| C2SNerves |
I am enjoying the comfort of my SL. I didnt want sport suspension. It is one of the smoothest rides I've ever experienced even on a car....BUT:
strange enough, if you run over sizable potholes at low speeds, the wheels/shocks seem to hit hard into the potholes giving a disturbing bang or pound. Nothing seems to be wrong with my shocks, i hope.
the dealer said (and I seem to agree) that because the wheels are too big and heavy, they tend to fall hard into pot holes at lower speeds and give that pounding noise. at Over 40mph, the SL rides smooth and treats most potholes like pebbles. It is important to mention that IF THIS THEORY IS CORRECT, it means that lower psi would make the tires more sluggish with heavier downforce, which would worsen the effect of pothole pounding sounds.
At smaller bumps and holes, the MO rides very smooth at any speed.
Is this common with anyone? Please send your comments on this, before I get any ideas that I have a problem. :confused: |
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| dmako |
| Not sure but your MO is new right? Check your tire air presure. It may be too high. |
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| Nissmo |
I am new to my 05 SE and have to agree. I was driving a few days ago hit a hole and said out loud "what was that?". In the rear view mirror it wasn't much. Since then I have been audtioning holes of varing sizes and depths. Your concept of wheel wt is a good one.
I come from a Touareg which was better on potholes @5,300lbs. I prefer the firmer, more car like Murano ride and reliaility. |
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| zebelkhan |
| That has also been my experience with my MO. I quickly learned to avoid any and all potholes of any size. Now when I drive I plan my "lanes" as well as the road to make sure I am driving on the smoother pavement.....:D |
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| C2SNerves |
my tire pressure was 33, then i brought it down to 30 since that is the minimum recommended, but no difference
you agree with my theory of tire weight causing these bangs? |
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| Eric L. |
| I do think the heavy wheels are a factor in the rough ride over potholes. The Murano, even in SL form, is rather tautly sprung with very firm damping on the shocks. Its a tradeoff between good cornering and a soft ride over bad roads. |
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| GripperDon |
You are the first guy to use pressure as low as I do. Sometimes when the MO has been in the Air Conditioned garage for a while I even get a Flat tire warning.
If you look at he weight of the wheels + Plus the weight of the tires (posted here somewhere Box Designs I think) you will appreciate the effects of unsprung weight.
True Mag wheels and a non truck tire construction like Falkens ( still high load rating and nice sidewall construction for responsive steering) you would be amazed it floats. There is a place here in town call Wheel Specialists that has such stuff and I went there for precision balancing and a tire shave. The owner got interested in My MO and bought one for himself. He called and I went down to ride in his with the tire wheel setup as above on 2005, SL, FWD, Woo Whee Nice. |
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| C2SNerves |
GripperDon
for the record, my MO is a SE AWD not LE, but i refer to LE bec i do not have the sport suspension.
for a while i believed i had a problem with front shocks, but it seems the pothole rough ride is normal-considering the shared experience on this thread-, although i thought a nonsport suspension should be different (softer on potholes). funny how the ride differs so much at variable speeds. do u think more air in the tires would reduce weight?
i would love to see pics of different wheels. |
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| GMTURBO43 |
How did you get an SE without the sport suspension?
Changing the amount of air in the tire will not change the weight of the wheel/tire. The only way to do this is to go with a lighter wheel. One thing to keep in mind is load rating though.
Forged wheels are generally lighter and strong/stronger than stock. www.tirerack.com will sometimes list the weight of the wheel if it is considered lightweight.
One other thing to consider is the punishment your suspension takes when hitting potholes. I realize you can't miss all of them but it is a good idea to try to. |
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| Eric L. |
| Yeah I wonder how you could get an SE without the sport suspension as well. Did you swap suspension with someone? |
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| C2SNerves |
my dealer specified that there was a SE batch ordered without sports suspension, but I am begining to doubt this.. My SE does get very stable at high speed which is the main function of sport tuned suspension. It may have been a marketing swing or most probably ignorance from dealer's part.
Can anyone tell me how I can find out? from inspecting the shocks? Is there any mark on the shocks and if so, where? |
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| GMTURBO43 |
| Sounds like a load of poo to me. I don't know of any way to tell. You might be able to compare two vehicles side by side - but I'd guess even that is a stretch. Maybe a part number on a spring/shock. |
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| Eric L. |
| Yeah I think the only way to verify is with the part number. What is the point of the SE if you do not get the sports suspension? |
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| GMTURBO43 |
| 6-spoke wheels - but I don't know if you can consider that a benefit :) |
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| Eric L. |
quote:
Originally posted by GMTURBO43
6-spoke wheels - but I don't know if you can consider that a benefit :)
Hey I like my six spoke wheels! :p
But only because it means I have the uprated sports suspension. :D |
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| GMTURBO43 |
| I would have gotten the SE if I could have the SL wheels. Oh well...even with the SL I can't complain about sloppy handling. |
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| zebelkhan |
| On the way back from a movie last night I missed a speed bump going about 10 mph. I had 4 people in the car so it was fairly heavy. The MO sounded as if it was falling apart. The sound and the jerk I experienced I would expect from a truck with absolutely no suspension loaded with tool boxes full of loose tools. It was terrible and upsetting.....:3: |
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| Gonzo |
| I think Nissan would have sold more SE if they had the 5 spoke wheels.... |
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| jaak |
The ride on both the SE and SL is rough over potholes, especially at low speed. However, neither one of them leans much in corners, so I'm not surprised that it's a bit nasty on rough roads. Especially considering the height.
At speed, it's quite smooth.
Yeah, Gonzo, I'm with you, the 6 spoke wheels detracted from the SE appeal for me, but that's completely personal taste, just like colour. However, I do have a set of SL wheels, in case anyone's got the problem... Doesn't look like I'll be needing them! |
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| GMTURBO43 |
| I think the more 'sport' we put in to suspensions the worse the ride on rough surfaces is going to be. There isn't much you can do to change that. If you want a car that doesn't jar you when hitting a pothole - you get a 1976 Cadillac Seville and enjoy the body roll. |
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| C2SNerves |
You know what confuses me... apart from this pothole drum effect on the murano suspension system, I have never ridden a more comfortable SUV, IMHO. I even compare to the ML, Range Rover, Cayenne, which are considered some of the more comfortable SUV's. (FX is no comparison whatsoever-sorry!)
feels like you are in a big benz or a lexus.. just as long as you keep away from potholes... or else your daydreming will suddenly be set to a halt.
My agent still insists my SE does not have sport tuned suspension. Well maybe in my part of the world Nissan orders them like this (but I still doubt it, since this is a Nissan standard). I gues there is no sure way to know unless i find the part codes on the shocks - which I couldnt find..yet!!
ERIC L. - HERE IS THE SPEC SHEET FOR MY MO.
http://www.rymco.com/Nissan/Specifi...&Make=1&Model=6
I think I am the only one on this forum with a AT Transmission! |
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| HuskyFan |
quote:
Originally posted by C2SNerves
[My agent still insists my SE does not have sport tuned suspension. Well maybe in my part of the world Nissan orders them like this (but I still doubt it, since this is a Nissan standard). I gues there is no sure way to know unless i find the part codes on the shocks - which I couldnt find..yet!!
ERIC L. - HERE IS THE SPEC SHEET FOR MY MO.
http://www.rymco.com/Nissan/Specifi...&Make=1&Model=6
I think I am the only one on this forum with a AT Transmission!
[/B]
Where did you buy the Murano? |
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| Eric L. |
quote:
Originally posted by C2SNerves
You know what confuses me... apart from this pothole drum effect on the murano suspension system, I have never ridden a more comfortable SUV, IMHO. I even compare to the ML, Range Rover, Cayenne, which are considered some of the more comfortable SUV's. (FX is no comparison whatsoever-sorry!)
feels like you are in a big benz or a lexus.. just as long as you keep away from potholes... or else your daydreming will suddenly be set to a halt.
My agent still insists my SE does not have sport tuned suspension. Well maybe in my part of the world Nissan orders them like this (but I still doubt it, since this is a Nissan standard). I gues there is no sure way to know unless i find the part codes on the shocks - which I couldnt find..yet!!
ERIC L. - HERE IS THE SPEC SHEET FOR MY MO.
http://www.rymco.com/Nissan/Specifi...&Make=1&Model=6
I think I am the only one on this forum with a AT Transmission!
Actually I believe you - since you purchased your car in Lebanon, the specs might be different. I know for a fact that non North American Muranos have a more aggressive suspension tuning, even in SL form, so you're probably getting North American SE performance from your non sport suspension (but Euro spec) SE. |
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| mdbigdog |
I have the same experience with a slight twist. With speed bumps or this one spot near me where there's a dip in the road if I go too fast I get that same issue but if I take them slow I don't.
Glad to hear I'm not the only one, as it freaked me out the first few times it happened.
I have an '05 SL AWD. Otherwise it's been pretty nice other then still not getting the advertised gas mileage yet but I know there are already a ton of posts on that :) |
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| C2SNerves |
HuskyFan my MO was purchased in Lebanon, which should be the same as the North America spec but with AT instead of CVT, and with (debatable) non-sport suspension. I'm actually very satisfied with the transmission which is the same as the maxima..smooth and agile
mdbigdog..your experience is common, but if you do more pothole tests, you 'should' realise that once you are above 40mph, you wont hear the irritating drum effect..
i hope this thread would attract more comments from other owners' experiences. |
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| Eric L. |
quote:
Originally posted by Gonzo
I think Nissan would have sold more SE if they had the 5 spoke wheels....
Well I for one like the 6-spoke wheels just as much as the 5-spokes. If anything, I enjoy the feeling of knowing that the 6-spokes mean I got the SE model, which although quite similar to the SL, is IMHO more in character with the MO's "sportier than a Pilot or Highlander" image. Now I know of course the wheels are identical from a performance standpoint, but I've never been one to follow the crowd, so I don't mind the uniqueness even if most MO owners cannot stand the 6-spk SE rims.
I am just glad nissan did not choose something like a 3 or 4 spoke rim - egads those would not look right on an suv. I associate 3-spoke rims with Saabs (the "viking wheels") and 4-spoke rims with economy GM models (sunfire, saturn S-series). Nissan did have a 4-spoke rim for the Frontier/Xterra for a while, and it was only because Nissan used a small rim (16") with a high sidewall tire (I think it was 70 series) that it didn't look out of place on a large vehicle. |
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| zebelkhan |
quote:
Originally posted by Eric L.
...most MO owners cannot stand the 6-spk SE rims....
Not true. I think SE wheels look just fine. If I had them, I probably would have liked them more than the SL wheels too but I have SL wheels now so I think they look grand...:4: |
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| HuskyFan |
quote:
Originally posted by zebelkhan
Not true. I think SE wheels look just fine. If I had them, I probably would have liked them more than the SL wheels too but I have SL wheels now so I think they look grand...:4:
I also like the SE wheels better than the SL wheels. The SE wheels are more unique and I think they go well with the SUV image. The SL wheels are more car like. I have had several people comment on how much they like the wheels. Nissan must prefer them also since the European and Japanese models have the SE wheels. The SE wheels should be easier to clean also since they have the center cap and a smoother overall surface. |
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| C2SNerves |
zebelkhan...have you thought of all the possibilities covering the reason of the pothole drum effect? do you blame it on the shocks being too short? the wheels too big? or the unsprung weight larger than threshold of the shock absorber compression?
have you considered aftermarket shocks?or are you happy with the general comfort of your MO. I would like to know everyone's views on this.. I believe this is one of the most significant problems with this magnificent (still is IMO) vehicle.
tnx |
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| zebelkhan |
I am not sure what the problem is. I am happy with the general ride and comfort of the MO but when it hits a pothole it acts as if everything holding the car and its suspension is loose! I have never encountered that in any of the vehicles I have owned, no matter how hold they were.
One of the things I originally liked about this car was that everything on it pretty much “snaps” together, which make it easy for removal and reinstallation. I think it is actually this particular property that is contributing to the noises, rattles, etc. When the car hits a pothole, it feels as if the suspension is loose and I don’t think a shock replacement is going to do any good here. I really don’t know…:confused: |
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| Murano_driver |
| I have SE w/ 6 spoke wheels. I think they look just fine and they a bit different from the others. If the SE will come with 5 spoke I will also be happy because they remind the wheels on my Maxima. The only thing I do not like with 6 spoke wheels its when the snow sticking between the spokes. |
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| pcs15394 |
| My 04 SL feels like it is coming apart over pot holes as well. The entry to my office is preceeded by a brick road that has become pocked and wavy due to the ground beneath it. If I drive over it at under 30 mph it feels like I am driving on the Rubicon trail. |
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