2001 Park Avenue ride

[TopherS]

I have a 2001 Park Avenue (not Ultra) with 75K miles on it. Bought it almost a year ago. LOVE the car but not necessarily lovin' the ride. I don't know if there's anything I can do about it, though. Now, I realize from reading past posts that most of you prefer a firmer, better handling suspension. I realize that I am the minority because I, on the other hand, prefer the softer cushier ride and I feel like my PA rides too stiff. I don't need it to bob up/down incessantly, but with my ride, the car rattles/squeaks some when driving on city streets...you feel most bumps. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a tank. It handles well and it isn't punishing, but it is not how I envisioned a Park Avenue. I've had a 96 Regal with Dynaride and a 95 Roadmaster with FE2 (which actually, was quite soft for Gran Touring Suspension). This PA rides rougher than both of those, actually rides like the 94 Taurus I once had. I don't think that it has the GT Susp option, either. It has Toyo Spectrum tires, which look nice and get nice traction here in the rainy (flooded) Northwest. One of my tires is bad, so I can either replace that one tire or rip the bandaid off and buy a new set. Do the tires affect ride all that much or is it the suspension components that determine the ride. I've thought about taking my wife's Rendezvous wheels/tires and putting them on my car for a test drive in order to see how it would ride with non-touring tires. She has the basic stock wheels/hubcaps/tires. From what I am told, the wheels are interchangeable in size.

What are your experiences with the rides? Am I stuck with what I've got or is there something I can do to soften it up a little? Thanks for your help.

[HotZ28]

Look at your RPO codes on your spare tire cover and see what suspension you have. It will start with an "F". (FE1-FE2-FE4). The FE1 is the standard "soft ride". Tire sidewall rigidity does have an effect on ride. Find out what suspension you have first, and then check another set of tires.

[TopherS]

FE1

I was looking at some Goodyear AccuTred or something like that. There is one specially for Traction and another for Quiet/Soft Ride. Don't know that much about them yet. Les Schwab (local tire chain) said that the Toyo Spectrum is "top of the line" and should give a good, quiet ride, but it is a touring tire. I wonder if a tire that isn't a touring tire would be enough to soften the ride or if maybe a change in the shock/strut system would be necessary. Personally, I think that the tires are rather loud, as well. (Sounds like a lot for something so trivial, I know, but this is the 1st car that I've had in about 15 yrs that I actually want to keep forever (or at least for quite a few years), so I want it to be just right).

[HotZ28]

Have you checked the air pressure in the existing tires? In cooler weather you can run as low as 28 psi. That might help some. If you have too much air, (over 32 psi) your ride would be harsh.

Most PA's I have been in ride similar to mine. I can go over a rough railroad crossing at 50 mph and not feel the bumps in the car. I see other smaller cars going over the same tracks at 30 mph and it looks like the drivers head is hitting the roof.

You have the FE1 "soft ride suspension", so I don't think you want to do anything to alter that.

[TopherS]

I was at Les Schwab a couple weeks ago pricing tires and they put all my tires to 35 psi (sidewall states max 44 psi) and said that is what they recommend for those tires. I thought about letting them down to 32 psi, though.

I already have one (right/rear) that is about 5 yrs old and is starting to come apart and the two left tires are about 3 yrs old, in decent shape and the right/front is practically new. I have no idea what the previous owner was doing when she was replacing tires. It seems that she replaced only one or two at a time. Seems odd.

Obviously, it would be cheaper to buy just one tire (same type) to replace the old tire, since all the others are still good. But I think that it might still be worth it to just start over with 4 new ones and get some that are a little better.

As far as the suspension components go, having the FE1 is what I wanted, I don't think there is anything more I could do with the major components. What about the strut cartridges in front? The car has 75K miles on it. It doesn't bounce all over the place like my Roadmaster did when the shocks were worn out, quite the contrary. But then again, I don't think I've ever had a car w/ struts that were worn. How do they act? The same?