[Lifespeed]

Am happy with the cars I have. May try just removing the rear shocks and see how it drives (have done before, no big in a tight suspension. Developed race cars with zero rear roll resistance before worked well to transfer weight forward in a FV. Believe it or don't.

If you spent as much time replacing worn-out shocks as posting ideas for crazy experiments your harsh ride would be fixed already. Spoiler: removing the shocks entirely won't improve the ride quality. You're not far from that as things stand today.

 

[Padgett]

Whatever you want to believe.

 

[Lifespeed]

Whatever you want to believe.

Not just me, everybody else on this forum who has replaced their shocks. I thought you were one of those guys who know how cars work? Or did I miss the pages of posts from those who have successfully improved ride quality by completely getting rid of their 10-year-old shocks that are too stiff?

 

[Padgett]

Thank you for your opinion.

 

[TheFlash]

I think I'll drive mine in the Silver State Classic Challenge. Lifespeed.

I will meet you there.

Padgett, Just change out the shock to OEM spec.

 

[Joseph Upson]

May try just removing the rear shocks and see how it drives

I lost my youngest brother (18) to an accident in a car that he and a friend was riding in and working on with the shocks removed. He was warned by my father not to do it, but I suspect the danger associated was not explained/visualized. It is the unforeseen circumstance that can turn a seemingly innocuous condition into something dangerous and that's what happened. The car bounced and jounced out of control until they lost control and rolled over. I may have mentioned that earlier, I don't remember.

I get what you're trying to do, but short of custom parts, it's probably going to be difficult, to impractical short of custom parts to accomplish it. You want to take the "Sport" out of the coupe. Try Coleman Racing, they may offer a spring soft enough to work in at all four corners, ~125 lbs. The catalog is much easier to navigate than the website, but they're loaded with options. I built a pair of coil overs out of OE struts, using their hardware and springs from Summit.

Search

 

[Lifespeed]

Too bad about your brother, wish it had turned out differently.

FE2 isn't sport, he just has blown shocks and can't admit it.

 

[Joseph Upson]

Too bad about your brother, wish it had turned out differently.

FE2 isn't sport, he just has blown shocks and can't admit it.

I'm thinking of the nature of the suspension performance design in general, which I believe is a path originally started by Nissan in the Maxima, which if I recall correctly was touted the "Four door sports car" years ago. The tire profile is also a part of that firm ride and I'm not sure new shocks on even an FE1 suspension alone would make a substantial difference in the low speed sensitivity level associated with driving over brick roads, especially if a bad back is involved.

There's a huge difference between the old 75-70 series tires of old vs. the 50-40 series tires of today. We're talking pillow vs. belt for sidewalls.

 

[Padgett]

No am just surprised should be bad at such low milage/age, both Reatta and Allante feel better over bricks.

Must admit to being lazy & researching before I act, just thought someone might have a constructive suggestion.

Won a lot of autocrosses on custom Carrera adjustable shocks, designed a few race car suspensions, usually relatively soft with big anti-roll bars for front engined/rear drive V8s & to oversteer under power but this is a road/touring car so different.

Just looking for an opinion if anything off the shelf existed before starting. Have only had the CTS for a touch over two years, tend to keep cars I like for decades.

 

[jayoldschool]

thought someone might have a constructive suggestion.

Take your own advice. Driving without shocks would not be "a constructive suggestion".

You really need to trade that coupe for a Fleetwood Brougham. It will have the ride you want, and the nice skinny tires with tall sidewalls, too.

 

[Padgett]

Would tell me if shocks were the problem. Have driven race cars on test laps that way to test spring/anti-roll bar combos. Works well.

btw have had a 67 Eldo and a 67 (vintage year) Fleetwood 60 Special Brougham (with picnic tables). Wanted a Grand Prix but thought I'd try the CTS. DOHC-6 was a plus but didn't want a track day wannabe. Can fix most but the 3.73 posi can be really annoying for long distance travel & stupid (am averaging about 16.7 mpg of 87 PON).

Still I like the basic car, just needs a few tweaks & is better than the alternatives (prefer GM, don't want a CLK)

 

[Lifespeed]

No am just surprised should be bad at such low milage/age, both Reatta and Allante feel better over bricks.

Fine, be surprised. It happens.

Must admit to being lazy & researching before I act, just thought someone might have a constructive suggestion.

Exactly what sort of suggestion to address your poor ride quality were you expecting, re-upholster the rear seats?

Would tell me if shocks were the problem.

WTF else would the problem be?

 

[Lifespeed]

I'm thinking of the nature of the suspension performance design in general, which I believe is a path originally started by Nissan in the Maxima, which if I recall correctly was touted the "Four door sports car" years ago. The tire profile is also a part of that firm ride and I'm not sure new shocks on even an FE1 suspension alone would make a substantial difference in the low speed sensitivity level associated with driving over brick roads, especially if a bad back is involved.

There's a huge difference between the old 75-70 series tires of old vs. the 50-40 series tires of today. We're talking pillow vs. belt for sidewalls.

All true, suspension tuning is an art and tires are part of it. But not an independent variable, they need to work with the suspension. FE2 and 50 series tires are pretty comfy, in my opinion, although I realize tastes vary.

What isn't comfortable is blown shocks of any tuning regardless of tire sidewall. You can't assess your blown FE2 shocks have a poor ride, and then extrapolate to FE2 with good shocks will produce a poor ride. Do I even need to say this? I guess so . . . Without good shocks you're just spitting in the wind trying to improve the ride.

 

[Padgett]

a) Thought maybe someone could suggest a no-standard Monroe or sommat, always look to build from the shoulders of giants. Only dumb question is one not asked. CTS forum seemed a likely source for a well thought out response.
b) I don't know, thought rear seat (or lack of usability in coupe) was a different topic.

 

[Lifespeed]

Monroe is parts-store crap, if you've followed these forums you know @NorthernSRX made that mistake and regretted it. You can stand on his shoulders and avoid them.

There are very nice options available for aftermarket coilovers, Penske being my favorite, but I'm pretty sure you're not looking to spend $4K for the ultimate tunable spring/shock combo.

Respected middle-of-the-road mfg's like Bilstein or Koni don't make shocks for the CTS. If they did there would be multiple reviews on this forum.

So what are you left with? OEM, in your case FE2, which, again, if you've read this forum you would have read everybody who has replaced their shocks with OEM has had good results. So stand on the shoulders of countless Gen II owners experiences and install new Cadillac shocks. You'll be pleased with the results.

 

[Padgett]

That is good advice, thank you.

 

[Lifespeed]

Do you have 18" 50 series tires?

 

[Padgett]

Yes 235/50/R18 (standard front) on all four. If replace will probably go to 235/55R18. Will 235/60R18 fit ?

 

[Lifespeed]

Change one thing at a time, 50 series might be just fine with good shocks.

 

[wcthunder]

I live on the far west side of Orange county, just outside of Orlando. To get almost anywhere to the west (like the Winter Garden mall) I must go through the town of Windermere. Windermere probably has the highest per capita income of any town with dirt streets: " income per capita in Windermere is $68,198, which is 147% higher than the Florida average ". The main street is paved: with bricks, and going through even at the 30 mph speed limit is a tooth rattling, spectacles shaking experience in my Coupe My Jeep tow truck has a better ride.

Since I like the car I would like to modify the suspension for a softer ride (why I was experimenting with 17 tires). Does anyone know how to make the ride acceptable over bricks/cobblestones or do I nee a different car ?

I've come to the conclusion that a hard ride is the "nature of the beast". I too was surprised of the hard ride coming out of a SLS. i couldn't understand why if one wheel hit a bump, the whole car shook. when i see even a speed bump, i slow down and roll over it. Now, i have somewhat of an idea of what owners with real sport car go thru. I'm sure it's not fun for them either. It looks like you'll be taking the Jeep when you need to drive thru Windermere. I'm sure I'm not telling you anything about keeping the the tire circumference as close to OEM as possible, you don't want to mess with with your TCM. A larger tire height means a smaller rim size. If you do that, expect lesser cornering performance. you'll get the "rolling" effect from the tires. Good Luck.