Shock absorber / suspension?

Had mine 10 days and one thing that is bothering me is the back end.

Granted, I went from a Lexus.

But.

Feels like the Leaf is not handling bumps in the road as well as I would expect.

Almost as if a shock absorber is not working right. Feels like I am in a taxi that's got 150,000 miles on the back end.

Or am I expecting too much from what's basically a Nissan Versa?

Other than that, LOVE IT!

During the first month of driving the Leaf I felt like the front suspension was over dampened, which is the reverse of what you're feeling regarding the rear. After another few months I either just learned to accept or the dampeners wore out a bit to match the spring rate. The Leaf's suspension has much to be desired of. I believe that they may have originally designed it w/ a different suspension but opted for a redesign to give it more travel. This can be seen by the larger than expected gap from the top of the tire to the fender lip. The car the Leaf replaced for me was an E46 Bimmer so a lot of things; suspension, steering, power, handling, etc. took a while to get adjusted to but over all, as long as I'm not looking to drive spiritedly, it's not a bad car to drive.

I've always felt that the rear of the Leaf was under dampened... I think better shocks back there would improve the handling significantly.

sp4rk said:

Feels like the Leaf is not handling bumps in the road as well as I would expect.

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Something for the dealer to do or 3d party?

TomT said:

I've always felt that the rear of the Leaf was under dampened... I think better shocks back there would improve the handling significantly.

sp4rk said:

Feels like the Leaf is not handling bumps in the road as well as I would expect.

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+1

I found that higher tire pressure seems to help a little--I run 44 psi front and rear. I keep hoping replacement rear shocks with more dampening become available.

Gerry

Not sure whether the complaint is the rear has too much or too little damping. One thing I've seen in the past on other cars was spring spacers that are used for shipping, being left on at delivery. You could just take a peek to make sure there aren't any spacers left between the coils.

Sweet, jack up the rear end, just like on my '66 Chevelle. Give it that tilt stance. Would garner some respect at the car shows, lol. :lol:

Inflating the tires more will do wonders for the handling.

EVDRIVER said:

Inflating the tires more will do wonders for the handling.

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But it doesn't do diddly for the lack of low-speed damping in the car, especially in the rear.

Would love to have a mild suspension kit that lowered the car about 1-1.5" and increased damping rates... Tein coilovers are an option but they seem to be lacking bump-travel even at the highest setting which is the only reason I haven't gotten them yet.

I didn't think there where any suspension options available in the U.S., unless you special order Teins from Japan. But the price seemed outrageous. Are there any other options out there now?