I did a search, but it's hard to get "generic" suspension information on the site.

Can someone point me at a good thread (either on this forum or elsewhere on the web) for info on diagnosing suspension woes?

(My concern is the bone-rattling jar I get every time I hit a pothole or drive over RR tracks...)

Going on only basic physics knowledge, I assume the springs prevent the bone-rattling jar, and the shocks stop the bounce from continuing forever, but I assume there are resources on the web with a bit more info...

Any help appreciated!

 

Sounds like your shocks are toast. The shocks also control the rate that your suspension compresses, and how quickley it compresses. If the shocks are toast, they have little or no dampening force, therefor, they will bottom out under hard loads, (like a pothole, or railroad tracks).
I unfortionaly dont know of any threads that cover this.
Maybe someone else can help..

 

ya sounds like the shock is blown, you can test it by taking them out in the back and push them in and see if the will extend back out, if they dont, there shot

Snake Eyes<l><l>

 

I'd have to go with springs on this one. Shocks do moderate compression and expansion, but shocks alone cannot do the job, you need springs to do the majority of the work of supporting the car. So it seems to me that if you get a bad crash over a bump, you have bad springs, not bad shocks. Case in point, I drove a minivan with a broken shock mount, and it would bounce for ages after hitting a bump, but it didn't crash any more than it did before. And I put new shocks on an RX-7 with sagged springs, and it still crashed over bumps.

[devil's advocate]
Racing Beat springs are as cheap as stock and 20% stiffer
[/devil's advocate]

 

Are you calling Racing Beat the devil?

I have a similar problem with my 7, not quite as bad though....

I've changed the rear shocks and it rides much better...
I plan on doing the struts soon... but it seems like I might be thinkin' about the springs now too =)