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2014 hard ride

4598 Views 29 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  Fibber2
Streets of San Diego are rated poor 3rd world at best. CR-V rides like an unsprung buckboard. Any idea how to soften the ride short of trading for a Buick which my friend the Cady/Buick dealer recommends. Is the Acura any better? Does anyone make a strut that will improve the ride? Any suggestions appreciated.
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Of course your friend recommends a GM product. But advise, ignore him. Except the recent gen CRVs, GM has nothing that comes close in reliability.

As for better ride, different tires. Tires can make all the difference. Get ones designed towards comfort.

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Of course your friend recommends a GM product. But advise, ignore him. Except the recent gen CRVs, GM has nothing that comes close in reliability.

As for better ride, different tires. Tires can make all the difference. Get ones designed towards comfort.

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Agreed on GM and reliability thing. Already did the tires. It helped, but rides harder than my 66 Mustang and 2000 Odyssey. San Diego streets are really bad. Just wondered if there are softer struts available or if the Acura stuff is any better.
You have probably already checked this out but how much pressure are you running in those new tires? This can make a significant difference on most vehicles. I know that in today's world we are concerned about fuel mileage and how many miles our tires will last but air pressure can sure impact the ride.

Out of curiosity, what tires do you have on your CR-V?
Am I running Black Lion tires. Much improved over the original Continentals. Same sidewall flexibility as Michelins. Will check the pressures. I think Honda recommends 30 PSI.
Check your tires, I find the ride on my 2014 smooth even over rough pavement in NYC even better than my 2018 RAV4 no way the CR-V rides hard.
Sounds like you already changed the tires but mad a poor choice to go with an oddball off brand. The only thing like Michelins is other Michelins. If you want a better ride, get an actual better set of tires. The roads in San Diego are no worse than anywhere else. If you won't spend the money on better tires, you won't spend it on a better riding vehicle, like a Lexus.
Am I running Black Lion tires. Much improved over the original Continentals. Same sidewall flexibility as Michelins. Will check the pressures. I think Honda recommends 30 PSI.
Acura parts aren't that directly interchangeable especially to a CRV. Black Lion is some random off brand I have never heard of. So I wouldn't count them as much of anything against good tires that are high in the comfort rating

Also a CRV is an SUV not a 50 yr old tank or minivan. So it's going to ride stiffer no matter what you do. They are built that way intentionally as they are designed to do more than drive on perfectly smooth paved roads.

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Black Lions are mostly made in China, but are sold all over the US. China is the largest car market in the world. So far they are much better than the Continals that the car came with. Same sidewall rating as Michlans at about 1/2 the price. The company also sells Michelans, and gave me the option to return them at any time I didn't like them. I still have that option. Have done business with them for over 20 years. They don't want to lose our truck fleet business. I am willing to try a set of Michelans if that really makes a difference.

Bridgestone tires made a major difference on or company GM Astro van. Roads in San Diego are worse than they are in Tijuana. Rough pavement and potholes 6-12" deep. I hope they are better where you live.

My question is whether different shocks/struts are available or would help. Will lower tire pressure to see if that helps on rough pavement. Should I try 28? What does that do to economy's?
Next question is whether trading for an Acura would really be any better in the ride department. What tire pressure would be a good idea for around town driving? On the freeways and state highways this thing does OK. It is just around town on our sub Tijuana streets that I have a problem. BTW, I don't think of a 66 Mustang as a tank. It weighs less than the current CR-V by a lot.
Lets see. You want a better ride. But you insist on Chinese tires. Bad idea. Change to Michelins. If that doesn't fix it, buy a Lexus. If that doesn't fix it, move to a better city. I do not recommend abnormally low tire pressures, as they can lead to tire damage, poor fuel mileage, excessive wear and tear on tires and the vehicle, and unpredictable/unstable handling issues.
Running your tires at the rated PSI (no more) is the best bet. In the future, if ride softness is your priority, I'd consider a slightly taller tire with a higher load rating, still a passenger car tire (NOT a light truck/LT tire). Then you could safely run a couple PSI less so that the tires soak up the impacts.

We all have different expectations. I like sharp steering response so I run my OEM size tires 3 - 5 PSI over the recommended door-jam PSI.
Did the OP state which model CR-V he owns?

EX / EX-L = 225 / 65 R17

LX = 215 / 70 R16

While the EX handles better on those lower profile tires, the ride suffers. If the OP is looking for comfort on the mean streets of SD and he has an upper model, he might consider 'downgrading' to the base model wheels/tires.
Lets see. You want a better ride. But you insist on Chinese tires. Bad idea. Change to Michelins. If that doesn't fix it, buy a Lexus. If that doesn't fix it, move to a better city. I do not recommend abnormally low tire pressures, as they can lead to tire damage, poor fuel mileage, excessive wear and tear on tires and the vehicle, and unpredictable/unstable handling issues.
I do not insist on Chinese tires. I can get full credit any time I want. The question is whether Michelians will really help. The tire company says these have the same sidewall flexibility. The are much better than the original Continentals. Is the Lexux really any better?
A couple hundred pounds of cement bags from Home Depot does help a lot, but I was returning it for a friend, so that was not a long term solution. Does anyone make a strut that would help?
I do not insist on Chinese tires. I can get full credit any time I want. The question is whether Michelians will really help. The tire company says these have the same sidewall flexibility. The are much better than the original Continentals. Is the Lexux really any better?
Well, not necessarily just any Michelins. There are some that have a softer ride - ask your tire man, or do some online research to learn more about that. Irregardless, (that's my favorite double negative word) tires are pretty much all you can do to improve the ride of a CR-V. Is a Lexus any better? Does a chicken have lips? Of course. My Ex has an RX-300. It rides like a dream and is very quiet inside. I almost went for one, but decided against it on cost. But they are on a whole other level.
Yo Gas_pump: If you want constructive help, please ANSWER the question posed in #13. What size are you running?
The tires are 225/65-R17. Running about 30 PSI which I think is what the factory recommends. It definitely rides better with 200 pounds in the cargo area.
The LX models have a much softer ride than the EX. They use, as I stated in Post #13, 215/70-R16 tires (on 16" wheels, of course). This is likely your most cost effective change.
I understand if you use aftermarket struts
your ride Will Not Improve.
Get New Honda Struts.
Second---You want Chinese Tires,
You get a Chinese Ride.
Go Low Quality and expect better?
That makes sense.
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