Suspension too "Darty"?

W

WalksInDarkness

Member

• Apr 4, 2005

• #1

Hi All,

This might sound silly, but here goes:
Does anyone feel that thier 5-Door 3 handles to "Darty" on the highway at ~80mph?
When I am in the car alone, the steering feels almost unstable at 80mph. I live in the NorthEast where the highways are not exactly flat, due to frost heaves. When I am traveling in a straight line, the car tries to dart back and forth as it goes over every little road variation.
The car seems a lot less tempermental when it is loaded with my wife and 3 kids. I am probably not used to such a tight suspension, and never rode on 17" wheels either. I have had other "sporty" cars ('78 280Z, '99 Maxima SE), both with highly upgraded aftermarket suspensions but they never felt unstable. Hopefully, the suspension will relax a little when the springs break-in.

What is your opinion?

 

C

curacer1

Member

:

2004 mazda 3

• Apr 4, 2005

• #2

wait till you put aftermarket tires on the beast, i switch to a 225/40/18 on my ride and it is now just plain scary on uneven roads. they do break in after about 12-15k miles, i have almost 30 on mine

 

1

122 Vega

Retired MSP Racer!

:

03 Mazdaspeed Protege #1668,2005 Mini Cooper S, 75 Cosworth Vega

• Apr 4, 2005

• #3

Factory alignments are rarely aligned. You may have too much toe which could make it darty esp. if you have ruts like we do here. The 3 runs a lot of neg camber in the rear too. I'd get a local shop to check it.

Britt

 

E

ealranger

Member

:

Mazda 3s 5door

• Apr 9, 2005

• #4

thanks to my fiance i had to have my 3s hatch realigned and although the tight handling is new to me i must say it that at almost 15k miles i love the ride. the "darty feeling you might be experiencing could be due to the roads in your area, having drivin in VA, MD, DE, and PA i have noticed that road conditions affect the way the steering feels. the only area that has worried me was high speed turns. haveing totaled two vehicles in high speed turns this could just be me being "gun shy" though (shrug)

 

N

nate0123

rawr!

:

2023 Mazda CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus, 2019 Hyundai Veloster N

• Apr 9, 2005

• #5

ealranger said:

haveing totaled two vehicles in high speed turns this could just be me being "gun shy" though

Click to expand...

mind elaborating on this? did you hit gravel/water/ice/something out of the ordinary?

 

E

ealranger

Member

:

Mazda 3s 5door

• Apr 9, 2005

• #6

you mean the recks or riding in the 3?

 

E

ealranger

Member

:

Mazda 3s 5door

• Apr 9, 2005

• #7

nate0123 said:

mind elaborating on this? did you hit gravel/water/ice/something out of the ordinary?

Click to expand...

i've drivin in all conditions with both my old vehicle and with the 3 my old one was a ford ranger which explains the part of the problems... but since driving that i've noticed that in any vehicle i'm hiper aware of the feel of the ride and in some cases my sense is nothing more than me worring that i'll wreck my new car. i plan to run it in my first ever autox event on the 24. i'm still not shure this is a good idea as its a stock ride but we'll see. and i'll let you know.

 

N

nate0123

rawr!

:

2023 Mazda CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus, 2019 Hyundai Veloster N

• Apr 10, 2005

• #8

I was hoping for more elaboration on what caused the two incidents that resulted in the totalling of your cars

 

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ealranger

Member

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Mazda 3s 5door

• Apr 10, 2005

• #9

a fella running a stop sign summed up one i almost avoided him but my tires locked up and i slid into his rear end.... considering it should have been his front door i think i did good. that was the end of the chevette. the second accident involved high speeds and a ditch to which i am now personally not a freind of i have a reminding scare of what speed does from that one. that was the end of a nice ford ranger.
oh should i be more specific for that one? i drove off the road ... theres no better way to put it.

 

Last edited: Apr 10, 2005

B

Badger Biker

Member

:

2001 Jeep Cherokee Limited

• Apr 10, 2005

• #10

Funny. I don't get any problems with the car being "darty" at 80 ... 90 ... or 100. Car feels as solid as a rock, much more solid than other cars that I have driven. (Friend who's mom has a BMW 320i or something likened the handling and stableness of the 3 to that of the BMW)

I wish I could help more, but I am just not experiencing what you are. :\

 

S

shibaman

Member

:

Mazda 3 - 5 door

• Apr 10, 2005

• #11

My guess is that it is an alinement issue. When I first had my springs in the car was too sensative and moved around at speed. I had it done again and now it tracks true and correct.