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Vague and light steering


W8BGS

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Hi guys, I've put up with it for ages, but had enough now, the steering on my Zed is so light and vague, it doesn't at all feel responsive. I think the car may have had a knock before I owned it. It seems to have a bit of an uneven tyre wear issue and I've had the wheels hunter aligned last year and it made no difference. 

 

I need some advice on who I can take it to in order to get this resolved. My mechanic says the bushes all look fine, with no excess play. I've driven another Zed previously and it was a lot more connected and stiffer, it was unmodified. 

 

I want the car to feel better and I want to enjoy driving it more than I do. 

 

Any advice appreciated. 

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If the geo is ok, next logical step is tyres tyres tyres. A lot of people harp on about this but its the only thing connecting you to road, this time of year with slippy road surfaces will make the heavy zed feel lighter steering anyway but an A rated wet tyre will give you lots more sure footedness, just not great for the summer. 
I have just put uniroyal rainsport 5s on the daily peugeot 308 (front tyres only) and the ones on the rear are continentals still with loads of tread. I was flinging it around a few roundabouts in wet conditions and the back was sliding out which just should not happen in a front wheel drive front engined car but just goes to prove the extra grip of a well Renowned dedicated wet tyre over another “less capable” tyre

going back to the alignment, a decent garage should be able to tell if its had a knock previous but the alignment would be a real chew to get correct if arms were bent etc to the point were either a “good” garage would explain the situation or a”bad” garage would just do what they can and take your money. 
 

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http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2019-EVO-Summer-Tyre-Test.htm
6th: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5
Overall: An unusually poor result for the Asym5, with a lack of steering feel and grip in the dry and wet testing.
 

https://www.evo.co.uk/features/18309/best-car-tyres-evo-performance-tyre-test/page/0/6
Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric 3 - 2nd
Scored well enough everywhere else but, like the Dunlop, lacks the crispness of steering and response to engage and reward in the dry.

 

The other factor is still alignment I think, it may be that the other car you drove had been aligned to a different, more aggressive setup and that was the feel you got.

 

I once had an S13 Silvia setup by a small garage in Japan that did old Hako Skylines and stuff, it was amazing how much steering weight they put into it, you could clearly feel every tenth of a G at the front wheels.  My subsequent S13 never felt like that.

 

When you got the last alignment done, did they give you a before and after printout showing the different angles in relation to the factory recommended values?  If they got it so that all the settings are 'green' and within the recommended ranges, then I think it's highly unlikely that any previous accident damage will be affecting the feel of the handling now.

Edited by Samoht
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Thanks, I did a fair bit of research before getting the tyres and they did have great reviews at the time. I am pretty sure when I had the alignment done then the after had all the tolerances in green, but I will have a look. It probably is a good idea to get someone to have another look at the bushes, arb linkages and alignment. Just need to find someone with an Eagle eye who can spot something. 

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Just to note and i am not suggesting this is the case but “they” can make any value of toe/camber/caster appear green on a printout by overriding the required values. For example my printout is green but camber is -2’30 which is not factory spec, it was just easier for guy to see on screen when altering rear arms then he tweaks it from there and the printout is all green. Nothing is in factory specs but it is green in relation to what i asked for. So worth just checking the after printout to make sure all is ok, also again, does anyone else drive the car as i know my wife could hit a pothole/kerb and never mention anything to me which could throw something out without you realising. 

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On 03/01/2020 at 10:38, G1en@waxandshine said:

Just to note and i am not suggesting this is the case but “they” can make any value of toe/camber/caster appear green on a printout by overriding the required values. For example my printout is green but camber is -2’30 which is not factory spec, it was just easier for guy to see on screen when altering rear arms then he tweaks it from there and the printout is all green. Nothing is in factory specs but it is green in relation to what i asked for. So worth just checking the after printout to make sure all is ok, also again, does anyone else drive the car as i know my wife could hit a pothole/kerb and never mention anything to me which could throw something out without you realising. 

 

IMG_20200104_111401.jpg

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Thats seems fine and i doubt it would be that exact to oem if any of the chassis or arms were bent so that just leaves tyres or bushes really. If you have had the bushes checked and they are fine than its back to the tyres. Unfortunately an expensive way to find out if it makes it better but if the current tyres are hardly worn you could sell them on. I take it its on standard suspension and not some chinese aftermarket tat that a previous owner may have put on. As mentioned above, has anyone else driven the car since alignment. Failing all that im out of suggestions. 

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On 03/01/2020 at 08:28, W8BGS said:

Standard 19" Ray's with Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric 4's all round. 

Are the tyres in the factory fit sizes? Might be an idea if a friendly local Z owner would swap wheels for a drink just to go out with you up the road to see if the steering feels any different. Straight away rules out any concerns over the tyres themselves, without having for cough up for new rubbers.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had a very similar feel on my old 350z HR, turned out the diff bush had blown, if you blast your car off regularly with a jetwash you won't even notice the fluid has leaked out so it can be tricky to spot. It had covered 62k when I realised, replaced them with whiteline bushes and it tightened the feel of the car up, but I did replace the compression arm bushes at the same time so that might also have helped. How old is the car and what mileage has it done? W brace could be another culprit if it has rotted taking a bit of rigidity away. 

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16 minutes ago, Dave6188 said:

I had a very similar feel on my old 350z HR, turned out the diff bush had blown, if you blast your car off regularly with a jetwash you won't even notice the fluid has leaked out so it can be tricky to spot. It had covered 62k when I realised, replaced them with whiteline bushes and it tightened the feel of the car up, but I did replace the compression arm bushes at the same time so that might also have helped. How old is the car and what mileage has it done? W brace could be another culprit if it has rotted taking a bit of rigidity away. 

Ah thanks for the reply, it is a 2010 on 70k miles. My mechanic checked all bushes and said no signs of splits in any and everything there is solid. I suspect the W brace has rotted as they don't seem to last long. Going to get the alignment done next week, if not w brace is the next stop. Thanks. 

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  • 1 month later...

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