Hello,

I've been noticing a harsher ride on my Z this past year, I have an '03 Track w/ roughly 60k miles. Stock Suspension. Ride quality has been degrading, I took it to performance nissan last month and they said it was weak, and should be replaced. Is this normal? I mean suspension going bad after 60k miles? Seems pretty quick to me, specially w/ stock parts. I have an extended warranty that ends in like 2 weeks, but they wouldnt cover it under the warranty. (Because its not damaged or leaking or anything, wear and tear)

Even though the extended warranty says it covers this item. Any thoughts on the subject, first and formost, isnt it a bit soon to have my stock suspension going out?

Thanks,

Sam

 

bad roads? xtra lbs in the car? I wouldn't think they would go before 100k,

 

Hrrm, I have subs in the back. But I dont think I've added more than 80lbs to the car. Even so, I wouldnt expect that to have such a negative effect so soon. Both front and rears are going bad. I live in Socal, roads arent perfect.

 

I don't think all the suspension is bad but your shocks are probably beat. Depending on the roads, that is certainly possible. The stock shocks are not especially stout.

At the very least change the shocks, if it were me and I was keeping things stock and to a budget, I would look for a set of low mileage 2004.5 or newer springs and shocks. If I did not care about keeping it stock, there are a host of aftermarket options out there, from shock replacements to whole coilover setups.

Chris

 

The suspension begins to deteriorate from the first day. When to replace is up to you.

BTW worn struts do not make a harsh or hard ride, but one that is soft and bouncy.

How to check a worn suspension? Push the front bumper down. It should jump up then return. If it bounces its time for replacement.

EDIT: You will also notice increased stopping distance with a worn suspension.

 

I'm just shocked that they would be going bad soo soon. I also noticed a bit of sag.

I understand that the suspension starts to wear on day 1 like almost all parts, but generally speaking I thought the pair would last at least 100k miles.

Anyone think I can get these replaced under extended warranty? I'm guessing not.

 

There's people regularly selling OEM suspension parts for dirt cheap in the private classifieds.

 

i kinda like it when davidv is informative instead of being an ***.

 

 

i used engine cleaning write up, worked well thanks!

 

Historically the oem Tokicos have lasted 4 years ~~60K DEPENDING ON LOCAL CONDITIONS. NAsed on 18 years of Q and other models, now ealy G's.

Just like clock work the rear rebound resistance goes soft first. Seems to recover in cold weather but by summer heat you really feel the difference.

 

is what it is. If your suspension is heading south just do a bit of research and replace it. You won't need to worry about anything until 120k miles...umm, maybe.

 

what does "bad suspension" mean

if you ask someone to diagnose a problem, you should get a written, detailed explanation of what they say needs replacing.

IE - do the shocks and springs need replacing? If so, how do they know?

If the bushings need replacing, which ones? How do they know

just saying "it's weak, and needs to be replaced", is, in and of itself, weak - you deserve a specific, detailed answer and you're not going to find that on the internet, it will take a skilled mechanic spending an afternoon with the car to disassemble things, check various items and then create the detailed recipe to solve it. If you can't at least get that, take it to someplace else, preferably an independant shop, not a dealer

worn struts absolutely can make for a punishing ride....it all depends what happened to the strut. Sometimes you have struts that compress too easily, and this leads to a very bouncy car. Other times you have struts that won't rebound at the right rate, or won't rebound at all (stuck in the fully compressed state). This will lead to an absolute punishing ride...literally crashing over everything. I'm not suggesting this is your issue at all, no one can tell you whats wrong without fully inspecting the car themselves

 

Thanks for the responses. Just trying to get an idea of whats going on and why.

I guess next week I'm going to be visiting a shop. Maybe another dealer. Idealy I would really like to see if a dealer would fix this under the extended warranty.

Either that or I'll just wait till summer and get coilovers or new shocks and springs.