Hi my 80 series seems to have a overly rough ride on the bitumen, has standard coils with 40 mm spacers, have replaced the front shockers and hasn't really made any difference, all bushes seem ok, has anyone else experienced this, do the coils loose there spring and go hard? Any suggestions much appreciated, cheers
You only replaced the front shocks and which what shocks did you go with? What about the rear? Even if you went with new factory shocks and 40mm spacers, the ride shouldn't bad at all. What is your tire pressure? I would check those.
20 year old coils, don't expect caddy ride no matter how low the mileage. This has been talked about for years now, of you want to improve your ride them save up for stock height or 2 inch lift kit.
Does your steering wheel have any free play or occasional jiggle, especially around the tilt mechanism? If so, I am running the exact same setup as you right now and did the fix for the jiggle via a fix posted by @DARKNESS. It cured the jiggle, and to my surprise, made the vehicle feel much more composed and comfortable over bumps and road imperfections. I guess even though I sometimes didn't feel the jiggle, that feedback/vibration was still being felt in the steering wheel, which gave an overall impression of worse ride quality. Now, it actually feels like my suspension is doing its job underneath me while the steering wheel remains fixed and firm. Just a thought.
Coils go soft over time, not hard.
Tire pressure too high or uneven
Aftermarket springs that you/re not aware of?
Tires that have an "E" load rating and you are used to a "D" or "C" rating?
It's possible if you replaced the shocks on one end, it will give you that "bucking bronco" feel because one end of the vehicle is under control and the other is not.
The tire manufacture and model can also be o lot of the ride quality difference.
When I first got my cruiser it had stock suspension I wanted it lifted but was short on cash so just got 50mm lifted springs no shocks from the min I put them on the car was terrible to drive !!!!! Like you it felt so hard . So hard that I actually drove it for a few weeks with tyres at 13psi ! But then found out it was the shocks that were maxed out and the harness was actually at the suspension was coming up rather than down . Got ironman 2" updated shocks and drives like a dream
Possibly old coils and also they don't ride like new tucks with the solid axle they are a bit rougher... Could be your drive shaft as well with the increased height and improper castor correction..your being a bit vague on what speed and terrain you are driving on
Spring goes soft over time, that's is somewhat correct. Over time the spring loses the ability to return to original shape but not necessarily lose ability to compress. Another way to put it is that the spring has a curve of forces needed to compress the spring a certain distance. As time goes the spring has less resistance or becomes too soft but that only happens to the softer part of the spring curve/sag and that means it sits higher in the spring rate curve. So effectively you are preloaded higher or having stronger springs.
Yes the spring got softer but harder at the same time......or at lease not properly rated for the cruiser's weight. Everyone who changes springs can attest to how much smoother the ride is compare to the sagging/"softer" springs.
That too, forgot about those. Again, coming from saggy springs myself(most her have experienced that) only cure is new spring and shocks. Cost isn't terrible and you wonder why it took so long afterwards.
