Hey everyone! I'm Mark D from New Jersey. I'm showing you below my 2010 Orange Vibe GT. No mods but tint all around and a K&N airfilter. I think this car is pretty perfect as it is! Except for the suspension. I'll start a new thread in the appropriate place to ask questions about that. In the meantime - nice to meet you all. Thanks for having me!
Welcome to GenVibe Mark I'm jealous of your color and want it soooo bad .... but not your mileage Anyways I'll comment on your other post here as well to save posting:
Frankly, I'm surprised. If the roads aren't brand new, the ride and noise are pretty bad. I assumed it was a Vibe GT problem others have had. My 2010 Vibe GT has 79,000 miles. The roads in my area are pretty crappy - lots of concrete, lots of potholes and subpar fixes of those potholes! I have never been a fan of my Vibe's suspension even when it had 19,000 miles (except on brand new pavement). Now, it's even worse. I'm in the market for new suspension in any way you think will help. I have to replace tires soon anyway, so an all-around fix is very welcome. Are there specific shocks and springs with specific tires that give it a ride more like a Corolla, for example? Can you simply use Corolla or Camry parts, for example? I've seen many posts about lowering your Vibe, but not about giving it a more comfortable ride.
Many of us here have TWO sets of tires because of where we live and primarily drive. New Jersey winters are not much better than some of us in the midwest so you may want to pick up some 16" steelies from a Camry (not Corolla) which have the bolt pattern for our 2009-10 Vibe GT's. Then get a set of rubber tires for winter driving. This will at least give you some comfortable driving for 4-5 months. The smoother ride is very noticeable! As far as suspension changes I can't comment there as I'm no expert on that. Thanks for joining up with us here
Welcome Mark! NICE looking Vibe you have there. I too really like the orange color, but they are so rare to find. I did not mind the ride of my prior 2010 GT at all, but I was used to driving my Mustang for years prior to it. It did have a pretty stiff ride, but I liked the way it handled, so it was a worthwhile trade off for me. Getting all new tires did help and I went up a size on them (235/40-18) which made a difference compared to the 3 different tires it had when I bought it with 36,000 miles.
Good luck with it!
Thomas
the "Mustang Guy"
1987 5.0 LX Mustang
2016 Mustang GT - current daily
2004 Satellite Vibe &
2009 Red Vibe GT -twin's cars
2003 Neptune Vibe GT - prior daily
2010 Red Vibe GT - RIP 6/16/14
2006 Platinum Vibe - son's car
tpollauf wrote:Welcome to GenVibe Mark I'm jealous of your color and want it soooo bad .... but not your mileage Anyways I'll comment on your other post here as well to save posting:
Frankly, I'm surprised. If the roads aren't brand new, the ride and noise are pretty bad. I assumed it was a Vibe GT problem others have had. My 2010 Vibe GT has 79,000 miles. The roads in my area are pretty crappy - lots of concrete, lots of potholes and subpar fixes of those potholes! I have never been a fan of my Vibe's suspension even when it had 19,000 miles (except on brand new pavement). Now, it's even worse. I'm in the market for new suspension in any way you think will help. I have to replace tires soon anyway, so an all-around fix is very welcome. Are there specific shocks and springs with specific tires that give it a ride more like a Corolla, for example? Can you simply use Corolla or Camry parts, for example? I've seen many posts about lowering your Vibe, but not about giving it a more comfortable ride.
Many of us here have TWO sets of tires because of where we live and primarily drive. New Jersey winters are not much better than some of us in the midwest so you may want to pick up some 16" steelies from a Camry (not Corolla) which have the bolt pattern for our 2009-10 Vibe GT's. Then get a set of rubber tires for winter driving. This will at least give you some comfortable driving for 4-5 months. The smoother ride is very noticeable! As far as suspension changes I can't comment there as I'm no expert on that. Thanks for joining up with us here
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look into it! Definitely looking for some comprehensive advice if you know of a superVibe guru on the site.
Thanks to you all! On other forums of which I've been a part, there were usually a few "pros". You know - super-mechanical gurus that know it all. Any Tire/suspension experts you know of on the site?
Mark. This is what your Vibe could look like with 16" steelies and a cheap set of wheel covers. Not a bad look for the dreaded winter months. Like I said, the ride is very smoother than the original 18" alloys. That 2" of extra rubber ( 2" less rim) absorb more shock. Good luck!
Love the orange. That would be a keeper in my stable. I would love a orange car but have never had one. I have about 25 1/64th cars in orange to make up for it.