front end stability

[Jorgeo]

Hi my Zr6 stering feels a bit light and ustable at speed, any bump in the road makes sterring feel unstable when exellarating hard. is this normal for a FWD.

[Supercharged TRD]

I don't think so, they should be stable at high speeds as it is a large car. Also the Sportivos have stiffer suspension than the normal Aurion. Of course you can firm this up with a $210 front strut brace. I know what you mean about the bump issue, when I go over a hump at high speed (not good for the suspension anyway), you do feel a certain degree of lateral movement, as if the car is sliding sideways a bit. I've learnt to ignore it and just trust the car. Also there will be torque steer when accelerating hard to be sure to grip that steering wheel tightly!

Is this your first FWD? They do take a while to get used to if you are moving from a RWD/AWD.

Edited February 16, 2009 by Supercharged TRD

[the_random_hero]

Can you feel any light feedback/vibration through the wheel, or does the car veer a little bit off to either side without your hands on the wheel? Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get your wheel alignment/camber/castor/etc checked by a steering/wheel shop.

As above too, might just be you not used to a FWD car with traction control and all other electronic "helpers" it's got.

[dave262]

I've noticed this too, but as Supercharged TRD said, you do learn to ignore it somewhat. I've always had some suspicion that the camber and the suspension setup itself have some cause here. Still, it is very good for what is essentially a large "family" car. The strut brace could potentially be some benefit here, as the MacPherson strut setup mounts the suspension at the top of the towers, which can flex a little due to the distance from the wheels. I think a few members of this forum have the Whiteline brace, so maybe check with them and see if they've noticed any improvement?

If this is your first FWD, definitely watch for the torque steer if you accelerate hard, as it can be very strong in the Aurion. I personally found this quite scary the first few times I put my foot down, as I ended up nearly halfway into the next lane!

[Jorgeo]

Yes this is my first FWD, so it sounds like its normal, I have noticed it pulls to left slightly so it may need a wheel alignment. can someone tell me the optimum Tyre pressure, I have standard 17 Michelins.

one last question about window tint, will I have a problem with radio reception if I use midnight express from tint a car, it has a metallic base, if so any ideas on what would look good on a black zr6.

Thanks for the help.

[DJKOR]

Yes this is my first FWD, so it sounds like its normal, I have noticed it pulls to left slightly so it may need a wheel alignment. can someone tell me the optimum Tyre pressure, I have standard 17 Michelins.

one last question about window tint, will I have a problem with radio reception if I use midnight express from tint a car, it has a metallic base, if so any ideas on what would look good on a black zr6.

Thanks for the help.

The wheel alignment may or may not fix up your pulling to the left issue. In most cases, it is a caster issue and can only be correctly rectified by a SPF2904K kit from SuperPro/Fulcrum Suspension. We had a good discussion about that over here:

Wheel alignment specs

The stock 17 inch Michelin Energy MXV8's seem to go well with a tire pressure of 34 PSI all round. That's what I used though and got about 48,000km out of them with some pretty hard driving. 7,500km rotation is a good idea as well.

My car has the Midnight Express tint. I have absolutely no problems with FM radio reception. It does seem that my AM reception has gone down slightly, but it's not something that bothers me. I play MP3's all the time anyways.

[Jorgeo]

Thanks DJKOR,

its booked in on Friday I hope it looks good on black car. I have 42 psi will drop pressure may help with front end stability.

Sounds like steering is a big problem, mine was much worse until I swapped front wheels with back ones, still is annoying. have noticed steering wheel is off center will ask dealer to fix.

[KevO]

would this be the same issue...(camry v6) if i accelerated hard and all of a sudden the steering goes noticeably lighter ?

[Jorgeo]

Yes this is my first FWD, so it sounds like its normal, I have noticed it pulls to left slightly so it may need a wheel alignment. can someone tell me the optimum Tyre pressure, I have standard 17 Michelins.

one last question about window tint, will I have a problem with radio reception if I use midnight express from tint a car, it has a metallic base, if so any ideas on what would look good on a black zr6.

Thanks for the help.

The wheel alignment may or may not fix up your pulling to the left issue. In most cases, it is a caster issue and can only be correctly rectified by a SPF2904K kit from SuperPro/Fulcrum Suspension. We had a good discussion about that over here:

Wheel alignment specs

The stock 17 inch Michelin Energy MXV8's seem to go well with a tire pressure of 34 PSI all round. That's what I used though and got about 48,000km out of them with some pretty hard driving. 7,500km rotation is a good idea as well.

My car has the Midnight Express tint. I have absolutely no problems with FM radio reception. It does seem that my AM reception has gone down slightly, but it's not something that bothers me. I play MP3's all the time anyways.

Djkor, how much did your sat/dvd player cost and were did u get it.

[Jorgeo]

Djkor, how much did your sat/dvd cost and were did u get it.

[lateralus]

I have 42 psi will drop pressure may help with front end stability.

thats actually quite high. at that pressure, your tyres would be more rounded and hence wouldnt be getting optimum traction, not to mention abnormal wear down the centre of the tyre.

i think a good all round pressure is 36psi on the front and 34psi on the rear

[e240]

I find that alot of people have death grips on the steering and that tends to amplify the feeling of unsteady-ness.

I've taken the Aurion at speeds (shhuhh, don't ask) and don't have any issue.

[dave262]

would this be the same issue...(camry v6) if i accelerated hard and all of a sudden the steering goes noticeably lighter ?

The steering goes lighter under heavy acceleration as the front end of the car will lift slightly from the torque, which also makes the front end wave around a bit due to reduction in traction.

[intrigue]

Thanks DJKOR,

its booked in on Friday I hope it looks good on black car. I have 42 psi will drop pressure may help with front end stability.

Sounds like steering is a big problem, mine was much worse until I swapped front wheels with back ones, still is annoying. have noticed steering wheel is off center will ask dealer to fix.

I've got a Black Aurion with Midnight Express tint. Had it done about 2 weeks ago. It's fairly dark... but i definitely would want it darker if i could. The name 'Midnight Express' can be a bit misleading but hey, at least it includes 'the darkest "legal" tint'.

Most of the time during the day from different side angles it can look black, night time it's definitely what i would like it to look like during the day :)

Anyways good luck with it!

[Ascendant Rice]

Thanks DJKOR,

its booked in on Friday I hope it looks good on black car. I have 42 psi will drop pressure may help with front end stability.

Sounds like steering is a big problem, mine was much worse until I swapped front wheels with back ones, still is annoying. have noticed steering wheel is off center will ask dealer to fix.

42 psi is way high. from my persoanl experience when i got new tyres the shop filled them up to 40 psi and the grip was total rubbish i was understeering like a bitch and i was power sliding round corners. i then lowed the pressure to 34 and the grip is superp understeer is wasnt noticible. so try lowering pressure

[Jorgeo]

Thanks, I dropped tyre pressure to 36 feels much better not so light. happy with tint looks ok,rear window very hazy supposed to get better after a week, hope so. also noticed a scratch must of slipped when cutting, it buffed out ok so no big deal.

before and after shots.

[attachment=8255:car_aurion_006.jpg]

Edited February 22, 2009 by jorgeo

[DJKOR]

I've had a few cases after getting my tires changed, the shop has pumped the tires up high. Always noticed it because of the floaty feel. That's good that it is now feeling a bit more stable for you.

As for the tint, that haze will disappear after a short time so nothing to worry about. It's because they have the glass wet when they apply it as it helps to get rid of air bubbles.

[Jorgeo]

Thanks Djkor, I asked about your Nav/dvd. I am looking at getting the same unit, are u still happy with yours?

got quoted $960, have the maps been updated?

[DJKOR]

Thanks Djkor, I asked about your Nav/dvd. I am looking at getting the same unit, are u still happy with yours?

got quoted $960, have the maps been updated?

I'm still happy with my unit. Has been working just like it did on day one. Does everything I need for now, so no reason not to like it. I'm not sure if they have any updated maps with the units sold now. It only comes with Route 66 and Finean which I find pretty basic and boring, so updated maps wouldn't really be that useful. It's always easy to download purchase alternative software with newer maps though.

[Jorgeo]

thanks

Edited February 25, 2009 by jorgeo

[Jorgeo]

new maps are igo or tom tom, not route 66, which one is best?