Dumb n00b Question; Suspension/Shocks

Im pretty new to the whole tuning thing and I am not afraid to say it. We didnt all just wake up on our 16th birthday and know everything about cars, right?

Now that thats out of the way, heres the story:

I have a 98 GSX and I noticed the ride is VERY poor. I know its a sports car (a lower make/model compared to say a Porche, lets say, I know..) and the road noise is going to be bad, but my sister has a 98 GS-T and hers seemed to ride better. Railroad tracks are the devil, and little bumps in the road send me flying. And when I go over 70-80 on the highway the car shakes more than normal, but anything higher seems to be fine. I mean i had an Escort that rode at 110 COMFORTABLY, so I was quite shocked.

I also did read the sticky post about "Suspension" and whatnot. But the terms are all technical. (For me being a beginner..) So heres the question.

What can I do, thats fairly cheap ($200-400) that can make my ride smoother. Maybe get new shocks/struts. Maybe with the highway thing, since my normal speed is about 70-80, I need new tires? The tread isnt great, but there might be bumps in the rubber or something.

I dont know.

Any helpful advice or criticism is welcome, please just dont slam me. I know I am new and I know you know more than me. I also know your not my personal search engine (as someone said before..?) so if you dont have anything helpful to say, just keep your fucking fingers off the keyboard and click the back key on your browser.

Im looking for HELP, not bullshit.

Thanks in advance. You guys are always a great help.

get your wheels balanced. usually works.

I like this guy already.

Hi there. Personall, my car shakes badly at high speeds because my tires suck, and I need an alignment. Bad alignment will make the car shake bc of how the wheels are facing. Shocks will also come into play also. Again, I too need them, and the car tends to "bounce" too much. I would say do that first, then if problem still around, then get some tires. Usually when you get shocks installed, they do an alignment too so you kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

Also just wanted to mention it matters alot on how much profile you have on your tires. If you have small side walled tires (low profile) your going to feel everybump that much more. I don't know which series tire you have on so I'm just going to throw that out there.

Getting the wheels balanced like 2of9 said should get rid of the shaking at higher speeds. These cars do have a little stiffer suspension than most other cars, mainly because they were made as a "sports car", but the ride you say you're getting is far worse than the factory ride. Shocks and struts would be a huge help if yours are bad. What size rims/tires are you running?

Wow. You get the "Thor's Favorite Newbie" award.

So do you want it to be a cooshier ride, more like an SUV or does it have a lot of roll and you want it to be more stable in the turns? Road noise is just because of your tread, some designs are just noisier than others.

My tires were chopped and it made it seem like they were unbalanced. Damn girl who owned the tires before loved the handbrake as much as she love the ... You get the point. It could be any of the above.

You may have a bent rim. Get the wheels balanced, and ask them how much weight each rim is asking for just so you have an idea. If one rim calls for a huge amount of weight to balance out, you may have a bent rim.

Get an alignment, along with new tires if you have the money. This will make your ride MUCH better. If this still dosn't help to your satisfaction, then go for suspension replacments.

man...i dont know where you guys live but up here in MN, our roads suck because of winter and summer, but yeah, i think imma call Tein or some suspension place for these conditions.

you could possibly have bad ball joints, control arms, etc. On my 1g, the control arm was busted and the joint was completely loose, and it vibrated really bad. i replaced that control arm, and it was fine after that. a good thing to check, kick the front(tread) of your tire. if it wobbles, it means something is probably bad. On my car, i would kick the tire, and it shook back and forth slightly. when i put the new control arm in, it was solid as a rock. another thing to try is taking the wheel entirely off the ground, usually best done with a hoist, and try shaking the tires back and forth, up and down, in and out. they shouldnt move at all, except for the wheels just turning left and right or spinning. Also, check all your motor and transmission mounts. make sure those are tight and secure. you could test that just by seeing how the car vibrates at a stopped idle. if its really bad at a stop, a mount could be shot. just my thoughts, cheap to check these things too.

Wow. You get the "Thor's Favorite Newbie" award.

So do you want it to be a cooshier ride, more like an SUV or does it have a lot of roll and you want it to be more stable in the turns? Road noise is just because of your tread, some designs are just noisier than others.


If I was as important as Thor you would get an award from me too. LOL. But I would say the alignment and tires is probably your problem. I would do those first and if that doesnt fix it, Then it is probably your shocks. They are probably the stock shocks that got put on your car from the manufacturer almost 10 years ago. :2cents:

And Welcome to AF :bigthumb:

Yeah get some now shocks on there and that alignment and balance and it will ride like a brand new car again! I have been reading good things about KYB 4 way adjustable shocks.

Good luck!