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Comments
oldsman : I really like the Goodyears and will probably replace them with the same. Maybe they are a little noisy, but I think they have great grip. The new Alero has BA Goody's on them, should be interesting. Pick the car up Monday.
What are the #s on the tags of your springs, what do your struts say on them, what tires do you have, and do you have STBs? These all affect the ride. What type of ride and steering are you looking for? I did things incrementally and each time it got better, but what I consider better may be a negative to you.
I would assume that just going to the Sensatracs alone, the ride would still be firm but there may be other improvements just from the struts being different.
Removing the sway bars made the wheels truly independent and you can feel it. It also caused understeer, which I like better than the way it was. Plus, there's some body roll but not much because the car is pretty firm even without them.
Less body roll now with the Sensatracs.
I guess to answer your question, if I put the bars back on, the ride would get stiffer but not necessarily "bad". But I don't want stiffer. If I put the Goodyears back on, it's likely the ride would annoy me.
If the shop offered me right now to refund my money for the Sensatracs and put my OEM struts back on for free, I would not do it.
I personally have had the best luck with Michelins.
I used to have "Z" rated Gatorbacks and GSC's on my Camaro. I went to BF Goodrich Comp T/A's "V" rated. These tires were awful, bad in the rain and rode as hard as the Goodyears.
My current set up is a Michelin "H" rated Pilot which are just plain better than the other 3 tires I had.
They are quieter, the impact harshness is gone and the seem to be wearing well.
I would reccommend a "S" rated Michelin over the Goodyear LS or RSA.
I have 52,000 miles on it and the service guy says to "use the car more" thats why they rusted
I'll go out on a limb and say that it's your rear brakes and that you have a 1998 Intrigue. That was a defect for that year. Your mileage may not buy you the negotiating power you need but the dealer would have replaced them if you were still in warranty. When it happened to me I just purchased new rotors because I didn't feel like dealing with the dealer. Had no problems since.
Dindak, I think you asked. It is part number 33-2086 and it fits perfectly. K&N still does not list this filter for the Intrigue, but if you cross reference the AC Delco(or even another brand) part # which fits the Intrigue, you get the 33-2086. Several others here have posted using that filter as well. I'm noticing slightly more response off the line, but haven't done any high speed runs so I can't really say if there is any improvement in power.
pgl1- good work. I would assume that the cheaper Road Response struts that fit on a Century and Regal would be the best bet for the softest valving.
I looked again and found some other numbers. On the rear D7s- 4344 is in the top of the strut assembly and 6952 near the bottom. They are stamped in the metal.
I also just noticed that only one of my front OEM struts has the Delphi CK label. The other one has a label with 11091046 and A16 and 22187499. 5456 is stamped in the metal at the top of the assembly. Both struts look identical. The dealer replaced on early on (even though they said they replaced two). Maybe they did, I don't know.
I will fire off an e-mail to Delphi but it will be a month or so before I hear back as it's a slow process and seems to go through a few people before it gets back to me.
That's the first I've ever heard of a relationship between the speed rating and ride firmness. Are you sure about that? I know that generally the higher speed rated tires come in lower profiles - which is where you get a harsher ride. Could this be what you are referring to? I always thought the speed rating was just that - the maximum sustained speed the tire was built to handle, nothing more.
I recently replaced the OEM tires on my wife's 99 Intrigue with the lowest priced H-rated unidirectional tire I could find. I got them at Discount Tires for $59 each + the usual add ons. I am very happy with them and they grip very well in rain - as most unidirectional tires will. Just be aware when you rotate this type of tire that you don't put them on backwards!
I believe S is the lowest, then T etc.
H is up to 130 mph, V to 149 mph, Z above that.
Thanks; I know that between the two of us we'll get down to the bottom of this. I'm talking to someone at Delphi as well who was surprisingly interested in the question and who is very helpful. I'll let you know what he has to say. I also have a 1998 Factory Service Manual on its way to me, and I'll check that out as well.
The response I got from ACDelco was as follows: "The Road Response Silver ("RRS") replaces the Reactek line ("React"). The RRS is more responsive, extra comfort and control throughout the shocks entire range and motion [sic]. We only sell after market parts so you will have to contact your local GM dealership to find the original part." I wrote Delco back asking them if RSS replaces React, then why do RRS' fit a multitude of GM models from '97 to '00, and Reacts fit Intrigues (only) up through '02? Delco responded: "The Road Response line is still fairly new and has not completely replaced the older Reactek line. We are trying to manufacture products that can be used in a broader range of vehicles instead of having to have many different, vehicle specific, parts to cover all of the car lines. We hope this answers your question, if not please feel free to contact us again so we can try to better clarify the reasoning."
So, I agree with you. If RRS' are used in Regals, Silhouettes, etc., then they must be softer, and I think that because the Intrigue is a going out of production Delco feels that it's just not worth it for them to keep buying the "specially engineered" struts from Delphi , as they'll just sell generic replacements.
b4z and one2one
My mechanic also said that higher speed rated tires have stiffer sidewalls and thus a harsher ride.
Curious as to why mostly everyone in this forum avoids Goodyear's like the bubonic plague. I am on my secong set of Eagle GA's on my 95 Grand Am (124K) and like them too.
Now I can add pathetic service as well on my list. GM has lost by business forever after this it is used Lexus till I die. GM=junk & poor customer service.
I got a kick out of how you phrased that :-)
Speaking for myself, I'm not necessarily against everything Goodyear makes. My specific beef is with the Eagle LS. One thing that Intrigue owners seem to notice when switching from Goodyear to another brand is that road noise is reduced. Interestingly, Chrysler put/puts the exact same tire on the LHS/300M both of which were plagued by what some feel is excessive road noise. They have since added more sound-deadening material to address the problem. But I can't help but notice that two different car manufacturers use the same tire and had the same problem. Could just be coincidence.
My reasons for going with Michelin Pilots (XGT H4)are because I like the way it makes the Intrigue feel when cornering. The Eagle LS, to me, make the car feel like I'm riding on ballons during hard cornering. When I switched to the Pilots on my old Intrigue, the car cornered flat as sheetrock. That's not to say that Eagle-RSA's wouldn't provide the same feel. Someone posted similar thoughts after purchasing an Intrigue w/PCS.
I also have a thing about "popularity". That is to say, my experience has been that when something is popular TLC is sacrificed because the manufacturer is selling gobbs of the product. Eagle LS are used on just about all GM mid-sized cars and all of Chrysler's full-sized cars. That's a lot of tires (and big contracts). Some would argue that for the latter reason Goodyear would take care to do things right to keep the contracts. Possibly but I'm sure Bridgestone/Firestone didn't want to loose the Ford contract especially considering their close business/family history.
Enter Michelin. While they do have contracts with auto makers (Aurora 4.0, Acura TL, Honda Accord, 300M w/performance package use them if I remember correctly), I want to remember hearing and reading that the bulk of Michelin sales are aftermarket. Since they don't have the comfort of a 4-5 year contract to pay the bills I want to believe they put a lot of effort into what they make. Also, Michelins are usually used on cars that are performance oriented or with performance packages. Not to mention I personally have not heard any major negative talk about Michelin. My personal experience in snow and wet weather with Michelin is exactly what reviews have said (interestingly, I didn't read the reviews until after I made the purchase). So I'm kinda stuck on them.
I am open to other brands. Yokohoma and Dunlop come to mind. I'm not adverse to Goodyear as a whole but they haven't given me the warm and fuzzies.
But that's just me :-)
Goodyear makes some decent tires in some segments like the Aquatreads, but in others, they simply don't have newer designs that compete well with the Pilots, Potenzas, and SP Sports. I've read RSA's are noisy as well. My Pilots are quiet and I may try out the RE950's or SP Sport's next time around.
Get outta town?! :-)
spidey : Watch for the steering shaft. That's the main problem with 98's and some 99's.
If you have a problem with a post made by another member, just drop me an email. I will check it out as soon as I am able to do so.
If you respond to a post with which you had a problem in an equally problematic manner, you become an equal part of the problem.
If you ignore the post and email me instead, you become part of the solution - certainly a much wiser and more mature choice, as well as one that lives up to the terms of the MA as you agreed you would when you joined the Town Hall.
Thanks.
Pat
Sedans Host
You better get the warrenty soon! My Intrigue has been in the shop 3 times in the past 2 weeks! Why did the past owner of that car get rid of it? My guess it is off warrenty and got tired of the constant problems.
Iread somewhere that the aurora is building out both the v6 and the v8 in June.
Gm is saying 2004 is the last year but I bet 2003 will be it.
The only issues I have ever had with the car has been pulsating brakes caused by warped rotors and clunking in the steering from the intermediate steering shaft. Assuming the brakes are fine now at 33K, you don't have to worry about this. I would check the steering out though, perhaps it would be prudent to get the lube job done on the shaft under warranty. I have not had a problem with mine since this was done.
Tne nice thing about the Olds and the 3.8 engine in particular, is the very reasonable cost of ownership.
Oh and by the way, please ignore legero8, the rest of us do.
Don't let legero8's posts scare you. This is his first Intrigue and he's had a bad experience with it and I completely understand his feelings. Intrigue is by no means perfect and has its flaws. But one bad car experience isn't a basis for eternal damnation. But do get the steering shaft lubed. You'll know you need it if you feel "jiggling" in the wheel during turns and over bumps at low speeds.
I'm on my second Intrigue. My first was a 1998 w/the 3800 (3.8) that I put 80,000 miles on and was silky smooth up that that point. That's a beautiful engine and she'll treat you good for a very long time if you take care of her. And it doesn't take much either. Only thing I did was oil changes according to the oil life monitor and rotate the tires. I did have the water problem legero refers to but it was a cheap fix and more than likely because I live on a street where the leaves fall heavily.
I'm now pushing a 2001 and have 20,000 miles and haven't even had it a year! Haven't had to take it in for anything at all. Don't let your boys drive it on the road trips... keep all the fun to yourself :-)
Look forward to hearing your experiences... good and bad.
Much quieter and the treadwear rating is 420 vs the LS' lower rating. These are H rated and have better treadwear than the LS'. Go figure.
I wish I could tell you that I the new tires have made me a Formula 1 racer, but I'd be lying if I went that far. The Intrigue's seats don't really allow you to throw the car into hard cornering without sliding out of the (minimal) bolstering provided. The Dunlops also cost less than the Michelin Pilots.
legero18: I picked up the car at a Saturn dealership outside of Buffalo, NY. I saw it on a web page (www.buffalocars.com), looked it over and bought it a couple of days later. It was priced at $11,995. I put over 200 miles on it already and so far it has been a steal at that price.
http://www.cheersandgears.com/boards/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=439
Look closely. Appears to have body color rocker mouldings.
How long Have I been asking for that?!!
Sharp looking car.
Oh yeah. This is OLDS 105th Anniversary!!
Has anybody ever seen this interior color combination? I saw it in the brochure but my dealer never ordered one.
http://www.w-body.net/gallery/
Wish I could get one of those. Can't trade in the 2000 though, too big a $ hit.