957 "floaty" drive feel, drives like a truck vs 955
 

Have to get a replacement for my 06 V6 that was a great car, even at 170k miles it drove amazing. I was looking at some 13-14 958's but I think I'm going to need more trunk space than those folding seats and slating roof can provide, so now looking at 957's.

Does the 957 have a bit more of a "floating" feel to it diving than the 955? My 955 was firm and tight but two of the 957's I've tried now feel a little floaty. Is this how they were new or these one's had some suspension issues? Felt a little bit like my 2002 Range Rover. Of course, it's hard to explain and understand through writing, but hope it makes sense to you as you read this :)

thanks

Mine with shocks/struts feels planted with 67K miles no doubt on original suspension. I take it through the corners with verve which I wouldn’t do if it felt floaty. You may want to drive a few more. But then this is the first of these I have owned, so others may have more experience to base their response.

There wasn't any body roll or anything taking the turns, just more of a loose feeling when driving down the road. It didn't feel bad, I just prefer the way my V6 felt stiffer. My Ranger Rover had the same feeling, and I've felt that on other types of luxury SUV's. The newer models don't have that. Almost felt like it was raised or softer springs. I'm going to be trying a few more this weekend and see. I have a feeling that's not how it's supposed to be.

What models are you looking at - base, S, GTS, Turbo?

My 957 Turbo S with air suspension and PDCC corners unbelievably and rides very well. I almost never use the Comfort suspension setting unless on really chewed up roads. I use sport in the mountains, but mostly it's on normal at the sport ride height.

Was your old car steel spring or air suspension?

Did the recently test driven cars have steel or air suspension?

If anything, 957 should feel a bit better or at least the same.

Wheel and tire combo makes a big difference in the drive.

The floaty one was an S with springs. I tried a beat up V6 that didnt feel like that after (with less miles). My old 955 was spring suspension.

I guess I don't like 957's. Tried a few more this weekend and they just feel heavy and don't sit nicely on the road. They feel more like a truck. Did I just have a unicorn 955? Mine drove like a car and it nice and tight, stable on the road and cornered great. All the 957's I've tried feel like trucks (mostly tried CS), and the 958's again feel great, and like cars. Weird, did not expect that. I need those folding rear seats, at lest of the time being so I guess I'll go shop for a 2006 955 again.

Who here has experience with both 955 and 957, do they feel that different to you?

^--- THIS. Cheap tires (or inappropriate tires) can kill the handling, on-center feel, etc.

True. But i've tried 4 or 5 of them now, and they're all feeling very similar. Very surprised, and these were cars with "low" mileage, down in the 100k. My 955 had 150K when I got it with the original suspension, it felt a little bouncy so I replaced all with new bilstein's and it was great. I'll try some more 955's and see if I can find one that feels like my old one.

Was there generally any suspension "upgrades" or changes from the 955 to 957?

Many people don't know some of their bushings are shot and just keep driving... add cheap tires and low tire pressure and voila, mushy feeling.

that begs the question, under normal driving conditions what is the range of mileage that bushings should be considered for replacement. I’m not talking off road.

I noticed the reverse in in 955/957 when I was searching a year ago- but like lupo said, that could entirely be bushings and bearings being bad or worn.

Its also why I insisted on air suspension.

Lupo.sk, that could be it, and as RSbob asked, what is generally considered to be lifespan of sway bar bushings, control arms etc? All these cars, and they and felt that way, had 100k miles on them and they're 10+ years at this point.

My old 2006 had 150k miles when I picked it up and it was very tight and firm. I didn't have the service records, but whoever owned it before had cared for it. They might have changed out control arms/bushings. But I didn't see any evidence on any parts looking a lot newer than others. I replaced the shocks all around because they felt a little bouncy. They had 05 date stamps from factory so they had been on it since new. Big improvement over the old. Still felt like it would be worth replacing some sway links and arms, but didn't feel as loose as these 957's do.

There are obviously other factors @ play because the 955 and 957 are the EXACT same platform assuming trim to trim and excluding PDCC. As far as bushings and suspension parts go there is no one solid answer except that when they are worn, they are worn. User experiences could be expected to vary by a little to a lot. You should probably go find a sub 30-40k mile 957 S and compare that to your 955 before you put the Bilisteins on. That would be a fair comparison.

For example my 04 CTT was 100% gone through and damn near new mechanically with 21's. It drove amazing. I just picked up a replacement 06 CTT with 20's, bald tires with the wrong load rating, and I haven't even bothered to look @ the suspension yet because I plan on going through it. It drives like complete dog****. I almost can't stand driving it.