Hi, I am new to the MX-5, having always wanted one but never got around to it. I have now bought into the fun of one, the new RF! It is a great little car and very responsive to drive but. I am haivng a few issues with the stability and I was wondering if anyone else might know what the issue is. In brief, at delevery, it felt as if I was driving on marbles when cornering, as if all of the wheels were out of balance. The dealer has done some work with re-balancing the wheels but it still sufferes from the jitters - on anything but a smooth road, the front offside feels well out of balance, or its tramping at 30 MPH. It does not seem to be able to smooth out the ride, it happens at higher speeds as well but generally, on the more uneven roads.
Any ideas? There is already a significant amount of lead on the new wheels, which I find a tad unusual.
Worth checking alignment and pressures to be sure
Thanks for that, the dealer has done a balance and tracking leaving a fair bit of lead on the wheels which is a tad odd for a new car. Problem remains waiting for their next idea.
Hi RodT
Welcome to the forum,
you mention tracking; that indicates the front wheel alignment only. Ask the dealer to get four wheel alignment done. This may have to go to a specialist because the dealer may not be geared up for this…
Richard.
I’ll check on that, main problem seems to be with front offside not being damped very well on rougher surfaces.
What were you driving previously?
The MX Iis second car, have an Evoque, perhaps it’s just the light chassis difference but the front off is acting oddly
I have read on this forum, of many instances of new cars being delivered with grossly over-inflated tyres - might be worth a check.
Having said that, changing from a Range Rover to an MX-5 is likely to be something of a culture shock !
Be interesting to hear how this works out though, so please keep us posted.
Yes I will, they did reduce the tyre pressure as you say, they were overinflated! Watch this space.
I agree that it sounds like the car is under-damped, possibly a weak suspension damper.
The car is the new RF 2ltr and apparently has Bolsyon struts to the front suspension.
Try swapping the front and rear wheels over to see if the wheel balance (vibration?) problem moves or goes away. Sometimes this allows a wheel problem to be identified.
JS
If it were me, other than checking the tyre pressures and adjusting if necessary, I would DO NOTHING off my own bat as it might be argued that you have infringed the warranty. Take it back! It’s a new car under warranty and it’s up to the dealer/Mazda to make sure it’s right and roadworthy!
I’d agree that it’s the job of the dealer to fix issues with a new car and one has to be careful with new car warranty issues and wouldn’t suggest getting third party work done, e.g. alignment, but I’d still suggest that swapping wheels is not exactly warranty infringing, and may give them a nudge.
JS
That is my aim but I find the dealership a tad slow in their responses, I will give them the benifit of the doubt for a while longer but the CEO Mazda UK is on my list to contact next.
Every now and then there is a duff tyre. Remember that all tyres are to some extent handmade.
Occasionally in the past I’ve had tyres change shape, going out of round, once a pair of Goodyears and a few hundred thousand miles later on another car a pair of Continentals. Both sets were proper branded new tyres from a reputable supplier, but kept on needing to be rebalanced, going out each time within a hundred miles or so of normal commuting. This is bearing in mind that the replacements with the same brand were just fine, as has had been the original same brand of worn ones.
The give-away was when they were put on the balance machine they did not run true even with a gentle hand spin.
This is just a thought and the problem could be something else entirely, but it is worth considering.
Two things.
Have you, personally, actually checked tyre pressures? Don’t in any way assume that someone looking at your car, even if they have a Mazda shirt on actually knows what tyres pressures these cars should be. They will be working on Lease Mazda 6’s all day every day and they will be running 36psi. I know people that have owned an MX-5 for years and say “I run 34psi, the same as the Focus, is that wrong then?”
Secondly, modern cars and SUV’s do have very good suspension. They are designed to insulate the driver from just about everything while the car and its control systems attempt to bend the laws of physics and keep 2 tons of vehicle on the road. They are very good at it these days and in no way are they the Land Rover on live axles and leaf springs of the past. They will go down a back lane at quite silly speeds and the driver knows little about this. The MX-5 is far lighter and reacts more. There will be more movement in the car and it is not designed to just deal with the corners. The car will feel more on it’s toes.
HI, I have runn out of post space but I have checked the pressure at 30psi.
Thank you for all of the tips, Perhaps oddly, after 2300 miles, the suspension seems to have bedded in and the car behaves much better. I did a comparative drive in another new RF from the dealer and it was far more stable, out of the box, so to speak. I guess mine just needed to be run-in but I will keep a carefu; eye on how it continues.