2003 Wagon suspension help needed...
I just got an '03 wagon.
I already have been driving a '01 sedan for the past 2 years that's up to 169k miles now, had 138k when I got it. The wagon has more than double that on it.
The wagon's previous owner put a set of Moog wagon springs on it based on threads about them on here and was totally happy with them but he used to have a 1.8T or VR8 sedan and seems to like a "sport" ride...
He says the previous owner had the shocks/struts replaced at some point before he bought it about 60k miles ago.
The label stickers are gone from the struts, no signs of brand or model on the front ones that I can see.
I found imprinted numbers on one of the rears which google results show as Monroe sensa-trac 5984ST rear shocks for a Jetta and I'm "assuming" the fronts are the same brand. Yeah, I know... assume...
The ride with the moog springs and these shocks is almost as harsh as my buddy's lowered golf with aftermarket springs/shocks. He's running a common bilsteins setup, not sure which...
On good roads it feels smooth with tight steering but the roads here are pretty bad.
It's not like a honda riding on bump stops, it doesn't slam down hard, and it's not like it bounces a lot, actually the amount of vertical travel is very short, to the point that the rebound occasionally damn near tosses me up out of the seat (with my seatbelt on) because the wagon's vertical travel range feel considerably shortened (especially compared to my sedan) and the suspension levels out the wagon again so quickly after hitting the bumps/dips in the roads around here at highway/interstate speeds...
My sedan's vertical travel is about 3x as much and much slower dampener response but to me it's not "bouncy" or bumpy, it's just smooth and comfortable, and this wagon with these moog springs and monroe shocks is not.
The best comparison I can come up with which will be meaningless to most of you is this...
I had a 1998 Toyota Twin-Turbo Supra with KYB 4-Way shocks and Eibach springs which the Supra community refers to as great handling but a "choppy" ride, and this moog springs monroe shocks setup on this wagon is nearly identical to that Supra's ride...
On our causeway bridge, 65mph, 24 miles long to cross the lake, the southbound bridge's concrete sections are uneven so as you cross each span there's a bounce. In my sedan I almost don't even notice them. In this wagon every concrete span's seam is obvious and jarring and even with the leather seat's adjustable lumbar my lower back hurts by the time I get to the other end no matter how I set the seat...
On nice roads I'm fine with them. When I hit a good stretch of pavement it's smooth and responsive but most of the time it's just not fun to drive this wagon and I end up in my sedan instead...
I need to sell the sedan soon but I've got to somehow get the ride of this wagon more highway commuter friendly than it is now...
Any suggestions on a better shock combo for these springs?
OR
Anybody have a set of factory front and rear 5-speed wagon springs with reasonable miles on 'em they'd trade for a full set of the moogs?