Rough Ride (rear)

[rmwweb]

But for now, I'm convinced that my car rides - and even handles - better with the Blizzaks on than it did with the Dunlops. The Dunlops are still sitting on the stock 18" wheels and I'll put 'em back on in the spring. But if I notice any sort of degradation in ride quality at that point, the Dunlops will be immediately replaced by a high quality summer tire.

Musher51

I'm glad to hear that you've experienced an improvement in your ride quality when you changed to your winter tires. As I indicated in my previous posts, I'm reserving judgment until I get my snow tires on (in about 10 more days). I sincerely hope that this issue can be solved by something as simple as a tire change. I'm not optimistic but I am hopeful.

RW

 

[jwaters943]

Interesting discussion, however it leaves me wondering

What are the quietest and best performing tires for a 4.6 Genesis?

Cheers

Thomas

Check out www.tirerack.com

They have excellent tire reviews and customer survey results on most all the tires they sell.

 

[thomaspf]

I looked at the tires and my 4.6L is equipped with

Dunlop SP Sport 5000M 235/50R18 97V

tires. Looking up the reviews on tire rack indicates that this is one of the worst possible choices. However, in that exact size, load factor and speed rating there does not seem to be a match for any of the top picks.

Any suggestion what tire would make a good match and improve the ride quality? Reducing the noise from small road imperfections would be high on my list. For the highway behavior on ruts and dips it probably takes more dramatic changes to the suspension. The

The Bridgestone Turanza Serenity seems to get consistent high ratings across tirerack and 1010tires.com.

Would switching to 17" wheels make a difference?

Cheers

Thomas

 

[JohnMartin]

Thanks for the welcome everyone.

I hope I didn't confuse anyone.

I haven't bought a Genesis, just test driven the V6 tech 3x now.

I've been deliberating for a while about what car to buy now that we have a young one on the way, and my Nissan 350Z isn't going to work for my new duties.

I think the tires could be part of the problem. I know that tires, as many have said, can make a much bigger difference than most people really understand.

I usually wait until a car has been out for at least a year before making any decisions so I'll be just hangin' out and observing for a few more months.

 

[billygator]

I am going to chime in here, too. It has been 2 months since I traded an Avalon for my Genesis, and I was giving myself time to adjust from the floaty ride to the "sportier" feel. But it finally struck home when I read the review in my latest Golf Digest. He says what Hyundai calls "sporty", he calls "carsick".

I am in love with almost everything about this car except the ride when it encounters almost any significant road irregularities. I don't think I should have to change out a $1000 set of tires to get better than what I am experiencing. I need to go back to the dealer for the nav software update, and we are going to have a serious talk.

Unfortunately for me, I evidently did not take an extensive enough test drive, and the review comments on the ride didn't start appearing until this fall after I had purchased. If I had read before what I have seen for the last 60 days, I certainly would have investigated the ride more.

One question - I test drove a standard car with the 17 inch wheels - is there that much difference from the 18's with the tech package that I bought? It seems like most of the complaints are coming from the tech package people.

 

[flowersoft]

Are the cars experiencing the harsh back-seat drive V6s or V8s?
I sat in the back on one of my test drives (my wife was in the front seat) of a V6 and I did not notice the ride being harsh at all.
I will have to try it again and see if I notice any difference from the driver's seat now that I own one, a V6 that is.

 

[rmwweb]

One interesting observation is that this thread has had over 3800 hits. With the exception of the thread related to the push button start, there isn't another thread that comes close to this kind of traffic.

I'm just guessing here but it seems to me that people are looking at the this thread for a reason and I bet that it's because more people are experiencing ride problems than are being reported.

As Billygator stated above, I'm in love with almost everything about this car except the ride. I agree with his comment but I'm not convinced this problem can be fixed just by replacing the tires. I think there are two problems here, first is the noise being transmitted to the cabin by any road irregularity - I suspect that can be helped with better tires but it won't be eliminated. The second problem is with the suspension itself and is,in my opinion, the more serious problem.

As more and more reviews and owner comments bring this issue to light, I'm guessing that there will be a snowball effect and people will be taking far more critical test drive before buying. From the comments on this thread and others, some will like the ride but I'm guessing (again) that more people won't like it.

 

[Sonata2009]

Ok, I've got only 1200 miles on my V8 so far, but the last 250 were on highwany and secondary highway. I really haven't noticed any behavior that I would qualify as "harsh" at all. My wife's Sonata actually has a more harsh ride, although I really wouldn't call it "harsh" either.

I'm heading to Texas Sunday night, so about 2500 miles of assorted highways lie ahead. I'll certainly be aware of all the comments, and report on what I think when I get back . . .

 

[thomaspf]

Overall I really like the ride but there seems to be a problem of resonance.

There is a stretch of i5 here in Seattle which is made from concrete segments that have pretty large gaps. When you go around 60miles over that stretch the car starts bucking.

There seems to be a resonance of that excitment with the suspension that works itself up to a level where my boys in the back seats are almost lifted out of their seats by the uncontrolled motions of the car.

By more careful dampening a capable engineering department should be able to get this under control.

Let's hope for a fix that Hyundai rolls out free of charge soon.

Cheers

Thomas

 

[Duaine]

Overall I really like the ride but there seems to be a problem of resonance.

There is a stretch of i5 here in Seattle which is made from concrete segments that have pretty large gaps. When you go around 60miles over that stretch the car starts bucking.

There seems to be a resonance of that excitment with the suspension that works itself up to a level where my boys in the back seats are almost lifted out of their seats by the uncontrolled motions of the car.

By more careful dampening a capable engineering department should be able to get this under control.

Let's hope for a fix that Hyundai rolls out free of charge soon.


Cheers

Thomas

I agree with your comments exactly. For the most part the ride is good, however road conditions that you describe seem to get the car a bit bouncy in the back. I bought the car fully aware of some complaints about it. I wouldn't mind a fix for it as well. The car is so awesome though that in my opinion it isn't a deal killer my any means.

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[CalvinHobbes]

I have 3400 miles on my Genesis with the 17 in wheels. I have also spent hundreds of miles with 18 in wheels also. There is a definite difference between in how the car drives depending on the wheels. The larger wheels introduce a much choppier ride. I have also spent plenty of time adjusting my tire pressure and driving the same roads. These tires are especially sensitive to tire pressure. If you have 2 psi above recommended pressure, you will definitely feel it. Try 36 psi and the 17 in wheels are atrocious.

I also recommend for anyone looking for improvement in handling with 17 in wheels, to install the V8 rear sway bar. It will improve turn in, front end feel and gets rid of that understeer that exists on the car.

 

[holladay]

I have a 3.8 with 17 inch wheels. I recently carried three 50lb bags in the trunk and noticed a significant improvement in the ride quality over dips and bumps in the road. I think the rear springs are very stiff and the 150 lbs of trunk weight helped dampen the rear springs. Kind of reminds me of driving a short bed pickup truck , they always ride better with some weight in the bed.

 

[flowersoft]

I just came back from having dinner with friends and I asked my friend to drive and I sat in the back. I did not notice the ride being especially harsh and we were not riding on the highway.

 

[Michael_S]

One interesting observation is that this thread has had over 3800 hits. With the exception of the thread related to the push button start, there isn't another thread that comes close to this kind of traffic.

I'm just guessing here but it seems to me that people are looking at the this thread for a reason and I bet that it's because more people are experiencing ride problems than are being reported.

Speaking for myself, I'm following the thread closely because the harsh ride you're experiencing is the only significant negative factor anyone has reported for the Genesis.

So it could be significant under-reporting. Or it could just be curiosity by owners and potential owners, because otherwise the car seems just about too good to be true.

 

[jcs]

I too have been following this thread as the comments here almost precluded me from buying my 3.8 Tech. I test drove the car many times just to see if I could duplicate what others have complained about and I am pleased to say that, after many test drives and about 300 miles in the car I purchased, I have no complaints about the feel of the suspension.

My theory is that suspension feel is very much relative and subjective. I had a BMW with a stiff sports suspension prior to the Genesis and I find the Genesis suspension to be relatively soft, but a good compromise between comfort and performance. Others whose prior car had a softer suspension may feel that the Genesis is too firm for their tastes.

In any case, I have never experienced anything near the complete loss of composure that one of the magazine reviews mentioned or the bottoming out that some members of this board have mentioned.

Edit by admin: "pulling to the left" has been moved to an existing discussion that can be found here. Please keep discussions on topic.

 

[Wordman]

I've been silent on this thread thus far, but read it with interest.

I agree with JCS. It's all relative - I used to drive a nine-year old Ford Mustang. Now, THAT'S a rough ride! My Genesis is perfect compared to that, so no complaints here!

 

[rmwweb]

Well, as promised, here are my comments after having the winter tires installed. First to be clear, I replaced the 18" wheels with the Dunlop tires (that come as standard equipment with the V6 Tech package) with 17' rims and Yokohama winter tires. First the good news, there seems to be a significant improvement in the general ride, that is the tar strips and little bumps in the road are much less intrusive than with the standard tires/wheels. However, in the bad news department, as can only be expected, changing tires and wheel size does not do very much to smooth out the reaction of the car to any significant irregularity in the road.

It was quite amazing actually, after dropping off my car at the dealer to have the tires changed I jumped into the drivers seat of my friends 2001 Honda CRV and drove it down the road to the coffee shop to kill some time. I have to say that although there was some body sway in the CRV, the overall ride was way smoother than what I've been experiencing with my Genesis. I've probably become over sensitized to the problem but my thoughts today when I was driving the CRV was "OK I'm vaguely aware of the little bumps in the road but they aren't intrusive, and on the more significant bumps the car just absorbed the jolt with no fuss or over reaction." With the Genesis (on the 18" stock wheels) there is an almost relentless banging over every tar strip and here in the great white north we have lots of tar strips. With respect to a significant bump, there is no missing the fact that you've hit one. It is just not a pleasant experience.

I am truly confused by the varying comments on this thread. Some people are delighted with the way their car rides and yet some of us are having serious issues with the suspension. I'm not normally a complainer but this problem has me stumped. I can't believe that anyone would actually enjoy the ride that I'm experiencing unless they are upgrading from a 1950's pick-up truck. (OK I'm exaggerating but only to make my point) I spoke with the service rep at the dealer today while waiting for my car and asked him if they'd had any complaints about the suspension. He admitted that they were aware of the issue and indicated that he'd heard Hyundai was testing out an air suspension system that may become available in the future. I asked if there would be a retrofit available for cars already in service and he replied that that would probably depend on how many complaints Hyundai receives. I know they will be getting at least one.

 

[thomaspf]

If you find out where to complain please let us know.

I think that air suspension system is availabe for the Genesis in other countries already so that should not be a big deal to get that tested and approved here.

If they cut current owners a half way decent deal I'd be happy to upgrade. I just checked on the MSN auto site what an air spring upgrade costs on other cars.

The VW Touareg has an air spring update comined with bi-xenon headlights for $2.249. The Mercedes M class has the air spring system for $1.488.

What would be a fair price for this upgrade to fix the suspension issues for currrent owners? $1000???

Cheers

Thomas

 

[Marvinlee]

Hyundai has the engineering ability to create suspensions that corner well and ride well. The Genesis sales brochure leads one to expect both. I agree that tires can make a big diffference. However, new cars are expected to ride and handle well with the tires they come with, not after tire replacement. Hyundai may want to look at suspension travel to determine if it is sufficient to allow ample suspension travel before bottoming out. Limited suspension travel cannot be corrected with stiffer springs and shocks.-

 

[thomaspf]

I agree in general but as it stands it looks like there is no reaction from Hyundai.

Here is a picture of the air spring system that Hyundai mounts on the Genesis outside the US. I suppose the cost cutting effort in the US might have led to something different than they bargained for. I for my part would be fine if I can upgrade my V8 with the air springs at a decent price.

Cheers

Thomas