Hey.

I'm new here and don't know much about so I was hoping someone could give me a second opinion on a little problem with my 2006 350Z Touring with all the original Nissan parts.

When I drive on freeways especially my car will bounce up and down a bit at times, which wouldn't be so strange except that it does so on relatively flat sections. Normally the bouncing isn't so bad but is more annoying altho at one point it felt like I hit a resonance frequency and the bouncing got stronger and became quite obnoxious. I think the bouncing is caused by the small joints that connect the little rectangular block pieces of a freeway lane. It feels like these connection lines/joints get amplified and cause me to bounce up and far more than I think they should. Sometimes the joints connections are so small and even that I can't see them but I can feel them. I asked my nissan dealer about it and he chalked it up to the cars tighter suspension (I used to drive an SUV), altho he didn't actually test drive the car.

I first noticed the problem after getting on a freeway shortly after I scraped the curb a bit on a right turn (I'd just gotten the car ) . I am not sure whether this actually caused the problem or not as I don't think I'd taken the car onto a freeway before I scraped the curb.

Any ideas what the problem might be? I was thinking maybe when I hit the curb the alignment became unaligned? Is my dealer right in saying it's just the tighter suspension? Any recommendations?

Much Thanks.
- Chad

 

I highly doubt an alignment problem could cause bouncing.

You may want to check the welded / sealed areas of your shocks for leaks. But blown or faulty shocks on a new car? I doubt it.

Most likely it's just the roads you're driving on.

 

Hi, im going to take a stab at this.

Its most likely the freeway, I had this same thing with my F-150. The bouncing is caused by the small joints that connect the little rectangular block pieces of a freeway lane, and our cars have a stiffer suspention. most of it is the distance from joints on the freeway and the distance from front to rear wheels.

So i wouldnt worry about it.

Oh and Welcome to the Forum

 

Yep, it's a combination of the road and the stiff suspension. Nothing to worry about.

 

I have an 03 and had to get used to it too. It's partly due to the short length of the car and the suspension being stiffer than a normal car. The G35c does not have this issue due to differences in the suspension and the fact that it is 8" longer.

 

When the car is bouncing up & down do you have your shorts down and a young lady sitting on your lap??? j/k

 

All vehicles bounce up and down. The question is how much. Worn springs or struts on a new 350Z. I don't think so.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. Good to know it's one less thing to worry about.

z350boy: I wish - I'm still working on it.

 

you drive on the 91? or 22? i hate these freeway but and i take the 91 everyday.

i'm savin for softer coilovers to take care of the problem.

 

I'd check that tire that you scraped, just in case. It may have thrown the wheel off balance, or the tire might be damaged in some way if you notice the car bouncing severely. I've done this before on my old car - ran over a curb and put a welt on my front tire. It caused a noticeable difference in the car's handling, which went away after replacing the damaged tire.

 

Hmmmmm, K. Well luckily I happen to be replacing my tires anyway so two birds w/ one stone. Thanks.

 

My stock 2004 350 has stuffed shocks, it's always been an exceptionally hard ride since brand new, harder than any other 350 I've driven (hehe up to 14 350's now ). This is partially due to other issues my car has at the present time, so yes it is possible.

Hope your Z is ok ChadS.