Looking for a more comfortable ride

dsalonius

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2010 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring AWD
Anybody have any suggestions on how to improve ride comfort on a 2010 CX-9 AWD Grand Touring? I've read in reviews that the 20" rims make for a bumpier ride, but I have found the opposite when test driving 18's at the dealer. I replaced the stock Dueller's with Paradas and the ride improved, but I'm still looking to make it more comfortable. I'm not seeing many choices available in aftermarket shocks. Anyone have any thoughts on going down to smaller rims with a better quality tire than the Duellers?

What I'm hoping to improve is how it responds to bumps and potholes.

Any recommendations are appreciated.
 
What's an acceptable amount to lower them to? I believe I'm at the recommended pressure (34 psi).
 
I tried going as low as 30 psi per tire, and I could definitely feel a difference in the ride. But it really didn't help my main problem. If I hit the slightest pothole or dip in the road, the weight of the vehicle seems to cause it to drop in the hole and then pop back up creating a jarring feeling. In other lighter cars, the tire seems to drop in a hole like this and then pop back up without the car taking the dive too. I'm guessing it may be the nature of a 4500 pound vehicle - but I'm hoping for some suggestions that would help improve the ride quality. I would consider dropping down to 18" rims and going to a larger tire wall if I new it would achieve the results I'm looking for. On my test drive of an AWD cx-9 with 18" tires, it didn't seem to help. But I'm guessing it could be because they're using the Dueller stock tires which are rated as a pretty uncomfortable ride. I just don't want to spend the money to find out that I'm looking at a 5% improvement. That wouldn't be worth the costs involved.

Thanks for any advice.
 
I'm pretty sure all AWD CX-9s have 20s from the factory, unless you drove a used one that had been changed. Most of your ride stiffness is caused by the shocks
 
I believe only the Grand Touring has the 20's. The regular touring AWD has 18's. I did verify that the tires were 18's on the test drive model and it was an AWD. I wanted to make sure it was an AWD because I figured the extra weight from the transmission had an effect on the ride. Does anyone know why there are no (or 1) aftermarket shocks available?
 
I just figure people have to get their shocks/struts changed at some point and a lot of people don't go with the manufacturer's because of price. Also, many reviews of the car point out the rough ride (at least on the grand touring). It seems like with this being a common complaint, a shock manufacturer would provide an alternative.

But I guess I'm wrong, because there aren't many. Only one I've seen in the forums is KYB and it was reported to be about the same ride as factory.

I'm hoping to find some way to improve the ride, because I plan to keep this car for a looong time. Spending a few hundred dollars to find happiness in contrast to the purchase price of the vehicle seems like a no brainer.
 
That's becasue KYB is the company that makes the CX-9 shocks for Mazda. They also supply the shocks for the Mz6. Honestly one of the strengths of the CX-9 is it's handling and compliant ride IMO. If the ride is too jarring then you probably should have purchased a Acadia or some other more softly sprung SUV.

Once you start futzing around with the suspension you'll probably compromise other aspects of the CX-9's handling. This is a 4500 lb vehicle that has a pretty sophisticated dynamic stability contorl system which was undoutedly programmed with the factory damping rates in mind. There's a reason why reviewers have been impressed by the agility of such a large vehicle. It has been tuned by some of the best chassis engineers in the business and what it took to get it to be so agile is not something a trip to Meineke is going to improve on. IMO FWIW
 
I hear where you're coming from and I realize a lot of people like the combination as-is. Others would prefer to sacrifice handling for comfort. Nothing wrong with having different preferences. I think Mazda would do well to offer a second option for the suspension so everybody can be happy. Even if it's an after-sale dealer installed option.
 
Interesting point. However Mazda is the "zoom-zoom" company and a small company at that. The more options the more cost to manufacturer (changing up the assembly line and such). The automaker would also have to consider cost/benefit of offering an optional suspension set-up. Since people who buy Mazda are probably buying into the zoom-zoom philosophy then they probably wouldn't opt for the softer suspension. The thing is Mazda already tried to play with the Toyotas and Hondas of the world and failed. They now are concentrating on developing their own brand. What you want to try, as some others have alluded to here, is find a set of the 18 inch wheels with 18 inch tires. eBay usually has some wheels as does craigslist. The added sidewall should soften the ride a bit. In fact I find that the ride is more compliant with the 18 inch snows I'm currently running. You could also go to the dealer and see if they have any used Touring or Sport models on the lot, who knows they may swap out the 18 incher on those models for the 20's, which may make that used Touring or Sport more attractive to a buyer.
 
That's what I'm wondering. Glad to hear you're getting a smoother ride with 18" snow tires. I considered doing that, but my test drive with the dueller 18's didn't leave me convinced it was going to work. So I bought the 20" paradas instead. The tires were a good deal and I was trying to find the least expensive fix. It did help.

Thanks for the advice. I'll probably wait until I've wore these Parada's out before looking to swap out rims.
 
I think the perceived quality of the ride may also be related to the vehicle it replaced. Case in point - I traded a F-150 SuperCrew for the CX-9 and I feel the CX-9 ride is fantastic and a great improvement over the F150. But I possibly would feel differently if my previous vehicle had a smoother ride.
 
I came from a 2009 Mazda 6. The ride was a bit bumpy in the 6, but never bothersome. I realize it's apples and oranges between a car and a 4,500 pound suv. I'm just looking for ways to improve it. We hit the same potholes and manhole covers everyday and I'm not happy with the accompanying sensations. In our previous three cars, I didn't even know they were there. In this car, I'm actively trying to avoid them, although it's not possible in traffic.
 
www.nt850.com awesome tires. I don't think the ride is too bumpy at all. I'm keeping 40lbs in my tires (max is 50), too much treadwear to the outsides of the tires at 34 lbs. I think 40 lbs will wear out each tire evenly across the entire tread.
 

I have a 2007 FWD CX9 GT (bought it new in February 2007). I replaced the Duellers at 26k with Yokohama Paradas based on the Tire Rack reviews and some of the recommendations on this board. The Duellers weren't the best in winter conditions (nor the worst from my experiences), and there definitely was more road noise than the Paradas, but what I found to be the best improvement was the tracking and ride quality of the new tires. I now have put 30k on the Paradas, and they are still quiet and have plenty of tread.
 
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