[momof4]

Hello all! My first time posting here--I have an 09 and I love it, but the ride is so rough! My husband hates to ride in it as he says it rides like a freight wagon. I don't have a ton of money to spend on her, but what are my options for getting a smoother ride? Any suggestions welcome from expensive to moderate. Thanks so much! Oh, I don't know if it matters, but I have 17" wheels.
Thanks again!

 

[kingburger]

get fatter tires. that should dampen the roughness.

 

[Aljay]

What do you expect for something that has less wheel base than a fox bodied mustang ?

As the one before me stated get a taller tire .

 

[Brewski]

Hello all! My first time posting here--I have an 09 and I love it, but the ride is so rough! My husband hates to ride in it as he says it rides like a freight wagon. I don't have a ton of money to spend on her, but what are my options for getting a smoother ride? Any suggestions welcome from expensive to moderate. Thanks so much! Oh, I don't know if it matters, but I have 17" wheels.
Thanks again!

Tires, tires, tires...stock 16" wheel and tire is smoother I would think..I know I don't have a problem with the ride.....

Brewski

 

[Geezer]

I run the stock 16" wheels in the winter and 17" after market wheels in the summer and although there isn't a great deal of difference it is noticeable. The short wheelbase doesn't help the ride either. Nothing you can do about that. Probably the biggest factor is what you're point of reference is, i.e. your previous/other vehicle. If your coming from a Lexus/Buick/Lincoln, or any full size sedan/SUV for that matter, the xB will not fare well by comparison. My other vehicle is a 14 year old truck, so the the xB's ride seems fine even with the summer wheel setup. Rather than tweak the xB, get your husband an old beater truck. He'll quickly learn to appreciate the xB.

Other than that, tires/wheel size are about your only other cost effective option. I have a friend who replaced the 16" wheels on a Honda Element with 15" wheels and a taller profile tire to maintain the same overall diameter. I think that would make for a softer ride, but might make the handling a little squirrely in emergency situation. My friend was happy with the result on his Element, but then again his name was Odd Larry.

 

[scion]

As stated above, your 17" wheels will make the ride more harsh. Try to get some stock 16" tires/rims and keep the air pressure at the recommended setting which is listed inside the drivers door.

What you have to remember is that the tires are the first piece on your car to absorb the shock of the road, with the 17" wheels/tires there is much less sidewall give to take this road shock.

Where are you located? Someone here might have a set of 16" wheels with tires and live close enough to save you shipping charges.

Good Luck!

 

[Parkers09xB]

I don't have them, but people love the ride they get with Tanabe NF210 springs. There are a ton of springs though, so shop around and find the ones with the best ratings for ride comfort.