[dima126]

i am about to buy my sti this summer and i just want some opinions on the ride quality for normal driving every day. is it very stiff that its impossible to take or is it good.

P.S. is it worse then the 350Z?

[In2Deep]

The stock suspension is terrible. Ask anyone who's put them on a shock dyno and they'll tell you the spring does too much work while the strut doesn't do enough.

Go with an aftermarket coilover like the progress:
http://www.esxmotorsports.com/html/suspension.htm

They were designed on an STi for an STi

Mario

[staticx313]

the main thing for ride quality if you didnt want to throw down $XXXX for coilovers .. is get new tires. That made a huge difference in roughness and noise. Althought what Mario said is right..

Robert~

[Web_Foot_STi]

I need my 15,000 mile service for my daily driver STi. Bone stock suspension and tyres. The car is livable, but VERY much on the stiff side.

[Snax]

Coming from a 2500 lb car with 500 lb/in springs on both ends, the STi is pillowy soft. I keep looking for the sunroof and heated seat controls to go with it.

The ride is firm. Large breasted women should wear a sports bra on long journeys. Or should they??

[Web_Foot_STi]

LOL Snax,

The sports bra has to be the womans choise. She has to wear that Afghan head to toe cover though, Burke? Can't have driver distraction...

[mx_9]

Originally Posted by dima126

i am about to buy my sti this summer and i just want some opinions on the ride quality for normal driving every day. is it very stiff that its impossible to take or is it good.

P.S. is it worse then the 350Z?

For what it's worth, my previous two car purchases were Volvo's. The STi has been my daily driver since Oct and I think its ride quality is fine. It's no luxury car type ride but I find it very liveable.

[jmlmr2]

I have never ridden in a 350Z, so I can not make a direct comparison. However, I have been in both an S2000 and Infiniti G35 6MT, and from what I hear, the 350 is at least as stiff as the S2000. I would not put the STi in the same league as either of those cars in the ride comfort department - it is far superior. It's not WRX comfy by any means, but not kidney damaging either.

For reference, my most recent cars (between me and my wife) have been a '93 MR2, '94 Integra, '00 Boxster, '03 WRX wagon, and an '04 STi (the WRX and STi are the two we currently have). If I add in the S2000 and G35 that I have spent a fair amount of time in and rank them from stiffest to most comfy (1 is most stiff):

1. S2000
2. MR2
3. STi
4. G35
5. Boxster
6. WRX
7. Integra

With that said, the difference, in my opinion, between #3 and #5 is minimal, and more a matter of personal taste probably. The Boxster does the best job of absorbing impact harshness, followed closely by the STi, with both leaving the G35 in the dust (those 18" wheels don't hide much). On really rough roads, the STi seems to have more suspension travel than the G35, but is more firmly sprung and/or damped. In other words, the STi does better over small stuff, the G35 better (smoother) over big holes, railroad tracks, etc... Again, neither one is even in the same league as the S2000 (or the MR2, for that matter), which was borderline torture on the crappy roads in southeastern PA. The Boxster is almost magical in the amount of suspension travel and impact absorption it has while managing to handle as well as it does. I guess that's why it cost sooo much :cry:

You shouldn't have trouble finding a dealer that will let you drive an STi at this point - they're not exactly hard to come by anymore (at least not around here). Take one out and drive it on the worst road you can find and see what you think.

[dima126]

thanks for the info jmlmr2. i will do just like you said, i already schedueled an appoitment for a test drive. so you are saing that the the s2000 is much stiffer then the STI?.

[crashsti]

for a car that puts out 2-horsepower per cubic inch i'd say it rides quite well in day to day driving. i think i speak for quite a few Sti owners when i say this is my only car. you can't have it all but i think the STi is quite close to doing it.

[jmlmr2]

I would not even compare the two - the STi is that much better. I drive it with my pregnant wife and three-year old and nobody is complaining yet - although my wife said that when she's in labor we're taking her WRX wagon to the hospital :P

A good friend of mine, who owned an S2000 for about two years ended up having to sell it because it was actually hurting him He sold the S2000 and bought the G35 6MT because it was the most sporty car he could afford at the time that did not have a punishing ride (he drove the 350Z and thought it was as bad or worse than the S2000). He drove my STi and thought it was just a bit on the stiff side, but way better than the S2000 - and almost as good as the G35 (which suffers from the minimal sidewalls of the 18" wheels/tires). The STi just seems to have a lot more suspension travel than those other cars, so the springs/shocks, though stiff, don't have to be as harsh as the others to keep the car off of the bump stops.

The stock STi ride is way less annoying than the track model 350z ride, I can say that from experience.

[sciolist]

The stock STi ride is just fine for a daily driver. Relatively speaking, it feels taut but certainly not jarring. I agree that the STi is a little softer than the S2000. Bear in mind too that the STi's additional mass is going to transmit less overall vibration to your body than any #2800 car unless you really go wild with suspension retrofits.

IMO the quality of the STi's stock springs and dampers leaves quite a bit to be desired. With aftermarket coilovers and bars you would be able to get a major increase in handling performance at the stock level of harshness, or conversely, you could make the ride more compliant at the stock level of handling.

There's no question that the STi's ride is harsher than say a 325, but in terms of flat-out performance, the ride quality is the STi's most de-tuned aspect.

[Singletrack]

Originally Posted by In2Deep

The stock suspension is terrible. Ask anyone who's put them on a shock dyno and they'll tell you the spring does too much work while the strut doesn't do enough.

Go with an aftermarket coilover like the progress:
http://www.esxmotorsports.com/html/suspension.htm

They were designed on an STi for an STi

Mario

*Virtual smack to the face*

I dissagree with you 100%. The stock suspension is absolutely awesome. I can tear it up on any kind of road and the car is very predictable. If you are talking about a dedicated track setup, then there are definite improvements to be made. But for street with the occasional track day, I wouldn't change a thing.

-st

[timb]

I Agree with singletrack in disagreeing with In2Deep.

In the stock setup, the spring is not doing too much work, rather not enough. The strut isn't doing too little, but rather too much.

Think about it--the soft spring is the weak link. Too much of the job of absorbing bumps is being done by the strut, which then over controls the soft spring resulting in the ride harshness.

The job of the strut is to dampen the spring's oscillation. Too soft a spring, then no real ocillation=ride harshness. Too firm a spring, then uncontrolled oscillation=bouncy bouncy bouncy (like worn out shocks).