As the title says, I was just driving through the country, enjoying my new Z on a nice Sunday afternoon, and all of a sudden out of nowhere, kerr-bang.... I got out and inspected the situation and didn't see anything immediately wrong with the car.


Afterwards I noticed that my drink was vibrating in my cupholder, and once I was up to ~80mph the shifter, and steering wheel had a bit of a vibration to them. Also, as I was getting on the highway later, I was accelerating on the on-ramp, and the car just felt very shakey. Normally it feels tidy, smooth, and well put-together.

Anybody have any idea what I'm looking at here? I didn't notice any big dents in the rims, but something is obviously very wrong. I'm scared to know the price.

 

I'd carefully check the wheels first, maybe a wheel weight was knocked lose, but I've had a good sized pothole crack and bend rims before. A crack usually means the tire won't hold air, but a bent wheel may be subtle, maybe not even visible until you try to balance it. If it all checks out, then look at the front arms and steering components for any sort of break or bends. Price range really depends on what broke.

 

Could be as simple as alignment gone out or as serious as bent wheel or bent suspension components. Take to shop and get alignment checked as well as the wheels

 

Such lack of detail.

How fast were you traveling when you hit the pole?

what side does it feel like there is vibration?

Is it rpm or directional dependant?

 

Get a thorough inspection from a wheel specialist who can check both the inner and outer halves of the damaged wheel. They use a wheel balancer/lathe and a runout dial to measure any warpage to the wheel itself.

 

Vibration would be a balance issue. I bet a bubble will be visable on the sidewall soon. Could be on the inside as well. So probably a new tire mounted and balanced would do the trick assuming no severe rim damage.

If you notice it pulling to that side then an alignment may be necessary as well.

 

Sounds like you wheel was knocked out of balance. But you may want to take the wheel to a shop and see if it was bent. If neither of those you messed up you alignment!

 

looks like good suggestions r given to u already, so i ll add something extra - pay attention to the road next time, drive 15-30 sec ahead, if its night, then use high beams ( turn off if u see car coming), but yea - pay attention more.

 

It was the wheel bearing when this happened to me. You can confirm by lifting so wheel suspended and checking for axial play.