Hi everyone,

My x-type rides harsh. When the car was new it rode so much nicer. It has 54k on it, and the tires were recently replaced. It has the 17 inch wheels. It also has the luxury package offered in 2007, so I don't think it has the sport suspension.

I have had two mechanics say the car looks like it is in good shape, but honestly I think otherwise with regards to the front suspension. What parts wear out on theses cars that could cause the car to ride like a garbage truck? Bushings? Upgrade the dampers. coils?

Thanks for your input

Mike

 

XKR, just to ask a silly question ,but what is the pressure in the tires? Also, did you go from say an all season tire to a sport tire (ie, summer tire)? The sport tire is going to have a stiffer sidewall which will lead to more road irregularities reaching the body of the car as the tires are no longer sucking up the bumps as well. The same idea with the tire pressure. If you have it set to say 44 psi like the side of the tire says is the max pressure, then yes, the car will ride like a sherman tank. But, notice what I said, 44 psi is the max pressure, not the recommended pressure. I have found that with the X-Type, you can get a fairly firm tire yet a comfy ride by setting the tires at 38 psi up front and 35 psi in the rear (assuming no one normally rides in the rear seat, dial up to 38 psi if you normally have 1-2 people back there and/or the trunk remains fairly full most of the time). These pressures allow the tires to squish around bumps and whatnot, allowing the tires to perform their duty in sucking up most of the vibrations while still keeping them stiff enough to allow you to toss the car into a corner.

If you are questioning the suspension and there being a fault somewhere, odds are, because of the harsh ride, you are looking at a frozen strut/shock. You can prove this by simply walking up to the car and placing both hands on a corner (metal part of the car) and giving a good push down and then quickly releasing your hands. You should see the car dip, come back up, and then dip slightly (no more than 3 rises). If you push down and the car doesn't budge, then you have a frozen shock/strut. If the car seems to bounce and bounce and bounce, then the shock/strut is toast and needs to be replaced (granted, highly doubt this is the case as this normally results in a car that seems to float/wander down the road).

It wouldn't be the coils as they only get soft and will result in the wheels wanting to travel all over the place and give a smooshy ride. If a bushing were to freeze up, the rubber would still be flexing. But, if you are worried, grab a friend and have them watch the joints of the car as you push down. If there is a frozen joint, they won't see movement.

Of the things I listed, odds are you simply have too much pressure in the tires. You can go as low as 32 psi all the way around, but I would only do that long enough to prove that the ride is not affected. 32 psi can allow the tire to flex too much which can lead to excessive heat build up in the tires. The lower you go, the more heat you are going to make (hence why failing tires will start to smoke before they completely fail).

 

Replacing tyres don't mean much: what brand tyres and loading did you have on before and what are they now?
If they are like for like then look at suspension but if you have changed brand I would think that may be the source.
Not all tyres are made the same and some cheaper rubber can feel quite harsh.

 

Hi Thermo,

The tires that were on it were the original Conti-pro-contact (all season) then switched to the Pirelli cinterato-plus (all season) not sure if I spelled that correctly. But the tire pressures are normally set to 38psi in the front and 35psi in the rear as it says on the inside of the door.

I think it could be a frozen shock. I will have to check later this week. The car never rode this bad, kinda sounds the car is crashing over bumps, like there is no cushion in the front. My dad drove the car a few weeks ago and said my gosh this car never rode this bad when we first got it.

Thanks

 

I've also had endless suspension/ride problems with my x-type (92K miles) I replaced all 4 shocks & found very little difference. New springs helped, but I've had just about every suspension bush fail on me at some point. One of the biggest improvements I've had with ride & handling was when I did Thermo's mod on the rear upper suspension control arms. (swapped the jag arms out for adjustable volvo arms) The bushes in the original arms were totally shot. My next job is the rear spring holder arms, inner & outer bushes are shot - after that I need to look at the front wishbones. Suspension bushes are a known issue with our cars & are the first place I would look.