I recently purchased a 2004 Mazda 6. It has 70,000 km on it (43750 miles). I notice that the ride is very bumpy. Basically I feel and hear every single bump or cracks on the road or the highway. Is this normal? If not what is it to blame?I am maintaining the tire pressure at the suggested 32 psi for all 4 tires. Should I be trying to vary this for improvement? The tires as you know are low profile (profile ratio: 50). I know these kind of tires are known to have a little bumpy ride. Or could it be the struts?Comments from any Mazda 6 owners would also be greatly helpful. Any mechanics out there would also be able to provide great answer to my question. Thank you all in advance.
No it will not hurt anything, but all you need to do is call your local dealer with your VIN # and the can tell you if it has a limited slip differential or not.
This Site Might Help You. RE: 2004 Mazda 6 bumpy ride. Is it suspension (struts or shocks) or low-profile tires? I recently purchased a 2004 Mazda 6. It has 70,000 km on it (43750 miles). I notice that the ride is very bumpy. Basically I feel and hear every single bump or cracks on the road or the highway. Is this normal? If not what is it to blame? I am maintaining the tire pressure at the suggested 32.
I have a 2003 Mazda 6 and if your car has the OEM tires, which are Michelin, then I would strongly suggest changing them. I found those tires to be a bit too hard and not exactly sticking to the road during high-speed driving maneuvers and hard/fast cornering. I also noticed a tremendous amount of road noise from those Michelins. As far as the actual suspension is concerned, please realize that this vehicle has a very stiff and sporty suspension system, which could be interpreted by some to be, as you've deemed it, a rough ride. Most sporty cars possess that stiff(rough) ride. Then again, perhaps having someone look at your suspension system may not be a bad idea as a method of ruling out any doubts that may exist in your mind. It could very well be a bad strut. Another thing to check might be the air pressure in the tires. The higher the PSI, the rougher the ride may seem. On the other hand, I've noticed that the higher the PSI, the better the handling. It is definitely a give and take. It all depends upon what you consider to be more important. If you want a quieter ride, I would keep all four tires at around 30 psi. If you want better handling/steering response, you'd do well to keep the tires at 37-38 psi. By all means, though, when you get a chance to do so, get rid of the stock Michelin tires that the vehicle came with(if that is what is on your vehicle). I've been pleased with Kuhmo and Pirelli. Finally, it wouldn't hurt to have your alignment checked out. It may be a bit off. Good luck! P.S. simply out of curiosity, what engine does your car have? A 2.3L I4 or the 3.0 V6? In case you didn't know, the 2.3L I4 is labeled the Mazda 6i and the 3.0 V6 is labeled the Mazda 6s.
