why is my car so sloppy on the highway sways like a boat ...
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From: Texas
06cls
why is my car so sloppy on the highway sways like a boat ...
alright so ive replaced both front airmatic struts with known good ones, and both rear shocks. EVERY front end suspension wear item is new as well then had alignment done as well as front tires dismounted, rotated and balanced . thru some wurth hhs on sway bar bushings as well, and new engine mounts.
The problem with my car is that on the highway especially after 80mph and under hard acceleration the cars body starts to sway left to right..... the faster i go the more violent it gets.
im officially out of ideas other than possibly bad sway bar bushings? car is lowered an inch via star ( shows no faults for airmatics either). seems to be getting worse instead of better even after all these new parts.
The problem with my car is that on the highway especially after 80mph and under hard acceleration the cars body starts to sway left to right..... the faster i go the more violent it gets.
im officially out of ideas other than possibly bad sway bar bushings? car is lowered an inch via star ( shows no faults for airmatics either). seems to be getting worse instead of better even after all these new parts.
Last edited by 06cls55amg; May 31, 2016 at 10:21 AM.
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From: Santa Clara, Ca
2003 SL55 / 2002 SLK32
alright so ive replaced both front airmatic struts with known good ones, and both rear shocks. EVERY front end suspension wear item is new as well then had alignment done as well as front tires dismounted, rotated and balanced . thru some wurth hhs on sway bar bushings as well, and new engine mounts.
The problem with my car is that on the highway especially after 80mph and under hard acceleration the cars body starts to sway left to right..... the faster i go the more violent it gets.
im officially out of ideas other than possibly bad sway bar bushings? car is lowered an inch via star ( shows no faults for airmatics either). seems to be getting worse instead of better even after all these new parts.
The problem with my car is that on the highway especially after 80mph and under hard acceleration the cars body starts to sway left to right..... the faster i go the more violent it gets.
im officially out of ideas other than possibly bad sway bar bushings? car is lowered an inch via star ( shows no faults for airmatics either). seems to be getting worse instead of better even after all these new parts.
If your issue is only under acceleration, you may want to look closely at any and all suspension components that locate the rear axle to the car (control arms, etc). Any worn or sloppy bushings here can change your alignment dynamically under acceleration (this is actually something we used to manipulate in circle track racing to get through the corners better ... but you just want the change to be as close to zero as possible for the road and road courses)
hope that helps,
Chris
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2014 E63S; AMS 100 octane ECU dyno tune; EDOK TCU tune; BB intakes; sprintbooster
alright so ive replaced both front airmatic struts with known good ones, and both rear shocks. EVERY front end suspension wear item is new as well then had alignment done as well as front tires dismounted, rotated and balanced . thru some wurth hhs on sway bar bushings as well, and new engine mounts.
The problem with my car is that on the highway especially after 80mph and under hard acceleration the cars body starts to sway left to right..... the faster i go the more violent it gets.
im officially out of ideas other than possibly bad sway bar bushings? car is lowered an inch via star ( shows no faults for airmatics either). seems to be getting worse instead of better even after all these new parts.
The problem with my car is that on the highway especially after 80mph and under hard acceleration the cars body starts to sway left to right..... the faster i go the more violent it gets.
im officially out of ideas other than possibly bad sway bar bushings? car is lowered an inch via star ( shows no faults for airmatics either). seems to be getting worse instead of better even after all these new parts.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2013
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From: Texas
06cls
ive already checked the rear suspension components with a pry bar i dont see anything that has excessive play, as well as grabbing the tire and doing the 9-3 12- 6 method everything is stiff as can be. the car launches and goes straight as an arrow otherwise.
the amount of left to right body roll when accelerating over 80 + is pretty significant.
how does one correctly check the rear suspension components for wear?
the amount of left to right body roll when accelerating over 80 + is pretty significant.
how does one correctly check the rear suspension components for wear?
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From: Santa Clara, Ca
2003 SL55 / 2002 SLK32
ive already checked the rear suspension components with a pry bar i dont see anything that has excessive play, as well as grabbing the tire and doing the 9-3 12- 6 method everything is stiff as can be. the car launches and goes straight as an arrow otherwise.
the amount of left to right body roll when accelerating over 80 + is pretty significant.
how does one correctly check the rear suspension components for wear?
the amount of left to right body roll when accelerating over 80 + is pretty significant.
how does one correctly check the rear suspension components for wear?
Sounds like you have looked this over pretty thoroughly.
A couple of bits of info that might be useful here are ... how many miles on the car? and how did this first appear? (gradually? after you lowered it?)
You may want to return it to stock ride height (temporarily) to rule that out as a contributor.
In a perfect world, you could strap this on a chassis dyno and look at dynamic suspension changes, but short of that....
I would have your alignment/suspension guy ride with you in the car and demonstrate the problem to him. He/they should be able to inspect your rear suspension components (and re-inspect the front) and sort this out. If He can't find it ... you may need a new alignment shop.
Hope that helps,
Chris
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'06 E55, '15 Jeep SRT8, '94 Mustang GT
I would have your alignment/suspension guy ride with you in the car and demonstrate the problem to him. He/they should be able to inspect your rear suspension components (and re-inspect the front) and sort this out. If He can't find it ... you may need a new alignment shop.
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Thread Starter
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From: Texas
06cls
wannn say after my strut blew out last year, thought that the replacement strut had a bad shock or weak bag, but the 3rd strut is doing the same thing. as i have mentioned earlier replaced the rest of the airmatics as well to rule them out.
when my strut blew the car was slammed, since then i have raised the car but still dealing with this issue. idk going to throw my stock front wheels on and see if these nankangs are the culprit as this guys seemed to have a similar issue.
my issue seems more in the suspension though, as the tires feel planted to the ground, its the body that sways left to right.
http://www.amazon.com/Nankang-Noble-...l&pageNumber=1
when my strut blew the car was slammed, since then i have raised the car but still dealing with this issue. idk going to throw my stock front wheels on and see if these nankangs are the culprit as this guys seemed to have a similar issue.
my issue seems more in the suspension though, as the tires feel planted to the ground, its the body that sways left to right.
http://www.amazon.com/Nankang-Noble-...l&pageNumber=1
Last edited by 06cls55amg; May 31, 2016 at 12:31 PM.
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Thread Starter
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From: Texas
06cls
no, just at higher speeds and only under acceleration does the body seem to rock left to right. the last time i had this happen was when i was over taking some slow cars, noticed it was starting to rock side to side, let off , got back in in no change. the faster i went the faster and more it rocked, once i passed the cars i let off completely braked, and the car went back to normal.
Thread Starter
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From: Texas
06cls
1ForcedBenzon 2nd set of rear dampening shocks. 0 change
HeissRod, Brand new motor and trans mount. made 0 change
O-55 i changed everything my self, yes camber bolts.
NO change after all new front end components and alignment, i basically just replaced parts that were good. only the upper control arms bushings are original.
i had the car sitting even lower for 8 months or so and had the car well over 140+ and never had this issue. i want to say my issue presented it self right after the drivers front bag blew in my garage.
sucks cause i love the car but it drives like ****
HeissRod, Brand new motor and trans mount. made 0 change
O-55 i changed everything my self, yes camber bolts.
NO change after all new front end components and alignment, i basically just replaced parts that were good. only the upper control arms bushings are original.
i had the car sitting even lower for 8 months or so and had the car well over 140+ and never had this issue. i want to say my issue presented it self right after the drivers front bag blew in my garage.
sucks cause i love the car but it drives like ****
Last edited by 06cls55amg; May 31, 2016 at 04:09 PM.
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From: Houston/Plano, TX
2005 E55, 2009 VW GLI
I would verify that that the bolts are secured between the lock tabs of the bushing. There is a notch on the bolt head that will either point towards or away from the wheel when correctly inserted between the tabs. Same goes for your lower control arms.
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From: Texas
06cls
ive had this problem way before i replaced the original parts with the new camber bolts etc etc. the lower controls arms i pushed in towards the engine and made sure the grooves of the camber bolts went into the 2 tabs in the bushing before i tightened the nut.
i only recall the control arm bushings having these tabs...
i only recall the control arm bushings having these tabs...
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From: Santa Clara, Ca
2003 SL55 / 2002 SLK32
I don't have a clear understanding of the symptom, at first I thought that you were suggesting that the tail wags, but now I think you are saying that the car (or front) rolls left and right (as if it is raising one side and dropping the other and then switching).
In any case, it is odd that the occurrence seams related to speed and acceleration. Have you looked at the inputs to the airmatic itself (perhaps starting at the level sensor near the bag that blew)?
considering that the airmatic system has 3 lateral acceleration sensors perhaps one is acting up with strange results? I looked at the wiring diagram to see if some or any of the sensors may have common power, ground or signal lines (for instance, +5vc dropping out of both front level sensors for a moment might make one side drop while the other raised depending on the configuration... BUT, no luck there as EVERY sensor is individually/directly wired to the airmatic controller) .
I assume the star tester shows nothing unusual.
you may want to try wiggling/tapping the sensors and their connectors (that you can reach) while the car is running and on a lift (that loads the tires ... muffler or alignment rack).
you have a real head scratcher there.
Chris
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CLS 55 AMG E500 ML320
I had a similar problem when I reduced the rear toe to 0. There is so much flex in the rear suspension it would toe out under acceleration and the car would sway back and forth pretty hard. Too much toe might stay straight under power, but sway at speed.
I built a wooden jig to do my own alignments, but you can play with it a little using a straight edge.
Put some masking tape on the side of the car with an x, lay a straight edge across the middle of the tire and take a measurement in to the x and write it down. Then reduce the toe a bit on each side. See if it helps. It's kind of a pain because you can't measure and adjust at the same time. If an alignment shop is convenient, you can just have them set it were you tell them. Lot of words, but that is what I would try.
I built a wooden jig to do my own alignments, but you can play with it a little using a straight edge.
Put some masking tape on the side of the car with an x, lay a straight edge across the middle of the tire and take a measurement in to the x and write it down. Then reduce the toe a bit on each side. See if it helps. It's kind of a pain because you can't measure and adjust at the same time. If an alignment shop is convenient, you can just have them set it were you tell them. Lot of words, but that is what I would try.
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From: Cypress, TX
'06 E55, '15 Jeep SRT8, '94 Mustang GT
His alignment values show he is still running some positive toe, right in the middle of factory specs.
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06cls
The more ive been driving the car been trying to pay attention to what the rear does around bumps , road imperfections, etc. especially considering the front end is pretty much brand new.
One thing ive noticed is going around the off ramp where there is fractures/cracks in the pavement that go across, seems like the front wheels stay planted but when the rears hit that the car kind of buckles, and mimics the body roll issue for a split second just no where near as bad. not sure if this makes sense.
all 4 subframe bolts are in tact and used a pry bar in between the subframe and frame to check if there was any significant play already as well just in case anyone was curious.
this is a town fair tire wholesale account alignment... seriously considering bringing the car to a indy shop that my friend recommended me and have them take a look at it. im running out ideas and am frankly sick and tired of buying and replacing parts on this car.
One thing ive noticed is going around the off ramp where there is fractures/cracks in the pavement that go across, seems like the front wheels stay planted but when the rears hit that the car kind of buckles, and mimics the body roll issue for a split second just no where near as bad. not sure if this makes sense.
all 4 subframe bolts are in tact and used a pry bar in between the subframe and frame to check if there was any significant play already as well just in case anyone was curious.
this is a town fair tire wholesale account alignment... seriously considering bringing the car to a indy shop that my friend recommended me and have them take a look at it. im running out ideas and am frankly sick and tired of buying and replacing parts on this car.
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From: Santa Clara, Ca
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Does changing from "sport" to "comfort" have any affect? How about changing select-able ride height?
I was also just thinking about how this happens to the greatest extent at higher speed (above the speed the car automatically drops to a lower position I am assuming) ... I wonder what your rear toe-change-curve is (relative to ride height) ....
Taking it to a recommended shop (as your friend suggested) sounds like a good idea.
hope you sort it out soon!
Chris
I was also just thinking about how this happens to the greatest extent at higher speed (above the speed the car automatically drops to a lower position I am assuming) ... I wonder what your rear toe-change-curve is (relative to ride height) ....
Taking it to a recommended shop (as your friend suggested) sounds like a good idea.
hope you sort it out soon!
Chris
Last edited by latemodel21; Jun 1, 2016 at 11:18 AM.
