Gooey ride of my 98 Xploda?

[98XLTLMEdition]

I have a 98 explorer and I like it alot its a great car so heres the question....I noticed today while driving my friends exterra that my ride absolutly sucks(let me explain first) I noticed wheni first bought the car that going over any bump like a speed bump was a violent action at any sepped but a idle crawl...it hur to go fast over any bump or even a hump in an itersection at 50...I also noticed that the round body styler ford suv and trucks specifially my moms black 2000 expedition and my dad 2000 f-150 and my 98 explorer that they are verry gooy in there suspention set up.....I hated my moms expedition because of its gooey ness as in i take a turn and the car has soooo much body roll...and its just like (takes corner) woooooooo geewwwwwww it is soft on corners i was always afraid if a car ever pulled in front of me id have to swerve and trhen id flip cuz the car felt like i was driving a house on a set of bike wheel in the middle......my dad car behaved the same way verry gooey or sloshey or however...I drive my car and the suspention is a little more stiff to the point its annoying in a dialy drive going over speedbumps blows and even a raised crosswalk causes me to think wow i really wish i had the soft suspention of my focus....Well my mom got an 04 expo and i like driving that as opposed to the other this one has a stiff supntion with less goooooooowwwwww and it still does good in speedbumps not giving the wiplash effect...I also noted my friends 03 xterra is the same way i feel confident taking a corener in his xterra or in my moms 04 eb i also noticed that the ride on the highway in the expedition is oo smooth its great reminds me of the ride on a lincolin so can i get new or better sprigs that are soft enough to go over spped bums ect normally and still keep the car level in aturn likea new expedtion explorer or xterra and does any one know what i mean when i say goooey in the ride of the x..(its a 98 XLT no ARC)

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

To solve some of the issues you're talking about, you might look into the Explorer Express handling kits, as well as some stiffer shocks. For your situation, I think Monroe Reflex shocks would serve well. They're around $40 apiece but they're great shocks too...good luck.

 

[Ritsui]

Changing to Monroe Reflex shocks made a big difference in handling for me (98 Sport), but they are rather harsh on the passengers compared to softer shocks like Sensatracks. Either are a vast improvement over OEM shocks, especially if they have more than 20K or so miles on them.

Of course, you haven't said anything about your tires or wheels. Tire pressure and size can have a drastic effect on your ride quality. I remember driving my 98 Sport off the lot and it was extremely comfortable, but far too mushy for my tastes on the road because it had soft, underinflated tires. What size/brand tires do you have and what pressure are you running?

 

[98XLTLMEdition]

Changing to Monroe Reflex shocks made a big difference in handling for me (98 Sport), but they are rather harsh on the passengers compared to softer shocks like Sensatracks. Either are a vast improvement over OEM shocks, especially if they have more than 20K or so miles on them.

Of course, you haven't said anything about your tires or wheels. Tire pressure and size can have a drastic effect on your ride quality. I remember driving my 98 Sport off the lot and it was extremely comfortable, but far too mushy for my tastes on the road because it had soft, underinflated tires. What size/brand tires do you have and what pressure are you running?

I have the stock 15" rims that came on likeevery x in the world and the tires are just regular road tires with the correct pressure(i check them every two weeks) all are identical there general all terrain tires i dont know who makes em they where on the car when purchased 4 thousand miles ago.

 

[NusenseSD]

what pressure do you have your tires set to? I know the earlier explorers the tires would be set to 24 or 25 psi.. (most of the cause of the Firestone tire failure) .. might want to up them a little bit.. say 32 or 34..

 

[Mbrooks420]

Explorers just don't have a nice ride. Almost any other 4x4 I have ever rode in had a better ride. My dads beat f150 with 1.5 ton springs and tons of miles rode way better.

 

[98XLTLMEdition]

Explorers just don't have a nice ride. Almost any other 4x4 I have ever rode in had a better ride. My dads beat f150 with 1.5 ton springs and tons of miles rode way better.

The tires on my car have a recomended 32 psi and thats where i keep them......I dont want it to ride like crap....i dont think its bad ive been in worse like a grand am with 18's and I want my car to ride smoother with less body roll...what will remedy this?

 

[etc]

Sway bar will get rid of that body roll.

 

[EBInterceptor]

An EE sway bar kit will only give the rear a new sway bar. His '98 has a thicker front sway bar in the first place. To be honest, I got lost in that ramble from the beginning. So you want a real stiff ride? I like my Ranchos, pretty stiff, not overbearing, stiffened up the vehicle all around. I asked a girl about the ride (in the X) and she didn't think it was too rough. (I gave her the rough ride later)....but for a woman like my mom, she didn't like how the Explorer rode at all.

As far as tires, 4000 miles is plenty of time to realize what kind you have!

I run my tires at 36 psi. I like to feel every single bump there is, makes me feel one with the vehicle.

I've completely lost where I am going with this.....best of luck!


PS ~ The RSX's are good shocks, not much body roll in my vehicle

 

[Mbrooks420]

A Grand Am with 18's is hardly a vehicle to compare ride quality with. There are softer shocks, and even adjustable Rancho's where you have 9 settings. I don't really think it will improve ride all that much. You may want to check out the bushing on the sway bar/end links.

 

[98XLTLMEdition]

is there a front and rear anti sway bar i can get? and what sprigns do you have and hwo would you comare them to your origianl ride in the X?

 

[Mbrooks420]

On the Explorer the torsion bars act as the springs in the front. They made a few different bars of different stiffnesses. The rear uses leaf springs. They both have shocks. I had the Rancho 9000X adjustables on my last Explorer. I liked them, but on any of the 9 settings, it wasn't what I'd call smooth. I imagine someone makes a sway bar for the front.