Camry 3.0V harsh ride

**yenners81** · December 29th, 2011 12:54 PM

Hi guys,

We got a 2nd hand 2005 Camry 3.0V . The car was in good condition except the suspension. The original Toyota shocks were "stuck up" and had a jarring / bouncy ride. We had all the 4 shocks "refilled" at Zee's. It did improve a bit but the ride was still on the harsh side. A year later, we decided to just change all 4 shocks with KYB GR2 shocks. Now, even with the new KYBs, the ride is still bouncy. We'd expect that a mid-sized car like the Camry would have a smooth ride. Our 2011 CRV has a more tolerable ride than the Camry.

Any suggestion on how to smoothen the ride? Is there anything else I need to replace? e.g. springs? Or is this really it is given that it has low profile OEM Bridgestone ER-33 215/55/17 tires?

Appreciate your inputs.

Thanks.

**jick.cejoco** · December 29th, 2011 01:08 PM

Originally Posted by yenners81

Hi guys,

We got a 2nd hand 2005 Camry 3.0V . The car was in good condition except the suspension. The original Toyota shocks were "stuck up" and had a jarring / bouncy ride. We had all the 4 shocks "refilled" at Zee's. It did improve a bit but the ride was still on the harsh side. A year later, we decided to just change all 4 shocks with KYB GR2 shocks. Now, even with the new KYBs, the ride is still bouncy. We'd expect that a mid-sized car like the Camry would have a smooth ride. Our 2011 CRV has a more tolerable ride than the Camry.

Any suggestion on how to smoothen the ride? Is there anything else I need to replace? e.g. springs? Or is this really it is given that it has low profile OEM Bridgestone ER-33 215/55/17 tires?

Appreciate your inputs.

Thanks.

you said your original toyota shock absorbers were STUCK? and you had replaced with kayaba shock absorbers. try checking and adjusting your tire pressure first. follow the specs in the owner's manual

were your shocks installed correctly? i.e.; extend upright, collapse upside down and let extend upright in the process of bleeding the hydraulic system of the gases it came with (your kayaba shocks are pneudraulic units)

start w

**paj4x4** · December 30th, 2011 08:49 AM

The kyb's are a tad harsher than oem shocks. But after some time it should soften up a bit. Check the tire pressure and fill up with nitro to soften the ride.

**vinj** · December 30th, 2011 09:46 PM

Originally Posted by paj4x4

The kyb's are a tad harsher than oem shocks. But after some time it should soften up a bit. Check the tire pressure and fill up with nitro to soften the ride.

I agree. The KYBs should soften up after some time.

What tire pressure are you using?

**niky** · January 2nd, 2012 10:29 AM

If it's inflated to the exact same pressure with Nitrogen, then it's useless. Any effects of nitrogen on the ride, especially with such low profile tires will pale in comparison to the effects of inflation.

Check the inflation and the age of the tires. This could have an effect. The stock 215/55R17 size is not especially low-profile. Also, if I recall right, ER33s are low-spec models in the Bridgestone family. Upgrading to GR-series tires could improve ride quality. But it's not likely to be this. I've driven this year-model V6 on those tires (old ones... worn down to the cords, actually) and the ride was acceptable.

-

I think you have to consider that your car is a V6. If the shocks you bought are for the 2.0 or 2.4 and are not specifically built for the V6, it could be that the shocks are too soft and cannot control the extra weight and stiffer springs of the V6. It may also be that the springs have worn out. Does the car sit level? Does it stoop or sag with four passengers on board?

**yenners81** · January 9th, 2012 07:16 PM

Thanks for all your replies.

*jick.cejoco, I didn't know that there were steps to "properly" bleed the shocks before it is installed. I didn't pay attention when they were installing it. Do you think this is the main reason causing the harsh ride?

*vinj, *niky, tire pressure is 30 psi, as what the door label recommends. These are OEM tires that came with the car in 2005 when it was bought from the casa by the 1st owner. The tires still look good, with thick threads, as it only has 23000km on the odometer today. The car seems to sit level and does not stoop or sag when passengers are onboard.

The car's suspension works fine over humps and big pot holes. It absorbs it well enough and feels normal. It's the minor road imperfections that make the ride very jittery, say going over concrete-paved roads, even newly paved ones. If I ride at the back, I always feel and see my bilbil shake like "jello"... hehe. So it's the high-frequency road jitters that's annoying, especially for the rear passengers. But on good asphalt roads like some parts of SLEX and NLEX, it rides normally.

When I had the old OEM shocks replaced, the old Toyota shocks had Thai markings, and also found the word "Tokico" engraved. So I guess Toyota in Thailand outsources their OEM shocks to Tokico. I didn't buy original Toyota shocks anymore because they cost around 8k to 9k each. The KYBs costs less than half of that.

Anyway, to fix this, what are brand of shocks to you recommend that will give a soft and comfy ride? If I were to replace the spring as well, any brand you would recommend?

Thanks again.

**niky** · January 9th, 2012 09:20 PM

Originally Posted by yenners81

Thanks for all your replies.

*jick.cejoco, I didn't know that there were steps to "properly" bleed the shocks before it is installed. I didn't pay attention when they were installing it. Do you think this is the main reason causing the harsh ride?

*vinj, *niky, tire pressure is 30 psi, as what the door label recommends. These are OEM tires that came with the car in 2005 when it was bought from the casa by the 1st owner. The tires still look good, with thick threads, as it only has 23000km on the odometer today. The car seems to sit level and does not stoop or sag when passengers are onboard.

The car's suspension works fine over humps and big pot holes. It absorbs it well enough and feels normal. It's the minor road imperfections that make the ride very jittery, say going over concrete-paved roads, even newly paved ones. If I ride at the back, I always feel and see my bilbil shake like "jello"... hehe. So it's the high-frequency road jitters that's annoying, especially for the rear passengers. But on good asphalt roads like some parts of SLEX and NLEX, it rides normally.

When I had the old OEM shocks replaced, the old Toyota shocks had Thai markings, and also found the word "Tokico" engraved. So I guess Toyota in Thailand outsources their OEM shocks to Tokico. I didn't buy original Toyota shocks anymore because they cost around 8k to 9k each. The KYBs costs less than half of that.

Anyway, to fix this, what are brand of shocks to you recommend that will give a soft and comfy ride? If I were to replace the spring as well, any brand you would recommend?

Thanks again.

Tokico are good shocks. Springs, I don't know, but different years, trim levels and market versions of Camry will likely have differing spring rates. You might need to go to an owner's forum to find out.