My front end is "floaty/loose/sloppy" - Advice Required

Willstar · Postby **Willstar** » Mon May 28, 2012 11:25 am

I went for a long country drive over the weekend and noticed that my steering seems to get very light and floaty when driving over 100kph.
It seems that i am regularly correcting the car 'drifting' (no, not going sideways) around the road while driving in a straight line. It is hardly noticeable, but is definitely there.
I've had a quick look for slop in the control arm bushings and tie rod ends, but there doesn't seem to be any excessive movement.
I had a wheel alignment done recently, so would be hesitant to think that's contributing.

It isn't too bad, so is this a normal characteristic of an NB8B?

The only mods of relevance are: 17x7 wheels - +35 offset and Eibach springs.

I will be doing a full change over of the bushings, but is there anything else that i should be checking?

Caffeine · Postby **Caffeine** » Mon May 28, 2012 12:10 pm

You could also try adjusting the pinion lash in the steering rack. I tightened mine up a few years ago and it made a dramatic difference.

You only need to tighten it a miniscule amount (i.e. 1/10 of a turn) to make a big difference, and doing it up too much can put excessive strain on your power steering pump, so err on the side of caution.

Here's some info: http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=46005

JBT · Postby **JBT** » Mon May 28, 2012 1:50 pm

A wheel alignment might be necessary. Caster and toe might be out of spec.

Steampunk · Postby **Steampunk** » Mon May 28, 2012 1:54 pm

Willstar wrote:I had a wheel alignment done recently, so would be hesitant to think that's contributing.

That doesn't necessarily mean they gave you a good alignment, they can just as easily set it up to be "bad".
Have you got a printout?

Willstar · Postby **Willstar** » Mon May 28, 2012 3:50 pm

1red5 wrote:
Willstar wrote:I had a wheel alignment done recently, so would be hesitant to think that's contributing.

That doesn't necessarily mean they gave you a good alignment, they can just as easily set it up to be "bad".
Have you got a printout?

I will have to look to see if i have a print-out. I don't think so.

Can anyone recommend a setup (weekend country road driving) that i could give to an alignment shop?

Magpie · Postby **Magpie** » Mon May 28, 2012 4:02 pm

My current NA wheel alignment is:

Front
Castor - max for current camber +3.8
Camber -1.2 each wheel
Toe -0.7 each wheel (total -1.4mm)

Rear
Camber -1.7 each wheel
Toe -0.7 each wheel (total -1.4mm)

Note: The person doing the alignment disagreed with my rear toe settings.

lightyear · Postby **lightyear** » Mon May 28, 2012 4:07 pm

Low offset wheels, or toe out on the front can cause that.

16bit · Postby **16bit** » Mon May 28, 2012 4:10 pm

is it possible your sway bar mounts have cracked? i have heard this is possible but not sure if it would cause that, just a suggestion.

Willstar · Postby **Willstar** » Mon May 28, 2012 4:20 pm

Thanks, I'll use those figures and try another alignment shop.

As for the camber on the current setup, is it normal for the fronts to be near 0 degrees, and the rears on quite a bit of negative camber?
I'm only going by sight, but it seems like my rear wheels have more negative camber than a lot of other 5s.

I have very little knowledge on wheel aligning.

Guran · Postby **Guran** » Mon May 28, 2012 5:55 pm

An extra degree of negative camber on the rears is a fairly common setup for NAs and NBs.

Steampunk · Postby **Steampunk** » Mon May 28, 2012 6:10 pm

If you check under the car and everything is present and normal and you reckon it's the alignment, then bring it back to the shop and say they've done it wrong and do it again.
Print out and give them the figures you want and ask for a printout.

JBT · Postby **JBT** » Mon May 28, 2012 7:44 pm

The only problem with that Andrew is that if the shop's alignment machine is not properly calibrated, the alignment will still be wrong.

aka_juffa · Postby **aka_juffa** » Mon May 28, 2012 9:15 pm

Willstar,

I can recommend Bob Jane on the Nepean Hwy in Moorabbin. Their wheel alignment guy (Darryl I think) has worked on 3 of my MX5s (all NA). I have always been happy with his work.

J.

Willstar · Postby **Willstar** » Tue May 29, 2012 9:45 am

aka_juffa wrote:Willstar,

I can recommend Bob Jane on the Nepean Hwy in Moorabbin. Their wheel alignment guy (Darryl I think) has worked on 3 of my MX5s (all NA). I have always been happy with his work.

J.

FANTASTIC!

I've been looking for a recommendation! I'll book in and ask for Daryl. Is it worth dropping your name?

aka_juffa · Postby **aka_juffa** » Tue May 29, 2012 11:32 am

Willstar wrote: Is it worth dropping your name?

Nah.... Just make sure to tell him your normal driving style and he will try and set the the car up for you. Oh, and he prefers to do it his way...The first time I took a 5 there I had some recommended settings with me...if looks could kill

J.