[derkk]

I felt that this thread belonged over here more so than the general forum site. So after the snow we had in Okie land, I realized that suspension is rather rough on my Forte 5. This is disappointing to me. I don't expect luxury, but a smoother ride over bumps would be nice.

Anyone have any ideas on what can be done to improve this after market? Would it just be the struts to give a softer ride? I don't care much for cornering performance. I want to use my Forte 5 more of a utility vehicle but the way it handles bumps atm would not make it a good idea for that until I can give it a softer ride over bumps.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[93'DET]

2 options:
-Either wait for an adjustable struts to come out for the 5 (I couldn't find a set, but there may be some lurking around) and put it on a softer setting.

-Smaller rim and bigger tire height

 

[Reject]

The Forte has a sportier tuned suspension so it's gonna be pretty rough. It's about what I expected.

 

[[email protected]&M]

If you can, try going to a taller tire on your existing wheels. That should help a little bit. Otherwise, you're going to be waiting a long time for aftermarket adjustable shocks/struts to hit the market.

 

[foska]

I agree with the previous comments. In addition to increasing the amount of tire on the wheel (for example using 16" wheels as opposed to 17") you can also try to lower the air pressure.

 

[Geek.Verve]

I know what you mean. I went with the EX over the SX to save some money, knowing that I'd be going with 16" wheels over 17" and a little less sporty look. After driving it for a few months now, I still kind of wish I had gone with the SX, but I can't imagine I'd like the rougher ride. The ride I get from the EX is rougher than I'm used to.

 

[SX5_MD]

Sorry for bumping an old one, but I was bored today and decided to look around...I wouldn't call the SX ride rougher so much as I would call it more composed. Every review I read of and EX trim car was how horrible the suspension and driving dynamics were. Then upon an immediate comparison to the SX, everyone seemed to fall in love or at least appreciate the finer suspension tuning that went in to the SX. Granted it is often referred to as sporty and never positively compliant, but I still think its a great start for a company thats turned a new leaf.

 

[cannga]

Yes the suspension of the Forte SX is firm, but not excessively so. More importantly, it is an extremely fun car to drive PRECISELY because of this firmness. If you take away the firmness it will not be nearly as fun to drive, and this is the classic problem of ride vs. handling. You could have one or the other, or a compromise in between, never both. The firmness is also relative; if you take a ride in my 911 Turbo with R compound Pirelli Corsa, you would think the SX is riding on air.

That said, 4 of the 5 problems that increase this firmness could be improved without much sacrifice to the handling.
1. Firm spring.
2. 17 inch rim.
3. Very low profile tire 215 45 - among lowest in its class.
4. Tire pressure.
5. Tire brand (Goodyear seems to be terrible - Continental less noise and softer.).
I wouldn't change 1, but 2 to 5 are things that could be considered if the firmness bothers anyone here too much. 16 inch in the SX would have helped and would have been my choice (doesn't look as nice of course), higher profile tire would have helped (could try 225 45, a little thicker, but not much more you could do with stock rim), tire pressure could be adjusted to a touch lower than 32 (it's my daughter's car so I actually lower the pressure to around 29-30 cold, using a digital gauge), and you could switch tire once the supposedly horrible Goodyear wears out.

 

[cannga]

Posted this elsewhere but thought it would be good here too:

If you look at the SX version of the Forte from straight behind, you could see that both rear and front wheel tilt in at a slight angle. In most cars, you see rear wheel tilt in, but the front is straight. In the Forte SX it looks to me (I could be a little off ) like the front wheel tilts as well. I was very surprised to see this, especially in a subcompact car!

I do not have it measured yet so only about 90% sure LOL, but this is called FRONT (and rear) negative camber and is among the reasons the car drives and handles so well in the twisties.

I would very highly recommend the SX trim for those who are debating between SX and EX, especially if you would like to have a fun small car with great handling and power. I understand the handling is night and day different and it's much better to have it come from the factory with the right suspension, than to try to add modifications later on.

 

[KovyForteSX]

i noticed the rear camber as well, especially now with the eibach's on there. Still rides the same, but going from a very stiff and agile Cobalt SS turbo to the Forte makes my ride feel very smooth in the SX lol. So I don't think I'll ever call the ride "rough."

 

[cannga]

i noticed the rear camber as well, especially now with the eibach's on there. Still rides the same, but going from a very stiff and agile Cobalt SS turbo to the Forte makes my ride feel very smooth in the SX lol. So I don't think I'll ever call the ride "rough."

Yes, definitely there is rear negative camber, but you see this in almost every car. What's so unusual about Forte SX is that I believe (no measurement, just eyeballing) there is front negative camber as well. If true, this front negative camber indicates the car is designed to take corners faster (less understeer, better turn-in) - a car tuned for fun driving - a very very good sign indeed.

I agree that everything is relative.After driving my 911 with R compound Pirelli Corsa and Bilstein, the Foret feels like I am riding on a pillow . To me, the ride is firm, but entirely acceptable. I wouldn't want any softer ride if handling is going to suffer, and it most likely will. Outside of exploring "better" tire, I think the Forte SX suspension is excellent as is.

 

[frankyp]

Does anybody here have had any issues with hopping ? Don't get me wrong, I love my Forte5 SX and its handling, but the thing that REALLLY irritates me right now is the way its hops when you're in a curve. Should this be? Is this normal ? Am I just being too picky ? Is this just a problem with my car ?

If anyone has the same problem and has a fix for this problem, please speak up !!

 

[Walpole5]

Check out the rear lower stiffener bar from Ultra Racing. You can buy it on e-bay for about $130. Helps the ride a bit, stops the hopping on bumpy corners, and stiffens the chassis in the rear. It's a breeze to install too.

 

[frankyp]

So I installed the Ultra racing rear lower strut bar...sadly not much difference. This hop is really getting on my nerves, so I had my mechanics look into it further (i'm fortunate enough to work @ Canadian Tire where I have access to pretty much all the tools and equipment I need ). They put and car on the alignment rack and found out the right rear wheel was out of align. So they shimmed it and got evrything in line. Off I go...a little better with the rear wheel a little straighter and the ultra racing bar, but i'm still having issues.

I juyst rolled 10k yesterday and I'm due for an oil change at 13k. I'll book an appnt with my local Kia dealer to see if they can do something about this.

The rear end of my car handles like a 1991 Dodge 1/2 ton I used to own...it sucks.

Anyways, just thought I'd update you guys on this and to see if anyone has the same issue going on.

 

[Walpole5]

Franky, it sounds like there may be a problem with your car. The rear bar helped my car with the skittishness on multiple small bumps. I think the chassis of the Forte 5 door is not very stiff and the bar helps in this regard. Could you have a bad shock in the rear?

 

[frankyp]

Possibly. I'm gonna take it to the dealership soon and have them look at it. But like you described it, it's when you go over multiple small bumps that you notice it the most, or if you go over a man-hole in a curve the car will hop. I've been looking at Eibach springs but I don't want to start changing a whole pile of parts if it's not gonna fix my problem.

I'll keep you guys posted

 

[Walpole5]

Since I have the same car with the rear bar installed and I am not having the hopping problem anymore, I suspect you have a bad shock. I do think the car is a bit over-sprung and under-damped. I'm not going to do any more changes, but when it comes time to replace the struts and shocks, I'll see if Bilstein has something and try those.

 

[frankyp]

I agree, Bilstein does make a good product.

 

[cgrahams]

Hey guys,

I have a 2012 Forte 5 SX that's not quite two weeks old. I find the hop in the rear during cornering with bumps terrible and downright unsafe feeling on mine. I also find over bumpy sections of straight road the car doesn't react very well either-sorta pogos on either side. Even crawling over speed bumps in a parking lot I find there's too much side to side bouncing back and forth. My ten yr old Civic SiR with stock suspension was hands down superior. Anyway, the Forte is getting HSD coilovers tomorrow so I'll report back!

 

[frankyp]

Hows your ride handling now cgraham ? I'm up to 40k on mine now and still have as bad a hop as I did when I bought the car.