Dreadful ride - any way to improve?

[guest1372]

Was a passenger in a Fiat 500L Trekking a while back, awful. *
45 profile tyres on 17" wheels with suspension made of blancmange to compensate, should have gone with 16" max.
Our family fleet Jag XF has tyres like balloons but is so comfortable; I vetoed the wheel 'upgrade'.
--
TG

* Except for the nice large opening glass roof.

[olduser1]

Have you tried another vehicle over the same route as you take/commute?
As noted by forum members changing to Honda Jazz 15"" wheels will help as would tyres with more rubber ie 60 or 65 profile.
Take a look at mytyres.co.uk for steel wheels all weather combo for you Jazz

[rogbro]

I felt as if our 2012 EX also was going to fall over going around some corners. Slowing down might have helped,
But where's the fun in that.
Honda updated the suspension on the "SI" model, changed camber and caster angles, fitted a thicker anti roll bar,
And lowered the suspension. 
So any of those mods would be a good place to start, if you want to go around corners.
I started with updating the shock absorbers Bilsteins all round, followed by a rear anti roll bar. Both work...

[culzean]

I felt as if our 2012 EX also was going to fall over going around some corners. Slowing down might have helped,
But where's the fun in that.

Very few cars (except out and out hot hatches or sports cars) corner flatter than a Jazz,  simply because Jazz suspension has limited movement.  The rear already has an anti-roll bar - it is called 'torsion beam suspension'.   

http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&title=AntiRoll-Bars-and-Torsion-Beam-Rear-Suspensions-Part-1&A=113301

[Jocko]

I regularly come off the M9 near here, on a left hand gyratory that is very tight. I love to come round it as fast as possible (much to the disgust of my spouse) and the car sits flat on the road until the tyres start to squeak. What I love is the fact that there is always someone who wants to overtake the old man in his Jazz, doing 50 on the motorway, forgetting that as you start to go round the tight bend you have to go at least 70 in lane 2, right up against the Armco, just to keep up! I have seen off 4x4 Audi's, sports cars, bikes and the like.

[guest4871]

I felt as if our 2012 EX also was going to fall over going around some corners.

I had the same experience when I first got the car. I modified my driving style rather than the car.

[Kenneve]

It seems to me that the ride of any car is largely controlled by the shock absorbers, take them off and it will wallow around like a boat on the high seas. So, do all models of the Jazz have the same spec shocks.
Maybe an after-market supplier could offer an alternative shock, with less resistance in compression, which I imagine would give a softer ride, maybe at the expense of a bit more rebound.
Having said that, I suppose such modifications would run foul of the Construction & Use regulations.
Does anyone have any similar thoughts?

[Pumpkin]

I find the ride much better with some weight in the back. I don't know much about springs so I don't know the correct technical description, but maybe they would benefit from less rebound or something? I feel like they should be a bit softer initially so that an empty car wasn't so jittery. Like I say the car glides along with some compression on the springs.

[rogbro]

I think you will find that Euro spares have two part numbers for the Jazz front springs.
Just depends on the year !!!!

[guest4871]

I find the ride much better with some weight in the back.

I suspect the car was designed to have a full size spare wheel in the hole provided at the back.

The ride improved significantly to rather good once I added a full size steel spare wheel.... to be recommended....or a bag of gravel?.

[rogbro]

Culzean   you obviously have never tried following a modern Corsa, or Fiesta, on a nice twisty bendy "B" road.
Because you would never keep up.  Nothing to do with the speed, just the much improved handling chassis that they have, and the Jazz doesn't have.

[culzean]

Culzean   you obviously have never tried following a modern Corsa, or Fiesta, on a nice twisty bendy "B" road.
Because you would never keep up.  Nothing to do with the speed, just the much improved handling chassis that they have, and the Jazz doesn't have.

Well why don't you get a Fiesta or Corsa then,  the extra exercise of either pushing them or walking everywhere when they break down will do you the world of good.

I rather race Fiesta and Corsa on my motorbike if nothing better around,  but no fun at all really as I keep losing them in my mirrors as they are too far behind - sometimes if I am in a playful mood I will let them catch up a bit before changing down a gear and leaving them for dead again LOL

[rogbro]

Got my first bike in 1959, an Excelsior 98 cc. Ridden all types every where, fell off often. Modern tyres grip now
But at my age the comfort of a heater, during the winter months beats all.

[culzean]

Got my first bike in 1959, an Excelsior 98 cc. Ridden all types every where, fell off often. Modern tyres grip now
But at my age the comfort of a heater, during the winter months beats all.

Only use motorbike on dry days,  otherwise its the Civic (or her indoors Jazz)

[Jocko]

I have never ever fallen off, though I have scared myself witless on a few occasions! It is very easy to do that on a bike, especially in my younger days. Several years since I was last on a bike. Used to use bike all year round. Sun, rain, sleet and snow. About 20K miles a year, in my heyday. Fell off my bicycle a couple of years back !!!