I'm gonna preface this by saying I had a spinout on the freeway a couple months back. I wasn't stuck so I drove out of there an instantly noticed something wrong with my car. I've already spent a decent amount of money preparing things bust still, my car just doesn't feel quite right despite significant improvements. Here's an ordered list of what's been done:
-Right after spinout took car in for alignment and suspension check. Tie rod end replaced and alignment performed, I don't think they checked the suspension at all.
-Car was still producing vibrations so I took it in to have the wheels balanced. This made some slight improvements but again still bumpy and doesn't feel quite, steering still feels a bit dead.
-Replaced all four tires, which I think were likely the culprit of me spinning out in the first place. This made significant improvements but there was still a bit of an uncomfortable bumpiness and wobble.
-Replaced stock shocks and springs for Mountune clubsport suspension kit. The car honestly felt more or less the same afterwards, but a bit less bouncy. I had a theory the rears were blown and pulling the old dampers out confirmed that.
-Control arms and sway bar end links replaced. Not much to say here for ride improvements, I justify doing this simply with the fact that they would've needed to be replaced eventually, and the car has hit 100k miles.
-Alignment performed a day later, this has made a minor improvement on how the car tracks, and I haven't had a chance to take it on the roads where it tramlines a lot, but again on the streets I was driving on the difference was pretty small, and the alignment was surprisingly still pretty close to spec despite lowering and me tinkering around.
This is everything that's been done since my incident, I'm lucky to still have my car, but knowing something isn't quite right has begun to really bother me and I miss being able to drive with spirit.
Since I've been kinda vague on what feels wrong:
- There's a constant bumpy feeling driving on some roads, based on everything else's impressions of the suspension kit I got, this really shouldn't be happening. To add to that on stock suspension it felt fine going over these same roads. I could almost describe it as a vibration that's felt in the seat and steering wheel. It doesn't do this on all roads.
- Play in steering wheel. It's been a decent amount of time since my car was in good condition, but I remember moving my steering wheel side to side (maybe by an inch or two) the car would change direction easily with each movement. Now there's some play in the steering a basically a dead zone. I can feel the car move a slight amount, but it feels like the steering should be tighter than this.
- Steering wheel wobbles occasionally. I notice this going over some surfaces and minor imperfections on the road that the steering wheel moves a bit from side to side, kinda jiggling in a way.
I think this mostly sums up what's been done, I've spent much more money than I'd like to have and feel like some expenses weren't necessary, and at this point I want to be sure I'm spending money where it matters. Anybody have any ideas based on my descriptions? Spring is coming and I'd really like to get it in ship shape again. Ask any additional questions for clarification if needed.
Thanks.
-Right after spinout took car in for alignment and suspension check. Tie rod end replaced and alignment performed, I don't think they checked the suspension at all.
-Car was still producing vibrations so I took it in to have the wheels balanced. This made some slight improvements but again still bumpy and doesn't feel quite, steering still feels a bit dead.
-Replaced all four tires, which I think were likely the culprit of me spinning out in the first place. This made significant improvements but there was still a bit of an uncomfortable bumpiness and wobble.
-Replaced stock shocks and springs for Mountune clubsport suspension kit. The car honestly felt more or less the same afterwards, but a bit less bouncy. I had a theory the rears were blown and pulling the old dampers out confirmed that.
-Control arms and sway bar end links replaced. Not much to say here for ride improvements, I justify doing this simply with the fact that they would've needed to be replaced eventually, and the car has hit 100k miles.
-Alignment performed a day later, this has made a minor improvement on how the car tracks, and I haven't had a chance to take it on the roads where it tramlines a lot, but again on the streets I was driving on the difference was pretty small, and the alignment was surprisingly still pretty close to spec despite lowering and me tinkering around.
This is everything that's been done since my incident, I'm lucky to still have my car, but knowing something isn't quite right has begun to really bother me and I miss being able to drive with spirit.
Since I've been kinda vague on what feels wrong:
- There's a constant bumpy feeling driving on some roads, based on everything else's impressions of the suspension kit I got, this really shouldn't be happening. To add to that on stock suspension it felt fine going over these same roads. I could almost describe it as a vibration that's felt in the seat and steering wheel. It doesn't do this on all roads.
- Play in steering wheel. It's been a decent amount of time since my car was in good condition, but I remember moving my steering wheel side to side (maybe by an inch or two) the car would change direction easily with each movement. Now there's some play in the steering a basically a dead zone. I can feel the car move a slight amount, but it feels like the steering should be tighter than this.
- Steering wheel wobbles occasionally. I notice this going over some surfaces and minor imperfections on the road that the steering wheel moves a bit from side to side, kinda jiggling in a way.
I think this mostly sums up what's been done, I've spent much more money than I'd like to have and feel like some expenses weren't necessary, and at this point I want to be sure I'm spending money where it matters. Anybody have any ideas based on my descriptions? Spring is coming and I'd really like to get it in ship shape again. Ask any additional questions for clarification if needed.
Thanks.
