Hey Im trying to figure out what a good brand of shocks would be for really smoothing out the ride. Its pretty smooth now, but the wife complains and wants something similar to a cadillac. I don't understand what different shocks do so was hoping for some serious help here, or if nothing else a good place for me to read to understand shocks better. Thank you.

 

I'm not sure you will get your sports car to ride like a grandpa cruiser.

 

OK! This should be fun. I've never even thought about making an 8 ride like a Caddy so this is off the top of my head... First off the stock suspension is insanely smooth compared to most cars so anything aftermarket will be stiffer. The tires could be changed to a taller softer tire, I'm not sure how fat and tall they could be and still fit, maybe a 55 or 60. Also the sway bars are pretty good, maybe you could just remove them or try and find something softer but that might be impossible. Really the best mod would be a new chick. Just my .02

 

I think going to the stock 16 inch wheels would give you the most rubber between them and the road.

 

A softer ride on a sports car? I'm not sure about that, but the oem shocks is good enough on the 8. If your wife wanted a softer ride, then tell her to get herself a caddy instead...lol

 

Tokico D-Spec. They adjust in rebound/compression over a wide range, depending on the number of turns out from closed. "3" is uncomfortably stiff for the street, "5" feels stock, "6" is noticably softer ... and it goes out to "7". Takes 5 minutes to change settings (with the remote adjusters in the trunk), so you can still have a sports car after wife transport.

 

A high quality shock will absorb bumps much better than a lesser quality shock, no matter how many levels of damping control being advertised. Koni Yellows being run close to full soft would be my suggestion, as they are a higher quality damper than OEM.

However, this doesn't change your factory spring rates or the fact that the RX-8 has a very stiff chassis. Changing to 17" wheels will give a bit extra sidewall to cushion the ride, if you can tolerate the appearance.

 

get the smallest wheels and tires.

as for shocks, hmm, like other said, nothing much you can do ... Don't go Koni cuz as far as I remember they don't have that extension thing for the rear ... which means the only way you can change the settings is you gotta take the rear shocks out ...

If your wife wants to get a caddy, there is nothing you can do about that, tell her to either get a Caddy or u can just go get her a SUV I'm sure she will feel good and safe in it , even when it's all fake. lol

 

That's a terrible reason to not consider Koni. I presume it's a daily driver, not a track car. Set all four shocks to almost "full soft" before installing and be done with it.

 

I concur lol

Thank you the the rest of you guys for the responses. I personally prefer how it is now, but keeping the boss happy makes for a much smoother ride when not in the car.

 

terrible reason?

wait till the moment comes (need to adjust it), then we'll see if it's a terrible reason.

 

Waiting till you NEED to adjust it will be forever lol

 

Exactly. I have double adjustable KWs and my car usually only gets driven to track days and autocrosses. I set it up before installation and haven't touched a **** since.

 

+1 on D-Specs

Just put them in my 8, and I'm loving the adjustability. Mine came with extension adjustors for front and back - bonus!

I'm running now at 2 (turns back from full stiff). But it's a quick adjustment to soften it up if I were inclined (I'm not).

I was able to adjust them in 4.3 minutes, but YMMV.

 

Well koni is better lol

 

don't need to adjust them as often in kentucky maybe ?

in NY, I adjust them almost on a weekly basics now. it depends on where I go. sometimes softest, sometimes harder. only use hardest on track.

Koni makes good shocks I know, no adjustable cable is just a no no for me.

in this case, I would rather just get some KYB and be done with it. after break in, they're a bit softer than stock. and it's cheap as hell.

 

Well, I gotta move a subwoofer out of the way.

 

nycgps, what shocks are you using?

 

HKS Coilovers I think. Lets see if my memory is still good

 

I don't know if you'd say the OEM shocks are of poor quality. They are made by Tokico.
If you were so inclined you could get the off-the-shelf Koni Yellow's rebuilt in a such a way to make them adjustable from the top.