Unstable cruising on my K11 1.3 16v

[CapitanXeon]

Hi guys

I have some issues on my lil K11, and those have to do probably with the suspension system, but i need your advice.

I know this car isn't anywhere near a racecar, but i've noticed that around 90km/h, the car starts to vibrate a bit, steering wheel included, and from there the steering seems to be the lightest thing on earth, which gives me a sensation of losing the control of the car.
My unit came stock with the little spoiler at the back, and i've been suggested that the spoiler might be pushing the back of my car enough to compress the 20 year old suspension on my car and shift the weight to the back, lifting the front part a bit and giving me this sensation.

What do you think? A wheel change didn't make any difference, so i can rule that out, but i'm aware that the car is old and there might be wear somewhere.

 

[nissan boy]

Wheel balance from the sounds of it, also what size tyres?
Also positive camber can make the steering very light ,
Spoil won't do anything,

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[CapitanXeon]

Wheel balance from the sounds of it, also what size tyres?
Also positive camber can make the steering very light ,
Spoil won't do anything,

Sent from my moto g(6) using Micra Sports Club mobile app

Supposedly wheel balance should be good, as it made exactly the same before tyre changing, and it's been like 1000km so tyres should be good.
Tyres are 165/60 R14, the size that came stock with the car too with stock rims. I didn't know camber could be adjusted on this car, but the old tires were evenly threaded, so the contact patch looked well. Maybe something that disadjusts itself at higher speed?

Also I should add that the suspension on this car seems to be too soft, but didn't have the chance to compare with another one of the same model. Still looks very soft to me.

 

[nissan boy]

They have very little if any adjustment ,tbh, but got to ask,
Done a bounce test
Each corner of the car bounce it quite a bit and then it should bonce once or so and stop, if it keeps on or seems to sway alot could mean dampers
Tyres are the pressures ok?
Also is the track rods and tracking ect all ok?


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[MattInARedMicra]

The suspension is quite soft on these, there is a ton of body roll, reminds you to take roundabouts slow and save the tyres

What you've described, my steering does start to get light around about 70mph, I get vibration at 60mph (I think it's my tyres) but that goes away once I hit 65mph. Above 80mph the steering is extremely light and approaching 95mph it may as well be floating and you have to grip the wheel until your knuckles turn white

I think that's normal for an smaller older car, and that the reason it is happening for you at slower speeds than mine is probably the spoiler

 

[CapitanXeon]

They have very little if any adjustment ,tbh, but got to ask,
Done a bounce test
Each corner of the car bounce it quite a bit and then it should bonce once or so and stop, if it keeps on or seems to sway alot could mean dampers
Tyres are the pressures ok?
Also is the track rods and tracking ect all ok?


Sent from my moto g(6) using Micra Sports Club mobile app

On my case, i passed mot with around 60% effectivity on shock absorbers, so i've been looking on replacing them anyway, a set of four TRW OEM Spec geos for about 125€, so it wouldn't break the bank too much. Anyway, i did the bounce test quite a few times before because i kinda wanted to blame the shocks about this situation and failed every single time, they don't bounce too much around.

The suspension is quite soft on these, there is a ton of body roll, reminds you to take roundabouts slow and save the tyres

What you've described, my steering does start to get light around about 70mph, I get vibration at 60mph (I think it's my tyres) but that goes away once I hit 65mph. Above 80mph the steering is extremely light and approaching 95mph it may as well be floating and you have to grip the wheel until your knuckles turn white

I think that's normal for an smaller older car, and that the reason it is happening for you at slower speeds than mine is probably the spoiler

So that takes us here, which makes me see that effectively being a small car, i should expect this to be the usual behavior of the car. I might try without the spoiler, but i don't think it will be much better. I might look the general condition of the steering/suspension system to look for bad parts, but probably will just think about going slower, which is a bummer taking in mind that i don't really want to die against a wall on the highway

 

[MattInARedMicra]

So that takes us here, which makes me see that effectively being a small car, i should expect this to be the usual behavior of the car. I might try without the spoiler, but i don't think it will be much better. I might look the general condition of the steering/suspension system to look for bad parts, but probably will just think about going slower, which is a bummer taking in mind that i don't really want to die against a wall on the highway

Well, it wouldn't be ideal

You could uprate the suspension parts and see if it helps, there's a bridge I go over on the highest section of the UK motorway network and I get buffered by wind going over it, the car being light probably doesn't help. Most GT cars designed for long distances cruising are probably twice the weight. But still, uses less fuel, cheap and cheerful and safer than a motorbike haha

 

[nissan boy]

Will, say I think it's £210 euro for lowering coils and front/rear dampers.off eBay I believe ,
The lowering prob sit about as high as old stock but are stiffer and improve roll and handling ,
I'm running a similar setup and with a nice result ,

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[CapitanXeon]

Will, say I think it's £210 euro for lowering coils and front/rear dampers.off eBay I believe ,
The lowering prob sit about as high as old stock but are stiffer and improve roll and handling ,
I'm running a similar setup and with a nice result ,

Sent from my moto g(6) using Micra Sports Club mobile app

The issue here is that i need to spend 300€ more to legalize the lower suspension, as here the MOT (ITV) even measures the ride height and sets you home with an unpassed inspection if it's lower than it should. So yeah, 600€ on a 1200 car just to not crash into a barrier isn't exactly what i expected when i bought mine.

 

[MattInARedMicra]

The issue here is that i need to spend 300€ more to legalize the lower suspension, as here the MOT (ITV) even measures the ride height and sets you home with an unpassed inspection if it's lower than it should. So yeah, 600€ on a 1200 car just to not crash into a barrier isn't exactly what i expected when i bought mine.

it's not so bad once you get used to it, even though it feels quite unstable

I've had to swerve a few times and the wheels have always stayed firmly planted, it being FWD really helps.

Once on a motorway I was doing about 80mph on an unlit section of road, late at night, I'd only seen trucks for miles, a black BMW tried to pass me and I didn't see it, I attempted to move out into the outside lane to overtake something myself while the BMW was in my blindspot, saw it at the very last second and had to pull back into my lane hard to avoid hitting it. The whole car wobbled side to side on it's suspension a bit as I regained control but didn't even come close to the tyres losing grip. They're also pretty good in snow with being fairly light, I've passed 4x4's that got stuck on hills.

 

[plmval]

Quote; “around 90km/h, the car starts to vibrate a bit, steering wheel included”

This is not normal & indicates a rotating mass wheel/tyre fault.

Possible balance issue or non symmetrical misshapen wheel/new tyre with a slight run-out bulge on the tread or due to pot hole damage?

Happy fault finding!

 

[CapitanXeon]

Quote; “around 90km/h, the car starts to vibrate a bit, steering wheel included”

This is not normal & indicates a rotating mass wheel/tyre fault.

Possible balance issue or non symmetrical misshapen wheel/new tyre with a slight run-out bulge on the tread or due to pot hole damage?

Happy fault finding!

Yeah, a wheel unbalance was the first thing i thought, but that issue arises at almost every car at 120km/h, so it has to be something else. Changing the wheel positions didn't seem to change anything, so i can discard a front wheel bent because the vibration is exactly the same.

Anyway i'm thinking on changing my rims to something pretty, so if there's a chance that all four rims are bent, that sould solve it. We also but the worst looking rim (had a bit of a bent on the side, possibly as a result of a curb impact) as a spare wheel so it couldn't cause problems, and it didn't made any difference.

I'll jack the car up as soon as i can to look for something that looks out of place.

it's not so bad once you get used to it, even though it feels quite unstable

I've had to swerve a few times and the wheels have always stayed firmly planted, it being FWD really helps.

Once on a motorway I was doing about 80mph on an unlit section of road, late at night, I'd only seen trucks for miles, a black BMW tried to pass me and I didn't see it, I attempted to move out into the outside lane to overtake something myself while the BMW was in my blindspot, saw it at the very last second and had to pull back into my lane hard to avoid hitting it. The whole car wobbled side to side on it's suspension a bit as I regained control but didn't even come close to the tyres losing grip. They're also pretty good in snow with being fairly light, I've passed 4x4's that got stuck on hills.

This is my first car, so i don't really know how a car should react on every situation. Still, i can feel how i lose control on the back if i go too fast on a roundabout, which might be a wheel going up in the air? We are talking about 40km/h here on a roundabout, to put in perspective. I'm still inclined to think on worn suspension components, which could lead to what plmval said about damaged components. I have to say, i say the steering wheel vibrates, because the whole car seems so light when it gets up to speed that it could perfectly be jacked up, like the wheels werent touching the ground.

 

[plmval]

What tyre pressures are you running with?

Should be about 32 psi & or as indicated on driver’s door slam panel data plate?

Possible excess front wheel bearing or bearings play?

 

[CapitanXeon]

What tyre pressures are you running with?

Should be about 32 psi & or as indicated on driver’s door slam panel data plate?

Possible excess front wheel bearing or bearings play?

As far as i know i'm running whatever is on the data plate, but i might check it when i go to the gas station. Also when i lift the car i¡ll look into that too, but if it's true, i might think about the car as a money pit already...