sluggo20031

Could someone please explain the problem to those of us who don't understand the topic of this thread?

As for the window streaks -- take it in and they will fix it-- mine is done already.

raceboy

Honestly, you guys are wasting your time calling Nissan. There is no "PROBLEM" per se with the suspension. IMO the shock is too soft, but that is from a performance driving standpoint. All street car suspension design is a compromise between ride and handling. The Z uses stiff springs, softer anti roll bars, and even softer shocks. The soft shocks really help take away impact harshness, especially. in places where the roads are not billiard table smooth like they are in SoCal. If Nissan put on a stiffer shock stock, this thread would be titled; "Why is the Z so harsh over small bumps." Now you factor in the long wheelbase and at a certain speed you are going to find the suspensions frequency where it just bounces. That's it, no mystery, no design flaw, just compromise. If you want the porpoising to go away, you can go faster, or slower, or get a new suspension.

jmark

iTrader: (1)

New suspension such as the NISMO kit.

raceboy

My point was simply that the stock suspension is a good compromise between ride and handling with a bias towards handling.

Boomer

Whats your VIN#(last 4 digits only)? If you got your Z later than some of us, running changes could have been made and we early buyers want those changes. Its pretty simple.

Boomer

For $2000, I can get a new suspension for my "bargain" sports car? Come on, I'm already $36K into this car.

happypants

The expressways where this happens the minimum speed is 50 mph. It starts around that speed and gets WORSE the faster you go. I tried 80 mph and couldn't take it any more. I tried driving close to the lane markers either side, didn't make a difference. I tried changing lanes frequently, didn't make a difference

If you had to drive on roads that exhibited this problem, you'd probably want Nissan to take a look.

happypants

I see you're in IL, maybe you've encountered the problem with the suspension on I-294, I-355, or I-88. Here's three threads which cover the issue:

bouncing/porposing on I-294
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=17325

bouncing/porpoising on I-294 (part II)
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=19161

Is something wrong with my car or is this normal
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=20402

The last thread starts off about the lack of sound deadening, then goes into the suspension issue some of us are having with the car.

^ ^ ^

jmark

iTrader: (1)

Raceboy,

You are probably correct that Nissan will do nothing. Seems to me we have determined that all they need to do is upgrade (stiffen) the shocks to better match the springs. I will still call Nissan to let them know. If enough of us call it may get looked and fixed for future models. I think that as the flagship of the Nissan line they will listen if enough feedback is given. I still love the car and will probably go the route you took (NISMO susp. kit).

happypants

7518

car manufactured in December 2002

I have only 400 miles on the car because it has been snowing & lots of salt on the roads

Boomer

Sorry, jmark. No need to take out my frustration on someone who is trying to help. Please accept my apology. Boomer

Boomer

P.S. My problem w/ the NISMO kit is it lowers the ride height. I don't want it lowered. I could add Konis,for $5-600 when they come out, this fall, maybe, or other comparable premium shocks and have a harsh ride, instead of the combination of harsh and bouncy ride I have now. Not very appealing. Or I could buy Tein or HKS coilovers for around $2000 and there goes my bargain sports car.

Inova

ok so let me get this right. when you guys drive on the cement roads that are separated by little gaps you get a really bouncy ride? as in it actually bounces like this thing here i guess i have not driven it enough to notice. my z has not been insured yet.... also, is EVERYONE experiencing or is supposed to experience a problem like this??

happypants

If you looked at the cement road from a 90 degree angle to direction of travel (perpendicular) the road would look like a series of waves, with the crest of each wave being the gap between each cement block.

The problem is something in the suspension is not handling this situation correctly, so the car bounces way too much. It is like the picture, but more like 3-5 times/sec, depending on your speed.

Jason

I gotta say guys, the suspension feels fine for me on 98% of the roads.

However, I drove it on I5 near Federal Way, WA today. That is one MESSED UP stretch of highway. The car was bouncing all over the place, but that road feels like crap in every car I've driven.

I'm not saying the problems you guys are experiance are not legitimate, but on almost all the roads I personally travel on a regular basis, the Z doesn't feel much differenet than other stiff sprung sports cars I've been in. The back end does feel a little lighter, but that's to be expected since I'm used to mid-engine sports cars with a rear weight bias.

Boomer

I drove a 1991 MR2 Turbo(43% fr & 57%rr) for 7 yrs and 128,000 miles over some of the worst roads you could imagine and it is NOT a front bias problem. It is, I am beginning to believe more and more, that the problem is a too stiff spring and too soft shock mismatch, especially on the rebound control. Maybe new shocks would cure it, but I don't believe I and many others w/ the earlier cars(preorders) should have to shell out more money to the aftermarket to correct the flaw. Yes, I consider the bouncy, harsh ride to be a FLAW Nissan should correct under warranty.

If they do not correct it under warranty, I will not purchase another Nissan, I've owned 5 already w/a 99 Maxima still, nor will I recommend any Nissan product to any one else. I will consider it a breach of trust since I, and some 7000+ buyers, preordered a car that wasn't even being built yet because we trusted Nissan to correct any teething problems all new models have.

They have not acknowledged anyone's complaints about the poor ride, no feedback of any kind has been offered, they have ignored our entreaties for information about what the problem might be. I have 0 information about what happens to the complaints we put in a file at NNA. The person I registered my complaint with blurted out that he couldn't make an engineer read my complaint, he could just forward it.

Complaint limbo again does not give me any hope Nissan will remedy the flaw w/the suspension and another post today said the Alignment problem may not be cured by adjusting the toe-in, he is looking into camber adjustment kits at $500 for the front. I have a $1K set of new tires on my car with 800 miles on them. Will they be ruined by misalignment too?

Boomer--not a happy camper.

Jason

I'm not really saying that it's a front vs. rear bias issue. I'm just saying that I personally don't have any complaints with the way my suspension feels.

Now, I likely won't buy another Toyota because of a breach of trust... but I gotta say that was for something much much worse.

jmark

iTrader: (1)

I called and received a case #. I also emailed my dealer owner who is also worked for Nissan and is a board member. He is a Z fan and great guy.

Here is what I sent him and his reply.

Richard,

I am very happy with my Z except in one area. On certain roads the car has
very pronounced bounce or choppiness to the ride. It is very similar to what
you see when kids chop their vehicles and the car bounces on stiff springs
and the shocks do nothing. From all I have read on www.my350z.com it appears
the shocks are too soft vs. the springs Nissan has chosen. Several people
have imported the full NISMO suspension kit and it has fixed the problem. I
would like your suggestions. I was hoping with your connections you could
check into this and see if Nissan has recognized an error on their part. I
am going to call Nissan to register my complaint. I personally don't think I
should have to shell out $1600 to fix an obvious mismatch from the factory.
I would like to see Nissan either offer a firmer shock replacement or allow
something towards the purchase and installation of the full NISMO kit. This
problem takes away from an otherwise superb car. I am open to your
suggestions.

Thanks, Mark


Mark,
I forwarded your message to a couple of guys I know at Nissan, I'll keep you
posted.
Thanks for the heads-up.

Rich

jmark

iTrader: (1)

I have called and contacted my dealer. He is trying to contact some people at Nissan he knows. I think everyone who feels there is a problem needs to call and report it so Nissan realizes it is a problem.

YourMomma

Here's my observations...

1. The ride can get very bouncy/porposing at times. There are some back roads in NJ that really bring this out.
2. Depending on the road surface, my z sometimes seems to get better at higher speed. It seems more planted. Downforce maybe?!?
3. Over really rough roads with some speed, I'd swear that the tires lose contact.

Now its been a while since I've really thought about suspension and its set up, but I agree with some of the postings about the soft/stiff combination. If memory serves me correctly, motorcycles usually have configurable Preload and Rebound settings. If setup incorrectly for your conditions, you won't get the desired result.

So the question we need answered is what conditions did the engineers set the Z up to handle.