1994 I4 became boatlike with 5 passengers and a full trunk.

[Judge2]

Maybe it should be expected when an older car is driven on the highway with a driver,four adult passengers, and a filled trunk that the ride and handling becomes a boat . Today was the first day I drove the car a distance with such a load, and I did not like how it handled.

But on my normal drives with just me and maybe one passenger the ride is generally good. Also the struts do not blatantly fail the bounce test.

Does this sound like a strut problem, or could it be something else in the suspension.

[Retrospekt]

It sounds like a 15 year old car with worn struts and springs that were made for comfort, not precision turning. If you often carry 4 other adults and a full load, you could upgrade the suspension and make it stiffer/lower. If not, get used to it. With that much weight in the car, all the struts sag and turning will obviously become extremely difficult and the car will be sluggish. Not to mention we have about 100hp at the wheels...

[96ToyoCam164K]

Originally Posted by Retrospekt

With that much weight in the car, all the struts sag

Like an old man's testicles LOL...

But on a serious note...I also have the same issue. However, I noticed when I moved 2 months ago..with lots of luggage and little stuff my car did fine. However, when 2 adults sit in the back, my car lugs and the tires hit the frame...

99.9% of the time I roll solo. But now since my 2 passenger side doors have been mashed shut...everyone has to plop in the backseat...and a deep bump causes the tire to hit the metal that was warped...so only me is allowed inside.

Only me.

[rusty9]

you say an extra 1000 pounds of weight had detrimental handling effects...interesting!

[the_professional]

Originally Posted by rusty9

you say an extra 1000 pounds of weight had detrimental handling effects...interesting!

Your car is fine. You drive a Camry, it drives like boat on its best day on a stock suspension. Your suspension components are 16 years old. & the 5SFE puts out 130 HP @ 5800 RPM. That's why.

I have to say in my personal experience, my Camry handles as expected under full load, and I only bottomed out once with everything full coming out of a driveway. The little 5SFE that could, does.

[Kenny_McCormic]

Originally Posted by the_professional

Your car is fine. You drive a Camry, it drives like boat on its best day on a stock suspension. Your suspension components are 16 years old. & the 5SFE puts out 130 HP @ 5800 RPM. That's why.

A Camry on stock suspension is nowhere near a boat. Its nothing to write home about, but its not bad. What kind of boat cars have you driven?

[LynchburgCSI]

Originally Posted by rusty9

you say an extra 1000 pounds of weight had detrimental handling effects...interesting!