kazman

Well car seems a lot better now, more planted, quicker to firm up and tramlining seems to have reduced. Maybe both the gauges I have used recently have over read and the 37 psi it indicates now is more like 35? Or maybe 452s need 37 psi+

Hmm, well with the short test i conducted driving in this morning the steering did seem to weigh up much quicker when cornering than it did before. Possibly the 452's require a good few more PSI in them than tyres recommended by Nissan.

Not conclusive yet mind, will see how i find the next few journies. Promising start.

Just to be clear, i am running 38psi (cold). Previously 34psi

I guess that's not too bad.

Do you have to leave your key with them for a period of time? I only have one key so if they need to keep it I won't be able to get home!

My local Nissan dealers have been useless for me. I wonder how much they will quote when I phone...

Still wish I could confidently trust the programme guide on here, but it seems to not work for the majority.

Thats a great reply, thanks so much for taking the time to post all that up.

As the garage could not diagnose any play, I'm hoping that I can live with the knock, as it never does it when on the move. If there was any play I would be more concerned but he was very clear to stress everything was really sound with regard to unwanted movement.

You must have read my mind regarding tyres pressures, I have just added 4 psi all round. Will see how I go and update accordingly.

Regarding the tramlining, my last 3 cars have all been the same on my local roads, which are pretty shocking. All 3 cars have had low profile wide tyres so I'm thinking it really is just part and parcel of those characteristics.

Thanks again!

Just read your post mate. The noise is from the rack and has been covered here before by someone i have had this for ages and its worse with my hard suspension setup

 

Steering rack pre-load adjustment:

 

There is a nut that holds the rack together and its called an "end cover assembly" its under the boot and its torque-spec is actually a range - 58.9 - 73.5nm; you need to increase the torque until the clicking goes away, and the play is taken out

 

As with regards to the steering response there are a few things you can do to improve it.

 

-First you can increase the presure by 3-5 psi and see the response/feel you get.

 

-Next you can start by setting the front Toe settings to neutral(0°00') and dial in more toe in to increase straightline stability (factory set up range 0°00'-0°05') Increase by 5' increments of toe in to 0°20' . Toe out will be good for cornering on a track but you will NOT enjoy it on day to day driving as the tramlining will be worse

 

-If you are still not happy then consider swapping for 245/40/18 tyres fronts(assuming you have 18"Rays) which will fit the wheel no problem ( Just like the rear can be upped to a 265 )

 

- If all these don't do it then you need to invest in a front camber arms(ichiba are the cheapest from Adam @ Z1) to allow you to dial more negative camber in the front. 1°50' IMO seems to be optimal for road driving(factory is 0°10' to -1°20')

 

All these measures are to improve front end grip and as a consequence steering "feel" or weightiness in road conditions but bare in mind than you should only make small changes at a time as to identify what works and also too big a change might affect the rear geometry eg increase oversteer so you may have to counteract this with some tweaking which is easier as there is toe and camber adjustability or just wider tyres or increase presures just like the front

 

If all this fail then

Cheers.

I'm starting to think it's just tramlining tbh, the steering wheel moves to the left as it happens, so it's not like there is play between the wheel and er.. wheels.

I think I need to play with my tire pressures. Guess I'm oblverthinking this.

On the plus side, p1 service with me supplying silkolene pro s came to a total of £87. Cheap motoring!

Well, collected it from garage - they are confident all is tight under the front and said the rack is making the knock, but only if you are very violent with it. They said no play could be found and strongly recommended not going to the expense of replacing as there would be no benefits.

They were unable to check alignment due to the car being too low for their old equipment, but they did say the second garage I had my alignment done at are very good.

So I'm starting to think the handling issue is in my head. Or maybe I need to run higher pressures on falken 452s? I understand they have a softer sidewall and that can lead to lack of turn in feel as it rolls on the sidewall...

Will update tomorrow

Thanks for the reply

Mine is a 55 plate, so I believe it does not have the speed sensitive steering, else I would be confident this was the issue...

Thanks mate! Any knock sound?

It's going in to the garage tomorrow, fingers crossed...

Having said that, I had a very spirited drive this evening after washing the zed... It felt fantastic at speed, really composed and weighty, meaty steering. I just need that sensation and (ahem) lower speeds.

Well if I describe it maybe someone can try the same and report back. It takes about 5 seconds.

 

Car stationary I turn the steering wheel about 90 degrees, possibly less. I then release the wheel, and as it springs backto centre there is a fairly quiet but deffinatly audible knock sound. It does it a lot more from releasing wheel when left hand down than when right hand down. Also, simply shaking the steering wheel left to right left to right etc when stationary produces a knock sound.

If this is something that they all do then I will rule it out, but I assume it is not normal?

Again, confirmation of this would be priceless!

can any one try this? The steering wheel does not even need to be turned 90 degrees, more like 45, so that should save you a couple of seconds

The knocking I had over rough roads was down to an front end link. However, a lot of people trace it to the compression rod (banana bar), and I would imagine would contribute to the floaty feeling you are having.

I too am getting a knocking from the steering when i turn the wheel left and right when stationary. I am hoping this is down to a worn tie rod in my case.

I believe that is the UK guide.

It seems that success with programming keys is very limited, does your new fob not work or is it the key in the ignition? Or both?

I remember someone got the fob to work but not the blade so ended up swapping the blade over. Obviously this is not an improvement over what most people start with.

Hope your right, it's driving me crazy!

I would be very confident it's a track rod save for the fact 2 garages have failed to highlight it during alignments... But then again maybe I should not be that suprised!

Coops,

thanks so much for taking the time to write all that.

All my posts and threads are starting to merge in to one, but yes, I have had the front end up and there seems to be a very small amount of play on the off side inner track rod end. The play was very minor and I could not see any lag between turning the wheel and the wheels themselves turning.

Regarding your other questions-

No knocking sound when driving

Car is standard with 69,000 miles

Tyres have 1000 miles on (falken 452's) and are at 35psi currently. Have thought about putting some more air in them as I understand they have softer side Walls which may be effecting turn in quality? I think that'sy biggest issue, the car does not feel very sharp to drive... And the steering is not as feelsome as I think it should be.

Thanks again

Well if I describe it maybe someone can try the same and report back. It takes about 5 seconds.

Car stationary I turn the steering wheel about 90 degrees, possibly less. I then release the wheel, and as it springs backto centre there is a fairly quiet but deffinatly audible knock sound. It does it a lot more from releasing wheel when left hand down than when right hand down. Also, simply shaking the steering wheel left to right left to right etc when stationary produces a knock sound.

If this is something that they all do then I will rule it out, but I assume it is not normal?

Again, confirmation of this would be priceless!

Might sound a bit far out but does your car have a clear history with regards to accident damage?

Well its HPI clear...

Does no one else think that the knock from the steering assembly when turning the wheel left and right @ stationary is telling? Maybe all the problems i am having boil down to a single suspension component?

As soon as my car left the allignment place when I had it done, it instantly felt better, noticably more precise and just felt more planted and direct. I know a lot of others had the same feeling when they had theirs done, so dont be put off by any vague feeling, I do beleive there will be something at the cause of it, and its not just how the car is. My car tramlines quite a bit, but does not drift, although it will follow the camber of the road slightly if allowed.

 

Keep working at it, if you go methodically, you'll work out what it is and be happy when its solved

Thanks mate, thats reassuring to hear.

My last 3 alignments on this cat have gone thus -

1. No different to how it felt before but steering wheel off to left.

2. (same garage) wheel still off too left, horrifically light steering

3 (diffeent garage) steering wheel almost centre, steering feel back to how it was after alignment 1.

I have got to the point where taking my cars for alignment is synonymous for making the car worse! Each garage has found the alignment figures very different to the last (all in the space of 2 weeks), so i am lead to believe they are failing to pick up on a worn component that is preventing the geometry to hold over any distance.

Hopefully Friday will produce some helpfull findings, i am quite impressed with my local indie - this will be their big test!

Sure you're not mistaking torque steer for feel? An FR car can feel a bit numb at first when coming from a car that drives the front wheels.

No, this is my fifth rwd car (3rd in 4years). And no, its not the most powerfull either.

mine drifts left a wee bit, tires are good, pressures are all the same. Only had the car 5days and thought I heard a knock when I was turning at low speeds got a wee click from the back rear but need to drive the car more to listen for these issues more, not that botherd set aside money if there is a problem and I love it too much to care about wee noises or issues!

Cheers for the reply. As i say, the drift in itself is of little concern to me (you are supposed to drive a car after all not vice verca), i just wondering if it is highlighting a bigger issue that is peeing me off!

Seems like opinion is divided on this one, most cars do seem to follow road camber / crown to some extent, and the issue is exacerbated when "modern sports car" norms (low profile tyres, wide tyres, large diameter wheels) are added.

my Z drifts over to the left on most road surfaces if i release the steering wheel for more than about 3 seconds.

 

This reminds me of the Tommy Cooper joke. Man goes to doctor and says "every time I lift my arm above my head it hurts", doctor says "don't do it".

 

Stop taking your hands off the wheel for 3 seconds then!!!!

 

Drive the car fast and skillfully and you'll need both hands on the wheel all the time and you'll forget this very VERY minor issue.

Hmm, think your missing the point im making!

Im not enjoying driving my car at all at the moment, not because i cant take me hands of the wheel for 3 seconds but for other reasons (steering feel is average, does not turn in particularly well, vague on bumpy roads, steering wheel does not weight up during initial turn in at slow speeds, knock coming from front when turning wheel left and right when stationary ((again i could simply not do this, but is it not revealing a bigger problem?)) )

At the moment i am really struggling to get on with the Z. Only had it about 4 months and there are many things that nag at me and question whether its going to be a "keeper". The majority of them are not specific to my car, but are the shortfalls of the model. One of the biggest issues i have with mine that seems to be opposed to every review i have read is the handling aspect - namely it is supposed to be sharp and meaty feeling, whilst i am finding it a touch vauge and not as well weighted as my Cooper S was!

Thanks for such a detailed reply.

It was a full geometry alignment, and the thrust angle was reset accordingly. The garage i took it to have a good reputation (although they were suprised when i told them of the problems i had at the first garage as they too have a good reputation).

All of it seems to suggest an underlying problem that they have not been able to pick up on....

The Z is in at my local for an oil change on Friday so i will ask them to thoroughly investigate front suspension.

I take your point about the rears being the basis for the setting of the front, but the "clunk" i get when dry steering suggests there is at least some small problem there... i just cant unsertand why it was not picked up by either alignment centre if it was a tie rod or collapsed bush...

As far as im aware every car will pull slightly to the left on most road surfaces due to the curve in the road (Presuming so the rain can run into the drains)

 

Obviously theres a line between drifting to the lefts and pulling to the left...

 

I worked at a BMW dealer for many years and brand new cars would do this.

 

Try driving on the right hand side of the road and see if it pulls to the right? (Check for oncoming traffic first )

Thanks for the reply.

I have tried that, the problem does not seem as bad but seems to go stright ahead in those circumstances (rather than drift right).

Thing is, my GF's little ford Ka does not drift at all on any road surfaces. Possibly just a benefit of high sidewall and little wheels?

You need to check you tyre pressures and alignment.

Please take the time to read the initial post before replying. To paraphrase - tyre pressures are correct all round and i have had 2 alignments in the past 4 months. I am not paying for any more alignments because i am starting to wonder if a worn component is causing the alignment settings to drift.

The fact that neither alignment place picked up any issues makes me wonder if that is not the case however.

And yes, they were 4 wheels alignment centres (hunter systems).

Hi all,

following my recent posts regarding steering weight, vagueness and a slight clonk when turning the wheel stationary, i have also noticed that my Z drifts over to the left on most road surfaces if i release the steering wheel for more than about 3 seconds.

Now i am aware that cars with low profile tyres and large wheels are far more prone to "tramlining", and all the cars i have owned seem to have done it to some extent, but i was wondering (with all the other issues i am having) if this is normal or not?

Tyres are all the same brand, excellent condition and correct pressures. I have had a recent alignment (2 in fact, making me question whether my car is capable of holding alignment atm).

So what do you all find? You input here would really help.

Thanks

No idea personally, but I wonder if there is any reason you could not go to a standard key cutters? They usually charge about a tenner...

Thanks for the reply.

No, it's the standard amp. All factory except the head unit.

Could you explain what you mean by the grounds on the head unit not being connected in the same place? I have grounded it in the way that all the guides suggest, iso loom ground connected to ict ground then an additional lead spliced in and earther to chassis (3different positions tried).

As I said previously, removing the aerial and disconnecting the additional earth lead reduced the sound I can hear the most.... Which I don't understand as I assumed no earth would lead to no power for the hu!