Hey guys, so over the past 4 months ive been getting a strong vibration in my steering wheel, which has gradually gotten worse. It's now at the point where it's unbearable to drive. Im Wondering if this is common amongst Z's? Mine is a 2005 with 85000 miles.


History:
To try to make it bearable to drive, and because the steering was so sloppy, I put Eibach 3 way adjustable sways on
and it made it bearable to steer. Even now it feels very squirrely above 50mph.

Today, I took it into Nissan and they checked everything out and said the my control arms are good, and all of my bushings are tight, and they think it's the way my tires were balanced but aren't sure. Now, my warranty expires in 50 miles and I've had 3 sets of tires on it in hopes of fixing the ride, so I don't think it has anything to do with balancing. Anyone who has had this problem and fixed it or anyone familiar with this....PLEASE HELP!

 

no ones bushings are tight at 85000 miles.. thats a downright lie. Id be very wary of that person.

search LCA bushing and compression rod bushing..

read.. post back when finished.

 

Thread moved to the correct forum....


At what condition does it start vibrating? at a certain speed, braking, or all the time?
It could be a bent wheel or bad rotors or wheel balancing depending on your answers.

 

???Not common to me.My 03 has 74K...smooth as silk all speeds.
What kind of tires are you running?How many miles on them?
Is there wear on the front tires especially on the inner tread?
How sure are you that your tire balance is right?Are you running
OEM tires&rims?
Anytime I've had any vibration its been due to tires out of balance.
But not on my Z.
If this was a JAGUAR,it would be steering rack bushings.

 

I'm running brand new Hankook ventus V12s. I'm positive about my balancing because my brother is a service manager for Porsche and he had his top tech install them. See, I've tried various other tires thinking that would fix it. I was on stock wheels with continentals and the vibration was just as bad, now I'm running 19's. My brother thinks it's the control arms but the dealership rejected that theory.

How would I know if the LCA bushings are bad? Has anyone else had those go?

The car starts to vibrate at around 50mph, it's awful going straight or turning. When I brake It shakes a little but no more than it did at 50,000miles. This car rode like a dream when I first bought it, I really need that ride back. I have to hold the steering wheel tight just for safety because the thing feels like it'd be all over the road if I didn't. But really, if I do let go of the steering wheel it goes In a straight line, as though the alignment is perfect.

 

going to bet that your wheels are bent.

swap them with some other wheels and see if the problem goes away.

easy task

 

^ this I like bc it's free.

Put your car up on a rack. Any play in the front wheels
By hand?

 

I had my brothers tech check everything by hand and he said everything looks good but he drove it and said there is definitely something wrong, he also suggested the control arms. My brother believes that just ecause the lower control arms look good, doesn't mean that they are.

I'd like to know more about the LCA bushings - what they are, where they can be found, what happens if they're bad and how would I know if they're bad?

 

one thing i love is how the Zs have such a heavy steering feeling. i never get any type of vibrations, even once when my front wheels were out of balance more than 1.5 ounces on each wheel. Unlike my last car which was so sensitive.

you def have a problem somewhere. could be simple as tires out of balance/choppy tires to a bent wheel.

 

I know for a fact it's not the wheels, tires, or balancing. I've switched out tires and wheels and the vibration transfers. It's gotta be something to do with the suspension. I figure that I can't be the only person to experience this out of everyone on here. If any of you are in the northern Virginia area and are savvy with suspension components - I'll pay you like $30 for your time to test drive my car and help figure this out

 

Front hub bearing shot?

 

What is that and how can I tell if it's broken? Thanks

 

It's the assembly the rotors and wheel are bolted to. There is an axial play spec the factory manual calls out. If its loose then the hub is shot. About $125 part

 

Would this generally be covered under warranty? Thanks

 

mine does the exact same thing OP. and when i hit a bump in a turn the front wheels jerk. mine needs new compression rod bushings. it doesnt matter if the bushings are tight. the bushing material is worn out and softer than it was originally. you need to replace yours with better ones anyway and its only a few hundred bucks. dont get factory ones.
other than that and what others have mentioned it could be that the brake rotors are wabbling due to uneven wear.
im also going to look into what ian99 mentioned. warranty rules!

 

All of your issues related thereto should be covered by warranty.

This smelllz like lca, other blown bushings or front bearings.

 

got headers?

 

compression rod bushings , lca bushings, bents lca's, warped rotors? pads worn even? any roaring sounds while drive or loudness? that could be possible wheel bearing. id just throw it on a alignment rack. good luck brother

 

Thank you guys for all of your help. I think you all are correct, the compression rod thing sounds like that would be a good thing to look at. I will mention it on Tuesday when I bring the car in. I'll post my results on here afterwards to help anyone else with the same problem. Thanks again though. I'll keep you posted.

 

Something else I want to add that I just noticed today. This might change some opinions- when I'm simply sitting at idle, the steering wheel is vibrating, could it possible have to do with the steering column?