Any tips to improve ride quality?

lcc86

Bit of a weird one, I've had an Abarth for about 5 years and sometimes have to drive long distances for work. I have back issues and the car is becoming unbearable on these journeys regardless of how many breaks I take or how much I adjust my seat. Is there anything I can do to improve the ride quality?

And yes I can most definitely appreciate the irony of moaning about the ride of a "sporty" car, it wasn't an issue until recently and I've never had any mechanical issues with it so I'd be reluctant to get rid of it.

Car_54

One usual suggestion is smaller wheels, with higher profile tyres.

But that may be expensive, and you’d probably want to keep the originals for when you come to sell. Plus your insurers may not like it.

Nobbie1967

Have a look at swapping out the driver’s seat for one from a non sporty model. Are the existing seats particularly hard?

Slinky

Would a small inflatable pillow in the small of your back help? It helped me in my 500 when I cracked vertabrae. You can get them from outdoor shops.

Ectophile

Car_54 said:

One usual suggestion is smaller wheels, with higher profile tyres.

But that may be expensive, and you’d probably want to keep the originals for when you come to sell. Plus your insurers may not like it.

Given that an Abarth is really a Fiat under another name, I suspect that there will be all manner of Fiat whels that would fit.  Probably a 500 or Panda.  maybe other small Fiats too.

Mildly_Miffed

You say Abarth - but is it a 500 or a 124?

Either way, there's almost certainly springs and dampers from less-firmly-suspended models that you can get swapped on (don't forget the 124 is really an MX5), and a change to smaller rims and higher-profile tyres may well be possible depending on brake fit. And, yes, a seat swap may also help.

But you will need to tell your insurer about those modifications.

Grumpy_chap

Start by checking the tyre pressure is optimum.

prettyandfluffy

I have spinal problems and the height of the driver's seat is crucial for me; my bottom must be higher than my knees and I need a fairly upright driving position.  If your driver's seat is not height adjustable, try a seat wedge which is designed to give you good posture when seated. You can buy them for £30 or less.

lcc86

Thanks all for the responses.

So it's a 500 not a 124, apologies should've mentioned that! Wheels are 16 inch (I know some come with 17 inch wheels) and I wouldn't really want to go smaller than that. 

I wouldn't say the seats are hard, it's more the position, my knees are higher than my hips and I can't get the seat any higher (am 6 foot tall so not a huge amount of wiggle room). I'll try the cushion first and see how that works. I know it'll never be the most comfortable car, and it was never an issue until a year or so ago with my back. It fulfils all my other needs so any reasonable adjustments I can make I'd give them a go.

Herzlos

lower air pressure in the tyres will make the ride a bit softer, but it'll use more fuel and wear the tyres quicker.

The only real solution is to change it for something more comfortable unfortunately. Or you're going to spend a lot of money trying to turn an Abarth into a regular 500 anyway.

fatbelly

Plenty of people will want that car just as it is. If you need something more comfortable, and it sounds like you really do, then switch.