Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice/input from those who are more technically-minded than me (which is probably around 95% of the board ).

I took the car out yesterday, having returned from a week's holiday abroad. All felt fine until I took a mini-roundabout at speed - quite fast in, tuck the nose in and then get on the power as you straighten up and come off the island. Standard sort of stuff that normally the S takes in its stride, and a mini-roundabout that I have to traverse every time I visit the local Optimax emporium.

Except this time, it felt odd. As I turned into the island, the front end felt, well, limp. It's very hard to explain - it just didn't feel right. And it wasn't just me that felt it - without any comment for me, Jenny said that the car didn't feel right, precisely as I was thinking the self-same thing. The sensation felt like the "problem" was front near-side.

The nearest I can get to describing it is that it felt to me like I'd probably got a puncture in the front nearside tyre. There was a touch of understeer, but it just didn't feel like the froent nearside was biting and gripping in the way it usually does.

I got home and checked the pressures all round and they were precisely where they should be - all between 37 and 38, which is the usual "hot" temperature for F1 Eagles which are run at 34.5 when cold. So, the problem isn't there. Tyres are within a thousand miles of being new all round, so that's not an issue either.

The front nearside was the wheel I recently had to take off when I got a puncture, so my next thought was that perhaps it hadn't been put back on correctly, or that it wasn't as tight as it was supposed to be. I've checked the wheel nuts, and there's no obvious looseness in them.

I've tried to replicate the problem, and it only seems to happen on right turns, when cornering quite hard, or on lengthy fast corners. I realise that my lack of precision in describing the symptoms makes it very difficult to diagnose possible problems, but does anyone have any ideas? Suspension problem, maybe? The ride did seem a bit bumpier then usual, coming home on the M6 this afternoon.

I'm reluctant to take it into a dealer (yet) as (a) I can't really describe the problem properly, other than it doesn't feel "right", and (b) it's probably going to be difficult to detect by a mechanic unless he's had a lot of previous experience driving S2000s and so know what they feel like normally.

My brother drove the car whilst I was away, but he says that nothing untoward happened - no potholes or anything like that, which might have thrown something out of kilter.

So, I'm and a bit concerned. The last thing I want is something unexpected to happen when driving enthusiastically. Anyone got any bright ideas before I take it down to the dealer and get told that there's nothing wrong with it because they can't replicate the problem?

 

Sorry Mark, no ideas at all. Except maybe get someone else to drive it and see if they spot the same problem.

 

Have you checked the direction of rotation of the tyre? If the tyre was taken off, it is possible that it was put on the rim the wrong way. There should be an arrow on the sidewall, showing the direction. This should be pointing backwards when at the bottom. With the tyre the wrong way round, the tread will be backwards.

I guess that if the wheel is out of balance, it's possible that the handling could be affected. Do you feel any vibration at speed?

 

Tyre has been fitted the right way round, Rob - the arrow points in the direction in which the wheel rotates, so that's not the issue. I've done a couple of thousand miles since the wheel was put back on, and it's only very recently that any difference has become apparent.

There's no vibration as such. The only other difference I've noticed, as I mentioned above, is that the ride feels a bit "harder" and that the effects of uneven roads are more noticeable now than before. Could be coincidence, but it seems unlikely.

 

Mark

Are your wheel balance weights on the outside edge or the sort that are stuck on with adhesive, on the inside rim? Is it possible you've lost one? I would expect you to feel some wheel tremor(steering wheel) at speed though, if that was the case as Rob says. I'd have a good look at your tyre for any signs of blisters, bulges or deformities in the sidewalls.

Failing that, the fact that you describe the ride as harder makes me think it might be a shock problem on that side.

 

Wheel balance weights? No idea, Tonky! It's a measure of my ignorance that I don't even know what these are, nor where they are fitted, if at all! I'll have a look tomorrow evening when I'm home from work.

I had a look at the tyre when checking the pressures and there's no obvious sign of deformity.

The ride isn't so much "harder" as to be particularly noticeable - it's really only at speed and on sections of the M6 which I know from experience feel quite uneven anyway that I was getting increased vibration. Other than that, the only symptom is this hard-to-describe sensation of something not being quite right when cornering enthusiastically to the right.

Oh well. The car has got to go in sometime soon to have the PRM intake fitted and to have the dealer look at some squeaking coming from the exhaust, so I suppose I'll just have to give them the very vague info set out above and see what they can make of it, if anything. If worst comes to worst, I guess I'll have to take the mechanic out myself and see whether I can get him to "feel" what it is that doesn't feel right to me.

Thanks anyway, Ced and Rob. Keep coming with any more ideas you might have, folks!

 

Well it's entirely possible for the alignment to have been knocked out of kilter by a pothole without realising it. I'd be careful anyway Mark till you get it looked at!

 

It's normal to re-balance the wheel and tyre when mending a puncture. In fact they normally pull the old weight off straight away, and the re-balanceis done with the tyre re-fitted and the new weight is added last. You'll see each wheel usually has a lead weight just tapped onto the rim . I hate the way they spoil the look of the wheel and I always get them replaced with adhesive ones which are just stuck on the inside rim out of sight. Do you know if they balanced the tyre as part of the repair?. Could be just a bad balance job?

 

Was it a particularly hot day? It may be dusty conditions, melty road surface, or you have simply got used to driving faster on the dry, hot surface.

I did a remarkably similar thing on Saturday afternoon, as I was late on my way to Wembley. I simply went in too fast and actually made a front tyre squeal slightly!

Also, how mant miles have you done on your tyres? The S-02's have a grippy tpo coat of rubber, which wears off fairly quickly. The tyres do therefore go off, a bit like racing ones, after a while.

BTW, balance problems will normally give a vibration, normally at a critical speed. Balance weights are normally glued to the inside of the rim, visible through the spokes. If any twat attempts to bang ones on the outside of the rim, stick the airhose into him and press the button!

 

My F1s have been squealing a lot lately - before and after my suspension / wheel alignment check. They have a lot of rubber left, so I'm a little I'm not sure if I'm taking roundabouts faster (ie at the 'safe' speed limit) because it's warmer, or if the warmer round surface is a contributiing factor.

CTR