Hello again - I have a rather stupid problem. I have a mark 4 Fiesta with alloys and low profile tyres. The ones on now are Firestone (no idea as to the model number) and the previous ones were Pirelli P500 Z\'s. Recently when going at high speed (usually 65 onwards) the car has occasionally felt that it\'s lost grip - so much so that you can feel it in the wheel and then it seems to grip again. I\'ve looked at all tyres and they seem fine - probably because they\'re relatively new. The roads it does it on are obviosuly high speed ones but I\'ve not had any problems before. Could this be weather conditions (although sometimes it is dry when it does is)or something more serious?
Sorry for the stupid posting
Adam.
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\"Give Way\"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute
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You haven\'t put your spoiler on upside down have you? :-)
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Tyre pressure too high ?? Regards Peter
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Peter, the pressure was the first thing I checked but it seems fine. It should be noted that when I first got the tyres, the car handled perfectly it just seems unstable. My dad has also commented on this.
By the way - Smokie - do I have to put the spolier on the right way up? It looks so cool upside down ;-) Damn boy racers...
Cheers
Adam
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"Give Way"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute
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Idea of spoiler is to push the car towards the road at speed
whether it works or not is another matter.But using one upside
down would have the car being pulled away from it at high speed.
meaning you would lose grip/stability/they are designed to keep
the car firmly on the road
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Surely mounting a spoiler upside-down couldn't reverse its effect? - reduce it, maybe, and the car would look a bit odd.
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Aerodynamics is a funny thing - you can fly a plane upside down, even though the basic theory of faster over the longer upper surface says it should fall out of the air!
Going back to the original point when you say 'appears to lose grip' - what do you mean? I am wondering if you are seeing an increase in engine revs that could point to a slipping clutch? Otherwise maybe the PAS is doing something odd. Bit more info required!
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RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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Well to save time - I didn't put the spoiler on upside down - it was my attempt at humour....
In terms of losing grip - it feels almost as though the tyres have left the road for a split second and the car doesn't seem as 'sure-footed' as it usually does. As mentioned earlier - this only occurs at high speed which led me to belive a tyre-grip problem but all of them look fine and pressure is also correct. I have no idea what the problem is but it does give you a bit of a shock when it happens. Any ideas greatly appreciated.
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"Give Way"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute
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A few possibles come to mind
1.Weak springs
2.Dampers
3.Tyres themselves.ie some tyres are of a harder rubber than
others causing the tyre to skid across a bump rather than
stick to the surface of the road
I would be inclined to think weak springs.Not uncommon
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Thanks Mech - I'm a relatively new driver so I'm not ashamed to ask what I should be looking for in terms of new springs. I know where to look but are there any identifiable weaknesses to look for so I can either eliminate the problem or continue looking.
Many thanks
Adam.
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"Give Way"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute
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From your diagnosis, I believe that your shocks have gone.
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Tread will tell you.Look across and around the tread
if you find wear in short distances
ie if some parts look and feel lower than other sections of the tread.If tyres are not that old you may not see feel any
but will see signs of it starting new sections of tyre tread becoming badly scuffed
is normaly signs of dampers Hope that helps?
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Hi all,
a short while ago, I posted a...er....post on my Fiesta. The problem was as follows (I\'m writing it out again because I can\'t find the previous post!)
{I did, so moved it into the original thread. DD}
I would like to thank everyone again for theiur suggestions but I still have the problem. The car now seems to \'lose it\' quite often now even at slower speeds. Originally, people suggested weak springs so I had a look and they seem fine although admittedly I probably wouldn\'t have seen the problem if it was there! Tyres look fine and I even pumped them up again on Friday. The garage I used has a digital air pump so I know for a fact that it is accurate. On that Friday, the car seemed a little better but this could have been completely unrelated. Now it is getting quite scary. I know I\'m being obscure in this problem but it really is difficult to explain. I could liken it to aquaplaning for a split second. Plese help as I don\'t want to die :-)
Many thanks
Adam.
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\"Give Way\"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute
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"Free air"garage gauges are not usually very accurate - try a tyre specialist with a proper gauge. ATS guys are usually helpful, I've found. Sure you actually know the recommended pressures? Might be worth double checking. Don't confuse bar with psi:)
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That's not a bad idea but surely being out by a little wouldn't cause that? Pressure is ok (checked the manual). By the way - it was 20pence for the pleasure! 20 whole pence!!!
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"Give Way"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute
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Adski,
Just because a reading is digital doesnt make it correct....just easier to read! Dont trust any garage gauges, get a good footpump and a properly calibrated pressure gauge and use the same one all the time.
Vague suspension and iffy handling sound like worn shock absorbers.Have you checked these (not the springs)?
regards
Ian L.
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No, but I will. What am I looking for? Are there any tell tale signs?
Thanks
Adam
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"Give Way"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute
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Visually, check the shocks for leaking fluids and worn/loose rubber bushes at each end.
Then bounce car at each corner, (smooth push down to compress the spring and release) and the car should return to stationary without too much rebound...certainly one or two oscillations.
How old is the car?
My last Fiesta (91 Mk3) had struts at the front so the shocks are inside the springs, and at the rear ....I can remember, think it was some kind of torsion bar setup with visible shocks. Anyway with a 10 year old car I would be expecting the shocks to require inspection and probably some replacing.
hth
Ian L.
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The car itself is a 1996 model Mark 4 Fiesta.
I shall check this later
Many thanks
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"Give Way"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute
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Err this is not "tramlining" is it?
Tramlining = Usually felt on cars with wide low profile tyres. It feels as tho the steering wheel is trying to twist gently out of your hands, and feels as if the car wants to suddenly wander off line briefly. Its caused by the tyres actually wanting to follow the road surface and any imperfections in it(usually the slight hollow tracks in the road surface caused by lorries - Hence "tramlining") Its therefore worse in lane 1.
You can usually tell this my moving from lane to lane. as you move out the lane the feeling stops, and when you move to the next lane (or back again) it comes back. It will be worse on some bits of road than others, so if always happens at the same place on the same road you know what it is.
You new tyres may be more prone to tramlining.
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Renault Family,
This is what my Dad suggested but a) I travel this road every day and it has gradually gotten worse from there. Now you'd be lucky to complete a journey without it happened whereas before, it was every 3, maybe 4 journeys. It's never on the same spots of road either.
THanks for the suggestion
Adam.
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"Give Way"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute
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perhaps a tracking problem.
Either something banged out of adjustment or increasingly wearing out of adjustment.
Have you had the tracking checked ?
How many miles have you done on the tyres now ? Any sign of uneven wear ?
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Tracking? Hopefully it is this as It\'s easy to fix. I haven\'t had the tracking checked Mark - the last time it was fixed was when the two new front tyres went on which was about 2,500 miles ago. The tyres all look perfect with no signs of wear although 3 tyres have been changed, one on the car has not. (The rear left one) I know what you\'re all thinking \"Ohhh - there\'s your problem then\" But like I said before, they all look fine - almost brand new and this problem has only recently started.
Many Thanks
Adam.
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\"Give Way\"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute
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Check the front suspension bushes as mark 4 Fiestas go through these very frequently, I know my wife's Fiesta has and this may explain your poor handling. It's definitely not your tyre pressures being a couple of PSI either way.
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Again, thank you for all of your replies,
I've looked at the springs and shocks
all seem fine but wouldn't hurt from being replaced some time in the near future. My Dad is going to drive it to see what he thinks because I don't explain it very well.
I'll let you know how I get on.
Adam.
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"Give Way"? Wait....I know this one...give me a minute
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It is unlikely tracking will cause it.you said tyres look perfect.Try running a hand over the tread can you feel any low spots in a short distance.ie from one or two blocks of tread possibly more to others.if all is smooth no dips high spots.Then that may not be dampers.as dampers will cause that to happen.Takes longer to show up on new tyres.But then as you have changed tyres could be that? ie tyres don`t agree with car.did you have problem before?
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Hi all - the problem on my car has been fixed!!!!
I will explain in basic terms (as that's all I can understand) what was up and hopefully - someone with more expertise will be able to explain it better.
The problem involved the left wheel being 'loose' something to do with the balljoint. Anyway - apparently it needed a new hub so £62 later the car handles better than ever.
Many thanks for all of your replies on this - I'm just glad I'm not going to die when overtaking someone.
Cheers
Adam.
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"Ah...beer - my only weakness - my achilles heel if you will"
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Wheel being loose ie wheel bearing would explain it.But am surprised that you had no braking probs with it.ie brake judder
as a loose or badly worn bearing would cause the disc to become out of straight or out of line.ball joint is connected to stub axle and not connected to hub.Although that will cause it. wheel bearing`s do this.so it must have been that?
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