Back Breaking Suspension (or lack thereof)

[MaleCortana]

The topic says it all. Recently bought a Starlet EP91, it seems to be running 14" Alloys with some sort of Chinese Company Rubber in all four corners. Tire Pressure at 30. Rides like absolute sh*t.

I feel EVERYTHING!, going at 40 over those (round things where you have access to sewers?) on the road makes me wince don't get me started on unassuming potholes. The road down Union Place (past Mistubishi Showroom towards Access Towers) is a nightmare as there are these slight wobbliness to the carpet. 

Friend suggested that suspension might be super tight (non-existent body roll as well in tight corners at about 60 so could be the issue as well). Dad told me to shut up as I'm expecting wayy too much from an entry level-hatchback built 22 years ago.

I'm afraid that the vibrations will break something tbh. Is this the case with all Starlets? Should I go check whether my suspension is tight? and if so how and where?

Please help

MC

[iRage]

9 hours ago, MaleCortana said:

The topic says it all. Recently bought a Starlet EP91, it seems to be running 14" Alloys with some sort of Chinese Company Rubber in all four corners. Tire Pressure at 30. Rides like absolute sh*t.

I feel EVERYTHING!, going at 40 over those (round things where you have access to sewers?) on the road makes me wince don't get me started on unassuming potholes. The road down Union Place (past Mistubishi Showroom towards Access Towers) is a nightmare as there are these slight wobbliness to the carpet. 

Friend suggested that suspension might be super tight (non-existent body roll as well in tight corners at about 60 so could be the issue as well). Dad told me to shut up as I'm expecting wayy too much from an entry level-hatchback built 22 years ago.

I'm afraid that the vibrations will break something tbh. Is this the case with all Starlets? Should I go check whether my suspension is tight? and if so how and where?

Please help

MC

Hi...so have you checked what kind of suspension it actually has ? Have they modified it ? Swapped it for aftermarket stuff ?

Right now..what you are describing can be because of many many things...it can be due to:

- Suspension upgrade (stiffer sports suspension)

- Botched suspension courtesy of a boy racer and his maka baas

- Stock suspension completely worn out and spoilt.

 

[mazdaspeed]

On the same subject

Any commencements with regards to Marina Shocks ? They claim to rebuild it to the level of brand new  and give a warranty as well. Not intending to promote them but preparing myself for a similar situation - besides budgets are thigh these days ?   

[kush]

2 hours ago, mazdaspeed said:

On the same subject

Any commencements with regards to Marina Shocks ? They claim to rebuild it to the level of brand new  and give a warranty as well. Not intending to promote them but preparing myself for a similar situation - besides budgets are thigh these days ?   

I would rather go with KYB or similar brand.

[MaleCortana]

4 hours ago, iRage said:

Hi...so have you checked what kind of suspension it actually has ? Have they modified it ? Swapped it for aftermarket stuff ?

Right now..what you are describing can be because of many many things...it can be due to:

- Suspension upgrade (stiffer sports suspension)

- Botched suspension courtesy of a boy racer and his maka baas

- Stock suspension completely worn out and spoilt.

 

Thanks iRage, I am unaware what shocks it has, will have a "garage day" tomorrow to see who the real culprit. Doubt it is aftermarket (owner was old man/cheapskate), might be worn out suspensions. 

[MaleCortana]

3 hours ago, mazdaspeed said:

On the same subject

Any commencements with regards to Marina Shocks ? They claim to rebuild it to the level of brand new  and give a warranty as well. Not intending to promote them but preparing myself for a similar situation - besides budgets are thigh these days ?   

Budgets do be tight!

These fellows rebuild shocks? o.0

[iRage]

1 hour ago, MaleCortana said:

Thanks iRage, I am unaware what shocks it has, will have a "garage day" tomorrow to see who the real culprit. Doubt it is aftermarket (owner was old man/cheapskate), might be worn out suspensions. 

Well..not really see the band of the shocks..but see if anything has been changed.

As for rebuilding shocks...so far have not seen a long term solution for shock rebuilds. I would still say go for an actual new shock.

[Magnum]

What about the tyres on the car? small potholes and imperfections on the road are mostly softened by tyres than the suspension. The brand, tyre type and the thickness of the sidewall will have a major impact on softness

[kush]

As I remember starlet had reasonable ride quality. It could be bad shocks, hard tires.

Do not expect the ride quality of a modern car they had basic suspension setup.

 

[MaleCortana]

7 hours ago, iRage said:

Well..not really see the band of the shocks..but see if anything has been changed.

As for rebuilding shocks...so far have not seen a long term solution for shock rebuilds. I would still say go for an actual new shock.

 

4 hours ago, Magnum said:

What about the tyres on the car? small potholes and imperfections on the road are mostly softened by tyres than the suspension. The brand, tyre type and the thickness of the sidewall will have a major impact on softness

 

4 hours ago, kush said:

As I remember starlet had reasonable ride quality. It could be bad shocks, hard tires.

Do not expect the ride quality of a modern car they had basic suspension setup.

 

Tomorrow is "Garage day" guys! will be changing the timing belt of the car tomorrow. 

Will update on the tires and suspension of the car!

[Crosswind]

14 hours ago, mazdaspeed said:

On the same subject

Any commencements with regards to Marina Shocks ? They claim to rebuild it to the level of brand new  and give a warranty as well. Not intending to promote them but preparing myself for a similar situation - besides budgets are thigh these days ?   

I used their services with an old Mazda butterfly I had. They have a homemade machine that take apart the shockabsorber, refill it with pressurized oil and seal it. In some cases, they will swap your shocks for a set they have already refurbished (if they have in stock).

With this type of work, its always hit or miss I guess, but my experience with them was good. The shocks held on until I sold the car after about 6 months (I think the warranty is 6 months) If its an old car, go for it.

[MaleCortana]

Okay so I went to a Garage today. Turns out I have far pressing issues as well (All three of my motor mounts are shot rip, no wonder my steering wheel is twerking like a madman at traffic stops) 

@iRage so the mechanic told me the shocks are just worn out and its that the "gas that has gone" told me to use it for a bit more and then swap out for a newer set.

@Magnum My tires are GOODRIDE RADIAL RP88 175/65R14 82H M+S on all four corners

@kush I'm definitely not expecting modern comforts but everytime I go the 'dakas dakas' noise of tiny potholes make me wince and cry cause that sounds expensive.

[kush]

Get the mounts, shocks, tires sorted out in the same order with a alignment check.

This should sort the issues provided you have finances.

As a interim reduce tire pressure to 28 and see if it improves

 

 

[iRage]

Well..get it sorted out....if the ride is as bad as you say it is because the shocks are bad..then I cannot see why you were asked to wait. When you replace the shocks it might be a good idea to replace bushes for stabilizers/control arms/etc, tie rods, etc as well (some needing replacement depending on condition)

[kmeeg]

I don't know for cars, but for SUVs there are adjustable shocks to adjust for most comfortable on road and desert racing type of situations. I can't say more as I haven't installed them yet, just ordered and waiting for delivery.. LoL..

Just wanted to say if there's anything similar for cars would be perfect.

 

[MaleCortana]

On 8/21/2020 at 1:24 PM, kush said:

Get the mounts, shocks, tires sorted out in the same order with a alignment check.

This should sort the issues provided you have finances.

As a interim reduce tire pressure to 28 and see if it improves

 

 

Weirdly enough I changed all three mounts and the mounts that were in the car were in a horrid state (inner rubber torn to shreds, the metal bearing part in the middle permanently lopsided etc. When I bought the car a month ago there was zero vibration but a couple of days ago my steering wheel would literally twerk in traffic stops. Looks like I fell for a Sri Lankan classic Atawala Deepang. 

On 8/21/2020 at 3:21 PM, iRage said:

Well..get it sorted out....if the ride is as bad as you say it is because the shocks are bad..then I cannot see why you were asked to wait. When you replace the shocks it might be a good idea to replace bushes for stabilizers/control arms/etc, tie rods, etc as well (some needing replacement depending on condition)

Weirdly enough after I fixed the mounts it got significantly better, I know that logically it seems impossible that the ride quality will improve if I upgrade my engine mounts and not the shocks.

Regardless I will fix the suspension as well although I may put it up until next month pay day  I only recently graduated from highschool and I'm doing a part time job. Blew my monthly salary on the three engine mounts and timing belt rip.

[MaleCortana]

On 8/21/2020 at 7:27 PM, kmeeg said:

I don't know for cars, but for SUVs there are adjustable shocks to adjust for most comfortable on road and desert racing type of situations. I can't say more as I haven't installed them yet, just ordered and waiting for delivery.. LoL..

Just wanted to say if there's anything similar for cars would be perfect.

 

In cars there are adjustable ones as well but I think they're called coilovers and cost signficantly more than a regular set of shocks.

[kmeeg]

7 minutes ago, MaleCortana said:

In cars there are adjustable ones as well but I think they're called coilovers and cost signficantly more than a regular set of shocks.

I thought coil-overs are nothing but spring and shock in one unit things. Sorry, not much mechanical knowledge.

 

[iRage]

46 minutes ago, MaleCortana said:

In cars there are adjustable ones as well but I think they're called coilovers and cost signficantly more than a regular set of shocks.

Well..yes coilovers are adjustable but not all adjustable shocks are coilovers...but then again all though the term coilover refers to the height, stiffness, etc...adjustable suspension pieces in modern auto pop culture; a coilover is technically any strut/shock-absorber system where the coil spring is placed over the shock absorber. So theoretically, if the coil spring is located separately away from the shock absorber (as in the rear of some cars) it is not a coil-over as the coil is not over the shock. Any shock/strut where the coil is over the damper is a coilover. @kmeeg this should answer your question)

Below are the shocks I have on the Trueno. THe rear (pic 1) are adjustable dampers (shock-absorbers). What is adjustable is the stiffness/softness of the damper. They are short because the car is lowered (i.e. they are short stroke dampers).

The second pic is of fully adjustable coilovers (camber plate on top is not shown in the pic though). They can be adjusted for height, softness/stiffness, as well as the camber.

Edited August 23, 2020 by iRage

[iRage]

21 minutes ago, MaleCortana said:

Weirdly enough after I fixed the mounts it got significantly better, I know that logically it seems impossible that the ride quality will improve if I upgrade my engine mounts and not the shocks.

 

Well..if the suspension is bad...it does make sense. Since the engine mounts were completely gone, every time you went over pot holes, humps, etc...the engine must have pretty much bounced. Considering that 1/3rd of your vehicle weight is pretty much getting thrown up and down in the engine bay it would make the body of the car just simply slam up and down which without good dampers would be been really harsh as the dampers would not absorb any of that slamming.