I've not got aftermarket wheels, just stock 17" S-Spokes!

Are all of you wheels and tires balanced properly?

Balanced = aligned?

Balanced = aligned?


No. Balanced means weighted properly so that when spinning they do not cause a vibration.
An alignment means the wheels are set to correct angles referencing a center point.

Here's a good basic link (http://www.familycar.com/alignment.htm)

So basically I need to check both alignment and balance, and either (or both) of these could be causing my unstableness/sliding?

Try alginment, if the wheels are out of balance you'll feel it as vibrations through the car and steering wheel.

As for sliding or unstableness, its partly your tires, and I have a hunch that your stock shocks are wearing out, not giving you the proper damping needed to feel "glued" to the road.

I sometimes get a sort of knocking/wobbling on the steering wheel at 65mph+, but as far as I can remember it's always been like that...I've just never got around to getting it sorted @ the dealers :) Going to a garage next week to check my alignment.

How do you know the sliding/unstableness is my tyres? They're meant to be good grippy ones (Toyos) and they're fairly new! :)

My stock shocks have only done 33k and I don't drive that hard! I do a lot of motorway driving at sensible speeds, and I like to get my foot down on an open road and occasional Sunday runs out in the twisties etc., but I no way push my car particularly hard handling wise.

Are the shocks a user replaceable part, or will they be covered by the warranty?

I sometimes get a sort of knocking/wobbling on the steering wheel at 65mph+, but as far as I can remember it's always been like that...I've just never got around to getting it sorted @ the dealers :) Going to a garage next week to check my alignment.

How do you know the sliding/unstableness is my tyres? They're meant to be good grippy ones (Toyos) and they're fairly new! :)

My stock shocks have only done 33k and I don't drive that hard! I do a lot of motorway driving at sensible speeds, and I like to get my foot down on an open road and occasional Sunday runs out in the twisties etc., but I no way push my car particularly hard handling wise.

Are the shocks a user replaceable part, or will they be covered by the warranty?


They're covered only if they're defective. Worn out I don't think it's going to happen. I have noticed that the TLC seems to be better in the UK than here in the States though.

What do you think is the most likely cause of my sliding round corners/unstable feeling on motorway? The wheel alignment or shocks worn out? 33k miles doesn't seem much for the shocks to last! I doubt it's my tyres to be honest as they're meant to be very grippy and they're also fairly new.

Your shocks won't be covered by warranty, since you have lowering springs installed. The reason why your shocks "could" be worn out this quickly is because you have lowering springs, it takes a lot more damping forces to damp stiffer springs, thus your stock units will wear out quicker.

Its just a guess though, maybe its just your alignment being off. Did you ever get the car aligned after installing the lowering springs?

I don't know specifically, but I would have thought it would have been aligned. To be honest, it does seem to have started around the time I got my springs installed, so that may be it.

I'm taking it back to the same garage that installed my springs, going on a test drive with them to point out the problems, and take it from there :)

Sounds good man, let me know what happens!