Ride Quality 1989

It is most likley your struts and shocks. Shocks are suposed to both dampen the "shock" of the road, but thier main purpose is to keep the tires planted to the road. As shocks wear out, they do less and less of each. They will get either firmer or weaker but will not do thier duty. Stock struts/shocks suck from the factory because the factory makes them real soft because all the bushings on the controll arms and such are new, they are really firm until they break in. If they put quality firmer shocks in there, the cars would ride rough when new and be harder to sell. Then, the factory makes them cheap. They are only good for about 30,000. Some GM's come with their 100,000 mile shocks, but they are bilsteins.

I am ASE certified in Suspension and Steering and can tell you when a customer complains "my car rides rough" I recomend new shocks and struts. Sometimes they think it is "just because it is an old car" but when we put new shocks in it, they are amazed how much nicer it rides and handles.

The cost is up to what you want, if you want stock replacements KYB is pretty good for the money, but if you want performance, it all comes down to what kind of driving you do.

Once you get them old ones off, try compressing them, if they don't come out, then they are junk. every one of my shocks/struts was like this when I replaced all 6 of them.

When replacing the struts, be sure to jack the car up by the controll arm, otherwise the spring could jump out at you, and it wouldn't be pretty. You will need to get it aligned afterwards. If you don't have the knowhow or tools, you might want to see how much a shop will charge or just another 'stanger in your area might help you out. Most gearheads work for beer you know.

What brand? I have KYB's but they do kind of ride rough, but they are firmer than stock replacements. Bilstiens are the best as far as normal struts/shocks. They will give you real nice ride and performance. Koni's are adjustable, but unless you are a AutoX freak who knows how to tune they aren't worth it. Tokico's are good, they are adjustable from firm to soft, KYB also makes an adjustable shock/strut but once again, you get what you pay for.

GM's come with Bilsteins that's pretty cool never knew that.

When I got my car the ride quality was terrible. After the new shocks, struts, and springs. The difference was night and day. Not sure if they are any hills in Seattle. But anyways when I would go down a hill pretty hard, I felt I was gonna get air borne. After the spring/struts the car was sticking right to the road at the same hill. My frend in a new 2003 Eclipse said it felt better than his brand new car.