V6 convertible rattles and vibration

[blk05vert]

I've been lurking these forums since the 05 'stang was announced. I just traded my 2004 350Z for an all black V6 vert last week. So far I'm not sure this was such a great idea! Since the first time I've had the car over 60mph it shakes and rattles like crazy. I had the dealer "road force" balance the tires last weekend and the situation still hasn't improved. The car came with aftermarket rims/tires installed by the dealer, although I'm thinking that the real issue is something else? The wheels are Falken 245/40ZR19s in the front and 285/40/ZR19s in the back. They hold on great and look awesome but once the car is over 60-70mph the whole thing shakes/vibrates. I'm worried that this situation will only get worse - the car has 1400 miles as of this post.

Is anyone else with a vert experiencing similar problems? Would it make sense to try switching to less aggressive rims/tires?

I'm not knocking the car as a whole with this post. Even this morning despite the rough ride I still thought to myself how much I love the look of this car. The performance of the engine isn't bad at all, even though it was a downgrade in HP from my Z. With the top down it's easy to overlook this problem for a while but... I am going to go out of my mind on my commute!

 

[afixer]

i cruse in my car at 80 and it wants to go faster i have to set the cruse control so i dont get in trouble. i would have the wheels checked

 

[blk05vert]

Interesting... mine feels like it wants to fall apart at 80! Both doors rattle, the rearview mirror shakes, and the sterring wheel vibrates so much my arms feel like they're going numb.

This is really disappointing after being in a car that felt incredible even at 130mph (my 350Z).

As said, I had the wheels checked out last weekend. I've been debating asking them to switch them to a set of factory rims/tires but then I know I will miss the looks and handling of the ones I have now.

 

[blk05vert]

Oh and one other thing.. the reason I got the stang is that I wanted a car with a back seat and a trunk. Also, my Z was a hardtop and I got the convertible bug. I choose the V6 over the V8 because gas mileage was a consideration with my 72 mile round trip commute to work every day.

 

[echo7]

I have upgraded my rims and tires, to a smaller offset (so they stick out more) and ever since have had a steering wheel wobble reaching 55mph, but usually it will go away within a mile or two. I would bet money that if you went back to the stock tires/rims, it would be smooth again, but i know i hate those stock ones, and love my new setup even though theres a slight shake. I also think 19" is way to aggresive for a V6, also way to heavy.

 

[blk05vert]

True... My dealer hasn't been very cooperative in addressing the problem so far. The upgraded rims came with the car. I am going to stop in tomorrow and see what I can do about getting them swapped to something less aggressive.

 

[Jenns01TA]

The car came with aftermarket rims/tires installed by the dealer, although I'm thinking that the real issue is something else? The wheels are Falken 265/40ZR19s in the front and 285/40/ZR19s in the back. They hold on great and look awesome but once the car is over 60-70mph the whole thing shakes/vibrates. I'm worried that this situation will only get worse - the car has 1400 miles as of this post.

Hey Black,

Tell the dealer to check the driveshaft pinion angle. The tire size disparity as well as the 19" may have shifted the front and rear pinion angle off. Does the shaking ever smooth out over 70 or under 60? Or is it consistent over 60-70? If the answer to the above is "Yes, vibration reduces or smooths under 60 or over 70", then driveshaft misalignment or balance is a very probable cause of your shake, rattle and roll.

BTW... I LOVE THE 350Zs. Nissan did a good thing with the reintroduction of it. Sexy car!

Jennifer

 

[martimus]

For what little its worth my previous Mustang, a 98 Vert also rattled quite a bit. From talking to others and a few dealerships over the years I found out that all verts tend to rattle.

Now its very possible that you rattles are more than the norm, and yea I think that somehow the upgraded wheels have exascerbated the situation. If the dealership isn't being helpful maybe its time to go to another dealer for help?

 

[blk05vert]

Thanks Jenn & martimus. This is excellent advice! I think what I am going to do is get a set of 17" Bullitt wheels and sell the 19's. Then if the ride still isn't right I'll have the driveshaft pinion angle looked at.

The ride below 60mph is smooth. It's just above 60 and below 80mph that it shakes. I think the rattles would calm down a lot without so much feedback coming from the aggressive wheels.

 

[blk05vert]

Just in case anyone wanted to see what the 19s look like... Apologies for the poor quality of these pics but the 72k file size limitation leaves me no choice!

Dave

 

[blk05vert]

An update - I ordered 17" Bullitt wheels w/ 255/50 tires. They'll go on the car this Saturday. Hopefully the combination of a larger sidewall and an overall wheel diameter closer to the factory setup will smooth out the ride.

 

[120rir]

Proud and ecstatic 05 V6 coupe owner here but I have a similar story relating to my previous car...a 96 Honda Accord sedan. When we got it from the dealer (used) it had some pimped-out after-market rims. When we got the car up to highway speeds (which we never did on the test drive...stupid move) we noticed the shimmy and after several attempted fixes we gave up and replaced the rims with stock factory wheels. I think the lesson here was to be careful with aftermarket wheels. Just my experience and while I'm not a huge fan of the machined 16" wheels on my 05 coupe, I'm not very likely to change them any time soon.

 

[liimey]

Similar car no problems

I have a 05 V6 Conv as well, with some Falken 20" koblenz rims ( Nitto 555 tires) and I have not had any bad experience with vibration ( tiny rattles here and there from time to time, but nothing major).
I did a lot of research on my tires before purchase and the Falkens were my second choice as I have read and heard nothing but excellent reports about them. So I would suggest your problem is definately not the tire or wheel desing. More likely you have a misbalanced set ( probably the tires over the rims). I would insist that the dealer takes it to a "specialist" performance tire company to have a high speed balance done ( the dealers equipment is not generally that accurate. Ford would normally cover this under warranty, but as the dealer supplied the aftermarket rims they will not and therefore your problem is left to the dealer to resolve( at their expense) so they will be as economical as they can. ( I used to work for a Large Car manufacturer as the Regiona Manager, so I know how both the head office and the dealers work).

 

[liimey]

Nice RIMS

An update - I ordered 17" Bullitt wheels w/ 255/50 tires. They'll go on the car this Saturday. Hopefully the combination of a larger sidewall and an overall wheel diameter closer to the factory setup will smooth out the ride.

I have some 20"rims and I am in the process of investigating ordering some lowering spring kits, ( Steeda, Eibach) as I want to improve the handling and get rid of the ugly wheel gap. Any thoughts on which way to go?

 

[bigcat]

did they charge you extra for the aftermarket wheels?

how much did they charge, and why didnt you get the original wheels with it? check the retail of the new wheels/tires and compare that to what you paid for them. if it is close or over retail, you should have gotten your stock wheels/tires with the car. if not, they ripped you off. they should put some stockers on for you and see if that is the problem. i would really check into the original wheels. why should you have to pay for something that was on your car to begin with?

 

[Voodoomasta]

I've got 20" rims with the Eibach Pro kit, lowered by about 1.5 inches. No vibrations, great handling and awesome looks!

 

[Zodiac]

Not making a comment on anyone else's ride, but IMO anything over an 18 is going to be too big for this car... I think the detriment on your acceleration is just going to stack up way way too fast after that. But 19s and 20s do fill those fender wells oh so beautifully O_O

 

[blk05vert]

Update - I got the 17" 235/55s installed this weekend (Pirelli PZero Neros). What a difference! The steering is way more responsive and the car feels like it lost 200lbs in unsprung weight. On a recent highway drive my gas mileage has gone up from 18.5mpg to approximately 25mpg. There's still some vibration between 60-70mph but I think this can be attributed to the driveshaft pinion angle being out of whack from the previous rims. I'm going to get it checked out this upcoming weekend at the dealer.

 

[QCStang]

I think the Bulletts look better. Just lower the ride properly.

 

[blk05vert]

Well bad news... I'm still having problems with vibration/shaking at 60-70mph I don't know if this is an issue with all 'verts or mine in particular? I've been to the dealer twice now and each time they said the tires are out of balance and proceeded to use their road force machine to fix them. The problem goes away for a day but comes back the next. Maybe I have a suspension problem or driveshaft problem that is causing this? I am taking the car in again for their third attempt to fix this. I hate to think that I might have to lemon law this car, but the ride is so crappy on my commute that I'll eventually have no choice. I'm going to test drive a different 'vert this weekend and see how it handles in comparison just to get a better idea. I drove a GT hardtop last week and fell in love with the engine sound so part of me wants to just eat the depreciation and upgrade.