Can you guys tell me if your Z does this?
 

Ok guys. I have a small issue with the Z that is driving me up the wall. Dealership says this is normal and that they compared it to a new Z and that it's fine. My car has 7k miles on it btw and totally stock suspension, tires, etc.

If I'm driving on the highway and I make a gradual sweeping left turn and let go of the steering wheel the car will continue to turn left. The steering wheel does not straighten out unless the turn is more than "gradual" in which case it will "straighten" itself into a gradual left turn.

If I make the same gradual sweeping right turn and let go of the wheel, the car immediately straightens out, which is the behavior I would expect.

If I am driving straight the car might go straight or it might try to veer left, but it will NEVER try to veer right unless there is extreme road crown or bump that pulls me right. This behavior is MUCH more noticeable when it is cold. In the dead of winter on a 20 degree day after the car has been sitting it is downright PULLING left until something warms up.

Sometimes if I'm braking to a stop, and more consistently if the road is slightly bumpy, just a moment before the car comes completely to rest, the wheel will want to turn left quite a bit (1/4 turn or more). This never happens where it wants to turn to the right.

The effort to turn left is noticeably less than turning right. I'm not talking lock-to-lock turning, but the little left and right adjustments you might make to stay in a lane on the highway.

Visuallly, when driving the car straight, the majority of the time the steering wheel is turned to the left a few degrees (less than 10 degrees). This never happens where the wheel is turned to the right to maintain straight travel.

I've had the car in 3 times for this and every time I get the same story. "It's normal". "It's road crown". "It's aligned". When I got the car It did not feel this way. I hit a curb with the back wheel and replaced the back wheel and the lower swing arm, but it has never felt the same since. They even put it on an alignment rack and measured it and it aligns perfectly with the Nissan specs. I have the printout to prove it.

So guys, take you car for a spin and let me know if you have any similar behaviors. If you have any thoughts what it might be, I'm all ears.

I notice the slight jerk left when slowing down sometimes, but I never think anything of it. I just figure its the uneven road. heck it could be just because more weight is on the left since you are driving it? I kind of came to expect this jerk and its easier for me to handle since I steer with my left hand only majority of the time so its like having leverage against the left jerk anyway.

As for the turning issue I cant tell you honestly lol. will have to pay attention next time I drive. Is it as severe as your making it sound or is it just a very minor annoyance?

It's noticeable. I don't let many people drive my car, but of the two people that i did let drive it, one of them had noticed the tendency to go left without me mentioning it and the other realized it after I mentioned it.

It's not severe as in I'm white-knuckling it to drive, but it's something that on a long drive get's frustrating because of the constant correction I'm doing.

Have you tried bringing the car to a different shop?
Is the "new" back wheel weight balanced with other wheels?

I do notice the Jerk to the left when I hit the break hard or slow. I figured that was normal since it happened on my 350Z and I did the same as you took it to two different Nissan dealers. Both told me it was normal.

As for the other I have not noticed I will check today when I am driving home.

I'll pay attention on my drive home tonight.

It could be an alignment problem or a power steering problem. Check the power steering fluid level just to make sure. If it is an issue with alignment, then the rear wheel you replaced needs to be looked at more carefully. It shouldn't do what you're describing, which is symptomatic of something out of alignment. How hard did you hit that curb? ....must have been pretty serious if you needed to replace the wheel and swing arm.

Same here.

I don't recall anything like that happening, but I'll def. pay attention on the way home.

here's how i check my tracking...

drive to my predetermined flat road. (minimal crown of road, no strong cross winds).

1. point car to go straight say 30-35mph. ideally your steering wheel would be pointing noon, but nothing to cry about if it isnt perfectly straight.

2. turn steering wheel slightly counter clockwise, then let go. if the car continues its path towards the left this is good.

3. then, center car, do the same but this time turn slighty clockwise, then let go. the car should continue its path towards the right. this is also good.

this means your toe angles are even and pretty much straight.

Interesting. So you are saying that what I thought was correct (recentering if wheel slightly turned and wheel let go) is actually wrong. Do you have any information to backup your test?

If my car doesn't continue to track right but instead straightens out, what does this mean in this case? That my toe angle is off?

A lot of tests that people come up with are based on certain assumptions. Things like consistent tread depth on all tires, same brake pad thicknesses, rims/tires balanced, good alignment etc. You might want to share anything that is quirky or inconsistent with your Z due to the curbing incident.

If you look, there's nothing binding or possible wrapped around anything?

You could do an old school trick and wet the pavement, drive through it and make sure your treads all line up with the wet tread lines following each other exiting the puddle?
I've never done this but if your alignment is OK then I guess frame is OK.

Brakes, tires, etc all fine from curbing incident. I actually posted about it on the site here. No other quirks.

The wheel looked like crap and was slightly bent so I replaced it with a reman. The dealer did the balancing, etc. The swing arm was bent because they are made out of aluminum. I could have bent it with a few good whacks of the hammer.

Car is at dealer right now so I can't look, but they've had it on the rack several times and even loosened/re-tightened front and rear suspension. I would assume that they probably would have seen this.

With a stock setup, I don't think there is a whole lot you can adjust at the rear. If it took a severe damage, something other than the swing arm might be out of spec.

yah, an old alignment tech of mine taught me this long time ago...and my data and actual experience has shown this trick is consistent.

i didnt read your entire post cause it was so frikken long, but if your turn your steering clockwise let go, and car goes left, you need an alignment.

like people aren't too stupid hopefully....(?)

My previous car had the wheels aligned perfectly, it tracked like an arrow. The steering wheel was about 15 degrees off clockwise though. I took it to the dealer and mentioned it, they thought I was nuts till they checked it. It was a Ford Fusion Hybrid, with only had 500 miles on it. It was my work car. After they aligned it with the steering wheel centered like it should be, all was well.

step 1: check tires (any uneven wear?, pressures?)
step 2: check alignment
step 3: check any loose bolts/bad bushings
step 4: Power steering system/rack check

was it off by one spline? :icon17:

step 5: check malnutrition

No I think they just skipped step 1 where you center the steering wheel.

sounds like a ford? :ugh2:

I don't think they necessarily adjusted anything. I think they just loosed it up and re-tightened to make sure nothing got torqued out of place.

Let me ask this (of anyone).

If
1) The frame is not bent
2) The wheels show aligned (including toe, caster, camber)
3) Tires do not show wear

What is left? I can only think power steering.

The fact that the you said the car was fine before the curbing incident tells me that there's something that has been overlooked after the repair was made to the swing arm and new wheel/tire installed. Sorry if I'm repeating what was already said/asked but did they take it for a test drive? If you're still not satisfied with the work being done at your Z dealership, I would take it to another. Lord knows I have taken mine to more than one!
IMHO... something's being missed!

i remember back in the G35C/350Z days some bushing was causing the car to pull to one side.

ive not heard about it on our cars though..

you are heavy? :confused: i donno... just tossed that in there.

about 190lb.

naw you're fine.

I think I'm going to look around for a new place. I just wanted to maintain the relationship. I agree, it's clearly related to the incident and I've told them I want it done right, not fast or cheap. They have test driven it. I even asked if someone could take it home with them.

Have U tried to change the rear tire or tire set w another good working set?
The damaged side/rim may have also separated a radial in the tire but not visable on the outside of the tire. U said the rim was replaced, was the tire bad too?

:iagree:

The service manager I dealt with said the tire was ok after they took it off and inspected it. I have no reason to not believe them.

I unfortunately don't have a way of swapping out for known good set unless the dealer had an extra set laying around. They haven't yet offered but I will suggest this.

I find that people tend to leave out critical details when troubleshooting. It's just like going to the doctor. Tell them everything that is going on so that they can track down the problem. It is not a case of stupidity but rather forgetfulness.

I didn't notice anything like that on my way home.

I made a left turn (one-way to one-way, so it was 90 degrees) and it centered itself like it does turning right (as you said it did for you when turning right as well).

Can you swap the left tires to the right and vice versa?

But don't swap both F&B at the same time, swap one after another.

At least you can find out is it the tires/wheels.

I'm going to pick the car up today/tomorrow and then I'll try swapping wheels. I live 45 miles from dealership, so it's a pain coordinating a ride.

Get an alignment done, if u haven't already. :tup:

It's pretty much gotta be from this, and most importantly go elsewhere for another opinion. What is this "swing arm" that needed to be replaced? Anything more than minor rim/tire damage sounds a lot worse than just a mild curb hit, sounds like a real incident.

Take it to a reputable independent alignment shop and have them check all 4 wheels closely + thrust angle. Tell them there were repairs in that one corner and you need them to verify nothing's fundamentally wrong there.