I love my 10' rdx, sporty handling, stiff suspensions, turbo ... BUT my wife hates it. Recently she has been asking me to change the car.

Of course I don't want give up rdx, so I am looking for ways to make the ride more comfortable. So my questions are basically:

1) which tires would you suggest for comfortable ride?
2) can I change the suspension settings? or should I buy new set of suspensions? if it is the latter, whats the rough price?

My friend had recently got a 12' rdx with a higher profile tire, but to be honest I didn't feel much difference than mine with standard tires. So I am not sure if the tires alone can make much change ... perhaps tires + suspension changes can make some difference.?

I understand that I will have to give up some handling... still better than giving up the whole car.

thanks,
Tuguldur

 

A softer spring rate will help, good luck finding that though. A different tire will help for sure. I ride on Bridgestone 422 ecopia's and they ride and grip far better than the shitty Michelin's that came with my rdx. honestly tires are the only thing that connect the car to the road so they have the largest impact on comfort, handling performance etc.

 

rx300

 

+1 for a softer sidewall

 

My wife has never complained about the ride. I have an 08 RDX with 235/55-18 Conti DWS tires. You can't find a softer sidewall unless you went with a 17" or 16" rim size. I also have the eibach springs on the RDX; which, puts the ride back to stock at a lower height. I think it helped to have the aspec suspension and progress RSB on the 06 TSX for +7 years to get the wife used to the the RDX suspension.

We recently purchased a used 2011 MDX Adv/Ent and it has the adjustable suspension (comfort/sport mode). I notice the sh-awd is dialed in to be a little more aggressive in turns; which, makes the MDX feel very stable and level (for a 4600lbs vehicle) in the corners. It drives like a smaller vehicle because of the sh-awd, 6AT, adjustable suspension and smoother power delivery. My overall combined mpgs are only 1.5-2 mpg less compared to my RDX (straight city driving can give you 14-15 mpg; but, hwy can get me 21-23 mpg). The MDX also has much better isolation from road/wind noise and give you the impression of a smoother ride because of less outside noise.

07-09 MDX Sport or +2010 MDX Advance might give you the best of both worlds. It could be a straight trade depending on which version of MDX you pick.

 

+1 conti DWS. I have it on every car I have owned. Will never buy anything else, specially since I live in Canada.

 

I recently bought a set of Nitto Motivo's for my RDX and I absolutely love them. Ride quality has improved substantially and handling has improved as well compared to my previous set of tires (Michelin Energy MXV4 S8). Got them for $603 shipped from discounttiredirect too! Can't beat that

 

whats her complaint on ride comfort? too loose? too tight? feels like the car is going to break apart going over a bump? getting a fatter tire is going to really hinder ride handling i suppose you could do a 245 60 series tire on the stock wheels but i would hate to be on the backroad with them you will have to slow down for the corners cause it will feel like your vehicle will lose traction..

on a side note
i did drive a 2014 rdx recently and the ride felt softer in comparison to my 2010 i didnt like it at all