Ride Getting a bit rougher
10-14-2018, 04:42 PM
#1
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Ride Getting a bit rougher
Now, it's quite possible that this is in my head, and I understand that.
But I feel the ride in my vette has gotten a bit harsher. It's a sports car. It's not going to ride like a Cadillac-I understand that. I have owned the car for 11 years. It now has almost 66,000 miles on it.
And many roads in Washington state suck.
A couple months ago my steering was quite difficult-long story short, my steering rack failed. It was replaced with a rebuilt rack and the shop took it to an alignment shop.
I did not like how it was aligned so I took it to a shop that aligned my car after my shocks were installed a few years ago. The tech came to me and asked if I'd like C5 Coupe or Z06 alignment specs and I said to go ahead and do the Z06 specs. He mentioned that the difference is a bit of negative camber, which I am fine with. He mentioned that the car was "toe out" and the caster was off before he aligned it.
The car tracks straight. On a smooth freeway, I can let go of the wheel at 60+ MPH and there are no vibrations and the car stays straight.
BUT the car seems to be following the "ruts in the road" more than it used to. Bumps seem to upset things more than they used to. Sometimes if there is a small bump near a stop light, my steering wheel will turn a bit by itself. It feels as if more "stuff" is worn out.
Now, I am no mechanic and I don't do mechanical work myself, but I also don't want to just take it to a shop and say "Feels rougher-see if it feels rough to you and make it smoother"
No bushings or tie rod ends or anything like that have ever been replaced.
I have the Pfadt Johnny O'Connel Stage 1 shocks and sway bars.
Again, it's quite possible I am over analyzing this because of the recent steering issues, but I do believe the car used to be smoother.
Thoughts?
But I feel the ride in my vette has gotten a bit harsher. It's a sports car. It's not going to ride like a Cadillac-I understand that. I have owned the car for 11 years. It now has almost 66,000 miles on it.
And many roads in Washington state suck.
A couple months ago my steering was quite difficult-long story short, my steering rack failed. It was replaced with a rebuilt rack and the shop took it to an alignment shop.
I did not like how it was aligned so I took it to a shop that aligned my car after my shocks were installed a few years ago. The tech came to me and asked if I'd like C5 Coupe or Z06 alignment specs and I said to go ahead and do the Z06 specs. He mentioned that the difference is a bit of negative camber, which I am fine with. He mentioned that the car was "toe out" and the caster was off before he aligned it.
The car tracks straight. On a smooth freeway, I can let go of the wheel at 60+ MPH and there are no vibrations and the car stays straight.
BUT the car seems to be following the "ruts in the road" more than it used to. Bumps seem to upset things more than they used to. Sometimes if there is a small bump near a stop light, my steering wheel will turn a bit by itself. It feels as if more "stuff" is worn out.
Now, I am no mechanic and I don't do mechanical work myself, but I also don't want to just take it to a shop and say "Feels rougher-see if it feels rough to you and make it smoother"
No bushings or tie rod ends or anything like that have ever been replaced.
I have the Pfadt Johnny O'Connel Stage 1 shocks and sway bars.
Again, it's quite possible I am over analyzing this because of the recent steering issues, but I do believe the car used to be smoother.
Thoughts?
10-14-2018, 07:39 PM
#2
1/4 mile/AutoX
the C5 Z we bought (wholesale row) with 109 k was kinda what you describe, after a four wheel alignment a different car ??????
10-14-2018, 08:04 PM
#3
Burning Brakes
The Z06 alignment is slightly more aggressive than the coupe. That will cause the car to turn in quicker but it also causes the inside edges of the tires to wear even faster and make the car follow uneven parts of the pavement more.
Your ride might feel rougher because of the age of your tires and because the weather is cooling down.
Your ride might feel rougher because of the age of your tires and because the weather is cooling down.
10-14-2018, 08:46 PM
#4
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
The Z06 alignment is slightly more aggressive than the coupe. That will cause the car to turn in quicker but it also causes the inside edges of the tires to wear even faster and make the car follow uneven parts of the pavement more.
Your ride might feel rougher because of the age of your tires and because the weather is cooling down.
Your ride might feel rougher because of the age of your tires and because the weather is cooling down.
My tires are only a year or two old. Yokahama -ADO8R. And I know what negative camber does.
(Nobody needs to tell me that wider tires will follow the road imperfections more- I Know that. I have had the same wheels for years)
My point is that either, all things being equal, that the ride is rougher, or I am more sensitive to it now.
10-16-2018, 06:41 PM
#6
Thoroughly chapped
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Maybe since it's cooling down, your shocks aren't as "loose" as when it's hot out....I know my truck hits harder in the winter (both days of it in AZ...
) than in the summer.
) than in the summer.
10-17-2018, 12:45 AM
#7
Burning Brakes
Is your car lowered? You mentioned that it seemed different after the new steering rack & Z06 alignment, so it's most likely the different alignment that your noticing. The more aggressive settings will follow ruts & bumps more than it used too which can cause the steering wheel to move more also.
Steve
Steve
10-17-2018, 05:33 PM
#10
Le Mans Master
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Something to consider.............You say the roads are rough in your neck of the woods; maybe you have broken a spring. It is easy to check when on a lift.
Good luck.
Good luck.
10-17-2018, 07:07 PM
#11
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
10-17-2018, 08:53 PM
#12
Melting Slicks
Part of it may be your car is more “normal” now than it has been in some time, so it feels weird to you.
That is, the steering rack failure didn’t happen all at once, it deteriorated/degraded slowly over time. You easily adapted because the changes were in small increments.
When you had the rack fixed *and* realigned the car to a different spec, it’s gonna feel way different, literally overnight.
Different system, same concept:
None of my cars get more than 3-4K/ year on them. Since my commute is short/low seat time, I didn’t really notice my clutch going away over time, but I sure new it when the slave cylinder finally gave up.
after replacing the slave cyl...- my head knew it was “right” but my muscle memory was not happy - pedal travel, enagagement point, required force - it was all different. I stalled it several times over the next few days because the clutch was so different than it had been.
.
That is, the steering rack failure didn’t happen all at once, it deteriorated/degraded slowly over time. You easily adapted because the changes were in small increments.
When you had the rack fixed *and* realigned the car to a different spec, it’s gonna feel way different, literally overnight.
Different system, same concept:
None of my cars get more than 3-4K/ year on them. Since my commute is short/low seat time, I didn’t really notice my clutch going away over time, but I sure new it when the slave cylinder finally gave up.
after replacing the slave cyl...- my head knew it was “right” but my muscle memory was not happy - pedal travel, enagagement point, required force - it was all different. I stalled it several times over the next few days because the clutch was so different than it had been.
.
Last edited by aj98; 10-17-2018 at 08:54 PM. Reason: corrected typo
10-17-2018, 10:03 PM
#13
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Part of it may be your car is more “normal” now than it has been in some time, so it feels weird to you.
That is, the steering rack failure didn’t happen all at once, it deteriorated/degraded slowly over time. You easily adapted because the changes were in small increments.
When you had the rack fixed *and* realigned the car to a different spec, it’s gonna feel way different, literally overnight.
Different system, same concept:
None of my cars get more than 3-4K/ year on them. Since my commute is short/low seat time, I didn’t really notice my clutch going away over time, but I sure new it when the slave cylinder finally gave up.
after replacing the slave cyl...- my head knew it was “right” but my muscle memory was not happy - pedal travel, enagagement point, required force - it was all different. I stalled it several times over the next few days because the clutch was so different than it had been.
.
That is, the steering rack failure didn’t happen all at once, it deteriorated/degraded slowly over time. You easily adapted because the changes were in small increments.
When you had the rack fixed *and* realigned the car to a different spec, it’s gonna feel way different, literally overnight.
Different system, same concept:
None of my cars get more than 3-4K/ year on them. Since my commute is short/low seat time, I didn’t really notice my clutch going away over time, but I sure new it when the slave cylinder finally gave up.
after replacing the slave cyl...- my head knew it was “right” but my muscle memory was not happy - pedal travel, enagagement point, required force - it was all different. I stalled it several times over the next few days because the clutch was so different than it had been.
.
10-17-2018, 10:12 PM
#14
Le Mans Master
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91, who did you use for your alignment in our neck of the woods?
10-17-2018, 10:16 PM
#15
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
10-18-2018, 07:59 PM
#18
It's your tires.....these are an extreme summer performance tire. They are like a loaf of bread.....and what happens to bread as it gets older? It gets hard. Even though they are not "old", after a couple years these compounds tend to get hard to the touch, especially when colder.
Also, what are you tire air pressures? Have you had anybody work on your car and inflate the tires to the recommend max psi on the side of the tire (instead of the door jamb recommendation)? I would check the pressures and make sure you start out at approximately 29 psi for a ride experiment. If the ride is substantially softer, then it is either a tire issue (thread getting harder) or too much psi or a combination of both.
I cannot see how an alignment or misalignment is going to make a ride run rougher unless something is drastically wrong and you would have a lot of other handling symptoms at that point.
Also, what are you tire air pressures? Have you had anybody work on your car and inflate the tires to the recommend max psi on the side of the tire (instead of the door jamb recommendation)? I would check the pressures and make sure you start out at approximately 29 psi for a ride experiment. If the ride is substantially softer, then it is either a tire issue (thread getting harder) or too much psi or a combination of both.
I cannot see how an alignment or misalignment is going to make a ride run rougher unless something is drastically wrong and you would have a lot of other handling symptoms at that point.
10-18-2018, 09:21 PM
#19
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
No. I'm on my 4th set of seats.
Makes sense. Tire pressure is something I really pay attention to-especially this time of year with my car in a detached garage, in the cold. Right now, after a drive, my tires are at about 32-34 PSI-depending on the temperature outside. Right where I like to keep them. Our nights this week have been 35-45 (PSI could be 28-29), with daytime highs in the upper 60s, setting records above 70. It'll get cooler next week.
I think I am satisfied with how things are right now and will do something different with the next set of tires.
And my alignment was "toe out" -it did cause the handling to feel totally off. At this point I am probably just paying more attention to everything since I had the steering rack issue.
It's your tires.....these are an extreme summer performance tire. They are like a loaf of bread.....and what happens to bread as it gets older? It gets hard. Even though they are not "old", after a couple years these compounds tend to get hard to the touch, especially when colder.
Also, what are you tire air pressures? Have you had anybody work on your car and inflate the tires to the recommend max psi on the side of the tire (instead of the door jamb recommendation)? I would check the pressures and make sure you start out at approximately 29 psi for a ride experiment. If the ride is substantially softer, then it is either a tire issue (thread getting harder) or too much psi or a combination of both.
I cannot see how an alignment or misalignment is going to make a ride run rougher unless something is drastically wrong and you would have a lot of other handling symptoms at that point.
Also, what are you tire air pressures? Have you had anybody work on your car and inflate the tires to the recommend max psi on the side of the tire (instead of the door jamb recommendation)? I would check the pressures and make sure you start out at approximately 29 psi for a ride experiment. If the ride is substantially softer, then it is either a tire issue (thread getting harder) or too much psi or a combination of both.
I cannot see how an alignment or misalignment is going to make a ride run rougher unless something is drastically wrong and you would have a lot of other handling symptoms at that point.
I think I am satisfied with how things are right now and will do something different with the next set of tires.
And my alignment was "toe out" -it did cause the handling to feel totally off. At this point I am probably just paying more attention to everything since I had the steering rack issue.
10-18-2018, 09:37 PM
#20
1/4 mile/AutoX
I think anything above 30 psi is going to make it ride rough ?????