Hey, so ihave an 06 with 108k miles. I feel the NY roads killed my ride quality and i have been pricing new oem shocks at about just under 600 for all 4. For the same money i can get the a spec kit and do the install myself but i really dont want a firmer ride I want smoother.

Any suggestions if the a spec is really that firm? Andnany oem shock alternative wich is smooth and cheaper?

 

if u want smooth go with oem. aspec's are firm and u will feel more of the roads imperfection.

 

A-spec isn't as firm if you keep it on the OEM 17" wheels.. You will still notice a difference but the handling & stance make up for it IMO..

 

I have heard that on the highway the ASpec setup isn't very noticeable, but on a bumpy road, i.e. dirt or uneven city streets, the ride is VERY diminished. For your situation, I would go with the OEMs. $600 with shipping looks accurate from oemacuraparts.com

 

I feel your pain about the roads there.. NY roads are terrible, especially considering how high the taxes are. Between me & my wife, we got 5 flat tires from potholes in the last 2 years.. 2 resulted in needing a new tire and 1 (the RL) had a bent rim).. I was fortunate that the rim was able to get repaired as opposed to needing a new one..

 

I find the A-SPEC kit isn't noticeable when cruising on the highway, until I go over rolling bumps or etc, at which point the car hews/bounds less and is notably more stable. It's very noticable when changing lanes at high speed or in braking maneuvers as sometimes happen on the highway.

In curves, the A-SPEC is also more stable in terms of control, but I also have the '09 roll bar out back (nice combo, btw).

When I first put on the A-SPEC, I was still using OEM 17's and tires. The ride was not much rougher at all, except maybe over sharp-edged bumps like the metal plates and such used in road construction. Since I don't get too much of that, and I don't really crave a smooth, floating luxury car feel, I am fine with it.

I'm now on 18's but with softer tires and I find the ride just as smooth as before, with less noise (the tire) and with better handling (the tire) than with the 17's. I found the minimal drop in the A-SPEC kit to be perfect, as it's essentially hard to detect by most but looks great, and it doesn't lower my front end so much that I scrape on curbs and such--and I go up a lot of those.

 

I did the A-SPEC a couple of months ago myself. Found everything on eBay for around $450 new. In my opinion, the ride was much firmer than non A-SPEC. So much so that I put the original shocks back in the rear (have about 70K mi on 2005). That's where I notice the biggest difference. It wasn't bad for me, but when I looked in my rear veiw mirror and could see my 74 year old Mother in the back seat being bounced around I decided to attempt to "soften" things a bit (lol, it was rather funny and the road was pretty bumpy).

BTW, I have the OEM 17" wheels. Good luck!

 

Going for the a-spec kit on 17" today, just got for $650 at my local dealer including shipping and tax.

 

RPETROVER - are you installing it yourself? If so, good luck and let us know if you have any problems/questions.

 

I think I will get OEM shocks, if anyone who went ASPEC has them for sale in the NY area with low miles on them I might pick them up if they are in good shape.

 

if you want to go lower.. put H&R springs onto stock shocks.

I've ridden ina car with aspec and I honestly felt it was very stiff. I have NOT ridden in an RL with H&R on stock shocks... but from everything I"ve read andall the people here who have messaged me... I think H&R on stock shocks is the way to go.

lowered look is great. ride is firmer but not too stiff...cornering is better... sonds lke the best bang for the buck as it is cheaper too... many people here have run that setup for a long time on stock shocks with no problems.

 

would be nice to see some aftermarket support for shocks

 

I suspect that much of the variance in opinion over whether aspec is too firm or not - is a result of two things. Obviously, what is "too hard", "too soft", or "Just right" is completely subjective. So opinions will vary widely. However, I also think that tire choice plays a huge role in the seemingly inconsistent opinions.

Ballinger commented that aspec was barely stiffer than stock while running on OEM 17s. When he upsized to 18's..he went with a softer tire and ended up improving the ride... so while intuition tells you an 18" tire shoudl ride rougher than a 17" tire.. not so when you go from the OEM crap tire to a higher end tire that is softer.

I'm guessing that the people who felt the ride was too rough on aspec.. may have had tires that lacked ideal comfort.. and those tires would have ridden rougher even on stock suspension... tires make the biggest impact on ride comfort... so if you do upgrade to aspec... and ride comfort is an issue - make sure you put on tires that are comfy.

 

I just drove an 2005 RL as a loaner and I hadn't been in one with oem standard suspension for a while. The non-Aspec is way more plush and smooth--luxury car like. The ASPEC isn't rough, but it transmits a lot more road texture.

To be clear, I much prefer the ASPEC, but I'd forgotten how much smoothnicity the old suspension had.