2014 Forester Suspension

[armanjr]

hi guys, recently bought a 2.0il Forester. After two months of riding it, wife started complaining the ride is quite bouncy. Although we have'nt noticed this on the first month. Sa harap naman much lesser. Only on the back seat na ramdam talaga ang alog. We compared it with our 09
Fortuner and we feel the ride in the fortuner is much better. .

I set the tire pressure na to 29 front and 28 back and inflated with NITRO but to minimal improvement. .

Suggestion naman po if we can do any upgrades with the suspension that may reduce or eliminate the bouncy ride.

Thanks in advance.

[niky]

Yeah... I found the Forester kind of stiff and bouncy when we test-drove it a while back. The older one is much softer. The benefit, though, is that the new Forester feels more sure-footed and less wallowy in corners.

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Nitro does nothing. 28 psi of Nitro will feel exactly the same as 28 psi of regular air. That said, please stick to pressures between 30-35 psi if you drive on the highway a lot. Safer. Besides, lowering tire pressure will not cure the problem, and this only introduces additional tire wear.

You could also look at changing tires, though the Geolanders are not typically stiff tires. And sayang... they're still new. Besides, that's not the problem.

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The problem is a mismatch between spring rates and shock rates. A jittery ride is typically because the shock absorbers don't have enough damping to control the spring motion. There are two ways to fix this:

1. You can see if the Forester uses the same basic suspension layout as the previous one. If it does, you can downgrade the springs.

2. If it doesn't, best you can do is upgrade the shock absorbers. This will not make the ride softer, but it will make the suspension motion smoother, curing the bounciness. This is the solution I'd prefer... as it does not compromise handling or safety.

[armanjr]

Thanks Niky for the suggestion. You're right regular air and nitro are the same. I only wish that during test drive sana we felt the bouncy ride. We could have settled for another vehicle. It's a big factor for us very seldom I do hard corners.

Regarding the shock absorber upgrade, any brand that you can recommend? I tried looking at rancho and old man website but could not find a fit for the forester? I maybe wrong on this.

Yeah... I found the Forester kind of stiff and bouncy when we test-drove it a while back. The older one is much softer. The benefit, though, is that the new Forester feels more sure-footed and less wallowy in corners.

-

Nitro does nothing. 28 psi of Nitro will feel exactly the same as 28 psi of regular air. That said, please stick to pressures between 30-35 psi if you drive on the highway a lot. Safer. Besides, lowering tire pressure will not cure the problem, and this only introduces additional tire wear.

You could also look at changing tires, though the Geolanders are not typically stiff tires. And sayang... they're still new. Besides, that's not the problem.

-

The problem is a mismatch between spring rates and shock rates. A jittery ride is typically because the shock absorbers don't have enough damping to control the spring motion. There are two ways to fix this:

1. You can see if the Forester uses the same basic suspension layout as the previous one. If it does, you can downgrade the springs.

2. If it doesn't, best you can do is upgrade the shock absorbers. This will not make the ride softer, but it will make the suspension motion smoother, curing the bounciness. This is the solution I'd prefer... as it does not compromise handling or safety.

[niky]

Thanks Niky for the suggestion. You're right regular air and nitro are the same. I only wish that during test drive sana we felt the bouncy ride. We could have settled for another vehicle. It's a big factor for us very seldom I do hard corners.

Regarding the shock absorber upgrade, any brand that you can recommend? I tried looking at rancho and old man website but could not find a fit for the forester? I maybe wrong on this.

You can ask at performance shops. Since the Forester is technically a "crossover", shops and brands servicing "SUVs" won't be carrying parts for it.

You can inquire at Orange or Speedlab for Forester shock absorbers... or inquire, at least, if previous gen Forester suspension parts are compatible. If you don't mind a little less roll control, I think downgrading to stock previous gen springs (find a nearly-new set from someone who's upgraded their suspension) would be your most cost-effective option.

Aftermarket shocks will not make the ride softer, but will make it so that the motion is more controlled, at least... which will make it more bearable.

[armanjr]

You can ask at performance shops. Since the Forester is technically a "crossover", shops and brands servicing "SUVs" won't be carrying parts for it.

You can inquire at Orange or Speedlab for Forester shock absorbers... or inquire, at least, if previous gen Forester suspension parts are compatible. If you don't mind a little less roll control, I think downgrading to stock previous gen springs (find a nearly-new set from someone who's upgraded their suspension) would be your most cost-effective option.

Aftermarket shocks will not make the ride softer, but will make it so that the motion is more controlled, at least... which will make it more bearable.

Thank you Niky! You have been very informative and helpful in this forum. More Power!

[armanjr]

Niky, another poster suggested to me using O-sullee spring cushion. What's your take on this?