HHCZ

Hi guys,
I am a bit disappointed with the ride quality of my car. I think, that the ride is too firm and should be smoother.

I have stock 17" rims with 225/50/17 winter tires.

The car absorbs well holes and it is quiet during absorbing, that is good. But it seems that it is too sensitive on small roughness. Event on a highway I cannot rest my head on the headrest , because the whole car is constantly shaking. It reminds me Audi suspension which is also very stiff.

By the way. Before TSX I had Ford Mondeo ST220. This car was really stiff and uncomfortable at town. I had it on 18" 225/40/18 tires, and the car had factory sport suspension and was doped a bit. But on a highway, it drove like a missile, it was stable like you glued the car to the road. Even that TSX is also not very comfortable, I haven't feeling that TSX is that stable.

Do you feel the same? Or am I just nitpicking?

SilverCU3

HHCZ, I think Honda screwed up with the spring rates and damper settings. My car also feels the smaller bumps and ridges too much but rides over potholes without too much drama. The real problem, however, starts when you encounter long undulations. The dampers rapidly lose the ability to control the springs and it ends up handling like a boat in a force 10 gale.

I haven't driven an Accord/TSX with aftermarket suspension and I wouldn't always advocate replacing the manufacturer's suspension, but in this case I think it may be worth spending money on that before changing wheels/tyres.

I'm not sure that the whole car should be shaking, though. You don't have a wheel balance problem, do you?

HHCZ

Ad shaking: this is probably a problem with my English - it is not my native and some words I have to find in a dictionary and maybe the word "shaking" is not very luckily chosen

SilverCU3

Ahhh! I think I know what you mean ... this car does seem to transmit all the small road imperfections into the cabin rather than filtering them out. In a lot of ways that's a good thing as it keeps you in touch with what's going on beneath you. But it might be worth getting a drive in another Accord (maybe at your dealer's?) to see if it's specific to your car?

HHCZ

Exactly. I can try out, but I am afraid that it will be the same. Also our others cars we have in family (= I am driving them often) are Citroen C5 with Hydractive suspension and Chrysler Concorde with ultra-soft suspenstion, so maybe I am just used to softer rides... I am just sad because I have sold my Ford ST220 because I wanted something more comfortable (and reliable).

HHCZ

It seems that we are the only guys who are complaining at ride quality Probably in USA there are much better roads that we have in UK and Czech

cyberbro

nitpicking!

HeavyDuty

It is taut, certainly not mushy, I like it the way it is.

What's your tire pressure set at? Just a couple psi too high and it will ride poorly.

The instability...um, you kinda get used to it. Have the dealer check your alignment.

Nedmundo

I think the suspension tuning is one of the TSX's best points. Here in Philadelphia, which has rough roads, I find it tight and responsive, but never harsh. But people have different sensitivities to this. You should read some BMW forums, where some owners are furious about the "harshness" of the sport package suspension, while others find it a perfect blend of performance and ride quality. I got used to my 2001 Saab 9-5 Aero, but it was actually a pretty hard ride. Maybe that's partly why the TSX strikes me as so well balanced.

The low frequency bouncing over some undulations, in my experience, comes with performance tuned suspensions. My Jetta GLX did this sometimes, as did my Saab. It depends on the frequency of the undulations. I haven't had a problem with this at all in the TSX.

As for the instability on the highway, keep in mind you're on winter tires. These will not track as well as all-season or summer tires. The TSX's steering also has virtually no feedback on-center, which means it doesn't FEEL like it's tracking very well, even though tracking is fine. It lacks that locked-in, precise feel of a BMW, Saab, or even Mazda 6, which is my biggest complaint about the car.

SilverCU3

The lack of on centre feedback was a bit of an issue when the snow and ice recently came to the UK. It was almost impossible to tell if the car was sliding or not whilst driving straight due to this lack of feedback.

The last Accord Euro (TSX) was far more responsive with regard to steering input and provided a lot more feedback from the road. That 'locked-in' feeling you alluded to was a feature of the last generation Accord Euro (TSX) and it made the car feel very stable and secure.

I also feel that the damping/spring rates were better balanced in the last car as there was never any doubt as to what the car was up to. This version feels very detached when pressed and rapidly loses composure over broken or undulating surfaces. I guess that's the trade off for a more compliant ride.

HHCZ

I promise to myself that I will never read any car-review in the future

I red all reviews on CU2 in our country and they all were like "Honda did impossible, they improved perfect" etc.

But nevertheless, for that money...

oh and by the way - on one review they said, that the car with LKAS has worse steering because of the LKAS. Do you have it Silver?

HHCZ

Check for example Fifth Gear review.

SilverCU3

No, it was a very expensive option and, despite the salesman's best efforts, I declined as I didn't really see a need for it. I know it's hard to maintain purity of design in a modern car, but I think some interventions simply dull or ruin the driving experience in pursuit of 'perceived saftey'. All they're really doing is permitting the driver to be less responsible.

Because driving a car is such a subjective experience, I think car reviews are best read with a very open mind. Manufacturing tolerances and assembler's behaviour also means that no two cars are exactly alike so the road test car (usually chosen and supplied by the manufacturer) probably won't drive the same as the one you buy.

The only way you can really know a car is to drive it for yourself over an extended period.

HHCZ, I don't know if it's going to be true in your case, but the ride quality on my car improved quite a lot during the course of the first couple thousand miles. The springs, dampers, joints, etc. all need time to settle down.

I second what HD suggested ... it might be worth checking your tyre pressures. This Honda/Acura is hugely sensitive to tyre changes and a few pounds of pressure either way can really alter the feel and the ride.

Nedmundo

I drove the first generation TSX, and I agree it had better on-center feel than the current car. I noticed the "locked in" feel as soon as I pulled out of the dealership. But its suspension was softer, which produced more body roll, so overall I wasn't impressed. I think the current car has vastly superior chassis dynamics, and it's really a shame the steering doesn't measure up.

HeavyDuty

I now have 30k miles on my car and with the settling and my being more acquainted with it, I don't find the steering to be a nuisance anymore.

It really is amazing to me how different of an attitude a car this size has with a 4 cylinder as opposed to a V6. Even with stock suspension, I can controllably drift this thing through a corner and have found it to be very predictable. The same relative size car with a V6 takes a lot of tweaking to dial out the inherent oversteer.

SilverCU3

I'd agree with that ... the previous version certainly rolled a lot more. This one seems to have far higher levels of grip and the chassis is, on the whole, a substantial improvement. But, IMO, the actual 'feel' is no-one near as good as the old car in as much as there just isn't the same degree of feedback from the road. I'd love to try the new car with a hydraulic steering set-up

SilverCU3

I'm not sure that oversteer would ever be a problem in any FWD Accord/TSX. I haven't driven a V6 TSX (and I'm not likely to as I understand it's not going to be available as a Honda in the UK) so I can only guess that there would be even more understeer due to the additional weight over the front wheels. My i-DTEC diesel engine isn't too much heavier than the 2.4 petrol engine but, when driven back-to-back, my car simply doesn't turn-in anywhere near as well as the 2.4 does.

The vagueness of the steering on centre is, I think, an asset on long straight roads as it enables the car to track straight without having to make constant corrections. And it's fine once in a corner. It's quite progressive with regard to understeer and gently lifting off in mid-corner easily restores things without any drama if it does start to run wide. The real problem seems to be the transition between the initial turn-in.

HD, did it improve the turn-in when you fitted your wider wheels? I have an idea that the 50 series tyres aren't helping as the sidewalls are relatively high ... stretching them a bit onto your wider rims should, in theory, make turn-in a bit sharper as there isn't quite so much flex.

HHCZ

I drove the fist generation TSX, and even with sport suspension the tail of the car was very flared. Probably it can be said it was oversteering. And with even a slightly non-perfect tires, it was VERY hard to keep the car on the road in speeds over 180 km/h. I tested this with my friend, we both swap our cars (Mondeo ST220 as I said before) and I nearly crashed his car. And he was amazed how the TSX is bad (on the other side, he has 200 000 km on the clock without any failure and I had my car in a shop all the time)

SilverCU3

Hmmmm ... I never once encountered oversteer in my old Accord, even with sports suspension and 17s. Perhaps I just wasn't trying hard enough!

damompate

i could feel every bump in the rode, well it seemed like it. So got new springs and stru
97 peral white RL premium, 200k miles, tinted windows, lambo doors, 7 tvs, 22inch wheels. i cant post pics yet, but check my cardomain page http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3299596
ts, monroe reflexes.

HeavyDuty

I'm a tard, I meant plowing, understeer. Duh me.

HeavyDuty

I meant to say that FWD in general and for safety reasons most suspensions are set up to plow/understeer for the reasons you mentioned, it's more forgiving with throttle lift and no drama with the tail coming around.

The V6 06 Alti SE-R and TL's & CL's that I've driven are set up like that. This car with the 4 I can create oversteer & drift with enough speed and I feel like I could almost hang the tail out with a little more speed.

SilverCU3

FWD is designed for people who can't drive

Best handling car I've ever owned was a mid-engined Toyota MR2. Oversteer & understeer simply didn't exist at sensible speeds and the practical limit to cornering speed was how far I could see around the next bend.

I think the cornering limits on this version Acoord/TSX are far higher than the previous version. It feels very composed up to a certain level, and then it all falls apart because the dampers lose control. As you said, lifting off restores everything.

frescagod

lol...i was going to say, how the heck are you oversteering your TSX...?

honestly, i think the ride quality is very good. soaks up most of the bumps with no drama, and still stays moderately flat in 7/10ths cornering. i haven't really pushed it much further than that, but i can feel that there will be some body roll over 7/10ths.

that said, i came from an S2000 so any car is going to have a better ride.

also, people are complaining about "tire roar" and wind noise and whatnot...are you guys crazy? my S2000 was like 85db at 75mph, and this TSX must be ~65db. it is SO MUCH quieter. i can listen to comedy, books on tape, NPR, sports, etc. in the S, i would have to absolutely crank up the radio and fade to the rear headrest speakers to be able to hear anything.

anyway, everything is relative, so these changes seem more pronounced to me than to others.

HHCZ

I checked tire pressures and they were right. My only hope is wait as Silver said that it should improve during some thousand of miles. Because now, I am unhappy with my car.

frescagod: if you had S2000, it is obvious that now this is soft. But you know that S is one of the proper sport cars, it should be hard. I compared TSX to cars in its class, and even when reviews is saying it is the most comfortable, I think it is the least comfortable. I cannot imagine putting 18" anymore.

SilverCU3

HHCZ, maybe there's a fault with your car? The ride isn't exactly hard, in my opinion, and is easily more comfortable than an Audi A4, Mercedes C Class, or a BMW 3 Series. Perhaps you could drive a demonstrator at a local dealership and see if it's exclusive to your car?

What do you think is wrong with the ride? Is it that large potholes and other road damage causes the car to shake when you drive through them? Or is it the smaller imperfections which set-up a sort of 'jiggling' motion? I can honestly say that I find the suspension on this Accord/TSX very compliant. The only complaint I have is with the amount of trim rattles and creaks which accompany each pothole. These noises tend to make the car appear a lot harder riding than it really is as I hear the bumps more than I feel them.

If you're diappointed with the ride quality on 17s, don't even think about going to 18s or 19s! It will be worse as you'll be losing some of the cushioning effect of the sidewalls.

HHCZ

Ok, I will try some other car.

My complaint is that the car doesn't filtrate small imperfections on the roads. I was at city, at B-roads, at motorways in czech and on autobahns in germany, and nowhere the car feelt comfy and calm.

I was speaking with a dealer, and he told me this:
"The new accord is very comfy. You can imagine the design as a two layers. One layer is the whole suspension, and the second layer is the cabin. These layers are working individually, so you can imagine that you in the cabin are floating over the road, when the suspension is working on a different layer."

I have not that feeling. It is hard to describe, I invited one friend and he also told me that the car is stiff. Do some shake-o-meter exists?

SilverCU3

Hmmm ... what make of tyres do you have on your car?

HHCZ

I have 225/45/17 Pirelli Winter SOTTOZERO

SilverCU3

Are you sure they're 225/45 and not 225/50? If so, then that could be the problem.

Also, my (very limited) experience of winter tyres is that they tend to ride harshly. That may or may not be true nowadays.

Is there any way you could get to drive an Accord with different (non-winter) tyres???

HHCZ

Sorry I am an idiot, they are 225/50/17 (as I wrote in the first post)

SilverCU3

Ok, then maybe the next step is to see if non-winter tyres are any better?

mhpellerin

I hate my 2010 tsx. This is the last Acura I'll ever by. Its a real piece of crap.
Compared to my 2001 CL-P which was great, the TSX is so noisy it is very fatiguing to drive on normal interstates with slightly worn asphalt such as I90 & I87 in upstate NY. The cabin resonates with road noise so loud it gives me a headache. I have to turn the stereo up to uncomfortable levels just to hear it. BTW the stereo is no match for the Bose unit in the CL-P also.

My CL-P had 205/60/16 MXVR S8 tires on it so maybe that is part of the reason it was better. I might try swapping the wheels/tires between the CL-P and TSX to see if it improves things. I run the advised 33 psi in these tires so that is not the issue.

The ride is to stiff and the steering doesn't naturally stay on center and the steering ratio is to quick. The wheelbase needs a few more inches. The seats have to sharp of a lumbar support.

The last time Acura new how to design a car was 2003. Since then they have put the cars on steroids which is a mistake. Why do I want to drive a race car. What I want is a sporty luxury car.

Professor

^ I have a 2005 RL and a 2011 TSX V6 Tech... the ride is a little firmer on the road with the TSX, but I don't feel/see anything you are referencing.

mhpellerin

I have the 4 cyl TSX and it is a nervous rough and loud ride.
Maybe your 6 cyl is a bit quieter but your RL must be very quiet compared to the TSX. I'm considering a Camry now as that is a bit quieter than my 2001 CL