"bouncy" Car

[Phil205 1 1 Cars]

I had a couple of new tyres put on the front - Dunlop Fast Response, instead of Yokohama's at an ATS tyre place. They also balanced all 4 wheels and adjusted the tracking.

 

I then found that the car feels a lot more bouncy than before whilst being driven, even on the motorway on smooth roads.

 

I then took it to a reputable garage (ie not ATS) to have it checked out. They changed one of the front shocks and mounting. They are adamant that the other front shock does not need to be changed and that the suspension is all absolutely fine.

 

The car is still very bouncy, yet there is hardly any shake through the steering wheel.

 

Any ideas ?

[large 33]

what size tyre did you remove and what size was fitted?

[welshpug 1,657]

ALWAYS change dampers and brake friction components in pairs, its very bad practice to replace them in singles.

 

how low is it and what are the dampers?

[Phil205 1 1 Cars]

Comments much appreciated.

 

I agree that they should really be changed in pairs. But, to be fair, changing one damper made no difference. They changed it as there was a clanking noise coming from the mounting and the shock was then spotted as failing. They are sure the other shock absorber seems ok.

 

It was bouncy before the shock absorber (damper) was changed and bouncy after it was changed. No noticeable difference.

 

I am not sure spending 100 quid to get the other damper changed will make a difference, but I am not an expert and am very much interested to hear your views and take advice.

 

It is a non-modified 1.6 GTI. ie not lowered.

 

 

ALWAYS change dampers and brake friction components in pairs, its very bad practice to replace them in singles.

 

how low is it and what are the dampers?

[Phil205 1 1 Cars]

Two 185/60H R14 Yokohamas were replaced with same size Dunlop Sport Fast Response.

 

The tyres on the rear wheels were low on tread depth, so I had 2 new tyres fitted, all 4 wheels balanced and the former back wheels put on the front, as they now have the newest tyres.

 

 

what size tyre did you remove and what size was fitted?

[jackherer 543]

A reputable garage doesn't change just one damper. What damper did they fit, a genuine one or some sort of aftermarket one?

 

What does the car feel like when you bounce it up and down at the front and rear?

[omega 82]

your old damper will have done a few 1000 miles so it will be worn so will work diffrentley to a brand new one even if you have bought the same make.

[GLPoomobile 958]

Off topic, but I recently took my Alfa 166 to a garage for a service (first time I've ever paid to have ANY car serviced ), and they gave it a very thorough check over in the process, that unfortunately resulted in a rather long list of problems (albeit they are mostly niggly little things). But the standout point on that list, was the problem they'd found with the front suspension.

 

In the vast stash of receipts for the car is a receipt for replacement of the front springs back in 2006. However, it turns out that my n/s spring has got two of the coils bound together by some wire It sits evenly, to within a couple of mm anyway. Why it's like this, I don't know. The only theory I can come up with is that they replaced one spring due to the previous one breaking (a common fault on the 166 apparently), and then found the ride height to be skew-whiff, so they had to compress the new spring slightly to even it out.

 

I wonder if the then-owner trusted that garage and thought they were a reputable place?

Edited January 21, 2011 by GLPoomobile

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

Were you running the correct tyre pressure front and rear before? If you had over inflated then it would feel a lot firmer. You could tell this by the tyres being worn in the centre and not so much on the edges.

 

The bouncing could be rear related, however I can't see how changing 4 tyres could impact that unless they touched something else or the tyres were mis-shaped and yet balanced fine

[Phil205 1 1 Cars]

You may well have a good point.

 

ATS seem to think the tyres should be run at 30 psi. I am fairly sure I used to have them at 32 psi. I will check them tomorrow.

 

What's the optimum tyre pressure for a 1.6 ?

 

I spoke to a Peugeot garage today and they thought the problem might be with the rear torsion bar. Would that make sense ?

 

 

Were you running the correct tyre pressure front and rear before? If you had over inflated then it would feel a lot firmer. You could tell this by the tyres being worn in the centre and not so much on the edges.

 

The bouncing could be rear related, however I can't see how changing 4 tyres could impact that unless they touched something else or the tyres were mis-shaped and yet balanced fine

[Flozman 4]

These comments are quite amusing, id just like to say different tyres, behave differently. The stiffness of the sidewalls varies depending on how the tyre was manufactured and what the goal of the design was. All out sports tyres for example Michelin pilot sports have very strong sidewall for hard cornering, sacrificing comfort for reduced tyre flex while other less sporting tyres are designed for a softer ride. I had the same experience only a few weeks ago when I got a new set of tyres for my wife's Vitara.

[Phil205 1 1 Cars]

I had 2 Dunlop Sport Fast Response 185/60H R14 fitted.

 

Are they likely to be more bouncy than Yokohamas ?

 

These comments are quite amusing, id just like to say different tyres, behave differently. The stiffness of the sidewalls varies depending on how the tyre was manufactured and what the goal of the design was. All out sports tyres for example Michelin pilot sports have very strong sidewall for hard cornering, sacrificing comfort for reduced tyre flex while other less sporting tyres are designed for a softer ride. I had the same experience only a few weeks ago when I got a new set of tyres for my wife's Vitara.

[Flozman 4]

I don't know bud, I don't have any experience with that specific tyre. As is often said before, tyre choice is a very personal choice and I only run Falken's 912 and Fk452's when I really need to put down some RWD power.

 

Experiment with the tyre pressure, then try swapping the rear to the front. One thing that's important is that you don't let people talk you into replacing sh!t all over the show, when it was fine before you got some tyres. Logic dictates it can ONLY be the tyres. If your still not happy, take the car back too ATS and tell them the tyres are rubbish and if you liked the yokohamas, get them to fit another pair.