OEM Springs + H&R Sports, rides very very harsh.

[callitoff]

So umm... quite a lot of time has passed.

I made some stupid friends and they gave me stupid advice. And I stupidly believed them. Now I am not their friend anymore.

I got OEM springs and H&R sports because I thought they'd ride okay on my roads.

But it feels very very harsh. Little bumps on the road seem to set the car off. Even on the highway rumble strips are quite harsh to ride on. I only use rubber bushings on my car but it always feels like a bomb going off everytime I hit something.

Should I just wait and invest in some fancy suspension kit, get sport shocks (duhhh), or get OE springs? I live in Bangkok so the roads are not the absolute best but its very rattling to go over bumps right now.

Thanks,

[dlguadiz]

Hi. There are a lot of guys here who are willing to lend a hand if they just understand what you want to do.

So first things first, let me clarify your purpose/goal, and correct me if I'm wrong -- you are not comfortable with how your car rides currently so your goal is to have a smoother ride.

I am not an expert, but I do believe ride comfort is affected by a combination of several items: (1) Wheel and tires, (2) Spring Rates, (3) Damper or 'Strut', and (4) Ride Height. What you can do is read thru the tons of information on this site and at other forums, using the above list as guide... that way, you can learn by yourself and wont 'stupidly believe' (your words, not mine) what others say should be done to your car...

[callitoff]

Yeah I kinda screwed that one up...

I meant OEM shocks from Bilstein.

I don't know, there are a lot of variables at play. No one seems to say H&R springs are harsh but everyone agrees that the combination is terrible. Spring rates don't match the shocks, that sorta thing. I haven't been on forums for a while so excuse me while I sound stupid.

[superj]

if the roads are horrible, I would go back to stock suspension

[H.J. 1981]

Yeah I kinda screwed that one up...

I meant OEM shocks from Bilstein.

I don't know, there are a lot of variables at play. No one seems to say H&R springs are harsh but everyone agrees that the combination is terrible. Spring rates don't match the shocks, that sorta thing. I haven't been on forums for a while so excuse me while I sound stupid.

I have the Bilstein Sport HD (short) or whatever they are called now shocks and H&R sport springs, it is a bit harsher, but i was expecting that. The H&R sport springs are 20% stiffer than E30 M3 springs (as per the old threads indicate). The ride was indeed very harsh, but after a week or so, either i got used to it or everything "settled down" somehow.

People that installed Konis and H&R are a lot happier though.

[aaverhulst]

If your ride is harsh, Two easy things to do are new easy riding tires and stock shocks. I have had Monroe shocks on mine for over ten years and am happy with the ride, KYB's may also be good. Also I have stock 195/60 14 tires (General) that seem to work good. I'd do that before I'd change springs. You also could change to 195/70 tires for a smoother ride.

[dlguadiz]

I agree with the posts above. Nothing beats stock everything, including wheels and tires when it comes to comfort. I have stock springs and dampers and all-around rubber. I used to have 14x6" steel rims wrapped with Good Year 195/60/14 tires -- then felt the need to change it to 15x8" mags wrapped with Bridgestone 205/55/15 tires. Just this change alone and I felt that the ride was harsher.