24mm vs 26mm?

gerard vaglio · 06-23-2005, 07:50 PM

On bad roads my daily driver rides pretty rough, it feels like itÕs gonna rattle itself to pieces.

79sc with new boge shocks, 16Ó wheels , rubber is SO3s, rubber suspension bushings. The torsion bars are 19mm up front but the previous owner put 26mm turbo bars in the back.

My question is, would going back to stock 24mm bars in the back make much of a difference in ride quality or would I just be giving away the good handling the car has on smooth roads..

Any opinions?

fastpat · 09:41 PM

Since my Carrera has 25mm bars stock, I'd expect your ride quality to change very little with the smaller bar, particularly if your shocks are new.

For your car, in my opinion, you picked the wrong tire for a smooth ride. The SO3's, while handling very well, and having high adhesion; are known to have very stiff side walls and riding hard.

Consider going to a tire with more flexible side walls; a Yokohama AVS dB S2 is only slightly less a performance tire and has an excellent reputation as a smooth, quiet tire. Bridgestone and Michelin make tires with these qualities as well.

Tires are all that I'd change if the rest of the suspension is in excellent condition.

anthony · 06-23-2005, 09:13 PM

What's the ride height like? My car rode pretty rough until I raised it up 1.25 inches in the front to Euro ride height. I think it was so low that there was very little suspension travel.

randywebb · 06-23-2005, 09:25 PM

also if the susp. rubber is old it will transmit NVH

gerard vaglio · 06-23-2005, 09:51 PM

Hey, thanks for the comments, I didn't know the SO3s had a rep for riding rough. I have to replace my tires over the next few months, getting a little bald, any other suggestions for performance tires that ride better then mine?

Ride height is Euro height. Freshened up some of the rubber bushings last week and I did notice some improvement.

06-23-2005, 10:17 PM

Don't waste your money. I went the other way from 24s to 26s and the difference is microscopic.

I don't think there's much you can do. Perhaps a set of cheap 15 inch wheels for daily driving could improve comfort a bit?

dickster · 06-23-2005, 10:20 PM

I have 15" wheels and the ride is still harsh? You mean run with bigger side walls?

Bobboloo · Bobboloo's Garage

In reading up on suspension upgrades here 19/26mm is supposed to be a nice combo for the street.

Alot of the jitters is supposedly the result of old rubber bushings that have gotten hard. From what I've read people here have had good results with the Elephant racing bushings in that not only did the handling improve but so did the compliancy of the suspension,

Rdane who posts here also raved about the Wevo springplates which hopefully will be avaiable soon..

In the tire department I've got Yoko ES-100s and they give a nice ride and good handling on dry pavement. In reading reviews on Tirerack the Avon Tech 500 has gotten great reviews for ride quality and performance.

06-24-2005, 02:39 AM

dickster

Standard balloon tires....195/65 & 215/60. They should help a bit.

dickster · 06-24-2005, 03:18 AM

Mikkel,

I've gone down to 205/50's and 225/50's - that may be my problem.

Jim Richards · 06-24-2005, 03:47 AM

I can't see where the (Wevo) spring plates will make that much difference to the ride quality. I think you need to match your shocks to the t-bars you use. I ran 21mm/26mm t-bars with Bilstein HD strut inserts & Sport shocks on my 73E and the ride wasn't significantly harsher than stock. I could've improved my ride quality by sending out my strut inserts/shocks to Bilstein to have them revalved to match the rest of the suspension. I'd recommend that you do that to see if you can tame your SC beast.

Bobboloo · Bobboloo's Garage

The reason it (Wevo) improves the ride is because there is no stiction from the bearing so the energy from a bump is absorbed by the spring as was intended as opposed to the chassis. This gives a more supple ride and reportedly feels like smaller Tbars.