Any steering wheel shimy? - LotusTalk

paulhastings · 01-10-2007, 02:38 PM

I am looking to purchase an Exige S. Has anyone with the N/A or S versions had any problem with steering shimy which is prevalent in the sport package Elise?

ace10 · 01-10-2007, 02:56 PM

yes, i'm seeing just a bit at a 80-85 mph cruise. maybe 10 to 20% of the time, and it doesn't appear to be road surface related. too soon to really narrow down the conditions. goes away with throttle or coasting down a few mph.

carl · 01-10-2007, 03:03 PM

this one has been great Abe had Quies rebalance the wheels before I picked it up and 3 out of 4 were out from the factory. the car now has 4000mi and 4track days and there still rock solid. carl

pwe · 01-10-2007, 03:24 PM

Just a little bit, around 80mph. I'm going to have the alignment and wheel balance checked out soon.

tonykomo · 01-10-2007, 03:35 PM

last i heard from someone in the know, is each car only gets 30 mins of geometry tuning in the factory. when my car was delivered the geo didn't match the quoted numbers at all. i had the whole geo redone on a hunter machine and it was night and day difference after that.

xtn · 01-10-2007, 03:50 PM

I've had my 85mph shimmy since new, through two alignments and two balance jobs. It hasn't changed. Very slight, passenger won't even notice. But I can feel it in the steering wheel.

During the last rebalance I watched. I stood there looking over the shoulder of the tech. I immediately noticed something peculiar as the wheel/tire combo was spun up to speed on the balancing machine. The wheel had no visible runout (to the naked eye) but the A048 itself was at least a 1/4 in out of round. Same thing on the other side.

I'm still driving on them until I get new tires. I don't know if the out of round condition was a CAUSE of the vibration, or a SYMPTOM of the vibration.

xtn

paulhastings · 01-10-2007, 06:24 PM

This is a little disappointing to hear. I had tires changed, alignment done and several attempts at wheel/tire balancing including to race shops and it never sorted out my sport pack Elise. My understanding was this is exclusive to the sport pack Elise.

tonykomo · 01-10-2007, 07:08 PM

again, check the car's geometry settings vs those in the service manual.

quick2tr · 01-11-2007, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulhastings

I am looking to purchase an Exige S. Has anyone with the N/A or S versions had any problem with steering shimy which is prevalent in the sport package Elise?

My n/a was delivered with a bad steering shimy that started at 70-80mph and remained bad to >110mph. Did a cheap non-Lotus dealer 25$ balance on the front wheels and everything was fine.

Buz · 01-11-2007, 04:07 AM

It is a tire issue. I had my wheels off and re torqued them without lowering the car much. I drove 450 miles in the last 2 days at 70 to 90 mph and my shake was gone. My tires are out of round with about 1/4 inch of runout so I do not expect it to remain perfectly smooth. Yokohama should be replacing out of round tires under warranty, has anyone pressed the issue with a Lotus or Yokohama tire dealer yet?

paulhastings · 01-11-2007, 07:26 AM

I am suspicious of this being soley a tire issue. It's possible for the car to be causing the shimy which in turn could be causing the tires to skip a bit and eventually becoming out of round. I did everything mentioned 2-3 times over and the problem was never solved with my Elise. I really want to purchase an Exige S but, do not want to step into the same frustrating problem. My initial understanding was this is exclusive to the sport pack Elise. My suspicion is it's a combination of the lighter wheels/tires, stiffer suspension, light front end of the car and aerodynamic lift at highway speeds.

azskycop · 01-11-2007, 08:23 AM

I have a sport pack Elise and my car has no shimmy at all, at any speed, ever. I have read that if you overtorque the wheel lugs it will shimmy and I imagine any other number of things. I bought mine new and it has been great.

paulhastings · 01-11-2007, 09:43 AM

You are lucky as I was told all sport pack Elises's suffer this problem to one degree or another.

I appreciate all the feedback as I just do not want to purchase a new Exige and find myself with the same problem.

pwe · 01-11-2007, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulhastings

I appreciate all the feedback as I just do not want to purchase a new Exige and find myself with the same problem.

I wouldn't call what I have a "problem" as it is very slight and is difficult to distinguish from the road surface. It's just enough for me to want to have the alignment verified.

Buz · 01-11-2007, 10:04 AM

Do not buy an Exige S until you have the dealer check to see if the front tires are round. Make them warranty or exchange them if they are. Also make sure no one over torques your wheel bolts. That is a potential problem on all cars as most get over torqued in haste. My Elise wheels must have been 50 percent over torqued the first time I took them off.

paulhastings · 01-11-2007, 10:15 AM

Yeah, I would like to drive it first this time.

spectre · 01-11-2007, 11:00 AM

My sport pack elise came with a slightly bent wheel and 2 out of round tires which led to shimmy at high speed. Dealer replaced and it has been perfect since.

vasracer · 01-11-2007, 11:10 AM

no problem with mine, and it was a press demo with 7k miles on it, maybe that's why they fixed it??

wildwhl · 01-12-2007, 07:20 PM

Definate shimmy at about 65 mph here...hope to address it this next week.

WW

tonykomo · 01-12-2007, 10:59 PM

just picked up my new exige s. no shimmy whatsoever.

01-10-2007, 02:38 PM	#1 (permalink)
paulhastings Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: San Diego native Posts: 649	Any steering wheel shimy? I am looking to purchase an Exige S. Has anyone with the N/A or S versions had any problem with steering shimy which is prevalent in the sport package Elise?

01-10-2007, 03:24 PM	#4 (permalink)
pwe HOLD MY BEER Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 561	Just a little bit, around 80mph. I'm going to have the alignment and wheel balance checked out soon. __________________ 2006 Lotus Exige (Schroth harnesses, Larini 8", SS brake lines, Ultradiscs, Pagid pads, Nitrons, RTD brace, Titan steering rack, R888s, Braille battery, Bollock, desnorkle, AVIC-N3, etc.) 2001 Mustang GT (full exhaust, coilovers, control arms, Konis, 6 pt. roll bar, shifter, big brakes, subframes, torque arm, panhard bar, Sparco seat, BFG KDW2s, 3.73 gears, etc. 250rwhp 280ft/lbs) 2006 VW GTi Mk5 (SS brake lines, Hawk pads, Pilot Sport PS2s) 2005 Mercedes-Benz C230K (hers, gone )

01-10-2007, 03:35 PM	#5 (permalink)
tonykomo Exige S Komo 280bhp Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 648 Images: 1	last i heard from someone in the know, is each car only gets 30 mins of geometry tuning in the factory. when my car was delivered the geo didn't match the quoted numbers at all. i had the whole geo redone on a hunter machine and it was night and day difference after that. __________________ User formerly known as tonyyoshi 2007 Lotus Exige S Aspen White with LSD, Traction Control, Komo-Tec Phase 2 280bhp and SJR Titanium Exhaust. Komo-tec Acceleration Watch Me Race

01-10-2007, 03:50 PM	#6 (permalink)
xtn McLareghini Bugatterrari Join Date: May 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 6,894	I've had my 85mph shimmy since new, through two alignments and two balance jobs. It hasn't changed. Very slight, passenger won't even notice. But I can feel it in the steering wheel. During the last rebalance I watched. I stood there looking over the shoulder of the tech. I immediately noticed something peculiar as the wheel/tire combo was spun up to speed on the balancing machine. The wheel had no visible runout (to the naked eye) but the A048 itself was at least a 1/4 in out of round. Same thing on the other side. I'm still driving on them until I get new tires. I don't know if the out of round condition was a CAUSE of the vibration, or a SYMPTOM of the vibration. xtn __________________ 2006 McLareghini Bugatterrari, Storm Titanium... <mods> installed: air horn, Scroth 4-point ASM harnesses, Sector111 halon extinguisher and mounting bracket, Von Hep exhaust and rear panel delete, Pagid brake pads, red Volks CE28n wheels, Toyo RA-1 tires, Nitron SA coilovers, Sector111 (WorksBell) quick-disconnect steering wheel kit. awaiting installation: Scroth "pull-up" lap belts, Sector111 RTD Brace, Tony's heater bypass mod, and dropped steering rack mounting plates. </mods>

01-10-2007, 07:08 PM	#8 (permalink)
tonykomo Exige S Komo 280bhp Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 648 Images: 1	again, check the car's geometry settings vs those in the service manual. __________________ User formerly known as tonyyoshi 2007 Lotus Exige S Aspen White with LSD, Traction Control, Komo-Tec Phase 2 280bhp and SJR Titanium Exhaust. Komo-tec Acceleration Watch Me Race

01-10-2007, 02:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
ace10 -30- Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 4,450 Images: 33	yes, i'm seeing just a bit at a 80-85 mph cruise. maybe 10 to 20% of the time, and it doesn't appear to be road surface related. too soon to really narrow down the conditions. goes away with throttle or coasting down a few mph.

01-10-2007, 03:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
carl Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 1,094	this one has been great Abe had Quies rebalance the wheels before I picked it up and 3 out of 4 were out from the factory. the car now has 4000mi and 4track days and there still rock solid. carl

01-10-2007, 06:24 PM	#7 (permalink)
paulhastings Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: San Diego native Posts: 649	This is a little disappointing to hear. I had tires changed, alignment done and several attempts at wheel/tire balancing including to race shops and it never sorted out my sport pack Elise. My understanding was this is exclusive to the sport pack Elise.

01-11-2007, 04:07 AM	#10 (permalink)
Buz Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 1,923	It is a tire issue. I had my wheels off and re torqued them without lowering the car much. I drove 450 miles in the last 2 days at 70 to 90 mph and my shake was gone. My tires are out of round with about 1/4 inch of runout so I do not expect it to remain perfectly smooth. Yokohama should be replacing out of round tires under warranty, has anyone pressed the issue with a Lotus or Yokohama tire dealer yet?

01-11-2007, 07:26 AM	#11 (permalink)
paulhastings Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: San Diego native Posts: 649	I am suspicious of this being soley a tire issue. It's possible for the car to be causing the shimy which in turn could be causing the tires to skip a bit and eventually becoming out of round. I did everything mentioned 2-3 times over and the problem was never solved with my Elise. I really want to purchase an Exige S but, do not want to step into the same frustrating problem. My initial understanding was this is exclusive to the sport pack Elise. My suspicion is it's a combination of the lighter wheels/tires, stiffer suspension, light front end of the car and aerodynamic lift at highway speeds.

01-11-2007, 08:23 AM	#12 (permalink)
azskycop Fly N Lowr Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 824	I have a sport pack Elise and my car has no shimmy at all, at any speed, ever. I have read that if you overtorque the wheel lugs it will shimmy and I imagine any other number of things. I bought mine new and it has been great. __________________ If you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much space!

01-11-2007, 09:43 AM	#13 (permalink)
paulhastings Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: San Diego native Posts: 649	You are lucky as I was told all sport pack Elises's suffer this problem to one degree or another. I appreciate all the feedback as I just do not want to purchase a new Exige and find myself with the same problem.

01-11-2007, 10:04 AM	#15 (permalink)
Buz Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 1,923	Do not buy an Exige S until you have the dealer check to see if the front tires are round. Make them warranty or exchange them if they are. Also make sure no one over torques your wheel bolts. That is a potential problem on all cars as most get over torqued in haste. My Elise wheels must have been 50 percent over torqued the first time I took them off.

01-11-2007, 10:15 AM	#16 (permalink)
paulhastings Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: San Diego native Posts: 649	Yeah, I would like to drive it first this time.

01-11-2007, 11:00 AM	#17 (permalink)
spectre the designer Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 956	My sport pack elise came with a slightly bent wheel and 2 out of round tires which led to shimmy at high speed. Dealer replaced and it has been perfect since.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

01-11-2007, 11:10 AM	#18 (permalink)
vasracer Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Santa Monica, CA Posts: 251	no problem with mine, and it was a press demo with 7k miles on it, maybe that's why they fixed it?? __________________ vasracer 2006 Elise, Canyon Red, Sport/Touring, RTD brace, ss lines, stage II, darthholder. 2009 Lexus RX 350 2009 BMW 135i

01-12-2007, 07:20 PM	#19 (permalink)
wildwhl You bought a Locust? Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Reno, NV Posts: 782	Definate shimmy at about 65 mph here...hope to address it this next week. WW __________________ ...................... She's gone.

01-12-2007, 10:59 PM	#20 (permalink)
tonykomo Exige S Komo 280bhp Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 648 Images: 1	just picked up my new exige s. no shimmy whatsoever. __________________ User formerly known as tonyyoshi 2007 Lotus Exige S Aspen White with LSD, Traction Control, Komo-Tec Phase 2 280bhp and SJR Titanium Exhaust. Komo-tec Acceleration Watch Me Race

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