I had neck surgery two years ago too repair a ruptured disk, and my neck is still weak. I drove my Mazda Tribute from Seattle to Montana last July, and actually almost needed surgery again from the ride being so bumpy on the trip. Simply, the car is too bumpy for me to survive in. So before I sell this year old car and take the loss, I wondered if there is any aftermarket suspension add-ons that will make this car ride smoother, like a Lexus my dad’s old 1968 Bonneville Station wagon? I have the lowest end Mazda Tribute, the four cylinder gutless one.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that if the automotive engineers could make a $15K Mazda ride like a $40K Lexus, they would have already done that and sold a lot more Mazdas. (and a lot less Lexus’). What you are looking for is a softer ride? Are your tires serviced at the low end of the acceptable pressure? Even if you could find some softer springs (and you could have your current springs re-tempered to provide a softer bounce), now you’re throwing off all the design that went into the car to ensure it didn’t roll when cornering, minimized front end dive during stops, etc. I have never heard of an aftermarket kit to soften rides. I think there would be too much liability for the manufacturer to cope with if one of his “soft ride” kits caused an accident with fatalities. Safety risks are too great to attempt this mod. I could be wrong. How about some memory foam or other seat cushions to minimize the jolting to your body? Let’s see who else weighs in.
Aftermarket air suspension might help.
The answer to your automotive question is that you will probably need to trade in your car and buy one that is made to have a smooth ride. However, how can you be sure that will solve your problem? How do you know you won’t suffer the same pain in a $70,000 Lexus? Perhaps you should try renting one of these smooth cars to rule out possible causes of the pain. You might discover that any long trip in any car will make it hurt.
Before you sell your car, I recommend you rent a Lexus or a large Lincoln and take a trip to make sure the car is the issue.
+1
While this solution may not sound financially sound, it’s better to do this than to suffer repeated surgeries everytime you wanna take a road trip