2019 wondering / drifting front steering
 

Bought my 2019 Z in Oct 2018. From the very first drive I noticed the car would drift side to side. Not a lot but enough to be annoying on long drives. Happens on all kind of streets and highways. Took it in to Nissan about a month after I took possession of the car. A supposed expert said they have a special alignment for these cars and don't necessarily follow factory specs. So they did it and it got better but not perfect. So Im asking anyone with a late model Z to let me know if this is normal because of the short wheel base or do I need to find someone else to align it. Hot Rod Z thanks you in advance. :bowrofl:

Hmm, mine never drifted but it did tramline..

Same here. Due to the stiff sidewalls and wide/staggered tires, our cars tend to follow every little crack and groove in the pavement.
TxDOT took it into their heads to grind down a stretch of about 4 miles of concrete, with grooves going every which-a-way. It's like driving the cars at a theme park. It'll go where you want it to, eventually.
It sounds like you are experiencing tramlining at it's finest.


Kirk B.

Post a picture of your alignment, if they gave you one.
Be sure you have enough positive toe, as the rear calls for twice as much as front.
You can’t add more caster up front,unless you install front upper control arms (fuca’s)
Be sure Tire Pressure is correct as well.

Adjusting towards the maximum will be more driver friendly.

it's probably tramlining

see if you can find a newly paved fresh road and see if the same thing happens

:tup:

Wow, thank you for all your reply's.
To answer a few questions some of you had -

1) Does not matter the road. It drifts on brand new pavement, old pavement, concrete pavement, highways etc.
2) I always check tire pressure and keep it at 35 lbs on all four corners.
3) I do not have the alignment specs from when they did it. I will take the advise all of you gave me, the alignment spec sheet posted to the dealer and get a fresh alignment.
4) One big question ? What is TRAMLINING ??? Not famuliar with that term.

Thanks for all your help, it is appreciated... :tiphat:

Tramlining is the phenomenon described in the posts above. It's when the car follows cracks/grooves/ruts in the road. The car tends to veer/slide in the direction of the road imperfection until the tires regain proper grip and continue forward. It can be unnerving if you haven't experienced it before. Things like wide tires with stiff sidewalls just magnify the effect.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret....jsp?techid=47

The term originated with trams, i.e. trolly cars, since they had to follow the rails laid out for them.


Kirk B.

*Wandering. You probably just need an alignment. If you're not used to the car though, as mentioned above, you're probably just feeling Zcars' propensity for tramlining.

Funny because I made a similar post (Would you consider your steering, sensitive) when I first got my 2017 … mine does the same thing, its a characteristic of the car. Annoying? Sometimes. Simply is what it is & I've learned to live with it.

The bigger the tire you put on the Z. The more you feel the tramlining. Plus some states love to grove the chit out of their highways too. :shakes head:

From what you all say, this issue seems inherent to this car. I will still try the wheel alignment suggested with the specs that were posted. Funny I owned 3 Corvettes and they WERE very sensitive to tire pressure but, when they were set exactly the same in all four corners I never had this issue. I will get the alignment and see if it helps. I will report back on weather it was successful or not. Hey great forum with lots of info and knowledgeable people here. I guess Im not experienced enough with my first import sports car but Im learning. :tup:

Hot Rod, Yes lot's of knowledgeable people on here and they're pretty good guys too. I currently own a 17 M2, and it doesn't tramline. But it does have some float in the steering wheel when driving straight. It's not bad, but coming from the dead center, solid, steering feel of the Z while going sraight, I wish the M2 had that.

Also, I gotta be careful of the little imperfections I mention on the Bimmer forums, many fanboys there just waiting to pounce on honest people :eek:

By the way, congrats on the Z! :tup: