So I've been driving what was my wife's '03 MC SS for almost a year now off and on (just got rid of a Charger that was my primary, plus I have a Silverado I drive often), more often lately. The car has 205k on it, but I dropped in a L67 back in April that has about 60K on it now, axles were changed from the donor car at the time. I'm not sure if the MC just handles so much differently than other vehicles I've been driving, but too me it feels off. Specifically I don't feel I have enough grip in the front almost ever. At highway speeds I feel more vibration than I feel I should. It seems like I feel every bump - not like I'm being thrown around, but like I'm riding on rocks instead of tires and that there is little or no cushioning. Tires aren't too old (maybe 20k - 30k) and are Bridgestone G019s - I've rotated those front to back without any noticeable improvement. I've had the Chevy dealer check everything out and other than replacing the sway bar links (another shop had replaced them and put the wrong ones on), they say everything else looks good including the suspension components. So the question is - is this feel just a characteristic of the car and everything could still be in fine shape at 205k miles, or have I (and the dealer) overlooked anything? I'm thinking about trying to find a similar MC locally and just go for a test drive to see how IT handles.

 

In 2004 when the Monte Carlo started getting the supercharged engine, they also got an upgraded suspension FE4 I believe.

Perhaps it's just worn out springs and such. The car does have a lot of mileage on it (even if the engine doesn't) any of your mounts or bushings could be shot.

 

At 200k+ the original struts would be pretty well shot, if not completely dead. Even going from a Monte with 100k to a Monte with 30k miles was a night and day difference in ride quality for me.

I believe that the FE4 suspension is just upgraded sway bars and trailing arms, which will affect handling and ride quality a little bit but not to an extreme in normal daily driving.

Have you had the alignment checked at all lately? Also, when was the last time the tires were balanced?

 

Thanks for the info. This supports a lot of what I'm thinking as well. I asked the dealer specifically about bushings and suspension components. I also asked them to check the alignment, but I can guarantee they did not. I know the alignment needs to be done. Wheel balancing probably couldn't hurt either. So regarding the fe3/fe4, what was standard in the 2003 SS? If I have the dealer replace shocks and struts, is installing the fe4 components an option assuming the '03 came with the fe3 package?

 

oops, browser crashed...double post

 

The FE3 and FE4 suspensions use the same struts. The only difference are that the FE4 comes with beefier sway bars and rear trailing arms.
The FE4 components are sold as an upgrade for FE3 w-bodies as the "GMPP Handling package" (the gmpp kit also includes a strut tower brace, which they stopped putting on monte's after a certain year). I'm sure that you can also order the sway bars and trailing arms separately, and any competent mechanic can install them easily.
I'm honestly not sure how much of an upgrade the FE4 is over the FE3, but I also don't really drive my car though the twisties enough that I would even notice.

 

So I finally got this issue off the "to do" list. I went in to the tire shop that I've dealt with for years and talked to them about what I thought I was feeling. We ended up doing an alignment (free since I bought a "lifetime alignment guarantee"), wheel balancing, tire rotation (free since I bought the tires there), and (NAPA branded) Monroe Sensa-Trac quick struts on all four corners. Granted the struts were 2-3x what I could have got them for online, but the job is done.

Monroe (the manufacturer, that isn't where I had the job done) is doing a couple of deals now too that helped out. First there is $80 worth of rebates coming my way ($20 per quick strut) on top of the "buy three get one free" deal that is going on until the end of January on any Monroe shock, strut, or quick strut - maybe other products as well. So if you are thinking about suspension work, this is a good time to consider doing it.

The difference in feel is night and day as expected - much more "floaty", my teeth don't rattle when I hit a bump or pothole, and all of the vibration and pull at highway speeds is gone. Really, this feels like a new car now. Not bad for over 206k on the odometer (and those were the factory struts we replaced).

 

I have a 2004 Monte Carlo with 92K miles (80-90% freeway). Do you think I should replace the 4 shocks and struts? I want that nice new car feeling.

 

At 92K you shouldn't need to do the springs and other components I did, you can get away with just the four strut cartridges unless something is broke. Recent recommendations I've learned while getting this project done is that struts should be replaced every 50k miles. That being said, I just went 206k on mine and the dealer still told me they were "fine". Well, they weren't leaking, but they weren't fine either. With Monroe doing the buy 3 get one free deal plus the mail in rebates, this is a good time to pull the trigger if you are thinking about it.

 

I would think the struts are okay, but I'm always recommending to keep an eye on the "hockey pucks" (I don't know - is that a Canadian hyperbole?). Those control arm bushings are probably my part stores #1 selling part, but they are inexpensive...