Ride quality and.......

[GTS225]

how to soften it up?

Don't really have much detailed info to offer at this time.

Has anyone started with a narrow (6"-7") tire at moderate pressure, (20-25psi), and moved up to wider tires at a later date?
My T seems to have a rather harsh ride in the rear, and I'm wondering if tire width might have more than a little to do with it.
Then again, it might be that the weight is somewhere in the 1500-1600 LBS zone, and I'm just inexperienced with the ride quality of a light weight car.

Roger

[Rolla Hessel]

Roger, depending on the tire size you are running, you might want to drop the air pressure a bit. I am running 31x18.5x15 and only run 10-12 lbs of air pressure. Other things would be type of suspension, coil overs etc.

[Lee in KC]

Roger, can you describe (or better yet, post a photo of) your rear suspension set-up? I think you'll get more advice if we know what you're working with.

[Bill Cleveland]

The above advice is good! We all know that these cars will not ride like a Cadillac, but . . . many fellows play with the suspension and come up with an acceptable ride. I know my brother with the traditional spring behind front end only uses 3 spring leaves in his!

[Bill Cleveland]

Re: rear suspension - if you are using coil-overs, a lighter spring might help. If it's the old T-transverse spring set up, then removing leaves would soften it up a bit. You just gotta experiment 'til you find the right combination.

PS - Passengers add weight and deinitely change the ride quality! So your bucket will need to have enought spring rate to accommodate a passenger, unless you plan to always go solo!

[Ron Pope]

Another thing that has a lot to do with ride quality is, the seat. Do you have a nice seat with springs and foam or is it a piece of plywood?

[GTS225]

Seat? Surely you jest! There was nothing but gelcoated fiberglass for awhile, but I recently got simple stadium seat cushions from Walmart. Those do help, but bumps and potholes still feel rather severe.

Roger

[Zandoz]

Though not my reason for using them, I've been told by those that have used air bags instead of rear springs, that they do noticeably improve the ride.

[Bill Cleveland]

So, Roger . . . any more input on your ride quality???

[GTS225]

Sorry, Bill. Been meaning to get a couple pics of the rear suspension, but can't seem to have my camera with me when the opportunity is right. Should be a slow weekend for me, and there's a weekly cruise on Thursday evening I intend to go to. I'll see what I can do.....maybe I'll win the lotto tomorrow night and get to retire early.

Roger