loose front end @ high speed

[andy112]

Hey Ive noticed that at above 130kph the front end of my car seems to float or seems lose like there is no weight on the front wheels and I was wondering what it could be? Im thinking alignment which is what Im going to get check in the next few weeks but could it also be that I have loose strut mounts vs the s2's solids or could it have something to do with suspension being to soft?

[andy112]

anyone?

[s2driveruk]

do u have the undertray in place?

[dub007]

An under tray wouldn’t cause that. I’ve had mine at 150 over various road (turns, grade changes) and mine is glued without it. I would take it to a shop and have them shake down the front end. How long has it been since you’ve done the struts? If the gas escapes them, it will make your car feel like a marshmallow. Maybe try moving your car around when you’re standing next to it. Press down on each corner and also try shaking it from side to side. Going over speed bumps with your windows down and listen for any noises will also help indicate any problems. Does your steering still feel the same?

[Jamo]

Disable servotronics

[baltiboyS2]

Hey Ive noticed that at above 130kph the front end of my car seems to float or seems lose like there is no weight on the front wheels and I was wondering what it could be? Im thinking alignment which is what Im going to get check in the next few weeks but could it also be that I have loose strut mounts vs the s2's solids or could it have something to do with suspension being to soft?

Would a damaged snub mount do this i mean if you boot it the snub mount stops the engine from lifting up just a thought

Raj Aby

[andy112]

The car doesnt have an undertray and Ill check out the struts

[andy112]

Ok suspension seems stiff, no major side to side movement and it doesnt seem to be soft when pushing down, I also noticed that a squeak started in the back when I go over large bumps

[dub007]

Mine has a little bushing squeak when going over large bumps too. I’m still betting on shocks/ struts as being the culprit. Did this happen suddenly or has it just been getting progressively worse? How many miles do you have on your current shocks/struts?

[Corey]

Do you have the same tyres front to rear?
What are you tyre pressures?
When was the alignment last checked?

[s2driveruk]

squeaks at the rear are quite often the rear drop links....though cant see how that would affect anything to do with floaty feeling.

@ Corey whats the deal on running different tyres (in pairs) front and rear? I have toyo's (directional) on the fronts and Michelin Pilot 2's on the rears (assym). Would be interested to know what the pros and cons are.

Cheers
David

[Corey]

squeaks at the rear are quite often the rear drop links....though cant see how that would affect anything to do with floaty feeling.

@ Corey whats the deal on running different tyres (in pairs) front and rear? I have toyo's (directional) on the fronts and Michelin Pilot 2's on the rears (assym). Would be interested to know what the pros and cons are.

Cheers
David

Different grip characteristics, different rolling radius (even though they may be the same size, they do differ). Personally I think it's as bad as having the different tyres on the same axle, it's just something I wouldn't do.

[Crawford_S2]

Good point about the tyres Corey, i has a very vague front end for a while on mine. I changed the steering damper, poly bushes then the shocks, top mounts and springs and had the alignment done. Was the same

Then for some reason, well ran out of options really i swapped the front and back wheels. This stopped the prob instantly, the old front tyres still had a fair amount of tread but they just seemed to 'go off' (good make too!) binned them and got some new ones and never had the fault since

[4WheelDrifter]

It sounds like an allignment problem to me. My S2 handled like poo when I first got it (with Konis and H&Rs). It just didn't feel connected to the road at any time. The tracking turned out to be way out.

[dub007]

It’s really hard to diagnose a car that I haven’t driven. A lot of the Ideas thrown out there are good. I don’t think alignment is the culprit, it wont cause the front end to float even if its really far off spec and there would be a lot of other warning signs too. Miss matched tires, if one set front to rear had much more traction then the other, that might make the car feel disconnected and seem to float. I don’t think this would be really likely unless you had a lot of power and it would be really noticeable. The tire issue would be similar to an inlift seen a lot of times in really high horsepower Japanese cars that burn up the diffs. This causes a major float feel and could be a possibility albeit a small one but our cars do have a lot of diffs on them and they do wear out. If we knew the time frame in which you first started to feel this and if it has gotten any worse that would help. Do you get the floating feeling through the steering wheel? Or as an over all car feel through the seat the car reacting weird? Don’t think it could be just in the front end. Remember these cars don’t weigh nothing at all, and weight transfer to the rear will put a lot of emphasis on the back end.