I got this car about a month ago, and I'm very happy with it so far. today I had to rush to get to class, so I was speeding. When the car got up to about 80-90mph, the shifter and steering wheels were shaking. I was in 6th gear, and the car was responsive, but there was definite shaking.

I've seen this on sedans, like a maxima as you go faster and faster, but I didnt expect it in a 'sports car'. the car has 88k miles on it already. So is this normal or is my car just showing it's age?

 

Of course that is not normal. At high speeds it ought to be as steady as a rock.

Sounds like a wheel/tire problem.

Wheel balance.
Defective tire - out of round, cupped wear, tread separation.
Aftermarket wheels? Hub rings required?
Suspension could be worn.

 

Exactly what Dave said. Guessing the wheels need to be balanced.

 

Definitely not normal...

 

Agree. 88k miles is lots of miles so troubleshooting may not be obvious. Worn suspension components?

 

BTW - shifter vibration is normal - up to a point. Violent movement of the shifter or significant vibration of it can indicate a problem with engine or transmission mount.

If the car is being bounced around as a result of wheel imbalance/problem, that can transfer through the engine/trans/shifter.

 

everything on the car is stock. Would you notice wheel/balance problems when driving very slowly? when barely moving, it feels like im driving over a really small speed bump or something and it repeats, so it feels like there's a bump on one or two wheels. i guess that's the best way of describing it.

I do have an issue with the gear making a noise when shifting into 3rd gear, that i'm already aware of, are these related?

 

Most balance problems are "frequency" dependent. That is they are most noticible at a certain speed (give or take a few MPH). You might not feel something at 20-40 mph that becomes real noticible at 60-80 mph.

The Z has a pretty stiff suspension so minor undulations in the road at low speeds are very noticible. If it's something cyclical, it's probably not the road but a out-of-round tire. (or tread separation, i.e. egg bump).

You didn't mention how much mileage on the tires, or how long since last balance. Type and age of the tires can be a factor. Have you looked at them for signs of uneven wear or cupping? If you can, jack the car up and slowly spin each wheel and observe from the side to see if the surface appears smooth or if there are high/low spots. Look at the tire from in front/behind while it spins and see if it runs "in" or "out". You get the idea...



Here's another thing to consider - the 2003 models had a noticible harsh ride. Nissan changed the suspension for the 2004.5 models and beyond. That *could* be your whole problem but I really doubt that explains it all. It may be a factor though.

 

Like I said, I just got this car about a month ago. It is smooth as silk when driving, but as soon as I pass around 74mph-80+ the car starts to shudder. Not before. I have no clue about wheel balancing and treat records, because I dont have them. Bought the car from a dealer who bought it at auction. I don't have a jack, nor do I know much about cars in general so I wouldn't really know what to look for.

I know the car has a harsh ride compared to a sedan, but I'm pretty sure this isnt the issue, as the shuddering only happens at a specific mph and up.

anyway, ballpark, how much will it cost me to get this issue fixed? I assume new tires will be around 250 each, but if it's just to balance or have a car place check out the tires, how long will that cost?

 

If it's imbalance on the front, the steering wheel will vibrate in a torsional (left-right) movement, which we call shimmy. If it's an "out-of-round" tire, it will usually vibrate the floorboards etc before the steering wheel, although some cars are sensitive enough to experience up-and-down movement of the steering wheel, called "shake". This sounds like imbalance, but your wheels might still show "ok" on a balance machine. The balancers used in tire stores (Hunter brand) have a "high accuracy" mode that is much more precise but operators usually don't use them (don't ask why!), and when they don't use it the wheels will be good to about 80mph at best.

Tire wear will not cause vibration. Get them rebalanced at a high quality tire store! If that doesn't work, post back.

 

The extremely rare JDM dual steering wheel mod. Nice.

 

$25 to balance all 4 I think, depending where you are.

 

 

If you bring it to a reputable tire shop, they should be able to diagnose the problem. If it's as simple as balance, it would be approx $25 as bdblackz suggests. If it's more complex than that, i.e. suspension problems or bad tire(s), you could be looking at $250 to replace a tire, $500-1000 to replace struts or other suspension parts.

Do not bring it to a place like Sears, Wal-Mart, etc.

 

so... I shouldn't take it to sam's club? I'm seriously asking because my old car was a 95 nissan maxima and I always took it there for tire stuff. Their prices were good and I think they do free wheel balancing and other maintenance.

I know asking is probably wrong given that this is a performance car and I should take to a proper place that can balance it properly, but I dont want to get ripped off (already spent 60 bucks on a synthetic oil change and i've been told that's about $35-30 bucks too much).

If Sam's is no good, please recommend a place or chain that'll treat me fairly and fix the issue.

Also what would happen if I simply refrain from going 75 for a while? I just bought this car, plus all the extranneous expenses, must i have to spend 100-1000 on wheel related things right now or risk serious damage to my car or can I just drive a bit slower and have this taken care of in a couple of months?

 

If you have had good experiences with Sam's Club and that they do good jobs, then go there first. Good luck fixing the issue.

 

im guessing the sooner the better

 

Wheel balance, followed by alignment, followed by inspection of suspension, followed by replacing tires. Or maybe just start with the inspection. My '03 with 98,000 miles is steady as a rock well into triple digits and all points in between.

 

The first thing you check, as most suggest here, is the balance. That’s an inexpensive exercise, and if it solves the problem, you have a cheap fix.

If the balance is good, you might focus on things like a defective tire (possible, but not likely) or worn suspension components (again, not likely since the Z shares it’s heritage with the Nissan line that has suspension components that last longer than the 88K you have on your car).

The likely culprit for your problem (if the wheels/ tires are in balance) is the wheel bearings. To check this:

Jack up the front wheels so they're off the ground and stabilize the control arms. Hold the wheel/tire at 3 and 9 o’clock and rock it side to side, and then at 6 and 12 o’clock and rock top to bottom. If you can rock the wheel in and out or feel any looseness, either the wheel is loose or the wheel hub bearings are worn.

--Spike

 

thank you all for all your advice. I'm gonna keep the car under 60mph till I get this issue resolved. I'll take it to a place and get the balanced checked and go from there. I'll update this thread if I have any other questions, thanks a lot.