supraken

iTrader: (1)

I'm at 28k miles and I find my ride quality to be very bad. The suspension feels loose and harsh over bumps/potholes, and there seems to be more body roll than normal during tight corners. Dealer didn't find anything wrong. Sometimes I wonder if it's the tires...

How's yours holding up?

balwinderismyuncle

It doesnt feel like it used to

Alin10123

I see you're in NY. I've driven there before in another car. The roads there arent entirely the best. Suspension components typically wear out quicker when there are potholes and stuff. Especially shocks. That could be what's contributing to your increased body roll. However a rear sway bar will fix that.

6SpeedTA95

My guess would be tires...the TSX I drove with 52k miles drove almost indentical to the one that was brand new in terms of feel and suspension

stewie20068

are the components of the suspension that the A-SPEC package replaces the parts that typically wear out and lead to bad ride quality? I'm considering installing the A-SPEC, but how much "good" life can I typically get out of the stock suspension components?

ianS

A-Spec will replace the shocks & spring together and the shocks is the parts that wear out most on the suspension setup. And usually oem shock should have a pretty good life if you take care of it such as avoid pothholes/manholes and drive easy on bumps. And the a-spec shocks should have the same life as the oem shocks since it is also an oem parts.

natedog321

how long is that typically? 30,000 miles 50,000 miles?

STL

Based on my past experience (which is not with a TSX), Honda struts last a good 75k miles and even 100+k if you're not so critical about their performance.

supraken

iTrader: (1)

I'm in the same boat as you, but worried about the life of them in the nyc roads that I drive in...

I'm not sure why, but maybe I'm more picky with the TSX? I have a 93 Civic with the stock suspension, 130k miles, and the suspension feels fine to me, comfortable and handles well... although the comfort part was after I replaced the tires

What's a good price for suspension install? $600 for a set of a specs isn't bad, but it seems like they usually charge no less than 4 hours of labor for the install (~$400)

supraken

iTrader: (1)

Maybe we ought to start a poll and see how everyone's ride is compared with new (scale 1-10), mileage on the car, what tires (original, other brands), and what setting do they drive in most (city/highway)

Mokos23

mine's an 8.5.

honda/acura really need to strike a new deal with a better tire company such as with Pirelli, Goodyear, Dunlop, or Bridgestone.

Michelin's stink period, end of story!

ianS

You can always install your a-spec from an indepentant shop and it shouldn't cost you more than $150 to install. I have my a-spec install since first week after I have the TSX and it is 40000km now and still ride like day 1. I am sure the a-spec can give you a way more comfortable ride and improve the handling as well. But for body roll, RSB is still the best bet. BTW, I am not on oem tire. I have a set of Sumitomo HTRZ for summer and Dunlop winter tire on right now.

waTSX

JTso is installing my A-Spec suspension tomorrow. After that I can report on the differences between it and the OEM parts, which now have about 14,500 miles logged.

I'm a little surprised that supraken is have such a degradation in ride quality at 25K miles. Springs sack out and shocks wear out, but you wouldn't think it'd happen that quickly. I'd bet that the tires are the culprit.

FWIW, the A-Spec is the struts and springs already pressed in. All you have to do is pop out the old and install the new. I'm hoping for a nice increase in handling with out too much loss in ride quality.

6SpeedTA95

Exactly typically you should be able to get 100k miles out of a set of shocks on todays vehicles...sub 30k miles is BMW territory

waTSX

That is ridiculously high. If you can find someone who knows what they're doing, it can be had for much less than that. Looking at the directions, it doesn't seem that bad, but you do need the right tools, floor jack, jack stands, torque wrench, etc. I could do it, but JTso is an experienced tuner, and it is the suspension after all. High safety item. Don't want to muck that install up.

I hesitate to post his price, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper than $400. PM him for info. Stealerships are a complete ripoff IMO.

supraken

iTrader: (1)

Yeah I think there is def something wrong with my suspension, but not like I abuse the car, so I'm not sure why it feels so worn out so quickly, even though I drive in the city a lot. Sometimes when I go over unavoidable potholes/bumps, I can literally feel the front right suspension oscillating (bad shock probably, but dealer kept saying they can't find/feel anything wrong).....

ahh, too bad JTso isn't in the area, I'll probably pay him to do it for me too if he's ok with it...

So anyone in the area want to help out a fellow AZ member with A spec suspension installation?

rx280

My '04 is at 31,000 miles and if there's been any loss of ride quality, it's been so gradual and subtle that I haven’t noticed. Just today, while driving, I was thinking how solid but compliant everything still feels. I live in eastern Massachusetts, by the way, and I doubt that the roads here are in much better shape than the ones in N.Y. I can’t imagine why supraken’s feeling such a big drop-off in ride quality at just 28,000 miles.
While we're on the subject of ride/suspension, I've been wondering for years about the wisdom of replacing shocks before the need is really apparent. My theory is that if you replace shocks before the ride quality has worsened noticeably, the car will stay feeling tight and relatively squeak- and rattle-free that much longer. I ran the theory past a couple of mechanics years ago (when I owned my previous car) and, to my surprise, they both said I ought to avoid an unnecessary expense and stick with the original shocks until they failed the bounce test.
Well, despite that advice, I'm planning to replace the TSX's shocks well before they clearly need to go. (At this point, I can't really guess when I'll think the time for replacement is right.) I'd really like to keep the car's ride quality fairly close to like-new.
Anyone have thoughts on the soundness of my theory and what a good (ballpark) mileage figure for ride-preserving shock replacement might be?

daddydliv

I feel like mine has changed. It kinda feels like the car gained 100 pounds - not so nimble or agile anymore. Maybe I gained a few pounds, but not my car.

supraken

iTrader: (1)

You're def right about the roads in MA, because the first 12k miles of my car was spent in those pothole-filled roads in Boston and those nasty carved roads on 495, I think I started noticing a very slight degrade in ride quality back then.... and it became noticeable at around 20k miles, and now it just feels harsh at 28k miles...

The thing about the harsh ride is, I've noticed there are a little bit more rattle and other misc weird noises in my car, and I've come to conclude that it's probably caused by the harsh ride (things getting loose or out of shape because of it). That's why I don't want to wait too long in resolving this problem.

stewie20068

Excellent. I'll be interested to know your thoughts after you install.