2009 Camry SE Suspension Sucks

[toyota877]

I hate the suspension of my 2009 camry se. It's very stiff. On highway and on city streets I am feeling all the bumps and bounce. It's not as smooth as my old civic. Is anyone changed their suspension with softer suspension I mean smoother one.

[MJZ]

Want to swap for my LE suspension? It is VERY soft

[Black08SEV6]

Ew god no. Its not stiff enough!

...of course, I had Miatas with konis and Bilstein shocks...so I like a harsh ride.

I'm going to order K-Sport coilovers to stiffen it up.

[GT-R]

LE Suspension FTMFW!!!

[Dna_splice]

I wish my we was stiffer!

And ksport coils are suppper stiff

[centennialman]

Originally Posted by toyota877

I hate the suspension of my 2009 camry se. It's very stiff. On highway and on city streets I am feeling all the bumps and bounce. It's not as smooth as my old civic. Is anyone changed their suspension with softer suspension I mean smoother one.

Comparing a Civic to a Camry SE LOL. If you did your research before you bought your car you would have found out that the SE suspension is a bit stiffer than the other Camry trim levels. Did you not take a test drive? If I wanted a soft ride I would have gotten a Sonata (I probably would have had less interior rattles).

The cool kids drive the Sexy Edition. The other lemmings drive the Lame Editions or God forbid the Cheap Edition.

[Tobeit]

Originally Posted by toyota877

I hate the suspension of my 2009 camry se. It's very stiff. On highway and on city streets I am feeling all the bumps and bounce. It's not as smooth as my old civic. Is anyone changed their suspension with softer suspension I mean smoother one.

didn't you read your car brochure...SE is the sport edition and it is intentionally stiffer (better in my words)...if you like, we can swap our struts (XLE struts vs SE struts - XLE is much softer setup).

[Black08SEV6]

I bought a Ferrari 360 Modena and the gas mileage sucks. Is it possible to get a Corolla motor and get 35MPG?





...its like that.

[darksparkz]

Haha, +1.

You are one of the few people here that actually want a softer ride on their Gen6s, but to each their own. Plenty of people here would be willing to trade their CE/LE/XLE springs for your SE springs.

[Yazovets]

Please don't ever compare ANY Camry to such a piece of $hit car as the Civic. If you don't like the stiffness, you should get an LE or XLE Camry instead.

The SE suspension is damn good and I agree that it should be even stiffer. Try driving a BMW 3 series with the sport package - that's stiff. Or try riding a wooden horse-drawn carriage with wooden wheels - that is REALLY stiff.

[Dna_splice]

Damn wooden carrige.
Hard core
Ddnt some Hav simple leaf springs?
Camry>civic
=]

[BlueTundra]

When I first started Camry shopping, EVERY salesman I talked to (I went to 5 dealerships) told me the only difference between the SE and LE was cosmetic and that they had the same suspension. The Toyota website is a bit vague on the "upgrades".

Coming here to TN was the only way I got any information on the suspension of the SE. Doing a search on SE suspension was helpful, but there were some discrepancies and of course it wasn't official information.

I finally went into a dealer that actually had an SE on the lot and took it and an LE for comparison test drives and was very surprised at how different they were (steering and suspension) and the salesman was still acting like I was wrong. At first I felt like Goldilocks, the LE was too soft and the SE was too stiff. I drive a lot for work and had gotten used to a more comfortable ride. For comparison, the Malibu was a good mix between the two. I was nervous of the "go-cart" suspension, but loved the body kit, leather steering wheel, shift knob and extra cubby hole door on the console. I wasn't too thrilled that the rear seats don't fold down (another item missed by the dealers).

I bought the SE and it took a couple of weeks or so to get used to it and now you couldn't take it away from me for anything else (except maybe the same car with auto up windows and more power). I wish Toyota would do a better job of educating prospective buyers on what they have done on this model. If I had been looking for sporty suspension, I would have passed the Camry based on what I was hearing from Toyota representatives. The only downside is that the sporty suspension "entices" you to get a little more ornery while driving.

I test drove a Civic. I wouldn't knock it, but the suspension on it wasn't as nice. It is firm as a result of being a smaller car and trying to strike the middle ground. The Camry SE suspension was more goal oriented and I believe does a better job at delivering a smooth ride with some aggressive characteristics.

Now when we get in my wife's Tundra, it feels like a Cadillac.

[GT-R]

SE is only stiffer, not lower, right?

[Black08SEV6]

Originally Posted by GT-R V-Spec II

SE is only stiffer, not lower, right?

1/2" lower IIRC

[Black08SEV6]

SE: Stiffer suspension, 1/2" lower, V brace behind rear seats (thats why it doesnt fold down) and a side to side brace under the carpet in the rear floor.