[acidkill]

This is the suspense(ion) history of all the cars my family has owned

M800 - Replaced at 55k km
118NE - Replaced at 35 K and 60K km
Esteem - Never replaced (reached 60K km)
Ford Ikon - Replaced in the front after 45 K km
Honda City - Never replaced, has run 35k km
Swift Vxi - Never replaced, has run 35k km
Santro - Never Replaced, has run 20k km

[Twiny]

Can anybody describe the problems associated with bad Mounting Bushes, or benefits associated with its replacement. Vehicle under consideration is NHC run 39k.

[KiloAlpha]

My Zen lasted 50K, then had to have all bushes and lower arms replaced. I had driven it rather roughly over the then under-construction GQ. Sold at 89K, suspension was still good.
The Ambassador, on the other hand, was another story altogether. Suspension overhaul at 150K, then nothing else until it was "retired" at 350K. Drove over a rather nasty boulder at 60kmph, apart from rim damage and a slow puncture, there was nothing else. I was seriously amazed!

[Sahil]

What are the symptom of a suspension needing replacement ?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Twiny

Can anybody describe the problems associated with bad Mounting Bushes, or benefits associated with its replacement. Vehicle under consideration is NHC run 39k.

Originally Posted by Sahil

What are the symptom of a suspension needing replacement ?

A petrolhead will always know when his car's suspension needs repair / replacement. The road dynamics are a dead giveaway. Symptoms include:

- Poor behaviour at high speed, including swaying and high body roll
- Deteriorated ride quality. Stiffer in some cars, bouncier in others
- Sounds & noises (Kat kat sounds familiar?)
- Uneven tyre wear
- Compromised grip levels
- Sagging
- Car tilts unevenly (when standing)

Sometimes, a shot suspension will leak oil (as the dampers of my C did at 40,000 kms odd). General rule of the thumb is to have the suspension thoroughly checked, and all worn parts, replaced between 40,000 - 50,000 kms. 9 of the 10 cars I've owned required replacement within this km range. It will still work after, but you are well out of the optimal performance range. For example, I got my Vtecs suspension overhauled at 60,000. However, the behaviour was weird past 50 Ks. I delayed it by 10,000.

[CarCzar]

I have seen around 5 Indica's till now (mostly taxi cabs)
with front suspension breakdowns

Its a dangerous situation on road when a running car comes to a screaching stop, where the driver just cant do anything to control...

Never seen other cars do that.. they do give warning signals

[sunil_k_u]

My Safari 2.2 VTT has clocked 28k on the odo and what I noticed is that the ride has become a bit rough. Even though most of the potholes are still not conveyed to the people inside the vehicle (people who drive Safari knows what I am talking about), it became real 'bumpy' on humps.

There are no sounds/noise heard still; only the stiffness is noticed. Since my daily travel (not daily eaxactly, as we friends pool our cars) is mostly on the highway the tyres have 32PSI at front and 35PSI at rear. I think the tyre pressure is a bit on the higher side, but the ride used to be tad smoother during the first 10k or 15k kilometers with the same PSI. I had hit some abrupt speed breakers and potholes those came on my way on the highways to Kerala in the past.

So planning to have the shocks checked during the 30K service.

[Detonate]

1990 Omni - still going strong... right rear leaf spring was replaced in 1998... gave way.
200k+ kms all over india. driven at least once a week in delhi now. no issues. apart from the fact that its a 20 year old van.

2001 - OHC 1.5 type 2 - 120k kms - stock rims and stock tyres bridgestone s322 i think - tie rods changed at 98k. front axle arms (ends) changed at 110k kms. driven all over india. lots of driving in M.P and U.P for a couple of years. bad roads. rims bent and needed replacemt
present condition - suspension has gone soft. first signs were at around 90k kms. steering rack needs replacement ( tak - tak sound during mid corner bumps)
driving style - smooth ( fast but usually no aggressive cornering, just short of the tyres letting go) occasional maximum attack runs
currently driven - everyday in Delhi and occasionally NH1 to ludhiana.
body flex is evident. the car needs a front strut brace. what can be done to stiffen up the rear (kill body flex)?

2007 Scorpio 2.6 crde dx
140k kms
driving style - well lets put it this way. i drive it as if its a land cruiser (no disrespect to the brand. i know it doesn't come close by any stretch but im surprised that nothing has gone wrong) mahindra could use videos to show the outer limits of the performance of this vehicle from my daily drives. eveything from 120+ kph 6 hour cruises to ludhinana twice a week. 90 kmph blasts over non existent roads in the interiors on rajasthan ( actually non-existent: dirt and gravel tracks with constant undulations) back roads in punjab. saloon speed cornering around round abouts and corners in delhi
the damage - bushes and rear linkages need replacement every 30-35k kms. a couple of small linkages (literally 6 in long) at the front needed replacement. engine mounts changed every 40k kms. all else is doing great.

interesting point: drove the original set of JKs to 116K kms. till one of them developed a bubble ( would have burst if driven ) the life of these tyres is 50k kms max. they retained a lot ( way more than you would need to declare them safe) tread up until 85k kms. was still about 5-6 mm of tread at 116k kms. BUT . steering had developed wobble due to uneven wear at 50k kms.. became very bad at around 100k... i wanted to push to see what kind of life i could get out of the tyres and i do have an answer 116k with some very hard driving.

am on stock replacement alloys now and a set of sweet maxxix bravo a/ts
the phenomenal difference in grip level and ride comfort and noise reduction ( not just compared to my knackered jk's but even a brand new set of bridgestones ) made me realize the significance of good rubber for the first time. the city will be treated to real good stuff soon
i recommend the Maxxis Bravos to anyone looking for Scorpio tyres. best price is 4950 if you know the dealer (guy is a tenant in our shops at the farm). else 5100 should be your target rate

[SAS]

Changed the front shockers and certain bushings on my Alto at 70k kms The rear was sagging and the shocks have become weak but the service advisor asked me not to change it. I installed spacers in the rear to counter the sagging at the rear due to installation of the CNG tank.

Does anybody else have any experiences to share on their Alto long term suspension experience? It's the largest selling car so I'm bit confused why so few posts about the Alto's suspension..

[SPARKled]

All modern cars sold today in India, whether a reliable Jap or a relatively so called unreliable euro car, will need suspension attention at around 40k kms as per my observation. However I have seen a few earlier generation 800s that have not needed any attention for almost 80k. However the only car that I have owned and that did not need this was the good old Padmini 1100. Every other car i have owned since then have needed replacements after 40k kms.

[dhanushs]

@Detonate: You seem to have very long lasting tyres. Whats the secret?

[ACM]

Suspension is oh so dependent on the usage of the car.

I remember taking my new Safari TCIC 10 years back on a very stiff journey on the second day itself. It was a trip from Mumbai to Baroda in the monsoon on very very horrid roads then.

A driver who shared the drive with me and was nursing the car over potholes in a dense 10 kms stretch at the rate of 3 potholes per sq meter (my estimate) as shocked to see me just speed away on that section as well. I told him that this is the reason I bought in the Safari in the first place.

I used the Safari for 180,000 kms over 10 years and changed the suspension 6 times over the years. Not every component was changed always but yes the tie rod ends, ball joints, shock absorbers(4 times) and the entire rubber dampners set was replaced atleast 5 times.

Now on the other hand I do know of people who have not made a single change in the suspension of the safari or scorpio even over 150,000 kms.

So it is indeed a function of the type of roads one drives on, and the way one drives it on those roads. An SUV is typically driven harder and hence requires more work to be done it, while one never drives a sedan bouncing away on potholes and bumps.

40-60k kms is a the right time to look out for getting this work done.

[BoneCollector]

Somehow,i feel there is something to do with manufacturers also.
Our Santro(Nov.2005) has done about 41000 kms and till date we have not got the bushes or suspension parts changed in it.The car goes for service at regular intervals.It does rattle now but mostly from doors.
My brother had an Alto(Aug 2005) which he sold off last year after 33,000kms.We had few front suspension issues(23,000kms) which our MASS attributed to front calliper noise and after replacing the front bushes and calliper tightening,the rattling disappeared.
Our old Maruti 800(Nov 1987) has clocked about little over 2,00,000kms,suspension has been changed many times(sorry,i dont remember what and when).
Now i'll come to the latest addition to our fleet,Ritz Vxi(April2010) has done about 6,300 kms in 1 year.First rattling issue came at 5,900kms for which i showed it to MASS and they said its due to front calliper noise.It was fixed as per them.The same noise came again within 200kms and now after detailed and thorough investigation,they said it was due to a bolt holding the steering assembly that had come loose thereby rattling the steering column everytime the car went over a rough patch of road.After service,as of now there is no noise.
Now my question is,are the new gen cars not so road worthy compared to earlier cars?or is it that the companies are going in for sub-standard fitments?or they are compromising on quality issues to cut down on escalating costs?
The roads in my part of country were awful till 6 years back,now things have improved a lot.All my cars have been driven on the same roads and being driven by the same driver we have employed,except the Ritz which is used solely by me and i take utmost care in handling it.Moreover,Ritz has never been on potholed roads like we used to have few years back.

[Aroy]

The only suspension problems I had was in the Ambassador and Fiat 1100. Had to change the bushes every 10k kilometers.

Once I shifted to Marutis, never kept a car for more than 60k and never had any suspension problem. The only car that has done more is my eleven year old Esteem, done around 75k and a suspension review seems to be on the cards. Will wait and see what is required. I drive mostly in NCR with a few trips on highways and good roads.

[shinuak]

My 2007 Optra Magnum has done 69K now , I take corners fast when driving on highways and have upgraded the tyres to 205/55 R15 Yoko S-drives. Now a days when the car tackles sharp potholes, i get a knocking sound on my steering. Also if loaded to 50%, the under belly scraps humps, which was not the case atleast a year back. The last 2 services, I made the service center guys check the suspension setup and they told me there is no fluid leak but the shocks are weak. Probably Iam expecting it to be replaced in 75K service.