One of the best aspects of my job is the chance to talk to fellow car enthusiasts. It is great to hear the many and varied opinions about our cars, especially the often-contrasting take on ride quality. Clearly, we all want a smooth yet controlled ride, but we may disagree on the level of disturbance that we can tolerate.
Pity the poor vehicle dynamics engineer. We can all feel bumps, so it makes us all expert assessors, doesn’t it? Well, yes and no. Yes, the driver/customer knows what they feel. The ‘no’ bit comes if the bump is taken out of context. Is it reasonable to feel the bump if the body control is sublime and encourages a flying lap of your favourite race circuit?
I may have mentioned this before, but a very senior person at MG Rover was almost in tears when he collected his shiny new MG ZTT. He couldn’t tolerate the hard ride, having previously been wafting around in this Rover 75 tourer. We fixed it without touching the suspension. In went a set of Rover seats and he was delighted. I was also going to change from 18” to 17” wheels, but he didn’t want to be seen in a ‘downgraded’ car.
I’ve had two customers this month very keen to improve the ride of their cars. Two very different characters, two very different cars but both were right about what they wanted. I’m pleased to say that we have satisfied their requirements.
A while ago, a client purchased a set of our MG5 lowering springs. He kindly sent a picture of his car after fitting them. I did a double take. I didn’t really recognise it. Clearly the larger wheels and lowered ride height have transformed the appearance of the MG5 EV.
If it looks right…..