Highway driving woes

[RandyC]

Hi, and HELP....I need some input as to how the 2005 G35x should drive on the highway.

I bought this car 5 months ago with 47,000 km on it (good deal) I do lots of highway driving, about 1300 km per week (or a bit more)

This car wanders...I put new tires on it, had wheel allignment done, and 48,000 km service. It drives OK on reall good highway with no wind. However...

When the road is less than perfect, or a slight cross wind, or oncoming truck traffic creating "gusts" (2 lane highway), This car is all over the road...it is so twitchy...

It wiggle-woggles on the bumps, bump steers..etc.

It is a real handful to drive at highway/high speed (100 km/hr and up) The dealer says he can't find anything wrong with it...and he's the only one in the city...(but can't highway road test due to location)

I really love the car otherwise, and want to get a new one this fall, but won't if this is how they drive on the highway..

Has anyone else had an ill-handling car? Or am i just used to better...my last one was 1999 BMW 328 that i sold with 190,000 kms on it,...and it still drove nicer on the highway..

[BigWill]

I don't know about 'ill handling', but I have noticed that on a road that has a pronounced crown, or slants to one side or the other, that the car will tend to drift a bit more than other cars I have owned... however, when on a stretch of nice flat road, the car tracks nice and straight. It is a sports car, and as such, it requires a bit more driver in-put than a run of the mill grocery hauler.

[Road Ruler]

Same here with my 03 sedan. It is not great at tracking in a straight line. New Yoko tires didn't help. My other cars a Nissan Quest, Mazda 626, and a 450 SEL Mercedes tracked very well by comparison.

Id someone has a mod to make it better I'm all ears.

[ampsucker]

you might consider having them set caster to the top end of the range set by the manufacturer. caster is the "centering" dimension that keeps the car tracking. on other vehicles, i've asked them to set total toe and camber to the middle of the specs and caster to the high end to increase hiway stability.

you may also find that there is a slightly bent suspension component (trailing arm, strut, etc.) or a bad bushing that can cause intermittant wandering.

mostly likely, if you've ruled out tires and rims (with road force balancing), it is something a GOOD alignment shop can fix. make sure you get them to print out before and after settings for the alignment dimensions. many dealers are famous for "setting the toe and letting it go" to save time and money on an alignment. just because a vehicle is "within the specs" does not mean it is properly aligned. the only way to really know what is going on is to get the before and after printout and track the changes each time it is aligned.

good luck!

[Q45tech]

No where did I see you mention the size brand and model of your tires are they oem or better yet most problems get solved with Michelin [not the bottom half of the line] but real premium Michelin.