Ride improvement possible?

[xqqqme]

Via Search here I've found messages from folks who wanted to lower their Insights or wanted to know the best suspension for autocrossing...but I'm interested in going the other way.

I understand that a short wheelbase will increase the "choppiness" of a ride...and I also understand that inputs through a suspension will have a greater effect on a low-mass car than those same inputs would have on a car with greater mass.

I'm also not confusing the ride quality of the OEM tires with suspension movement.

But, by virtue of a long-term rental of a Renault in France, I know that small cars *can* in fact have surprisingly supple suspensions that do wonders as far as smooth out rough ride motions.

Are we 1st gen Insight owners stuck with what we've got in terms of the front struts or the coils and shocks at the rear? Or are there options that don't make things firmer than they already are?

[jf_cole]

Some owners have changed the rear springs for one's from a Daewoo (Chevrolet) Matiz so soften up the rear.

Yes small euro boxes can have extrememly comfortable rides.

[3-Wheeler]

Actually this last winter, while driving some of the backroads to work, I was thinking that exact same thing. Because several of the roads were so old and buckled from the extreme Wisconsin cold, the car felt like it was getting beat up from the road surface.

My daughter's Toyota Echo in comparison rides plush, like a mid sized car even though it is a sub compact. It's amazing the difference when ridden back to back.

I wouldn't mind trying to subdue the suspension stiffness sometime.

Jim.