Has anyone living in colder climates, i.e. Canada, like me, or Northern states, noticed a degradation in their ride quality since winter has arrived? When I bought my car in the summer I thought the ride was excellent but now it is very harsh and choppy. Yes, the roads are quite frost-heaved, but I am literally being jostled around. I wonder if the new dual mode struts have anything to do with it?

Anyone else notice this?

 

Have you checked your tire pressure? If it's too high, it won't be a comfortable ride.

 

Actually, with the cold cold cold temperatures we have been getting, the air pressure is low. So low, in fact, that the TPMS light has come on the past few days - it is reading 182 MPa front/ 190 MPa rear which then improves to 212/220 by the time I drive home, upon which time the light goes off.

 

i like scotch too! what's your poison?

sorry, i live in fl so i can't comment on your issues

 

I prefer the single malts from Islay: Bowmore, Lagavulin, Laphroaig. The Macallan is nice too!

Right now I wish I lived in Florida: -40 F with the wind chill!

 

Perhaps if you readjusted your tire pressure (add air) for the cold weather it might help. I use nitrogen in my tires since it isn't as tempermental as plain old air.

BTW, it's 70 F and sunny here in Southern California.

 

^^^ Pure nitrogen changes volume maybe 5% less than regular air at normal temperatures. The reason why racers use nitrogen is because it changes volume linearly and predictably with temperature. This is especially important to motorcycle racers because the profile of their tires change as the pressure changes. Even at that, you have to be a very, very good rider/driver before this makes any meaningful difference.

Putting nitrogen in a street car's tires does nothing but make the dealerships wallet thicker. The air you're breathing right now is already about 80% nitrogen. You could get almost the same effect (linear pressure change) by simply removing as much moisture from the air as possible before it goes into the tire. I hope you didn't pay too much for the nitrogen because A) nitrogen is super cheap because it's everywhere and B) it's a scam.

 

I've seen dealer add-on stickers charging $150 for nitrogen in the tires, which is a scam, but I noticed a significant difference between pump air and nitrogen in my 07 Civic Si (nitrogen) vs current car TSX non-nitro. My pressure dropped several psi overnight (30+ degree drop overnight from that day's high) & needed a fill on the TSX. The Civic TPMS never came on the year I had it.

 

Most likely because of high moisture content in the air that's in the tires. Water changes volume with temperature quite a bit more than the gasses that make up the air. The main advantage of using nitrogen for a street car is the fact that it has very little water in it.

 

Just wondering if anyone knows how low our outside temperature guage will display. On my way into work this morning the radio reported temperature -2 degrees. My TSX said it was 0 degrees. Anyone further north see a negative value?

 

It is painful to tell you that this morning my car read 29 below in La Crescent MN. The clutch felt hard but the car kept me warm!

 

In this frigid weather (we are getting the same as MN up here in Thunder Bay) after driving down the highway for several minutes it felt like the clutch was moving slower than molasses in January! Never experienced that in any other manual transmission car.

 

I think this is a problem with the 05 TL's.

 

I just purchased a new 2009 TSX a few weeks ago and love everything about the car other than what I perceive is a harsh ride. Compared to my old 2000 Camry, these poor Michigan roads are tossing me around. I realize complaining about this issue is almost sacrilege on some forums. (My test drive was in a much better maintained city!)

Not being a car expert or anything, is there any obvious improvement for this in the TSX? I've heard the stock tires are mediocre and wonder if new ones would improve comfort? Any help is appreciated!!!

 

Funny thread. I actually bought the TSX specifically because the ride was so much more comfortable than my Audi S4 which was like riding around in a covered wagon.

 

I agree with Spoon123.

My experience with my 09 TSX over about 6 weeks and just under 1,000 miles is that the ride is noticeably more harsh than any other car I've owned (including other Acuras). I understand that the TSX is a sport sedan - but any plushness to the ride feel is completely drowned out by the bumpy harsh response to normal roads. I don't mind having a driving feel that transmits the feel of tar strips and Botts dots and shallow/frequent road variations to to the steering wheel (I prefer that, actually). But having having the entire car and my body lift and drop with a high frequency and rather abrupt bumpiness is not at all what I expected.

My multiple pre-purchase test drives were along the same stretches of streets/roads near the dealer. Any bumpiness then I must have subconsciously assumed was the fault of the road surface vs. what I've discovered the car apparently does on nearly all but the most perfect of roads. About 600 miles after purchase, I took a dealer technician on a road test and he claimed the suspension was behaving as he expected it to. I was also told that the service check included a suspension inspection (the bumpiness is almost bad enough to make one wonder about leftover shipping spacers or something) - and that all was well.

Like Spoon, I'm not quite sure what to do to resolve my unhappiness with the car. I am abolutely completely pleased with it otherwise.

Spoon, if you'd like to correspond about this, you can email me at dizcovernospam@nospam.yahoo.com (remove the nospams)

09 PMM/Ebony TSX 6MT - Bay Area California

 

Dizcover is spot on about the ride quality. After almost 1,500 miles with the car, I'm absolutely shocked about the suspension. It bounces up and down mercilously over fairly good road conditions. The suspension seems to have a very hard time recovering from small undulations and ends up in a bouncing motion. I've never seen anything like it in a car before. My guess is that it's the new suspension setup. It soaks up bumps very well but then can't recover.

Like the others, other than this issue, the car is fantastic (best shifting of any car I have ever owned) but this is a major issue for me. I tried not to say anything but after my wife asked if we could drive her car more on trips more than 30 min's and I asked her why, I realized that it was affecting everyone in the car - not just me. Not good at all.

Not sure what to do at all. I'm sure the dealer will say it's the way the car was designed. I just can't believe that Acura designed a suspension setup like this and put it on the market. It's a huge blight on what is otherwise a really terrific car.

 

As a former Camry driver I can definitely identify with you. Driving the camry is like driving a cloud, for better for worse. It is definitely a smooth ride, but it lulls you to sleep. I guess it'll be a harsh adjustment for me too!

Maybe they'll have some coilovers or struts/springs that can provide what you're looking for.

 

Thanks for the input, 09TSXMan. You and I and Spoon seem to be having nearly identical experiences. I know a good portion of all this is that my expectations were different than eventualities, but I am still going to research more and see what turns up. Please let us know if you learn anything too. Oh, and I can't pass up a chance at agreeing with you on the tranny and clutch. The 6MT is the sweetest MT I've ever driven, and I've only had MTs for almost 30 years.

 

Not sure what car you are coming from but this suspension is AMAZINGLY smooth and soft compared to the Audi S4 I came from. It was in fact the car's best selling point to me. Talk about undulations have you ever driven an Audi or BMW? Is this your first "Sport Suspension" because this thing is absolutely tame by comparison. And I'm in Chicago---pothole city.

 

Definitely interesting how different people view the suspension. I've been a sports car guy my entire life. Had an NSX previously (fantastic car) and also have owned lots of sports cars from a BMW M5 to a Corvette. Never had an Audi before.

My issue with the suspension is not that it's too hard or soft (it actually strikes a good balance) but that it has a really frustrating bounce to it after it hits any imperfection in the roadway. I'm actually pretty surprised more people aren't noticing this. Perhaps because I've been a sports car guy I'm more sensitive to steering/suspension feel.

That said, I didn't say anything and my wife started to complain as a passenger so there must be something to it. I thought it could be the cold weather too but since you're in Chicago which has brutal winters and are not noticing it perhaps there is no winter connection. More likely, it's just a bad suspension setup.

 

I have no problem with the ride in either hot or cold weather. But my previous ride was a 90 Civic Si w/eibach Pro kit and 16" wheel, manual tran and steering. So the TSX is smooth by comparison. I do agree w/ dizcover that this has to be one of the smoothest MT I have ever driven in over 25 years.

 

I never noticed the 'bounciness' of the suspension when I test-drove the car last summer. In fact, compared to my RSX-S that I had at the time, I found the TSX suspension a vast improvement. However after living with this car through the winter, especially when very cold outside, I would consider the ride unacceptable.

 

another consideration -- do you have winter tires mounted, with a high load rating (e.g. 98 versus stock 93). If so, might possibly explain increased ride harshness.