Two Questions...

[BaldBill]

Hello all,

I've had my 2009 Passion for a little over two weeks now, I have a few questions.

When I hit a bump in the road, the front of the car hits it harder than a Porsche GT3. Is this normal? My suspicion is that one or both of the front shocks are blown. On that note; any recommendations for aftermarket shocks and springs?

My second question is regarding the audio system. My car has two speakers. I see that there are Smart cars with 5 speakers. Can any of you send me pics of the five speaker set up? I'd like to upgrade the audio system and if I can buy the factory panels to accommodate the additional speakers it will make my life easier.

Thanks in advance!

Bald Bill

[jwight]

Hi and welcome. Suspension - yes, most find it harsher than other cars, particularly those with longer wheelbases. No cure for the current 451 version.

The surround sound option for the 2011 and up cars looks like this:



Those cars are prewired for the rear speakers where the earlier cars are not, although they are pretty easy to install. Your car should have the wiring for the two tweeters in the dash (not shown above) as well as the sub that goes under the driver's seat.

[rfernatt]

Nothing will completely resolve the hard hits on the front from big potholes, but larger wheels/tires on the front with commensurately lower tire pressure will take the edge off and soften it up a bit. Check out the following thread:

Are YOU a Member of the "I Can Rotate My Tires Club"?

[jimvw57]

I changed to Kumhos and it rides a bit easier on the frost heaves, but you still need to avoid the potholes.

[Neonspinnazz]

As for the audio...

2008s-2010s had two options:

Radio 9 - Two Loudspeakers
Radio 10 - Two mid range, two tweeters, one subwoofer.

2011s- have two options:

Entryline - Two loudspeakers
Highline - Four midrange (two front, two back), two tweeters, one amp, one subwoofer.

And you can always add those rear speakers to an older smart

[The Rigger]

Originally Posted by Neonspinnazz

And you can always add those rear speakers to an older smart

Not a cabriolet, I don't think...

[WhiteNBlack08]

See here for replacement shocks & struts: Options to replace struts

As for the speakers, your best bet is to mount aftermarket speakers in custom enclosures. Probably be cheaper than OE panels.

[Padawan]

Originally Posted by The Rigger

Not a cabriolet, I don't think...

The older cabriolets may not be pre-wired for the surround speakers, but there shouldn't be an issue with fitting the speakers themselves. I haven't determined whether smart uses unique trim panels to accommodate the rear speakers or simply cuts speaker openings in the panels on cars with the surround option.

By looking at the speaker grills in the back, it appears to me as though smart may just cut the stock panels, but I've never looked behind the panels on non-surround equipped cars to see whether there are marks there for trimming.

[jamarimutt]

You will instantly memorize the location of every pothole in which the suspension bottomed out.