Anybody familiar with suspension issues on the 350z?
04-11-2011, 05:25 PM
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Anybody familiar with suspension issues on the 350z?
So, basically I bought my 2005 Z back in 2009 with only 40,000. Since then my suspension has felt like my car is going to fall apart, it's simply rough to drive. I feel like I'm driving a bag of bolts. When I bought the car, it felt brand new, the suspension was tight, and crisp.
At first, I thought my wheels were off balance, and then maybe the tires were sh*tty. So I replaced the tires, and had them balanced. It didn't help. Then I thought maybe I did something to my sway bars, so I bought performance Eibach front and rears, which definitely helped tighten up the steering. No more play in the steering wheel whatsoever. But yet, I'm still not satisfied. Has anybody else had this problem? Do I need new shocks perhaps?
My neighbor used to have a 2004 Z and he said he got rid of it because the ride simply went downhill a year or so after having owned it. Is this a common issue with the Z? Any help would be much appreciated.
At first, I thought my wheels were off balance, and then maybe the tires were sh*tty. So I replaced the tires, and had them balanced. It didn't help. Then I thought maybe I did something to my sway bars, so I bought performance Eibach front and rears, which definitely helped tighten up the steering. No more play in the steering wheel whatsoever. But yet, I'm still not satisfied. Has anybody else had this problem? Do I need new shocks perhaps?
My neighbor used to have a 2004 Z and he said he got rid of it because the ride simply went downhill a year or so after having owned it. Is this a common issue with the Z? Any help would be much appreciated.
04-11-2011, 06:32 PM
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LCA bushings are my bet, followed by endlinks and shocks.
04-11-2011, 07:36 PM
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Bushings will make a difference for sure... but I also know shocks can make a difference too as they wear the fastest. I replaced my stock shocks at 74K miles and it made a huge difference in ride quality. I got some cheap Tockico blues which are just a little stiffer than stock.
Last edited by gregom; 04-11-2011 at 07:38 PM.
04-12-2011, 04:57 PM
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Well, I replaced the bushings when I put on the sway bars. I installed the polyurethane ones that came with the kit. Which did make a little bit of difference.
I know I was a little vague, but to give you an idea on what the ride quality feels like, I suppose it would be comparable to putting 20" rims on your car. I can feel every little crack in the road. I cringe to drive over anything that isn't freshly paved. I haven't replaced the rims, I still have the 17" stock wheels that came with the vehicle. The car has 78,000 miles on it now, compared to the nearly 40,000 it had just two years ago. I read online that there's no real accurate way to check if it's bad shocks because every car is different, however, apparently if you push down on your bumper/front end of your car and it bounces, it's time for new shocks. At least, that's what the article stated. It went on to read that generally speaking shocks should be changed out every 50,000 miles or so.
I know I was a little vague, but to give you an idea on what the ride quality feels like, I suppose it would be comparable to putting 20" rims on your car. I can feel every little crack in the road. I cringe to drive over anything that isn't freshly paved. I haven't replaced the rims, I still have the 17" stock wheels that came with the vehicle. The car has 78,000 miles on it now, compared to the nearly 40,000 it had just two years ago. I read online that there's no real accurate way to check if it's bad shocks because every car is different, however, apparently if you push down on your bumper/front end of your car and it bounces, it's time for new shocks. At least, that's what the article stated. It went on to read that generally speaking shocks should be changed out every 50,000 miles or so.
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04-12-2011, 05:02 PM
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Gregom,
So, you are basically around the same mileage as me. I was looking at the Tokico Blue's given that there are some good deals on ebay. I'd like the Koni Yellows, but I think the only way that would happen would be if I bought one shock per paycheck. And that was going to be my next question. How do you like the Blues, what was the difference like? and how is the install?
My brother is a service manager for Porsche - I'm assuming I need access to a spring compressor, given that the shock is inside of the spring I believe. Right?
So, you are basically around the same mileage as me. I was looking at the Tokico Blue's given that there are some good deals on ebay. I'd like the Koni Yellows, but I think the only way that would happen would be if I bought one shock per paycheck. And that was going to be my next question. How do you like the Blues, what was the difference like? and how is the install?
My brother is a service manager for Porsche - I'm assuming I need access to a spring compressor, given that the shock is inside of the spring I believe. Right?
04-12-2011, 07:14 PM
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New shocks are stiffer, resulting in a harsher ride. As shocks age the get softer, so when you hit a bump instead of being a quick, firm return to normal ride height, a aged suspension will be softer and not return as quick, even bounce a little more than once.
Are you on your original shocks? If so new ones, particularly aftermarket ones makes things stiffer and harder. However the Z, especially early year Z's have pretty stiff shocks and springs stock, so some aftermarkets can be softer. However the Tockico blues are definitely not soft, they are quite firm which is what you want if you track your car. If your ride is too harsh i'd go back to standard rubber bushings and stick with worn stock shocks. However if you mean your ride is bouncy and rocks around a bit, particularly pitches and dives over big bumps or during heavy accelerating or braking, then stiffer shocks would help.
I really like the blues, they are cheap and stiffer than stock. They are easy to install, same as stocks really. Yes you'll need a spring compressor to swap to different shocks on stock springs up front. Not necessary for rears obviously.
So unless your not describing your problem correctly, or there is some other weird problem... new shocks are not the answer for a softer/smoother ride.
Are you on your original shocks? If so new ones, particularly aftermarket ones makes things stiffer and harder. However the Z, especially early year Z's have pretty stiff shocks and springs stock, so some aftermarkets can be softer. However the Tockico blues are definitely not soft, they are quite firm which is what you want if you track your car. If your ride is too harsh i'd go back to standard rubber bushings and stick with worn stock shocks. However if you mean your ride is bouncy and rocks around a bit, particularly pitches and dives over big bumps or during heavy accelerating or braking, then stiffer shocks would help.
I really like the blues, they are cheap and stiffer than stock. They are easy to install, same as stocks really. Yes you'll need a spring compressor to swap to different shocks on stock springs up front. Not necessary for rears obviously.
So unless your not describing your problem correctly, or there is some other weird problem... new shocks are not the answer for a softer/smoother ride.
04-13-2011, 04:54 PM
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Gregom,
Okay, well that's definitely good info. The car does bounce a little bit, when hitting bumps, but it's more of a thing where I can feel the road more than I used to. I know I'm not explaining this too well. Even with brand new tires, I feel like I'm riding on completely bald tires, it's got that feeling where I can feel every little bump in the road. I could drive over a crack in the sidewalk and it would just shake the car to its core. (not technically, but that's just how it rides) and it didn't used to ride like this. I do still have the original shocks on it at 78k. Could it possibly be the control arms or something in that area of the suspension?
I litterally can't go over 70 mph or else the car wanders on the road. This is the other major issue that I forgot to mention. When I first bought the car, cruising at 90mph was no issue. Now if I go above 70, I'm like "ohh, gotta slow down or I'm going to wreck", and the swaybars have helped to an extent but it still doesnt drive like it used to. Could a rim be bent and not be noticeable to the human eye?
BTW, thank you for your help. I definitely appreciate it. I've been wanting to get some answers/suggestions for a while. I just joined this forum about a week ago though.
Okay, well that's definitely good info. The car does bounce a little bit, when hitting bumps, but it's more of a thing where I can feel the road more than I used to. I know I'm not explaining this too well. Even with brand new tires, I feel like I'm riding on completely bald tires, it's got that feeling where I can feel every little bump in the road. I could drive over a crack in the sidewalk and it would just shake the car to its core. (not technically, but that's just how it rides) and it didn't used to ride like this. I do still have the original shocks on it at 78k. Could it possibly be the control arms or something in that area of the suspension?
I litterally can't go over 70 mph or else the car wanders on the road. This is the other major issue that I forgot to mention. When I first bought the car, cruising at 90mph was no issue. Now if I go above 70, I'm like "ohh, gotta slow down or I'm going to wreck", and the swaybars have helped to an extent but it still doesnt drive like it used to. Could a rim be bent and not be noticeable to the human eye?
BTW, thank you for your help. I definitely appreciate it. I've been wanting to get some answers/suggestions for a while. I just joined this forum about a week ago though.
04-13-2011, 06:54 PM
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Yeah if it feels 'sloppy' then shocks can definatly play a role in that. 80K miles is a lot on shocks for a sports car. And if the car has been driven hard or tracked/auto-x'd then they are definately probably at end of life.
It could be a busted bushing or ball joint, or multiples of those. You can visually inspect all your bushings and ball joints for cracks, oozing goo, etc. and physically inspect them by man-handling the part its connected to to see if it is loose and moves around. If you have a busted balljoint or bushing that could cause sloppy handling and a harsher ride as there is a little metal-on-metal action going on over bumps and such.
Yes a wheel could be bent, cracked, or otherwise damaged where it is not obvious to a quick visual inspection. You could take off all four wheels and really closely inspect them. Although when you get new tires and get them balanced on the wheels, they will usually tell you if there is a problem. However I had a tire that kept losing air all the time and it took me 4 tries at the tire shops for someone to finally find I had a small crack on the inside of the wheel. Which is really scary when you track the car. The crack was from an impact in a collision I had 2 years ago. Car vs. curb... curb won.
I'd still take terrasmak's advice. Check your lower control arm bushings which there are two on each side, that connect your lower control arm to the front crossmember the engine sits on. If these are busted and your control arm is moving around then that could cause some weird handling issues that your describing. I don't think it would affect the ride quality or feel as much, but I suppose it could.
And again check the balljoints too... If the front wheels have sustained any harsh impact, that can sometimes burst a balljoint boot which will cause handling issues, ride quality issues, and often griding or clunking noise from the car when going over bumps or poor road surfaces.
It could be a busted bushing or ball joint, or multiples of those. You can visually inspect all your bushings and ball joints for cracks, oozing goo, etc. and physically inspect them by man-handling the part its connected to to see if it is loose and moves around. If you have a busted balljoint or bushing that could cause sloppy handling and a harsher ride as there is a little metal-on-metal action going on over bumps and such.
Yes a wheel could be bent, cracked, or otherwise damaged where it is not obvious to a quick visual inspection. You could take off all four wheels and really closely inspect them. Although when you get new tires and get them balanced on the wheels, they will usually tell you if there is a problem. However I had a tire that kept losing air all the time and it took me 4 tries at the tire shops for someone to finally find I had a small crack on the inside of the wheel. Which is really scary when you track the car. The crack was from an impact in a collision I had 2 years ago. Car vs. curb... curb won.
I'd still take terrasmak's advice. Check your lower control arm bushings which there are two on each side, that connect your lower control arm to the front crossmember the engine sits on. If these are busted and your control arm is moving around then that could cause some weird handling issues that your describing. I don't think it would affect the ride quality or feel as much, but I suppose it could.
And again check the balljoints too... If the front wheels have sustained any harsh impact, that can sometimes burst a balljoint boot which will cause handling issues, ride quality issues, and often griding or clunking noise from the car when going over bumps or poor road surfaces.
04-16-2011, 05:27 PM
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Gregom and DriveSidewayz,
Okay, I'm going to go ahead and do that, I'm supposed to take my car in for an alignment this week. I'm going to have my brothers tech put it up in the air and take a look at it with him. It sounds weird to say, but hopefully I find a problem. The Nissan dealership is directly across the street, so I can pick up some bushings if need be. I'll let you guys know how I fair out. I have a pretty good feeling that you're right because I live in D.C. metro area, and the potholes are horrible around here. I know I've hit at least one in the past year.
Oh, and side question off subject...last year, I was at a gas station, and I kept having issues with the car not starting. So, as I'm about to leave, my car wouldn't start, I had to be on a case 20 miles away and was desperate for a jump. Two guys who didn't speak english lent me a hand and had jumper cables, so I connect my end and the guy connects his and all of a sudden the rubber on the cables melted off like butter and within seconds it had burned through a lot of the plastics, one peice was my passenger side headlight. So I'm looking to replace it but the OEM's are so damn expensive, so I was on eBay and found the JDM style projector headlights for $164 - By chance have you heard any horror stories with those? fogging, moisture, etc? Thanks again for all your help.
Okay, I'm going to go ahead and do that, I'm supposed to take my car in for an alignment this week. I'm going to have my brothers tech put it up in the air and take a look at it with him. It sounds weird to say, but hopefully I find a problem. The Nissan dealership is directly across the street, so I can pick up some bushings if need be. I'll let you guys know how I fair out. I have a pretty good feeling that you're right because I live in D.C. metro area, and the potholes are horrible around here. I know I've hit at least one in the past year.
Oh, and side question off subject...last year, I was at a gas station, and I kept having issues with the car not starting. So, as I'm about to leave, my car wouldn't start, I had to be on a case 20 miles away and was desperate for a jump. Two guys who didn't speak english lent me a hand and had jumper cables, so I connect my end and the guy connects his and all of a sudden the rubber on the cables melted off like butter and within seconds it had burned through a lot of the plastics, one peice was my passenger side headlight. So I'm looking to replace it but the OEM's are so damn expensive, so I was on eBay and found the JDM style projector headlights for $164 - By chance have you heard any horror stories with those? fogging, moisture, etc? Thanks again for all your help.
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