[doctavus]

Well picked up my 2018 ES last month with the DCT and somewhat regretting it for one thing, the ride.


When I test drove it, I went with the salesman and my girl, ride wasn't bad at all. I then took it for a 2nd spin and didn't really notice the ride either.


The first week of driving it to work it's a bit firm to me. Seems like it will jolt over every little bump in the road. Kicker is the bigger bumps it handles well, but just every little imperfection just jolts you.


My last car was a Mazdaspeed 3 which I thought rode good for a sporty car. This is a bit unbearable. I am still giving it time though. I have noticed when I have a passenger it rides better, which makes sense with the weight.


Every other part of the car is great though, obviously the handling is good and the power is good for the price I paid. I just hope I can get over the ride quality. If not it will turn into a financial loss which I'm not ok with, but gotta be happy I suppose.


Anyone else feel the same way? Besides the fact that it's a sport and it's supposed to be firm

Plenty of sports cars I have driven and owned prior to this were not this bad unless I lowered it which I haven't done for years.

 

[croppz]

I think it rides fine. Not too stiff not too soft. But tires will make a huge difference in ride, they are the main contributors

 

[wikkiewikkie]

Have you checked the tire pressure? The cars are shipped and stored on the lot with close to 40 PSI to prevent flat spotting. The dealer should have reduce them to 33 before handing it over to you, but often forget to do that (including for my car).

 

[kdetlor]

I think it rides fine. Not too stiff not too soft. But tires will make a huge difference in ride, they are the main contributors

The solution should be relatively cheap.
Smaller rims + higher sidewall on the tires. If you need winter tires then this is an easy choice.
Changing the damping rate would be pretty expensive.

 

[R1600Turbo]

Have you checked the tire pressure? The cars are shipped and stored on the lot with close to 40 PSI to prevent flat spotting. The dealer should have reduce them to 33 before handing it over to you, but often forget to do that (including for my car).

^^^ This.

If they are set right, you might be able to get some ride quality back by downsizing to a 17" wheel/tire. Outside of that, I have no complaints either way on the ride. I knew I was buying a sporty car and expected it to be a little rough on certain surfaces. The roads in my area are not exactly the best, but I find it absorbs just fine. (then again I have lowering springs too and they are pretty similar to stock)

 

[ssaiyan223]

I'm a bit surprised that the Speed3 was softer than your ES. Personally, I think the ES rides great for a sporty car. It's firm for sure, but not jarring, and well damped. Honestly, my wife's '11 Sorento has a more punishing ride! Although, that's more of a negative for the Sorento than a positive for the ES . . .

 

[R1600Turbo]

I'm a bit surprised that the Speed3 was softer than your ES. Personally, I think the ES rides great for a sporty car. It's firm for sure, but not jarring, and well damped. Honestly, my wife's '11 Sorento has a more punishing ride! Although, that's more of a negative for the Sorento than a positive for the ES . . .

Hey I see you are in Tucson, you should join me next time I am down there for a Mt Lemon run. Even if it's just to hang out at the meet spot.

 

[doctavus]

Yeah I haven't checked the actual pressure in the tire except for the on screen display and they were 33. It's more of a slight bounce over every little minor imperfection. The reviews all say the same as y'all, it's firm yes but not too bad. I guess it's just me.


Yeah the Speed 3 didn't bounce or jar like this car.

 

[SportPremium]

How many miles have you got now? I have the same car and for the first few weeks I thought something was wrong. All the reviews had praised the ride and handling with the independent rear, but like you I thought it was too harsh.

After a few thousand miles mine is much better. It must have had to settle or be worked in a little bit, but it is definitely noticeably better now (I have 7600 miles)

 

[croppz]

Yeah my tires are still at 37, i need to take them down to 33 however even at 37 i don't think its too rough. But I also daily drove a 2013 5.0 Mustang setup for road course for a while, and a Lifted 06 wrangler before that, so I guess Im used to it haha.

Also, coming from a 2016 MD elantra I can say that the IRS is literally night and day compared to the torsion beam that was on my 2016 E.

 

[Mike]

I actually like the ride quality. It is very balanced between being sporty and comfortable.

 

[doctavus]

I'm just under 800 miles. I was wondering that myself, thinking it might take a bit to settle hopefully. I'm going to be getting a new tire gauge today so I'll check that tonight to see exactly where they are. You have given me hope

Thanks all for the replies and comments, I just wanted to throw it out there. For what I bought the car for it's a lot of car so I don't want to give up on it

How many miles have you got now? I have the same car and for the first few weeks I thought something was wrong. All the reviews had praised the ride and handling with the independent rear, but like you I thought it was too harsh.

After a few thousand miles mine is much better. It must have had to settle or be worked in a little bit, but it is definitely noticeably better now (I have 7600 miles)

 

[SportPremium]

800 miles is too soon.. mine took longer than that to feel right and for it to make sense what all the reviewers had been saying.

 

[ssaiyan223]

Hey I see you are in Tucson, you should join me next time I am down there for a Mt Lemon run. Even if it's just to hang out at the meet spot.

Sounds good to me. I haven't take the ES up yet.

 

[hella356]

Below is a link to my findings by going to a very lightweight 16" wheel + 225/50 UHP Summer tires. And if you look through that link and others on this site, there are a number of people who have gone with a 17" setup with great results. After selling the stock wheels/tires for $500, my cost was about $700. I have no regrets about doing this, and it made the car much more pleasant during the 95% of the time when performance driving is not part of the equation. And the grippier tires I put on have made this a better handling car overall, despite a tiny amount of steering input lag from the taller sidewalls. It also accelerates noticeably better. The ride certainly isn't like a Cadillac, but it took the edge off. This isn't a change that everyone would or should make, but I'm very happy with it, and if you find yourself continuing to be bothered by the hard ride, it's an option worth considering. The overall handling characteristics are largely unchanged - I have made no changes to the suspension - and I ended up with a car I love to drive on good roads and can now easily live with as a commuter car.

Good luck!

http://www.elantrasport.com/forum/121-wheels-tires/6042-ride-quality-smaller-wheels.html

 

[mccaslin0]

wait until you have to desperately pee and your going over bumps. happened to me last night and i was dying lol.

 

[ericsmit]

My GT rides fine with 32psi in the tires. It was quite tough at 40.

 

[Stones]

Surprising to hear. I think the ride is perfect. Not too hard, but not too soft that it looses performance. I compare to my friends 2016 GTI and the ES feels better suited for daily driving. Speed bumps are a pain in the GTI and you feel everything on the road. The ES dampening is great!!

 

[hella356]

Cool thing about the ES is that for some it hits the sweet spot in stock configuration, it has the handling some of us want with only a tire change to soften it to where we want, and also forms the basis of a great handling machine for those of us who want to push the performance even higher.

 

[kdetlor]

Surprising to hear. I think the ride is perfect. Not too hard, but not too soft that it looses performance. I compare to my friends 2016 GTI and the ES feels better suited for daily driving. Speed bumps are a pain in the GTI and you feel everything on the road. The ES dampening is great!!

So you're saying it makes things moist, wet or damp?