If you want your stiff riding 300c to ride better on bad roads and bumps you need to change your shocks to the base model 300 touring shocks and struts. You also need to go back to the old Conti tires that have low tread wear. Yes, I know they suck and don't last. You need a soft tire with a low treadwear rating at around 360 or lower. Also, keep only 30psi cold pressure in your tires. This is the only way to soften up your ride to where you don't cringe every time you drive on bad roads. I realized that over time my car has developed a lot of rattles due to over 3 years of abuse from the harsh suspension that the 300c delivers. If your car has some miles and years on it you can get a softer ride by doing these changes. Later this year Monroe will be supplying the Sensatrac shocks. These might even be better if you want to wait a bit.
Something else I wanted to add, I got the contiseal tires on my car and I want to know if anyone can show me how these tires perform differently from the noncontiseal tires. I was told by tirerack there is no difference except that the contiseal tires have a coat of gel on the inside. They say it does not affect the harshness of the tire at all. I heard a lot of people complain about the contiseal tires. I think its both tires that have the same problem when they get some wear on them. Any comments about this?
My biggest complaint about the 300C suspension is that it is too bouncy. They dialed in too much suspension travel to smooth out the bumps to give it a luxury feel. I don't mind a non harsh suspension, but for a car this fast at 4000+ pounds, it needs something tighter. Indeed, I run my tires at 35 psi because at 30 psi the tires are just too sloppy on the turns.
But if it the suspension is too soft for you, then by all means, try to soften it out. Who am I to say otherwise. But this is one post title I though I would never see.
I was able to totally eliminate the bounce with KWv2 coilovers.
No more bouncing out of the seats with the KW's.
But the ride is slightly harsher than the stock shocks/springs, but not too bad. Getting the KW's defiantly improved the handling, eliminated the bouncy ride, and makes the car look so much better lowered.
Recently I drove a 2008 300 Touring rental car for a day and the ride is very cushy, not harsh at all. So I will agree with gbracer that the C's ride can be softened up by changing over to a non-C suspension.
Did you change out both the shock and the strut or just the shock ? I have the Goodyear tires and they certainly are a tougher tread but a good tire. Are you okay at high speeds with the change ?
Interesting. Personally, I think the ride of the 300C is too soft. The car badly needs better shocks to dampen the suspension. I would like to put a good set of heavy duty shocks on my car. The Conti Self seals were the worst riding tires I have ever had on a car. I would not put them on anything. I took them off at 6000 miles and put on a set of Goodyear Comfort treads which ride much better in my opinion.
I'de have to agree with phunter1, the ride of the 300C is plenty soft enough. Here in Australia in all the reviews i've read many say that in corners the suspension is so soft the car tends to wallow(Top Gear review), and gives the car the sense of extra body roll(The Australian Motoring section). Either way this is an entirely personal opinion, so if the ride is too harsh, then by all means change it up. Sorry just my .02c
Did you change out both the shock and the strut or just the shock ? I have the Goodyear tires and they certainly are a tougher tread but a good tire. Are you okay at high speeds with the change ?
Yes, the car is fine at high speeds. I tested it all the way past 100mph. The car rides and handles fine at high speeds. I still have the stiff 300c springs which keeps the car stable. Also, I changed both struts and shocks.
In regards to some of the comments made about the 300c suspension, I feel that the car should drive the way it looks. It looks like a bad ass luxury car, so it should feel like a luxury car, not a sports car. Go drive a 2008 Cadillac CTS and see how different the suspension feels. With our suspension we feel every bump, crack, or crevice on the road. A luxury car should not feel that way. I live in an area where the roads are horrible. I just wanted to get my supension to a comfortable feel while driving on these roads. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who also drive on poorly paved roads and don't like the feeling. I just want to let people know that there is a solution to fix this problem by softening up the suspension a bit.
I still don't know what the ride difference is for the conti seal and non conti seal tires. Can anyone tell me? My contiseal tires feel fine so far!
I got rid of the Conti self seals and got a big improvement in the ride. I no longer feel all of the bumps in the road, especially at moderate speeds. The car still has too much bounce for me, but I believe this is a function of inadequate shocks, not the suspension. I live in an area where the roads are very poor. Potholes and poor pavement is the norm. The roads are not maintained by the county, so we have a community service district that maintains the roads, needless to say they are underfunded. To make matters worse, the Avocado trucks tear up the roads quickly.
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