if the I had no dampening whatsover. Sounds like the bump stops aren't doing their work properly or something else is wrong. I have driven today an 05 camry over the same roads I drive with the Maxima every day. Those large potholes with the maxima felt very noticeable not just sound vice but the impact was felt in my seat as well. With the Camry all I heard was a really quiet thump and no feeling of the impact whatsoever. I know that a camry has a really soft suspension but many other cars of the same class dampen much better than my car. So I am wondering if anyone can give me some feedback on how their car absorbs potholes or bumps and what can be done to prevent the problem I'm having?

get a LTBII....solved all my problems.... www.blehmco.com

when you have stiff springs, and a weak frame, the shock from road imperfections transfers to the chassis a lot more....the LTB ties the suspension to the frame better and strengthens the front end greatly, in my case nearly elliminating the bumps....

That's interesting to know that the LTB actually helps with the stiff ride.

I would love to get the LTB but will be getting headers soon and they dont get along. I have noticed that in my car when hitting larger bumps its quite loud and painful, but in a BMW with the sport package, its very well absorbed. Guess thats what you have to deal with, when you have an aftermarket suspension.

Glad to know I'm not the only one who noticed this.... It seems that speedbumps/potholes vibrations are definitely transferred to the chassis much more in my GLE than in my 94 Camry. Especially the backend... (system). I don't know what can be done to lessen the effect, though. It seems I may have to give the LTB a try, once $$$$ comes my way...

My car is recently feeling worse and worse on bumps, potholes, etc...just feels "junky" for lack of a better phrase
I have about 25K on the Maxspeeds/Illuminas and 100K on the car.

My suspicions:
1. I still have the illuminas up 4/4, the obvious culprit.
2. At 100K miles, the lower ball joints and steering tie rod end balljoints are certainly worn and have some play
3. The Maxspeeds
4. I am getting old.

What I will be doing next week:
1. Adjusting illuminas to 3/3
2. Replacing lower control arms (both sides), including new balljoints and new Poly bushings. Also replacing tie rod ends.
3. Replacing front maxspeeds with H-techs. The rear of the car feels "solid," but it's the front that feels like crap.
4. Might think about going back to the Stage2 LTB - it definitely solidified things better when I had it than the stage1 does...

I thought you were going to use puppets old progress springs Irish? What happened to that?

exactly my point...the main reason that the BMWs absorb the bumps so well is because they (like most German cars) have extremely strong frames, unlike nissan (and most Japanese cars) Upon impact, if the frame is stronger, your suspension will compress and depress, absorbing the impact...if the frame is weak, the supension will compress and depress also, but the frame will flex some, transferring the impact to the cabin....

now there can be several other reasons that your ride is harsh like irish said (ie: if you have your illuminas set to 5, the ride will definitely be harsher than when they are set on 2) but the structual rigidity of the car has much to do with how it rides...

I wanted to bump this to the top again. I was doing some searching and found this post: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....ump+stops+soft
It seems that the one piece hard rubber bump stops are more linear and not as progressive as the foam insert bump stops. Heres another link http://www.virkki.com/jyri/miata/bumps.html about bump stops, even though this is about Miata's suspension, the concept is similar about progressive bump stops.

I will probably order some ES progressive bump stops which are shorter than oem ones and intergrate them into the oem dust boot.

[QUOTE=Whtmax'01]Overall I have been very happy with the Illuminas(set 2f2r) and h&r , but compared to many cars ,whenever I hit a large pothole it feels as if the I had no dampening whatsover. Sounds like the bump stops aren't doing their work properly or something else is wrong.QUOTE]

Dont hit potholes, not good for your rims suspension or frame, your car will thank you in the long run.

I have this same problem, but my bottoming is literally bone-jarring. I was hoping the H&R's would solve this problem, but apparently not. I'm thinking it's back to stock springs as the ONLY way to resolve this issue entirely. :wtc:

As someone who also knows a bit about suspension on motorcycles....I have to say that although the firmer chassis of the German cars will add to chassis stability and road feel - the TRUE refinement of a quality suspension resides in the tuned valving inside the damping and rebound actuators insdie the shock./struts. Most cars are specfically tuned for their OEM equipment -- and R&D at BMW and AUDI KNOWS what they are doing!

gr

I'm not at all impressed by the suspension on the 5th generation. Mine bottoms out on things that my wife's '91 Maxima never does, and her's still has the stock struts. The 3rd generation has a far superior suspension system.

IRS...enough said....