MannishBoy

iTrader: (1)

That was to Dwnshift. See this thread.

Boomer

YEEOUCH! I just ran into my priority list and Tein will be relegated to the bottom. Incredible control, but way too pricy for installation on my brand new car. My wife's priority list is operative now and we are going to look at ART tomorrow and my discretionary funding is at a new low after the Michelins, but you are right, the system looks perfect!

MannishBoy

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, if they were a grand, I'd already be ordering

I'm waiting on Skidazzle's review. He just put a set on his ubercar.

I'm really hoping somebody figures out just a good shock replacement that will dampen things out a bit quicker, without having to do springs or coilovers. I didn't plan to spend a fortune on stuff like the suspension.

Boomer

I AM satisfied w/the Michelins, they cured the crash over bumps and the highway ride is terrific, but some of the bounce is still there. It may stop bouncing after the Michelins have worn some because all new tires have some flex until they shed their newness.

I have 17s, but I don't know about the 18s. Also, a lot of the18 owners have replaced their tires some time ago and the 040s are not an issue.

I didn't mean I am disatisfied w/the Michelins, I am very satisfied w/them. The problem is not all suspension problems can be cured by just changing tires, as I'm sure you know. You still have shocks, springs, anti-roll bars, struts or multilink suspension parts. I'm just trying to find a magic bullet cure for what is now a minor thing.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm a perfectionist and cars are my main passion among my toy collection. I bought the car to travel long distances in, not to race, and the ride w/ the040s is atrocious. With the new tires, I have eliminated 95% of my ride problems, but being a perfectionist leads me on to try to make 100% if I possibly can.

Sorry about the misunderstanding, I can get a little obscure when I am thinking and writing out loud. Thanks for pointing it out to me, I will try to be more specific in the future. Do you have the 17s and hate the 040s? If you do a call to the Tire Rack can steer you toward much better tires than the 040s or help you with other components as well. Feel free to post me or pm if you want to discuss a topic I may help with, I can at least send you in the right direction if I don't know the answer as can many others here and at 350frenzy.com.

Boomer

Pooh2002

When I first posted my Freeway Bounce complaint I got quite a few responses indicating the bounce with the 18" wheels was worse than on the 17" - probably due to the lower profile tires.

strangebrew

I have the 18 040's. I haven't noticed any bounce, if you mean like the tires hopping off the ground due to choppy pavement. I just feel that it is a very stiff ride. On the highway its usually OK, but the condition of the highways are good. On city streets that haven't had much care and have a lot of bumps, it is a rough ride. I compare this to my previous N/A 300zx's. It's more similar to my previous twin turbo when the electronic suspension was set on performance or a previous last generation M3 that I had. I think the M3 and the 350Z are about the same, pretty rough !! I guess the Michelins must have much softer sidewalls to help that much. I have heard that they do. Don't think I'll spend the money this soon though. I try to put on some wear.

How come no one talks about the www.350Zforum.com site? That is the sister site to www.twinturbo.net, the best 300zx site.

BrianZ

Maybe in Philly the highways are good, but in L.A. they are garbage. My taxes are payin' for welfare for.... post for another thread.

We have many expansion joints, wavy concrete, etc. etc.

Ride is bouncy!

MannishBoy

iTrader: (1)

I don't think any of us are complaining about the ride being stiff. We knew what we were getting into there. What the problem is is that the shocks and springs don't work together well enough to stop the rebound quick enough, and on certain frequencies of expansion joints, it gets into this harmonic bouncing thing where it never calms down the suspension. It is almost like the shocks are too SOFT for the springs, but I'm not sure. I'm far from an expert.

I've actually had harder riding cars in my past. This is different.

Luckily, the roads around here are pretty good, and I don't have to face it that much. The interstates in the midwest, however, were very annoying.

strangebrew

OK, that I have definitely NOT experienced yet, but tomorrow's another day.

Seems strange that changing tires could help THAT, but maybe it just shifted the resonant frequency (to some other value) so that the expansion joints no longer disturb the system. Maybe now it will bounce from some other 'disturbance' encountered much less often.

Ohio350z

I think a lot of the ride problems are from the Crappy tires that came with the Z. I switched out to the Blizzak LM-22s for the winter and I noticed the ride was much smoother, now wheel hop, and it actually had better conering ability than with the winter tires on that the summer. Spend some money for a set of OS2 or Pilot sports and you will love your ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Boomer

Right , Pooh. I had just forgotten. So many threads and posts, I can't remember them all. I think you will like the Michelins, I'm taking a short road trip today and I will report any problems, if any, tonight or tomorrow.

Boomer

The tires never hopped off the ground, perhaps porpoising is a better term. Any way, it is annoying and I would like to be rid of such behavior. The tread on the Michelins is softer, the sidewalls are not. They are just as stiff as the 040s. The difference is the tread on the A/Ss is softer in the cold while the 040s turn into rocks, in my opinion. Thats where most of the crashing happens and the 040s even crash some in warm weather. This wouldn't bother me if I were racing, but they bothered me a lot in normal driving.

I spend my time between this site and 350zfrenzy.com because we have quite a few shared members from the preorder days. I visit other Z sites, but its usually referred from the two I just mentioned. Both are good sites and complement each other well.

sschmuve

iTrader: (1)

I too am annoyed by the bouncing. Most highways are ok, but I do hit a few stretches where the road is composed of precut squares (Tollway 355 for my Chicago people). At certain speeds which happen to be around the speed limit, the car starts to bounce. The speed vs. cracks hit the right frequency to start the car porposing. I think a lot of people here haven't experieced this exactly, and are confusing it with the occasional bounce. This is not a tire issue. It's a suspension tuning issue Nissan should look into. I've driven along side Audi TTs and Corvettes, and the passenger is sitting solid and relaxed. At the same time, I'm tightening my stomach and jaw to keep my insides from bouncing out. I would like to see a recall, but I know this is unlikely unless we put up a big stink about it.

Boomer

The tires have to go, they are the worst riding tires I have ever experienced in a daily driver. The Michelins got rid of the crashing, but not all of the porpoising/bounce, whatever you term it. I would like to find a fix and I don't mean replacing the entire suspension. Is it shocks, springs, anti-roll bars or ? Who has found an answer, anyone? Besides the whole suspension, I could replace one of the aforementioned parts and the problem should be solved.

Has anyone noticed the bounce is much less apparent when the gas tank reads near empty? The bounce on my car is worst when the gas tank is full. What does this mean, you experts of suspension magic, is it shocks(multi-adjustable) or springs(progressive or not)? I am skeptical of expensive, multi-parts fixes for a bounce problem. What do you think it is, the fix I mean?

MannishBoy

iTrader: (1)

Actually, somebody reported putting some weight in the back of their car and having it run smooth with no bounce. That sounds the opposite of what you are reporting. I haven't really paid attention.

It isn't the anti-sway bars, that wouldn't affect rebound much. It is shocks or springs, I suspect. You may be able to change either one and fix it, if you move the right way. The question is, are the shocks to soft for the springs, or vice versa.

Boomer

Your right on the money. Which is it, shocks or springs? Just throwing money at it is stupid. If I guess wrong, then I'm in the replacing parts piece by piece nightmare. There are a lot of our members here who race and have modified many cars. We must have someone who can solve this puzzle.

Pedal Pusher

Put my name on the list of those who feel the rear suspension is not doing its job correctly. I also have had many other sports cars and they should not bounce. Even the race cars don't do this. Does any one know if the suspensions are the same for all models. It would seem the Track model would be a little lower and have different settings.

z461

I've brought this topic up several times before. Tire pressure is the first thing I would check. Secondly is the spring rates. Someone took apart their Z's suspension several months ago and found that the stock shock is valved too high for the stock spring rate casuing the porpoising effect that jounces the car on the freeway at certain speeds. To correct this, I would recommend Eibach springs. I have a friend whose car is sponsored by Eibach and he recently (about 1.5 months ago) had Eibach do their spring tests on his car. Apparently the Eibach progressive rate springs match the stock shocks a LOT better and the ride improves considerably with the eibach lowering springs. They're 259 dollars from several retailers, I would recommend Street sports because they've got good service.. and should come out at the end of this month. They lower the car about 1.2 inches in the rear and .8 in the front but will improve the ride quality. If you don't want to lower the ride, I would recommend an adjustable suspension. I don't know about TEin though because the japanese reviews so far have rated Tein not as comfortable as the stock sus. but i'm sure you can make it looser (losing handling in the process). Therefore my first recommendation would be Eibach springs..

MannishBoy

iTrader: (1)

The problem with the Eibachs is I don't know that all of us want to lower our cars. I've got a driveway to worry about getting into

Also, lowering messes with suspension geometry.

With the TEIN coilovers, you don't have to lower much.

Boomer

I was wondering why Tire Rack had Eibach springs come out first in their suspension mods. My problem is what Mannish Boy just said. I don't want to lower my car. The Z's ground clearance is already 4.7". The Eibachs would lower the front to 3.9" and the rear to ?.

The rear can't be right(3.7") because the stock rear height is higher than the front. It really doesn't matter, 3.9" on the front is too low, I would be scraping over every speed bump in town w/the factory aero kit.

Teins are wonderful sounding, but they cost an arm and a leg($2K or so), and I am used to buying cars that perform right out of the box and a flawed rear suspension doesn't sit well with me. I like to change things on a car when I have some miles on it, not immediately like the $1K for new tires I just forked over w/1600 miles on the car!