Neilp Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 i may have to check mines now lol, you's are making me paranoid lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazman Posted May 11, 2010 Author Share Posted May 11, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff-r Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 I'm willing to say track rod end. If it's gone no matter how many times you get the car aligned it will be out. You really would be amazed at how small something can be for it to throw up major problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazman Posted May 11, 2010 Author Share Posted May 11, 2010 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazman Posted May 12, 2010 Author Share Posted May 12, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S77 CRV Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 Just checked and I definatly hang to the left! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazman Posted May 13, 2010 Author Share Posted May 13, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 i'm sure Ekona suffered with something similiar. is yours a 2006 onwards car. DMS thought that it might be to do with the speed sensitive steering box. he had several alignments done and new bits added in suspension etc but to no avail. think that it was a case of the box just being to sensitive at low speeds. although your issue sounds more like its pulling not drifting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazman Posted May 13, 2010 Author Share Posted May 13, 2010 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 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... sounds like something else for sure then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazman Posted May 13, 2010 Author Share Posted May 13, 2010 Will update tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazman Posted May 14, 2010 Author Share Posted May 14, 2010 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 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... Mine makes the same knocking sound when you turn the steering stationary, just a light sounds when you turn it either right or left, no drifting at all though, just a little pulling when on less than level road with a camber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazman Posted May 14, 2010 Author Share Posted May 14, 2010 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 Guess I'm oblverthinking this. I think you are oblverthinking this. + 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT4 Zed Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazman Posted May 14, 2010 Author Share Posted May 14, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT4 Zed Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 Glad to help mate. But as mentioned before do changes one at a time and address one axle at a time eg 4psi all round is not as informative as 4 psi in front then after full testing the maybe increase further or increase or decrease at the rear. You have to know or be able to describe what you are experienceing and want to improve or remove in terms of handling characteristics This might help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_handling http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_setup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazman Posted May 17, 2010 Author Share Posted May 17, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimm Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 My car has had the 4 wheel alignment done last year and has always slightly nose to the left even on straight motorways with no tramlines visible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazman Posted May 17, 2010 Author Share Posted May 17, 2010 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+ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.