Why are starlets so uncomfortable

Galen

Galen

Lifer
I find mine comfortable! Have Tein Superstreet coilovers and fishnet recaros, some people find it uncomfortable but I guess im just used to it. I sometimes drive the oul lads A4 and I hate it, most uncomfortable car ever, way too soft, ya go over a bump and its still bouncing for about half a mile after it lol At least the Glanza hits the bump and thats it!!
 
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Paul_JJ

Member +
xxjack189 said:
where would i get replacments? toyota? probably cost a fortune.
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First check your suspension in the garage! Second - the brand new suspension isn't very comfortable either! You would probably be better getting european shocks and springs (for the UK starlet or even German starlet -) ask in the local garage what they've got) - for the UK roads!

WE have pretty bad roads in the UK and those cars were designed for Japan - where they have very good and smooth roads!
Also, the cars are pretty light and no matter what suspension you've got you need the pressure to put on the wheels/springs - try it on your car - put 4 heavy blocks in your car and feel the difference in suspension!

What I don't like about Starlet's is the noise and the plastic inside the car - as all I want to hear is an engine noise - not the road noise or the plastic rubbing something somewhere in the car -( Apart from that - standard suspension is pretty good - for smooth straight roads -)

Standard replacement would be around £200 for springs and £150 for shocks -) Original Toyota - so I don't think you really need it -) just try to get a decent used one -)))) like a fresh import car - better if you actually sit in the car and try suspension -)
 
sx_turbo

sx_turbo

Lifer
Paul_JJ said:
First check your suspension in the garage! Second - the brand new suspension isn't very comfortable either! You would probably be better getting european shocks and springs (for the UK starlet or even German starlet -) ask in the local garage what they've got) - for the UK roads!

WE have pretty bad roads in the UK and those cars were designed for Japan - where they have very good and smooth roads!
Also, the cars are pretty light and no matter what suspension you've got you need the pressure to put on the wheels/springs - try it on your car - put 4 heavy blocks in your car and feel the difference in suspension!

What I don't like about Starlet's is the noise and the plastic inside the car - as all I want to hear is an engine noise - not the road noise or the plastic rubbing something somewhere in the car -( Apart from that - standard suspension is pretty good - for smooth straight roads -)

Standard replacement would be around £200 for springs and £150 for shocks -) Original Toyota - so I don't think you really need it -) just try to get a decent used one -)))) like a fresh import car - better if you actually sit in the car and try suspension -)
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seriously dude what on earth are you on.

new springs and damper will improve the ride qaulity and handling, as has been stated the stock stuff is over 10 years old now and well worn,

KYB make the springs and dampers for toyota OE for the starlet so if he were to buy kyb springs and dampers they will be exactly what toyota will sell him.

also suspension technology has evolved quite substantially over the past 10 years since starlets went out of production, and kyb put all there latest technology into all there products,

and as for putting weight in the car, honestly how silly.

toyota designed the car to be a certain weight and designed the suspension to suit that, you will find that the starlet rides the same as any other car of the same age/era,

another way to improve the comfort belive it or not is to stiffen the body and make the suspension do the work as it should, this is what a lot of modern cars are like now they have stiffened bodies to improve ride and handling.
 
durmz

durmz

Member +
Well said ricky. what is with the advice given out on the forums these days? Put four heavy blocks in your car and feel the difference???

This thread is a bit like buying a limo and asking how to improve the handling
 
glanzanut

glanzanut

Lifer
Paul_JJ said:
First check your suspension in the garage! Second - the brand new suspension isn't very comfortable either! You would probably be better getting european shocks and springs (for the UK starlet or even German starlet -) ask in the local garage what they've got) - for the UK roads!

WE have pretty bad roads in the UK and those cars were designed for Japan - where they have very good and smooth roads!
Also, the cars are pretty light and no matter what suspension you've got you need the pressure to put on the wheels/springs - try it on your car - put 4 heavy blocks in your car and feel the difference in suspension!

What I don't like about Starlet's is the noise and the plastic inside the car - as all I want to hear is an engine noise - not the road noise or the plastic rubbing something somewhere in the car -( Apart from that - standard suspension is pretty good - for smooth straight roads -)

Standard replacement would be around £200 for springs and £150 for shocks -) Original Toyota - so I don't think you really need it -) just try to get a decent used one -)))) like a fresh import car - better if you actually sit in the car and try suspension -)
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Lol yeah let's all fit tow bars to our ep's and tow trailers full of breeze blocks about!

The ride will be ultra smooooth!

Honestly mate, putting weight in the car, where u getting this stuff?
 
stuarty1

stuarty1

Member +
i love the bumpy roads my old glanza was realy bad it had trd coilovers frount and bck country roads were a nitemare bckend use to bump from left to rite just lets u no if u hav balls wen u bounce of ur seat and sit on 1 lol 1 find my new ep82 a bit more easy on the ass as the seats arnt as hard
 
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Paul_JJ

Member +
Cmon guys - that was just to compare the difference when the car is light and heavy! For god's sake - go and sit in a 2 ton car - drive it for a while - then put the same suspension on your Starlet and drive on the same road - feel the difference!

I know that KYB make it for Toyota! I've actually had brand new suspension on my old starlet - so I'm saying that it's not worth the money, even brand new it's not as comfortable as European suspension.
 
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Paul_JJ

Member +
Component Reduce Under-steer Reduce Over-steer
Weight distribution center of gravity towards rear center of gravity towards front

Front shock absorber softer stiffer
Rear shock absorber stiffer softer
Front sway bar softer stiffer
Rear sway bar stiffer softer
Front tire selection1 larger contact area² smaller contact area
Rear tire selection smaller contact area larger contact area²
Front wheel rim width or diameter larger² smaller
Rear wheel rim width or diameter smaller larger²
Front tire pressure lower pressure increase pressure
Rear tire pressure increase pressure lower pressure
Front wheel camber increase negative camber reduce negative camber
Rear wheel camber reduce negative camber increase negative camber
Rear spoiler smaller larger
Front height (because these usually
affect camber and roll resistance) lower front end raise front end
Rear height raise rear end lower rear end
Front toe in decrease increase
Rear toe in decrease increase

1) Tire contact area can be increased by using wider tires, or tires with fewer grooves in the tread pattern. Of course fewer grooves has the opposite effect in wet weather or other poor road conditions.
2) These also improve road holding, under most conditions.


As you can see the weight does affect suspension!
 
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Paul_JJ

Member +
Tanz said:
boucy bouny bouncy bouncy,,sorry i didnt quite get that ,,,im driving.....lol
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Yeah that's on the coilovers with a decat and a massive exhaust -) Scary I'd say.... and yeah - the most popular feature - standard brakes on 200+ bhp car!!!
 
toyotagt

toyotagt

Member +
i had d2's and theey were really comfy.. i loved how smooth it was....

and i have meisters on my advance and love how hard it is.. but them wen on soft its smooth enough aswell... but i always have it on rock hard..
 
R

Rev

Member +
Not sure what they did to my Sera it bounces at every bump I'm lowered with 205/40/17s , on medium bumps the suspension travel hits with a bang.
I reduced the camber because I figured wider tyre standard camber is like standard tyre with huge camber and I was wearing out the edges to prove this theory.

What I find is when I go faster than 55kph over bumps the handling improves , when on a smooth concrete road the car is heavenly.

The car drives with oversteer when the outer road slopes down too much because the rear axle lifts the outside tyre causing traction loss on the tyre that has the load, especially when going down hill or wet and don't even think about using the brake in this situation.

Over 110 kph the car down force sticks like glue.

But was really hoping some nice recaros might fix the handling?
 
Jaf_ep91

Jaf_ep91

Member +
if you find standard suspension uncomfy its probably a really bad idea lowering it, it only gets worse, low profile tyres will affect the comfort as you feel many more bumps, try big confy padded seats haha
 
sx_turbo

sx_turbo

Lifer
Paul_JJ said:
Cmon guys - that was just to compare the difference when the car is light and heavy! For god's sake - go and sit in a 2 ton car - drive it for a while - then put the same suspension on your Starlet and drive on the same road - feel the difference!

I know that KYB make it for Toyota! I've actually had brand new suspension on my old starlet - so I'm saying that it's not worth the money, even brand new it's not as comfortable as European suspension.
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big cars are designed differently, 99% of big cars are designed to be soft mile eaters, or drive the family around etc etc, so comparing it to car that are much larger and designed for different purposes is frankly stupid.

the starlet worked exactly as it should and still does, if you drive a ford fiesta vauxhall corsa, nova, clio etc etc etc all of the same sort of era you find they all ride pretty much the same,

my nan has a uk spec starlet and thats plenty comfortable enough for her, and she has really bad back problems, (her car has also only done 20,000 miles since 1997)

when people buy new shocks for there starlets in the uk the standard ep91 shocks are given as replacements, and loads of people say how much they improve the ride and handling of the car,
 
R

Rev

Member +
Jaf_ep91 said:
if you find standard suspension uncomfy its probably a really bad idea lowering it, it only gets worse, low profile tyres will affect the comfort as you feel many more bumps, try big confy padded seats haha
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I like Jay's suggection earlier of a cushion but seriously your saying changing tyre profile will still be too bumpy , so should I raise the suspension then to get more travel to get the rubber down at the rear? or is their another way?
 
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sx_turbo

sx_turbo

Lifer
Rev said:
Not sure what they did to my Sera it bounces at every bump I'm lowered with 205/40/17s , on medium bumps the suspension travel hits with a bang.
I reduced the camber because I figured wider tyre standard camber is like standard tyre with huge camber and I was wearing out the edges to prove this theory.

What I find is when I go faster than 55kph over bumps the handling improves , when on a smooth concrete road the car is heavenly.

The car drives with oversteer when the outer road slopes down too much because the rear axle lifts the outside tyre causing traction loss on the tyre that has the load, especially when going down hill or wet and don't even think about using the brake in this situation.

Over 110 kph the car down force sticks like glue.

But was really hoping some nice recaros might fix the handling?
Click to expand...

remove the 17"s and put 15"s on, will be a massive difference in comfort and handling and acceleration
 
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