scavynger

I just picked up a 96 model a few weeks ago. It rides pretty smooth, up until about 70-85 mph. At these speeds there's a vibration in the steering wheel. I took it to a tire and wheel shop and they said the tires I had on it were cheap and two were actually warped. So I got 4 new tires, vibration went down a little, but is still there. Actually, sometimes it rides smooth, depending on the road type, and weirdly enough, there is a stretch of highway i drive every day to work, and sometimes it vibrates there, sometimes it doesn't. The shop said that the wheels were not bent out of shape.

Is there anything else prevalent on this model which might lead to a shaking steering wheel I can check out other than the tires and wheels? I might still take it to another shop to have them check to see if the wheels are bent. It is the original wheels still on there.

MDeezy

iTrader: (27)

Make sure your lug nuts are on properly. More than likely an alignment will cure your problem.

maxsthebest

Here is the official technical opinion for your problem that no one has given you yet. GET USED TO IT. This is an inherent problem with Maximas. I have had the "shake, rattle and roll" since I have owned my Maxima. I have tried "everything" and nothing corrects this problem. The only way, in my opinion, to correct this problem, is to purchase another vehicle. I own a Mazda Millenia and the suspension on these cars is absolutely amazing! Rock solid steering, no signs of vibration at any speeds. Sticks to the road like glue. There are many vehicles out there like this, the Maxima is not one of them. Ah well. Other than that, I love my Maxima it is the most reliable car I have ever owned. I currently have 118,000 miles and it is still going strong.

MDeezy

iTrader: (27)

Surely you must be joking. I've had an extremly smooth vibration less ride since I've owned my car.

WielkiWaac

iTrader: (8)

i have same problem. new rims and tires, new both axles, new brake rotors, and steering wheel still shaking over 80mph. it stops by 110.

MDeezy

iTrader: (27)

Have you guys gotten an alignment? And looked at your specs to make sure they are within spec? Checked tire pressure? Lugs all torqued to spec?

There are various bushings etc, that could be replaced to cure the problem if all else has failed. Only time I've had vibrations was when my alignment was waay out of spec, and when I had a bad wheel bearing (still do). Other than that my car was smooth at any speed.

WielkiWaac

iTrader: (8)

i have done everything

descent

iTrader: (1)

i used to have vibes with the stock tires and rims when i first bought the car. with the 350z wheels everything is smooth and i put them on myself so theres no balance or alignment issues...and nothing was fixed when i swapped.

MDeezy

iTrader: (27)

inner/outter tie rod replacement. Control arm, sway bar end link etc all replaced and no luck?

WielkiWaac

iTrader: (8)

i didnt replace control arms

Cdg2125

iTrader: (7)

My car has a shake at 80mph too. My max only has 108k on it. But I havnt been in a car that the wheel doesnt vibrate at high speeds. Maybe thats just me. Should I really worry about replacing the control arms and such?

ds03

Have the tires/wheels rebalanced at a different shop. I've had this problem crop up from time to time, and 100% of the time it was a bad balance job (wrong size weights, location slightly off, etc.), especially with brand new tires. Also, the better tires tend to be easier to balance (less imperfections to correct). I've had two sets of Michelin's that have proven this theory correct!

MDeezy

iTrader: (27)

I feel this problem should not persist after tires are balanced and an alignment is had. If it does something is in need of replacing, something in the suspension setup. Be it control arm, bushing(s), etc. I feel if an alignment doesnt cure it, inner and outter tie rods should. If after replacing everything everything suspension related and balancing tires etc, still?? then maybe some type of frame damage, or you just stuck.

IlyaK

iTrader: (47)

"or you just suck"....umm...right.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

You could have a bent rim.

In any case, vibration is NOT ACCEPTABLE. Not only is it annoying, it's usually caused by a single worn component, and it will eat your tires up. Keep at it until you find the source of the problem.

Dave

Stuntin' 101

the fact of the matter is that the vibaration could be caused from just about ANY part of the front end. join the club.. ive replaced almost everthing in my front end to narrow it down to most likely being the hub itself. have your rims balanced, and rebalanced again.. make sure you tell the tech that you have an issue, and need to know if the rim has a slight bend. if you dont tell them, they wont tell you.. when you have alignments done, tell them you want a print out of the before and after specs.
if that doesnt help, try and find another set of rims and tires to throw on if you can. see if theres any difference. try to use the same size rims if you can. it makes a difference. if your running 18's and have a shimmy, the shimmy might subside if you use a smaller rim like a 15 to check. the lager the wheel, the more movement there will be at the outter edges of the rim if something like a hub is out of wack. the edge of an 18" rim is further away from the center of the hub than the edge would be on a 15" rim. that would result in a more noticable shimmy with the 18

if its not your rims/tires/alignment, next thing to check would be rotors. if you feel a pulsation under breaking, your rotors are warped.

next on the list, worn control arm bushings, ball joints, inner or outter tie rod ends. one thing thats good is you can get all your front end parts cheap now. i think i paid 270 for all the items listed above except the rotors. i think i got the rotors for about $40 a peice.

another cause can be your axles, if you have vibration under accelaration thats proabably the cause. it could be worn joints, or a slight inbalance in the axle itself. these are also pretty cheap.

if the rack on the car was on its way out you would probably experience "wandering" on the highway and have play in your steering wheel.

another source can be the hubs or bearings themselves. hubs dont really tend to go bad, bearings do. if the bearing was bad it would probably be associated with a noise.

in my case, all the above have already been chaged, except the hubs. so guess whats next on my list.

scavynger

man...sounds like an expensive search for the problem!!

all i've done so far was buy new tires, balance them and have an alignment.

My next stop is to have each wheel examined more closely. I'm really hoping that the rims are just bent (still runnining on original rims and has 180k miles!). I wouldn't mind buying some new wheels since hte stock are ugly anyway, but would hate to replace them, still have hte problem and start replacing all the other items suggested.

Guess i'll have to take one step at a time. Gotta get rid of this shaking though. I drive a ton on the highway and it jsut ruins the entire trip to have that vibration!!!

Another question, do you guys with '96 models have a loose steering wheel? When I say loose, i don't mean like it moves uncontrollablly if you let go, but just very easy to turn, as in i can use my pinky to turn it wtih easy. It's the softest steeering I've ever seen, not sure if that's normal or not. The power steering fluid was flushed recently. Perhaps tightening up the steering whell will lose some of the vibration???

maxsthebest

My point exactly. If we have to go through the entire front suspension to cure a "vibration" in our ride, then the problem is inherent with these Maximas. Like I said before, I also own a Mazda Millenia (2000) and the suspension on this car is incredible! I also know that vehicles like Lexus, Audi, BMW, etc. also have very good suspensions. That's why I mentioned before that if you want to correct the "vibration" problems on a Maxima, you need to replace it with a vehicle that is known for it's excellent suspension setup. Otherwise, get used to the idea that the Maxima will always ride with some measure of vibration on it. I have to deal with it everyday I drive it. I absolutely hate it! Especially, when I drive my Mazda! The difference is day and night. However, my Maxima is paid for, it only has 118K miles on it and it has been incredibly reliable! And so I lump it and keep driving it despite the vibration. Besides, it only exhibits this problem when I am driving on the highway. Around town, it is perfect. Now I will get off of my

LudeAEM

i have the vibration between 50-65mph or so. POS maxipads! I need to check my bushings, i'm sure thats it. My car has 214,000K on it.

descent

iTrader: (1)

If i still have the vibes with my stock rims (i just put them back on) but i dont have them with the 350z rims, that means my stocks are bent somewhere right?

utazdave10

I have had the vibration in my car as well i kept fixing things piece by piece first changed all 4 tires and had them balanced that stoped alot of the shaking but some was there at speeds of 70 to bout 90 and then the shaking stops i had a wheel alignment and changed the suspension with new struts it was a smooth ride since the only problem i had was i needed a new CV Axel check into everything cuz the smallest things can make your car shake and ALWAYS check the tire pressure cuz that throws everything off

ds03

descent, it's very possible that the one set of rims is balanced correctly and the other isn't. Like I said earlier, most of the time vibration is simply an out-of-balance issue and nothing more. Have them rebalanced and see if there is a difference. Check the weights & locations before (you can sometimes tell by the 'clean' shadow left behind when removed) and after, then test drive. Even if still not perfect you should see a change in when/how it vibrates. Then, at least you know that's the issue. You may have to go to a different shop as some techs just don't care enough to do the job right. Sometimes even the machines themselves can make the difference. If the tires are somewhat worn (especially on lower grade tires) it is more difficult to get that "perfect" balance, but it can be done.

Stuntin' 101

let me just add one more comment.. what makes the biggest difference when it comes to having wheels balanced and alignments done is that tech that does it.. i went through about 6 different shops until i finally found a shop where the guy actually knows how to use the alignment machine.. if you ever had an alignment done, and your steering wheel sits slightly crooked while your driving strait, you guys might like to know that "STEP 1" on the AUTOMATED COMPUTER, instructs the tech to STRAIGHTEN THE STEERING WHEEL.

scooter69

1 thing I noticed is that the Nissan stock PSI for the tires is 29lbs. When I first got mine the tires were at 36lbs and I had the shimmy. I dropped the PSI down to an even 30lbs all around and it's nearly gone.

Just a piece of tire news that most don't know...if it shakes in you a$$ then check the rear tires, even if it's in the steering also. If it's ONLY in the steering and amplifies when breaking then check the front.

Just my 2 cents.

MaxedOut99SE

iTrader: (8)

Wow where and who do you guys purchase your rides from? I have drove from NYC to Michigan doing 80 to 90 mph all the way there for the most part of the trip and haven't experienced any vibration whatsoever.

scavynger

So i'm goign to replace my wheels, hoping that they are bent and the cause of the vibration (and also an excuse to get rid of the original ugly wheels). But now can't decided which ones to get. I'm on a budget and can't afford anything really nice.

I'm trying to stick as close to $100/wheel as possible.

I'm leaning towards one of these:

http://www.1010tires.com/wheel.asp?i...wheelmodel=RT5

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/fin...bp=&vid=006346

I tried to photoshop them onto a car that looks like mine:




Opinions?

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

Your photoshopped cars need an alignment.

Personally I like the first set but i'm pretty conservative.

Dave

Fr33way™

iTrader: (23)

Man, that looks real!

Stuntin' 101

im gonna go ahead and assume that your on a stock suspension with stock rims and tires.. when you start changing things, this is what happens..

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

Vibrations are not one of those things.

Dave

EdgeVetto

my 96 does the same thing, but I think that's because it was sitting for 8 months recently