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Why does my ELR ride rougher than my Volt?....the 20's?

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20" ride rough
8K views 18 replies 12 participants last post by  cab 
#1 ·
Is there some type of tuning or adjustment to adjust the ride in ELR? I think its the 20" wheels, but it definately rides rougher than my Volt, much rougher. I thought a Cadillac would ride better, but I'm currently really disappointed in the ride.

Have I got something set wrong? I've lowered the tire pressure to 33....it suggests 35. Please help...even my guests notice it.
 
#4 ·
I have owned Caddy's since 2003. The ride can be a bit harsh due to the stiff body and suspension. Definitely tuned for cornering and handling vs. a soft ride.

The Caddy's also take a long time to "wear in", like 15 to 20k miles to wear in vs. about 2 to 3k for a conventional vehicle.

You will get used to it and the first time that you have to swerve quickly to avoid an accident and have full control of the vehicle, you will appreciate the trade off to a soft ride.

The 20" low profile tires definitely affect the harshness as well. Keep them properly inflated.

The seats will soften and it will get slightly better but typically you just adjust to the car over time as you get used to it.

I had to avoid a truck tire that blew right in front of me with my CTS a number of years ago. My wife could not figure out how I drove through the flying debris. It was the stiff handling that got me through it.
 
#13 ·
Nope, not runflats. Ask salesman to show you where it says they are in the manual. And if he/she still insists they are, ask him to have service manager show you how they work by removing a valve core and driving once around the parking lot...
I was hoping they were. The ride had lots of road noise and felt rough. Which, in my experience, would have been explained by run flats.
This was also at two different dealers. Perhaps it is a common dealer added option?
 
#16 · (Edited)
I was hoping they were. The ride had lots of road noise and felt rough. Which, in my experience, would have been explained by run flats.
This was also at two different dealers. Perhaps it is a common dealer added option?
Looking at tire rack, the only 245/40R20 runflats they have are Goodyears and Pirellis, all summer tires, all more than $400 each. I doubt that any dealer has upgraded demos to runflats.

However, one thing I've learned to do is take a tire gauge with me if I'm going to be doing a test drive, and check the tire pressures before starting out. It's amazing how many times I've had to get the tires set correctly. I've also had a Lexus dealer hand me a CT200h loaner with all 4 corners over 40psi, which made I-4 through Orlando a painful experience.

The ones on my ELR are Bridgestone Potenza RE97AS, which is a low rolling resistance (LRR) tire. On well-worn asphalt and blacktop I consider them noisy. Otherwise their noise level isn't too bad. I'll be visiting relatives in a month or two, and if the Potenzas are too noisy for me on I-95, they'll get replaced when I get back.
 
#10 ·
This surprises me as my ELR has a significantly smoother ride than my Volt did. This is in touring mode of course, is that what you use as sport mode will stiffen things up a bit.
 
#15 ·
I have to say, the Volt rides smoother and more supply across many obstacles my Buick bumped violently over. That was a comlete surprise. Was expecting a vastly inferior suspension system and tougher ride over Buick. The Volt ride is actually better feeling than my Lincoln MKX too??? GM really did this car justice.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Wow......How can there be much difference in our ELR's.....I have 2014 Volt and my 2012 was just as smooth both much smoother than my ELR. I have always been surprised by how smooth and quiet it was for a smaller car......not as smooth as my MKZ, but close. My ELR can't compare, unfortunately. The Lincoln was way smoother as have been my Volts. If that is really your experience, I wonder if I should go drive another one and compare.....maybe my suspension is not assembled correctly. Wonder if we have different tires...mine are the Potenza's. P.S. I always drive in Touring.....but I thought Sport only adjusted the engine/acceleration settings....not the ride.
 
#19 ·
The biggest single variable in terms of one person's view of ride quality vs. another is the roads they each drive on every day. Next is each person's ride preference...then comes the actual car.
 
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