More on the DBS "wheel wobble" problem (Rick?)
Discussion
Hi chaps,
I've been doing some more digging on this problem and unearthed some potentially disturbing info after an in depth discussion about the problem with my dealer's head mechanic.
He says that it seems almost all of the cars they've delivered seem to have the problem, from new. And that they've tried absolutely everything on some customers cars, but that it seems incurable.
This includes replacing the tyres, wheels, brakes, hubs, and front suspension, as well as trying innumerable different balancing methods and machines.
Aston's official response is apparently that it's just bad luck, due to their supposedly sensitive 20" wheels and our roads. This is definitely rubbish as I have other fast machinery which seems to have no problem. At 150 metric leptons in my DBS the shudder is very noticeable, at 250 it is downright scary, with the wing mirrors practically a blur. Not right for a super car methinks! On the same piece of smooth Tarmac other cars of mine have no problem.
We haven't yet tried anything other than balancing on my car, next up we are going to try with a set of the DBS optional, lightweight rims, to see if there is any difference, although the mechanic isn't too hopeful based on prior experience...
Any thoughts or experiences from others..? I have driven two other 08 manuals which didn't seem to exhibit the shudder in the past so I know a smooth running car is possible!
I've been doing some more digging on this problem and unearthed some potentially disturbing info after an in depth discussion about the problem with my dealer's head mechanic.
He says that it seems almost all of the cars they've delivered seem to have the problem, from new. And that they've tried absolutely everything on some customers cars, but that it seems incurable.
This includes replacing the tyres, wheels, brakes, hubs, and front suspension, as well as trying innumerable different balancing methods and machines.
Aston's official response is apparently that it's just bad luck, due to their supposedly sensitive 20" wheels and our roads. This is definitely rubbish as I have other fast machinery which seems to have no problem. At 150 metric leptons in my DBS the shudder is very noticeable, at 250 it is downright scary, with the wing mirrors practically a blur. Not right for a super car methinks! On the same piece of smooth Tarmac other cars of mine have no problem.
We haven't yet tried anything other than balancing on my car, next up we are going to try with a set of the DBS optional, lightweight rims, to see if there is any difference, although the mechanic isn't too hopeful based on prior experience...
Any thoughts or experiences from others..? I have driven two other 08 manuals which didn't seem to exhibit the shudder in the past so I know a smooth running car is possible!
Love a challenge, is the vibration mainly through the steering or can you feel it more through the seat of your pants, do different suspension settings have any effects on the problem, does cornering make any difference, and can it also be felt through the brake pedal, also what difference does weight have such s full tank of petrol and a passenger, over car low on fuel and no passenger, does the steering become lighter when you have the vibration, can you drive through the vibration or does it just continue to get worse, do different road surfaces have any effect, also what differences do accelerating, cruising and deceleration have on the vibration,
rick-derby- said:
Love a challenge, is the vibration mainly through the steering or can you feel it more through the seat of your pants, do different suspension settings have any effects on the problem, does cornering make any difference, and can it also be felt through the brake pedal, also what difference does weight have such s full tank of petrol and a passenger, over car low on fuel and no passenger, does the steering become lighter when you have the vibration, can you drive through the vibration or does it just continue to get worse, do different road surfaces have any effect, also what differences do accelerating, cruising and deceleration have on the vibration,
Great will do some more in depth testing and report back!Can you confirm that many DBSs seem to have this problem, though..? Or are you officially bound to stay silent and stick to the party line..?
Edited by jus on Monday 24th May 16:46
As one who thought it was cured, by new wheels and tyres, a quick spin last jight suggests that it may have returned. Before the "cure" changing suspension seetings and the sport button on/off did not improve matters. Deceleration could enhance the wobble and it would continue through to slower speeds than those at which it was first induced. Hard acceleration could soemtimes drive through the problem.
Certainly the effect was more noticeable on coarse surfaces but even on brand new tarmac there was always a hint that it was there.
Hope this helps.
Certainly the effect was more noticeable on coarse surfaces but even on brand new tarmac there was always a hint that it was there.
Hope this helps.
Hi Justin I am completely independent and have no affiliation either with Aston Martin or the dealer network, so as all these cars will be under manufactures warranty this is not something we would normally look at as they would all go to the dealer network and a standard road test such as we would due when servicing etc probably would not show a fault, I can't believe this problem was evident during design and testing Aston have some of the best designers and engineers developing these cars, It would take a while for problems to get back to Aston depending on how many dealers have reported the fault and what has been reported, what questions have been asked and have any been fixed, This unfortunately does take time, I would think something has changed since development and would be interested in chassis numbers as this could point to a certain production period, chassis dynamics and how things react together is very complex, it could be as simple as a change in the way the cars are manufactured, a change in supplier such as for bushes etc, or a part manufacturer altering their manufacturing process and not telling Aston, there are so many factors to consider, The more information that can be gained will help with diagnosis as once localised should lead to a fix,
martinvantage said:
AM waiting to be told its just us super sensitive UK drivers!!!
I guess this takes the fun out of owning such a carNot really the same thing but when i had my mini when ever it was cold outside one of the xzeon lights would not turn on but every blinking time i would bring it to mini nout would be wrong and would get a similar response "are you sure"
After problem after problem when first owning the car one day i was down at mini sorting another problem and thought i would try it and WHOOOOOOOOP WHOOOOOOOP light didnt work......New light ordered and replaced
I guess since they have no idea what is wrong, how do you go about solving the problem?
Suggestion for the OP. Get onto Gaydon and speak to after sales care. A few folks on here have taken this route with other nasty niggles and had Aston Martin send the engineering hit-squad out to dealers to look at problems.
You may find that a specific dealer has seen an issue and they try X,Y and Z but the boys and girls at Gaydon designed the car and they do know it better than most (note most) dealer mechanics.
Just my 2p worth. Best of luck
You may find that a specific dealer has seen an issue and they try X,Y and Z but the boys and girls at Gaydon designed the car and they do know it better than most (note most) dealer mechanics.
Just my 2p worth. Best of luck
XXXAngelXXX said:
i didn't encounter those probs on my former DBS - is it an RHD thing then? (our roads are not better than yours)
I beg leave to differ. There are crummy roads and Frostschaden in Germany as anywhere else, but in comparison with Britain, on main roads, motoring in Germany is like driving on a billiard table!Edited by XXXAngelXXX on Tuesday 25th May 13:45
The cars that are going innto dealers with this problem , need to be looked at first by the factory , as the dealers will do all sorts of things to try and cure it , but the factory need to be involved as they may have not had this problem and would like to see it first hand.
If all the people on here that say they have this problem ,then ring there dealer and tell them that you what the factory to look at it , as you are aware of this problem on other DBS's.
If the factory get to these cars that have the problem before anyone else touching it ,the better chance the will find the problem.
dont get me wrong the dealers do a good job , but if it is a engineering issue , chassis , etc , only the factory will find it.
If all the people on here that say they have this problem ,then ring there dealer and tell them that you what the factory to look at it , as you are aware of this problem on other DBS's.
If the factory get to these cars that have the problem before anyone else touching it ,the better chance the will find the problem.
dont get me wrong the dealers do a good job , but if it is a engineering issue , chassis , etc , only the factory will find it.
Right, here's the first results from some of my testing.
1. As a general rule, the vibration becomes noticeable around 138 metric leptons, and gets worse from there. Initially it is through the steering wheel only, as you increase speed you start to feel it in the whole car... Past 200 metric leptons the image in the wing mirrors can clearly be seen to be shaking
2. Road surface does seem to make a difference. On some surfaces the problem increases more linearly with speed, on others less so, and on some the wobble is lessened but still distinctly there.
3. Suspension settings also seem to make a difference, with Sport mode on the problem is a little lessened
4. There is shaking under braking but I believe this to be a separate problem of brake shudder... You can distinctly feel that shudder through the brake pedal and its only under less firm braking pressures, also it seems to transmit a different kind of shudder through the steering. The problem also seems to be lessened by some hard braking to stop from over 200 metric leptons, but this has seemingly no effect on the main wobble problem
5. I haven't done any focused testing with regards to different weight or passenger configurations yet, nor on acceleration or cornering. Cornering's a hard one at those high speeds...
Looks like we have 3 owners in this thread alone with the same problem...
1. As a general rule, the vibration becomes noticeable around 138 metric leptons, and gets worse from there. Initially it is through the steering wheel only, as you increase speed you start to feel it in the whole car... Past 200 metric leptons the image in the wing mirrors can clearly be seen to be shaking
2. Road surface does seem to make a difference. On some surfaces the problem increases more linearly with speed, on others less so, and on some the wobble is lessened but still distinctly there.
3. Suspension settings also seem to make a difference, with Sport mode on the problem is a little lessened
4. There is shaking under braking but I believe this to be a separate problem of brake shudder... You can distinctly feel that shudder through the brake pedal and its only under less firm braking pressures, also it seems to transmit a different kind of shudder through the steering. The problem also seems to be lessened by some hard braking to stop from over 200 metric leptons, but this has seemingly no effect on the main wobble problem
5. I haven't done any focused testing with regards to different weight or passenger configurations yet, nor on acceleration or cornering. Cornering's a hard one at those high speeds...
Looks like we have 3 owners in this thread alone with the same problem...
rick-derby- said:
Love a challenge, is the vibration mainly through the steering or can you feel it more through the seat of your pants, do different suspension settings have any effects on the problem, does cornering make any difference, and can it also be felt through the brake pedal, also what difference does weight have such s full tank of petrol and a passenger, over car low on fuel and no passenger, does the steering become lighter when you have the vibration, can you drive through the vibration or does it just continue to get worse, do different road surfaces have any effect, also what differences do accelerating, cruising and deceleration have on the vibration,
Edited by jus on Friday 28th May 10:28
Edited by jus on Friday 28th May 10:31
Some more test data... I may have been wrong about the braking story, it may have something to do with it.
Braking lightly to moderately at higher speeds when the shudder is noticable through the steering, results in the steering shudder increasing significantly, and some shudder being felt in the body. It seems some prolonged hard braking can reduce this (feels like you are "cleaning the brakes") but the reduction is really only more noticeable at lower speeds where braking just feels much smoother. At higher speeds they shudder anyways.
If you brake hard enough the shudder goes away almost entirely. Under acceleration there is no discernible difference in the wobble, and with just me + one quarter tank there is no noticeable difference either, as opposed to me + passenger + full-ish tank.
Braking lightly to moderately at higher speeds when the shudder is noticable through the steering, results in the steering shudder increasing significantly, and some shudder being felt in the body. It seems some prolonged hard braking can reduce this (feels like you are "cleaning the brakes") but the reduction is really only more noticeable at lower speeds where braking just feels much smoother. At higher speeds they shudder anyways.
If you brake hard enough the shudder goes away almost entirely. Under acceleration there is no discernible difference in the wobble, and with just me + one quarter tank there is no noticeable difference either, as opposed to me + passenger + full-ish tank.
My DBS Volante is experiencing the same problems. I've spoken with Salamanca Aston Martin in Spain and they are saying its similar with another DBS they have. They haven't resolved the problem after 2 weeks. I've spoken to a chief mechanic in the UK who tells me there is a service bulletin out now to address the issue.
My stance on the matter is to send the car back to the UK factory to get it fixed, or have them refund me. Its that simple, £190k shouldn't shake at 90mph, my DB9 never did, and I bet the 599 doesn't...
I guess JC never had this on the top gear DBS...
My stance on the matter is to send the car back to the UK factory to get it fixed, or have them refund me. Its that simple, £190k shouldn't shake at 90mph, my DB9 never did, and I bet the 599 doesn't...
I guess JC never had this on the top gear DBS...
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