[Rory166]

This has been bugging me since picking up the car. I am more bothered than most because my young lady is disabled and feels every little jolt as painful.
I reduced the tyre pressure to 39 all round when I checked the car after collection. The ride was bad ever imperfection in the road causing noise and vibration. On further inspection of the placard it said 35 psi for comfort and that did make a considerable improvement. I thought the car was probably worn out after 150000 miles and started to amass all the parts to return to new condition. Reading the reviews of the car when new the ride was described as fidgeting and that was certainly the case with every blemish in the road causing the rear to shimmy adout.
Quite by accident I seem to have discovered what is wrong with the car, not mine but all of them I suspect. Now the ride is great, every bump is a dull thump fully damped and not troubling at all, it feels like a Bentley. I do not want to say what I have done on a public forum however if anyone is interested I would gladly start a private conversation with a group or individual.

 

[NathanP]

I guess it depends what you compare them to...both our Amperas ride fine, even at 39 psi...limousine-like compared to our son's BMW 1 Series and my previous Audi A6...I guess I've mostly driven what would be considered 'sporty' and firmly sprung cars before...35 series tyres and all that...but my wife's previous car was an Outlander and whilst the Ampera ride is firmer and more planted than that, it's more refined and less 'crashy' even though that had considerably more suspension travel...!

No doubt a nice set of Bilstein dampers could improve things...but they are fine as they are really...although ours have only done 30k and 60k so maybe wear is an issue and things will get worse in time...

Good news you've managed to improve yours though - enjoy your new found refinement...!

 

[Rory166]

I guess it depends what you compare them to...both our Amperas ride fine, even at 39 psi...limousine-like compared to our son's BMW 1 Series and my previous Audi A6...I guess I've mostly driven what would be considered 'sporty' and firmly sprung cars before...35 series tyres and all that...but my wife's previous car was an Outlander and whilst the Ampera ride is firmer and more planted than that, it's more refined and less 'crashy' even though that had considerably more suspension travel...!

No doubt a nice set of Bilstein dampers could improve things...but they are fine as they are really...although ours have only done 30k and 60k so maybe wear is an issue and things will get worse in time...

Good news you've managed to improve yours though - enjoy your new found refinement...!

The replacement dampers I have in stock are sachs hopefully they will be OK. For now everything seems OK. Ride is a subjective matter, some people like a hard ride because they think that is sporty.

 

[Spindrift]

every bump is a dull thump fully damped and not troubling at all,

is pretty much how I would describe the ride in mine so its not something I've really had to think about yet - only 105k miles though. I had Mercedes C-class for 15 years before this and whilst the ride is good the suspension parts on those are best described as consumable items they need replacing so often.

 

[smokie]

My daughter says it's a "firm" ride and I suppose now she's said it I know what she means. I did have Handy Andy's shimming on the fronts but one is still a little clunky.

 

[HandyAndy]

There's a noticeable difference between the standard 17" rims, and the 16" steels I've got a set of winters on. The ride's definitely a lot less jarring, and it soaks up the bumps a lot better. But you do notice it's a bit wallowy end-to-end I'd say as a result. If you're around this way some day, you could have a ride in mine when these are fitted to see the difference, if it's bothering you.

 

[Squasher]

Mine feels decent. Dull thud yes, but not harsh or bouncy. You can definitely feel the weight of this car, but doesn't wallow like my Passat used to. Helps that the seats are good and quite supportive. Wouldn't describe it as skittish at all. I drove a new Juke a while back. Now THAT was skittish! (Or, put another way, awful.)

 

[DomJ]

Agree dull thud's are how I'd describe it, I would say mine fidgets a bit over poor road surfaces at speed. I wouldn't describe it as nimble and throwing it round a bend quickly you do notice how heavy it is! I'm used to light somewhat 'sporty' hatches which would go round a corner a lot faster than I trust the Ampera to, but they don't soak up bumps like the Ampera so swings and roundabouts....

 

[Garry TheBiz]

I do not want to say what I have done on a public forum however if anyone is interested I would gladly start a private conversation with a group or individual.

I don't understand, why don't you want to say what you've done? What's the issue with revealing the solution? More to the point, what's the point in creating the post if you're not going to say what the solution is, why not just keep it to yourself?

I'm perplexed.

 

[RunningStrong]

Compared to my partner's Mazda2 (with Zoom Zoom), it's a magic carpet.

It's not as smooth as a lot of modern crossovers on modest wheel sizes, but it's good for a 1600kg hatchback!

 

[PetrolEd]

My previous car was a Citroën C6, so the Ampera is really not as comfortable, but it's very smooth for a normal suspension setup. I actually rate the Ampera as being softly sprung and on the comfortable side compared with other cars, so I'm sure your suspension had an issue, either rubber bushings gone or shocks gone.

I don't understand, why don't you want to say what you've done? What's the issue with revealing the solution? More to the point, what's the point in creating the post if you're not going to say what the solution is, why not just keep it to yourself?

I'm perplexed.

You and I, why create a topic if you don't want to share info? Reminds me of the Facebook groups that are closed to members...

 

[freddym]

Did Rory166 ever give a outline of his mods or corrections that resulted in a such an improvement.

 

[PetrolEd]

Did Rory166 ever give a outline of his mods or corrections that resulted in a such an improvement.

According to a conversation I was quoted on, the miracle correction was to use the correct tire size as he was in a tire with a 5% smaller diameter.

Just leaving it here in case someone bumps into this thread later on