goldwave84

Hi all,
As i stated above, I plan to buy the rx8 more for cruising and style. I DO NOT plan to take it to the track ( have another car in mind for that) or to abuse it. I test drove one the other day, and felt the suspension a little stiff for everyday city driving. What can you recommend I do for the suspension? I plan to redo the interior so give it a more expensive feel too.

Thanks
Ash

BaronVonBigmeat

Get different tires? I dunno, there's lots of options for firming up the springs/shocks but nothing to soften it that I know of.

Xantium

You could always get the non-sport suspension out of an automatic rx8.

goldwave84

I checked with a friend, he told me about tien suspensions. It seems you can control the stiffness or softness from the cockpit. Anyone tried it?

mikeschaefer

Yeah you can adjust the tein flex (and some other coilover systems), but even at their softest settings they are still way more firm that stock.

If you want the suspenstion softer get the AT, otherwise I suggest getting used to it, getting a butt pillow, or getting a different car.

CarAndDriver

tirerack.com and look for touring tires that get good ride comfort ratings.

goldwave84

I did actually test the AT. Hmmm.....so am I stuck with a rather firm ride?

sharward

Did you test the "stock" AT with 16" wheels? I have an AT Touring Edition which has 18" wheels. You may also want to drive another one and check the tire pressure beforehand, making sure the pressure matches what's on the door jamb.

goldwave84

So your saying that the AT Touring edition with the 18" wheels should be one of the softer rides? I do not plan to drop below 18". If I could find a suspension setup, which I could control from the cockpit, it would be awesome.

Xantium

The 18" auto is the same stiffness as the 18" manual... the 16" auto is the one that has really soft suspension.

GeorgeH

iTrader: (2)

The wheel/tire package is what you want to pay attention to. A 17 or 16 inch wheel/tire package will have larger sidewalls coupled with (probably) lighter overall weight, which should give a better ride than the 18" wheels. Do a search on "17 inch" or something like that on this forum to get an idea of what others have done (although most people do it for performance).

If you end up getting a car with 18" wheels, and want to replace them with 17" wheels to improve comfort, just make sure the outside diameter of the new tires is the same as OEM (or close) and that the wheels you buy are lighter than OEM wheels. If you get heavy wheels the ride could actually get worse, not better.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

Like everyone is saying, it's the tires. Many of the OEM tires are Bridgstone RE040's. They have very stiff sidewalls that don't flex well. Being 45 series tire, leaves you very little space to flex on top of that. Stay away from "Ultra Hi-Performance" tires. A "Performance" all-season tire should give you a more smoother ride.

BaronVonBigmeat

I guess having a lighter suspension should help as well, aside from the softer tires. If you feel like spending money, lighter wheels (preferably in 17's) would help, and aftermarket brakes if you're just reeeally determined, heh. I seem to remember someone got the racingbrake kit and said the reduced weight improved the ride quality, even with stiffer springs it was a better ride than stock, etc.

deamicls

iTrader: (1)

Only the base model AT without the sport package comes with the 'un tuned' suspension and those are rare.

r0tor

iTrader: (1)

Toyota makes some sporty looking cars that aren't sporty... do us and yourself a favor and go to their dealership

your just going to end up complaining about the suspension, complaining about sporty brakes that are prone to squealing, complaining about the gas mileage, complaining about having to add oil, complaining about not being able to shut the car down cold, ect ect... this car requires someone that wants performance, not just the look of performance

deamicls

iTrader: (1)

I didn't want to say the above but he's right. This is just not the car for you.

GeorgeH

iTrader: (2)

And I think this is a ridiculous response. There's nothing wrong with somebody liking the RX-8 but wanting a little more comfortable ride. How many people complained about the 18" wheels early on? About how unnecessary they are from an engineering standpoint, just adding unsprung weight, etc. Hell, I've bent two OEM rims in 15,000 miles thanks to those oh-so-cool short sidewalls. Truth is 17s probably do make more sense for most drivers.

Me? I'm sticking with 18s, because I like the turn-in and I like the way they look. But it's perfectly reasonable for somebody to prefer 17s to take out some of that hit you feel when you run over concrete expansion joints on the freeway. Let's face it, some regions have nasty freeway systems. I drove over a fair number of them when driving to Topeka for nats. If I had to drive some of that stuff on a daily basis I might be thinking of 17s as well.

Having said that, I do think it's a good idea for the original poster to understand the fuel/oil consumption issues. And to make sure a RWD platform is the right choice. If so, then the RX-8 is a unique car that is wonderful to drive daily, regardless if you want the car a little softer than stock, or a whole bunch stiffer like so many other people do.

YaXMaN

What to go. You agree with what r0tor said.
goldwave84, dude, go get an Accord coupe, throw some wheels on it, and call it a day. From what you're saying, if you're being serious, you're not cut out for this.

yiksing

^^ Haha so true

BaronVonBigmeat

Eh, I dunno...the gas mileage and occasional adding of oil don't really relate to comfort, the brakes are an easy fix, and the cold start thing seems to be solved with the starter recall/upgrade. (Personally, I'd consider other cars too, but that's just me.) Probably what he should do is test drive a base model non-sport AT and see how he likes the ride, then get the MT (although the AT probably has cheapie tires that aren't exactly optimized for comfort either).

He should however consider that A) the car needs to be revved hard fairly often, if you drive it like a Toyota it's not good for the motor, and B) the shocks wear quickly. If he's looking at a used car with 30k miles, the shocks may very well be on their last leg and giving a poor ride (mine are awful right now at 35k). Plus the expense of changing shocks every 30k. There are aftermarket shocks that last longer I'm sure...but they are also oriented towards a stiffer ride. I don't know what his options would be for longer-lasting shocks with factory-levels of dampening.

GeorgeH

iTrader: (2)

Tokico D-Specs, at full-soft, are softer than the OEM shocks.