We've all felt it, that new car ride. I don't necessarily mean something like you might feel in a 4-door Mercedes or a Lexus or the like. In fact, I can feel it in my wife's 2010 Toyota car and my buddy's 2012 F-150. Somehow cars that still have that "new" ride feel, feel both firm and soft at the same time. That's the only way I know to explain it. You can just tell from riding in the vehicle, that its well... new.
Then you have older vehicles. Those cars that aren't quite worn out, but just don't have that good ride anymore. My other friend's 2005 F-150 feels this way. My 1994 Mustang GT feels this way. My sister's Nissan, and my well maintained, 1 owner 87 silverado feel this way. When you go over bumps, you get that "Ugh" feeling. Or perhaps the "Oomph!" feeling. You can also hear the bumps more. When you go over something rough, you may hear more of a... sound then when you do it in a newer car. They're just not what they used to be. And I'm talking about largely stock vehicles. No suspension mods that would contribute to the loss of the new car ride feel. Just normal wear and tear.
The purpose of this thread, and what I'm trying to identify here, is the exact part (or parts) that are responsible for this phenomenon. My '94 GT Will make a good example. I have replaced the springs with 1" lowering springs from LMRS. The SVE ones. So they are new,. So we know its not the springs. I've replaced the shocks with new ones from Bilstien. Again, no change. So we know its not that. Had to replace the rack and pinion and both tie rod ends, not that I had suspicions that they were the culprit. So that's not it either. What could be the cause?
We've only got a few parts left that it could possibly be. Ball joints, and various bushings. You've got those big bushings in the front and rear control arms, and ball joints. And that's pretty much it. So if a person could replace all the bushings under their car along with all the ball joints, could they then get back that nice, new car ride? Is such a thing even possible? Or is it that once its gone, its gone forever and its not coming back?
Then you have older vehicles. Those cars that aren't quite worn out, but just don't have that good ride anymore. My other friend's 2005 F-150 feels this way. My 1994 Mustang GT feels this way. My sister's Nissan, and my well maintained, 1 owner 87 silverado feel this way. When you go over bumps, you get that "Ugh" feeling. Or perhaps the "Oomph!" feeling. You can also hear the bumps more. When you go over something rough, you may hear more of a... sound then when you do it in a newer car. They're just not what they used to be. And I'm talking about largely stock vehicles. No suspension mods that would contribute to the loss of the new car ride feel. Just normal wear and tear.
The purpose of this thread, and what I'm trying to identify here, is the exact part (or parts) that are responsible for this phenomenon. My '94 GT Will make a good example. I have replaced the springs with 1" lowering springs from LMRS. The SVE ones. So they are new,. So we know its not the springs. I've replaced the shocks with new ones from Bilstien. Again, no change. So we know its not that. Had to replace the rack and pinion and both tie rod ends, not that I had suspicions that they were the culprit. So that's not it either. What could be the cause?
We've only got a few parts left that it could possibly be. Ball joints, and various bushings. You've got those big bushings in the front and rear control arms, and ball joints. And that's pretty much it. So if a person could replace all the bushings under their car along with all the ball joints, could they then get back that nice, new car ride? Is such a thing even possible? Or is it that once its gone, its gone forever and its not coming back?