Steering Feel? Wheel Alignment Issues?

[D3lusion]

Now the steering feels a lot better than it did after that second alignment at the dealership. But I still feel like the steering is sensitive to bumps in the road. I still feel the wheel "twitch" when going over road irregularities...and so now I'm not sure if that's normal, or if I'm just delusional at this point. I swear that it didn't feel like that prior to all of these alignments...

So my question to you guys is: how does the steering feel on your Kizashi's?

I'm guessing you have got 18" wheels? A lot of those traits will become more obvious with larger diameter wheels and lower profile tyres.

Do you have the current alignment specs also- it would be worthwhile comparing them to what other people have their vehicles set to. There is also a post on here with a Suzuki USA TSB that gives updated alignment specs. I'll try and find it....

[smsmart]

Now the steering feels a lot better than it did after that second alignment at the dealership. But I still feel like the steering is sensitive to bumps in the road. I still feel the wheel "twitch" when going over road irregularities...and so now I'm not sure if that's normal, or if I'm just delusional at this point. I swear that it didn't feel like that prior to all of these alignments...

So my question to you guys is: how does the steering feel on your Kizashi's?

I'm guessing you have got 18" wheels? A lot of those traits will become more obvious with larger diameter wheels and lower profile tyres.

Do you have the current alignment specs also- it would be worthwhile comparing them to what other people have their vehicles set to. There is also a post on here with a Suzuki USA TSB that gives updated alignment specs. I'll try and find it....

Sorry for not replying sooner guys...I was out of town over the weekend. Thanks for the input so far!

Yeah, I have the 18" wheels...I do realize that some of what I'm describing is probably inherent to the wheel size and maybe even suspension setup. But I guess this is bothering me a lot because I just don't recall it driving like this prior to that second alignment. I basically noticed the lightness in steering shortly after I drove away from that second alignment. Prior to that, I had no complaints.

And the sad thing is that after driving the car over the weekend, it seems like the steering has gotten worse again

Yet I can't for the life of me figure out what the mechanic at the dealership could have possibly done to alter the steering dynamic other than change the toe. I compared the first and second alignment sheets from the dealer and they are essentially the same, except for a small change from toe-in to toe-out. So it doesn't make any sense to me. It does seem like the car's exhibiting bump steer...but I'm not familiar enough with steering/suspension setups to be able to precisely diagnose it.

I've also been wondering whether it's just wear and tear, but that doesn't make sense either because I'd figure that it would be a gradual change rather than the sudden change that I noticed after the alignments. I kinda wish I could drive a new Kizashi for comparison, but that's not gonna happen...

...or, maybe it's the tires? The independent shop I last took the car to mentioned that I'll probably need new tires in about 5,000 miles (I'm still on original Dunlops).

Anyway, I'll see if later today I can upload the alignment specs I have set. Again, thanks for the help!

[puckaveli]

Sweet Jesus! The dealership added way too much toe out. The car is designed to make the tie rod and control arm travel the same arc as the suspension compresses when you go over bumps. If the tie rod is poorly adjusted and it doesn't travel the same arc as the control arm it will move the steering knuckle over bumps causing the steering to jerk.

Any decent alignment shop should know this and be able to fix it. It looks like they got your toe in back but the dealership might have screwed the tie rods settings and killed your instant center.

[smsmart]

Alright, I finally got around to scanning my alignment specs. I'm including numbers from all three alignments so you guys can get a picture of what the changes have been from one to the other. You'll notice however, that the first two show both before and after measurements, whereas the third scan only shows the after measurements.

Looking at the numbers though, I can't see any big changes...or at least, not changes big enough to where I would think that the car would drive differently (or so I think, at least). So I'm stumped...

I'm actually beginning to think that maybe my steering issue is not related to the alignment at all, but something else. One thing I've also noticed is that the steering is "lighter" even at low speeds, whether driving around a parking lot or parking the car. Even just maneuvering the car into my garage requires less steering effort than before. So maybe it has something to do with the electric power steering? Maybe the dealer made some adjustment to it that I don't know of?

[murcod]

Have you checked your tyre pressures since they aligned it?

One alignment place I went to once decided to bump mine up by 6PSI in each tyre!? I discovered that at the first corner I entered at speed - the car was extremely "skittish" and "surprised me" (to put it politely....)

[Ronzuki]

Other than the crappy tire wear, I thought the car handled great on the factory alignment. When I had my car re-aligned to the TSB specs, I felt the car handled a bit skittish afterwards as well (I was used to driving it w/ the original alignment). I did have my tires inflated to 40 lbs., as always, after the realignment. I've since dropped them back down to recommended pressure as I feel it's not as 'skittish', and have gotten used to the cars 'new', now normal, handling characteristics. Tire wear thus far is perfect. My opinion is that the original factory settings were the correct settings for optimal performance and handling, however, in response to many complaints of less than acceptable tire wear, Suzuki generated the TSB. Strictly my opinion.

[smsmart]

Have you checked your tyre pressures since they aligned it?

One alignment place I went to once decided to bump mine up by 6PSI in each tyre!? I discovered that at the first corner I entered at speed - the car was extremely "skittish" and "surprised me" (to put it politely....)

Yeah, I thought the same thing too after the second alignment that basically started this whole problem for me...I figured that maybe they just overinflated the tires. But even after I let the tires deflate a bit, it still felt the same.

Funny thing is, this last alignment I had done two weeks ago seemed to have helped initially, but now the car is back to driving in the same "loose" manner as it did before. I'm guessing maybe the tires wore down to the new alignment specs.

It's really weird. The very first alignment I did, everything felt fine. The second alignment I did, steering feel changed. Third alignment hasn't helped. And yet, you look at the numbers, and everything seems within spec. So I don't understand what would make the steering feel different.

...and what really bothers me too is that the steering feels like it loosens up on bumps and potholes, and then tightens up a bit on even surfaces. Feels really inconsistent. I swear it didn't feel like that before, even after the first alignment I did.

[murcod]

Perhaps it's something to do with the electrically assisted power steering system?

[Pyramid1]

next dealer visit or alignment I would have the tech check ALL suspension components front and back for loose parts...and especially the steering rack itself. Abnormalities in the rear suspension can definitely affect the steering feel at the front of the car..

[11zukizashi]

I just had an alignment done last weekend and pulling into my driveway just now i noticed something clunking as if it loosened up. If i stick my head next to the tire and wiggle the steering wheel back and forth about an inch i can hear a noise like the connection is loose. Has this happened to anyone else? They cant look at it until noon tomorrow and i have stuff to do before that i hope i dont lose a tie rod and have one wheel pointing one way and one pointing the other.