Exige 350 - steering vibration
Discussion
Help / advice required from you Lotus Exige S3 experts . Lucky enough to own a Lotus 350 Exige which I purchased from new in 21. This is my first Lotus and is a dream come true.
Coming from Caterhams and a TVR ( which I still own ) I went in to the purchase of a Lotus with my eyes wide open. I love the car and although my car has had a few minor problems over the past 2 years of ownership , I have one that does concern me.
If I take my car over 70 MPH I get a lot of vibration through the steering wheel ( Over 80 is awful ). At first I thought it was propably due to tyre pressures and despite me using an accurate gauge and making sure the tyre pressures are correct ( as per owners manual ) I still suffer with the same problem.
Last week all of the wheels were balanced and it has made no difference .......in fact it's propably worse .Today I have covered approx 250 miles , mainly on the motorway and I am completely shattered after hanging on to what I can only describe as a jack hammer .
I am taking the car back to the dealer tomorrow for them to drive the car , as I don't know if this normal for a Lotus Exige ( I have not driven any other Exige before ) but I was not expecting anything like the vibration that I am getting.
So my question is to fellow S3 350 Exige owners is, have any of you experienced similar issues and what fixed the problem or is it something that is deemed as normal and you have to put up with ?
Coming from Caterhams and a TVR ( which I still own ) I went in to the purchase of a Lotus with my eyes wide open. I love the car and although my car has had a few minor problems over the past 2 years of ownership , I have one that does concern me.
If I take my car over 70 MPH I get a lot of vibration through the steering wheel ( Over 80 is awful ). At first I thought it was propably due to tyre pressures and despite me using an accurate gauge and making sure the tyre pressures are correct ( as per owners manual ) I still suffer with the same problem.
Last week all of the wheels were balanced and it has made no difference .......in fact it's propably worse .Today I have covered approx 250 miles , mainly on the motorway and I am completely shattered after hanging on to what I can only describe as a jack hammer .
I am taking the car back to the dealer tomorrow for them to drive the car , as I don't know if this normal for a Lotus Exige ( I have not driven any other Exige before ) but I was not expecting anything like the vibration that I am getting.
So my question is to fellow S3 350 Exige owners is, have any of you experienced similar issues and what fixed the problem or is it something that is deemed as normal and you have to put up with ?
Update : Thank you all for your feedback......much appreciated.I took my car into the dealer ( Central Lotus ) this morning. They took the car for a test drive and confirmed the vibration through the steering was at unacceptable levels.
The front wheels were balanced again and the tyres taken off and turned by half. Wheels rebalanced , refitted to car and test driven again .....but still the same problem. Luckily, they had a spare set of wheels ( same as mine ) and tried these on the front. Taken for a test drive and no more vibration.
So the problem has been narrowed down to a wheel(s) , tyres (s) or a combination of both .So the next job is to get the wheels taken to a specialist to check alignment and straightened / made true if required .I have left my car in their very capable hands and will provide a update when finally resolved.
Big thank you to the team at Central who really do go the extra mile to help their customers. I wish all car dealers were as good.
The front wheels were balanced again and the tyres taken off and turned by half. Wheels rebalanced , refitted to car and test driven again .....but still the same problem. Luckily, they had a spare set of wheels ( same as mine ) and tried these on the front. Taken for a test drive and no more vibration.
So the problem has been narrowed down to a wheel(s) , tyres (s) or a combination of both .So the next job is to get the wheels taken to a specialist to check alignment and straightened / made true if required .I have left my car in their very capable hands and will provide a update when finally resolved.
Big thank you to the team at Central who really do go the extra mile to help their customers. I wish all car dealers were as good.
Final Update : After much work in trying to identify what was wrong , the O/S/F wheel is at fault . No idea what is wrong with it as a "expert" in wheel alignment after checking it deemed it to be "straight".
So new wheel ordered from Serious Lotus ( very quick delivery ) and tyre fitted / balanced, my Lotus is back on the road .......and I am a very happy bunny . Big thank you to the team at Central Lotus for methodically working through each part to identify what was wrong and doing it a very reasonoble price.
So new wheel ordered from Serious Lotus ( very quick delivery ) and tyre fitted / balanced, my Lotus is back on the road .......and I am a very happy bunny . Big thank you to the team at Central Lotus for methodically working through each part to identify what was wrong and doing it a very reasonoble price.
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