The following was in the May 11th, 2003 issue of the Chicago Tribune auto section. Glad to see Nissan cares

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And now, words from Nissan 350Z owners:

Q. I've had big issues with choppy ride in my Nissan 350Z. Seems to have softened a bit at 1,700 miles but while I love the can the ride is problematic.
S.W., Bloomingdale

Q. I'm extremely dissatisfied with the suspension on my 350Z. Far too bouncy. After reading assorted postings on the my350z.com Web site, it seems many Z owners are experiencing the same concerns.
M.E., Neenah, Wis.

Q. I love my 350Z, but it bounces on certain roads and almost makes me sick to my stomach. Can you find out anything?
J.W., Downers Grove

A. We cornered Jed Connelly, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Nissan, at the New York Auto Show a couple of weeks back and asked about the complaints of harsh ride. He said the Z is meant to be a performance coupe and not a luxury tourer. So, the suspension is tuned for optimum handling and that typically means a bit firm, if not stiff, ride. On some uneven roads your rear end might even bounce.

In response to reader questions, Connelly posed one of his own: "Would it be appropriate to change the suspension? Would we change the character of the car if we did?" He didn't answer his own questions, but have to believe he would have said "no" and "yes" and so, for now, the suspension stays as is.

 

I believe the car's rear end might bounce also.

WayneTN

 

I agree, the ride of the 350Z can be a bit choppy on CERTAIN roads, especially concrete surfaces with uneven joints/seams.

BUT...the damn thing handles like it is on rails! The suspension is tuned for performance, not luxury.....rightfully so!

It reminds me of 1979.......the 240/260/280Z of 1970 - 1978 handled great with independent MacPhereson struts all around. Some of us even lowered the springs a bit and changes struts (KONI of course!) and put stiffer bushings in to make the ride even stiffer! The result was GREAT handling. THEN, Nissan decided to change the car into the "luxo-sport" 280ZX. They put the Datsun 810 semi-trailing arm rear suspension in the car which softened the ride to suit American's soft disco-butts. No more stiffness or bounce, but no more handling also.

So....I say leave the 350Z ALONE! I wanted a sports car. If I wanted soft, I would have bought a Caddy.

Z on!

 

We don't want softer suspensions, we want firmer shocks.

The problem most agree with the Z's suspension is a mismatch of shocks to springs. The shocks are not stiff enough for the springs, so they don't dampen the rebound, causing the porpoising situation where you are still mid bounce sometimes when the next impact hits the suspension.

 

I bought the Z because its a sports car. I also want it to handle more than perfectly smooth surfaces. Have you taken a long sweeper at any speed and then hit bumps mid curve? The shocks can't handle the springs. It feels as if the whole car disconnects from the road.

A SPORTS CAR SHOULD NOT DO THIS!

 

You wanna see bounce ? Watch Formula 1. I wouldn't change a thing, love it. Want a softer ride - buy a G35. Good pick up WayneTN (LOL). JMS in TX

 

The ride is unacceptable. I have driven cars that will blow the doors off the 350Z in terms of handling and they do not bounce like the 350. The shocks/springs are improperly matched from the factory and SHOULD be fixed.

 

This totally depends on the type of bump and its size and spacing (for multiple bumps). Every car will bounce if the bumps are spaced at the natural frequency of the suspension system. I've followed some Luxus's (Lexi?) around corners where thier softer suspension allowed the car to wallow over bumps, and I've seen cars with ultra-stiff suspensions get skittish. Quite often, the rear end of unloaded pickups can get very jumpy because they have extremely stiff suspensions in an unloaded state. My point is simply that practically any (non-active) suspension will have moments when it works very well and when it doesn't, depending on the loaded state of the vehicle as well as the nature of the bumps.

I have noticed the choppyness on concrete roads with uneven seams, so I'm not trying to say that the bounciness is not there. However, I also do not believe that the car is somehow "faulty" for having a stiff suspension. Nor do I believe that Nissan has duty to fix the shocks or springs. Given the nature of the car, I believe Nissan made their compromises between ride and handling in the direction they believed most suited the character of the vehicle. While you, I, and others may not think they made the perfect choice, we always have the option to go buy some aftermarket shocks and adjust the suspension to our own liking.

I really don't see the problem here.

-D'oh!

 

well said...however rather than complain about the 5-10% of the roads that the stock suspension might be a little bouncy or problematic enjoy the other 90% of the time your on a decent road or where the shocks/springs show their stuff or better yet just change up to some high end after market suspension to suit your needs. I did

and I havent regreted it one bit and to further highlight my case I took along other people that were on the car prior to change so I could get a before and after review and thoughts from them.

Guess what the all said..Cars rides MUCH Better now alot smoother and rides even more like its on rails. Fun factor has gone up considerably too. This coming from all of them not me!

So what better than outside testimony to compliment an already good value made better with a great set of coliovers!

nuf said...

 

forget the BOUNCE and FIX the damn feathering issue (although these COULD be related??)

 

All this complaining about bouncy rides just seems to me like people didn't test drive or research what they were buying adequately. Maybe a sports car isn't for you? Keep in mind what you paid, if they added active suspension and the like cost and price would go up. You are getting a car where compromises had to be made to get the most performance at a reasonable price and i think they did a hell of a job. I do notice some bouce on a few roads (concrete highways with pronounced expansion joints)but if i change my speed it seems to settle it down. I'm sorry you are displeased but not everyone can be as happy as i am, i love this freakin' car!

P.S. rodH I love those wheels it's a nice change from all the Volks i see everyone putting on. How much did they set you back?

 

Hey I wanted a sports car so I fiqured that the ride would be exactly what I got, and I think it handles great. I read this forum daily and I've read all the post written on the suspension. I just don't see change at this point. I think this is probably more personal preference.

 

Nissan has contradicted themselves. On the one hand they say the ride is harsh and bouncy because it is a sports car. On the other hand, the car comes with noticeable understeer because its suppose to appeal and be safe to everyone, not just racers.

Boooo.

 

I've had several cars going back several years that were sports cars, and actually had stiffer rides. They didn't have this particular problem, and I liked them all the more. Don't patronize people with this issue.

Go drive a Vette, which has the same wheelbase, handles arguably better, but doesn't bounce like this. Also, since the S-Tune suspension supposedly eliminates this, it really that inconceivable Nissan could have fixed it in the design process. That suspension can't be that much more expensive if installed at the factory.

As for not test driving the car, many that complain about this didn't have a chance, because dealers were extremely stingy with drives early on. Of course, if you get a car without test driving it, you are taking that risk.

As I said, my local roads aren't that bad. However, if I lived in the Midwest where there are more concrete interstates that are in worse shape than mine, I'd be pretty unhappy. Right now, I can live with it. I do agree, though, it is an issue, and one that the factory could have fixed.

 

I agree with Mannish here. Although I haven't experienced any bouncing beyond what I expected of the car, if the S-tune DOES stiffen the suspension, then the stiff suspension argument doesn't hold. If the car is supposed to be stiff, why not provide the S-tune from the factory?

I'm also curious about what rod said about the feathering. I wonder if it IS related to the suspension. It seems to be possible and many people are speculating with varyous hypotheses related to the suspension...

 

I'm convinced the people who claim the Z's suspension is just a "sports car suspension" haven't actually experienced the bounce. I found one road near me (lanes 2 - 4 of highway 101 S in Menlo Park/Palo Alto, CA) that made me think I had blown a tire or something was wrong with my car! My whole car was just bouncing/rocking like crazy. This is the only stretch of road I've had a real problem with.

I'd love to take this Jed Connelly guy for a ride down that stretch of highway and see if he thinks it's normal. There's NO way.

 

So you and your friends are in agreement that the stock suspension is screwed up and replacing it fixes things

I think most people posting here saying "there isn't a problem" haven't truly experienced the porpoising. It is NOT the bump you get driving over an expansion joint. It is NOT the stiffness expected in this type of car. It is NOT that people want the car to ride like a Caddy or Lexus.

Everyone who had the problem that replaced only the springs (Eibach) or the whole suspension (Nismo S-Tune, HKS, Tein Flex, JDC) said the problem is now gone.

In my case, I will be replacing the whole suspension with Nismo S-Tune, after reading the feedback from others. The only reason I am doing so is to eliminate the porpoising. I don't want Eibachs because the car is lowered too much.

 

no name calling please.

 

For those who haven't experienced the bounce/jounce, I recommend you go test drive a Porsche. You notice the difference immediately. In fact, I got the Z because from the reviews it was 95% of the performance of the P car for 1/2 to 1/3 the cost. But as the dealer was stinky stingy with test drives, I wasn't able to take my normal long drive to really check the car out.

In my case, I experience the bounce even driving 5-10 mph on the smooth paved parking garage that I park at during the day. The sensation feels like the tires are out of round or something. The suspension also lacks compliance. It IS possible to design a well handling suspension that takes in the rolls and bumps with diminished impact harshness. Porsche and BMW have been doing it for years.

I suspect the impact harshness has a lot to do with the OEM tires. The bouncing however, is a function of the shocks and springs.

I refuse to put up with this bounce. I must now spend more money to fix it. I'll be installing the Eibach's and getting some different wheels/tires. Log on to the Rennlist forum and notice that the owners there mod their wheels/tires/suspension for looks and performance, not to fix a bouncy flubber-like ride.

 

Did you even read the posts in this thread? We aren't complaining about it being too soft, we are complaining about a mismatch between the springs and the shocks, with the shocks actually BEING TOO FRICKIN SOFT,,,DUH