Whenever someone rides in my Pathfinder it seems the topic of conversation becomes how rough the ride is. This week I picked up a client who noted, "Wow, this thing rides like my uncle's dump truck" (and this guy drives an F-250).
I'm also wondering if the rough ride is a factor in this thing falling apart before my eyes at only 80,000 miles.
So my question is this: does anyone have any experience with tires and whether they will noticeably improve ride quality on those 18" spoked wheels that come on the V8? I've heard mixed opinions on results from Bilstein shocks but am willing to try it with different tires if it will make a difference.
Tires and ride comfort
Moderator: volvite
18's shouldn't be significantly different than 17's. I do have Bilsteins and airbags but my ride is pretty smooth. I normally use a Suburban to haul people around for work, but sometimes will take my PF and even into off-road situations (mining roads) I've never had a complaint about ride. One hard-core Ford guy commented how well it performed and some of these mining roads will about shake your vehicle senseless. Banging around off-road the worst noise or annoyance I get is the change I keep piled in the console that rattles like crazy.
What tires are you running now? What psi? Stock rear shocks with 80k miles....can't be good. I tossed mine around 30k and they were ok but a little slow to rebound. Nothing like the Bilsteins though. I'm betting yours are shot at this point. Do you have the airbags?
What tires are you running now? What psi? Stock rear shocks with 80k miles....can't be good. I tossed mine around 30k and they were ok but a little slow to rebound. Nothing like the Bilsteins though. I'm betting yours are shot at this point. Do you have the airbags?
I would love to have your ride quality!
Great point about the shocks being shot. I feel like worn shocks would make the car feel soft & washy rather than harsh, though, or am I wrong? My brother suggested that my ride feels as if the previous owner had replaced the factory springs with concrete blocks (a great money saver).
The tires are Continentals (I'll look at the model numbers when I go home). I usually keep them at about 35 psi (to keep the TPMS light off). I do have the Airlift 1000 which I keep at about 10-15 psi without a load (anything higher makes the rear feel like it's going to detach when I hit a bump).
The reason I deduct that the wheels could be part of the problem is that my father-in-law's '05 Frontier rides sooo much smoother on 16's. I've been tempted to ditch the 18's.
I'm going to set up the GoPro in the car one day and film a casual ride through downtown Baltimore, which feels like you're driving a train car down the side of a pyramid (not solely by fault of the car, as Baltimore roads are built to resemble a post-apocalypse movie set).
Great point about the shocks being shot. I feel like worn shocks would make the car feel soft & washy rather than harsh, though, or am I wrong? My brother suggested that my ride feels as if the previous owner had replaced the factory springs with concrete blocks (a great money saver).
The tires are Continentals (I'll look at the model numbers when I go home). I usually keep them at about 35 psi (to keep the TPMS light off). I do have the Airlift 1000 which I keep at about 10-15 psi without a load (anything higher makes the rear feel like it's going to detach when I hit a bump).
The reason I deduct that the wheels could be part of the problem is that my father-in-law's '05 Frontier rides sooo much smoother on 16's. I've been tempted to ditch the 18's.
I'm going to set up the GoPro in the car one day and film a casual ride through downtown Baltimore, which feels like you're driving a train car down the side of a pyramid (not solely by fault of the car, as Baltimore roads are built to resemble a post-apocalypse movie set).
It's possible someone installed stiffer springs....but bad shocks will give you both a wallowing feeling and excessive upward movement. Do you get a lot of nose-dive while braking? Rear shocks control some of that as well. I bought a used Tacoma once and it had a horrible ride. I had trouble climbing a gravel hill with "washboard" type ruts. It just bounced so much the tires wouldn't stay on the ground at anything over a crawl. New Bilsteins and I could go up that hill at any speed.
FWIW, I run my Airlift at 22-25psi and then take it up to 35psi when towing. I don't have any problem even running 35psi without a load (like I am now in between towing). I also keep tires at 35psi so you should be good there. I think you've got something goofy either with the springs or shocks. Or both.
My wife has an Acura MDX and I bounce in between my PF and her car on a regular basis and honestly I don't think there's a huge difference between them. There are certain types of bumps that make the PF jump but that's usually frost heaves and it only does it bad when the alignment needs adjusted. My Dodge 1-ton rides MUCH more rough than my PF.
FWIW, I run my Airlift at 22-25psi and then take it up to 35psi when towing. I don't have any problem even running 35psi without a load (like I am now in between towing). I also keep tires at 35psi so you should be good there. I think you've got something goofy either with the springs or shocks. Or both.
My wife has an Acura MDX and I bounce in between my PF and her car on a regular basis and honestly I don't think there's a huge difference between them. There are certain types of bumps that make the PF jump but that's usually frost heaves and it only does it bad when the alignment needs adjusted. My Dodge 1-ton rides MUCH more rough than my PF.
18" wheels will definitely ride harsher that 17" wheels and I would imagine the V8 will put a little more weight on the front end. I'm happy with my Michelin LTX M/S2's and the Airlift 1000's make a big difference. However, I have an 06 LE with the V6 and 17" wheels. It's stiff but it's not nearly as harsh as my ol' 04 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 was! That thing would knock your fillings loose!
Okay so the tires are Kumho Solus KL21.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... Solus+KL21
Tire Rack rates them as "Excellent" ride quality. Wonder if you could tell a difference between that and "Superior" ride quality. Too bad you can't test drive tires.
And excellent point about the weight of the engine.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... Solus+KL21
Tire Rack rates them as "Excellent" ride quality. Wonder if you could tell a difference between that and "Superior" ride quality. Too bad you can't test drive tires.
And excellent point about the weight of the engine.
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