Sam writes:

I have a 2015 Hyundai Elantra SE. It has 25,000 miles and serves its purpose of a street parked commuter car that is comfortable enough for the occasional 600-mile round trip on weekends. The only real issue I have with the car is the cheap-car torsion beam rear suspension. Over large bumps on one side of the car the rear of the car feels like it oscillates extremely in each direction.

In a straight line it is controllable but I worry that in a off ramp taken a little too fast that a unseen bump could actually upset the car enough to lose control (or surprise a fiancé who is used to the handling of a 200S). The 2007 Honda Fit and 2015 Chevy Volt I drove I believe have similar setups but didn’t feel at all like this, and neither did the 2011 Crown Victoria I drove. I’ve read online that some aftermarket replacement shocks would help with this.

Is this really the case? Would a lighter set of wheels also help?

(Read More…)

Sam writes:

Hello,

I have a 2006 Mazda 3 S with 120,000 miles on it. I live in Oakland Ca, where the pot holes shoot back. I blew out a front strut a last year and had both front struts replaced. After replacement, one of the struts squeaks like a rusty spring at slow speeds and is annoying. What is actually driving me crazy is a week ago the other front strut started making loud thunking under acceleration at slow speeds. (Read More…)