Tire pressure and ride feel

[ajeetm]

I've had my Base RSX for just over a year, and I'm convinced the ride is waay to harsh. I know I've got a sporty little car and should feel the road, but this is straight up bone jarring. In fact, I've driven my friends Type-S and it actually feels smoother than my base over the same bumps!! I've also driven another Base RSX loaner car from the dealer and that felt like mush compared to my own Base. The only cause for this I can think of is that the tire pressure is too high. Has anyone had similar experience?

[fir0070]

If you have the stock tires on the car, look in the door jam I believe and see what the pressures should be. I have the goodyear F-1's and I run them around 30-31psi.

[Peking]

Did you balance and rotate regularly?

[ajeetm]

Yeah, had them balanced and rotated recently. I'm gonna pick up a tire pressure gague and check it myself. But I wonder if that's the cause...

[frank51]

Drop 1 or 2 psi from each tire just experiment with it and find out, it makes a huge difference.

[Midnight Runner]

i ran the stock tires at 39 and 37 psi before.. that was bumpy.. i'm lower now.. much more comfy

[James S]

Yeah, keep them at stock 33 front and 31 rear pressure and the ride should be pretty nice. Lower them a little if you want a softer ride (but that will decrease your gas mileage as well). If you just rotated your tires make sure you changed the pressure to compensate for the front tires now being the back tires... and I hope you just rotated the tires front to back and not cross to the other side. You should only rotate your tires front to back, never change them to the other side.

[Jay]

I think the best mod to better the ride in the base would be lighter brake calipers and rotors. The stock units are very big and heavy. A fully floating rotor on spiders like the HyTechs and aluminum calipers would probably save 2+ lbs of unsprung weight per wheel. That would really make a difference.

[TedRuxpin]

I run 32 all the way around. Just b sure to check the pressure reading after a drop or rise in temp as this can cause your tires lose air and gain air, respectively.

[tofu]

hmm...
i'm running 37/38psi and using mugen suspension, spoon f/r strut bar, spoon rear tie bar and 22mm rear sway and it's feeling fine...
:dontknow:

the type s does have a better suspension (ie. its dampered more therefore you won't feel the car rocking/bumping as much)

[TedRuxpin]

well I've got all the suspension pieces in my signature, so my rides pretty stiff. but I like it that way. However, it doesn't throw me around..like this poster is talking about.

[James S]

actually the TypeS has a tighter suspension which makes the ride harsher.

[Integra_DC5]

I like to run it on 34psi on the front and 35psi on the back during winter conditions, keeps the car riding soft.

[ajeetm]

I picked up a tire gague, and found that the front's were 31 psi (not 33), the right rear was at 29 (not 31) and the left rear was 31 (ok). So acc'd to the door jam sticker I inflated the fronts to 33 and inflated the right rear to 31. With all this inflating I figured the ride would be harsher, but in fact it acutally seems smoother now. Makes a huge difference!

[James S]

Glad you're satisfied now.

I've found that the OEM tires on my RSX lose pressure very easily, so check your tires once a month.