wooway

Greetings, everyone in the forum. I am new here and hope to be on here for some time to come and thank you for reading this in advance. I am not a car expert and don't have the capacity to work on the car myself due to apartment setting, lack of apparatus, acquantinces of like mind, or such. So unfortunately I am beholden to St. Louis mechanics, shops, and the dreaded dealer, but I guess I work with what I can.

I am new to the forum and glad to find a group. There seem to be fewer
than I had thought there would be when I got our 2010 G37x AWD. After 5~ months we have ~4,000 miles on it and loving it. Very very impressed (outside of the paint) and well-valued.

I am a previous owner of an amazing 2006 Audi TT 3.2Q S-Line. I babied and kept well maintained/immaculate the car, and enjoyed the heck out of it over 5 years. Highly recommended if you guys ever get the itch for another or second car.. Just a bit of FYI.

I know for sure I'd seen the local higher end car mechanic 20+ times over 5 years for alignments, rebalancing/tire rotation, and suspension inspections due to quite literally horrific road conditions here in St. Louis. All in all the worst as far as permaneant damage the TT came through with until the day we traded it in or the G37x was a bent rim... luckily it was usually just costs to realign and balance, etc. ALthough this was quite expensive and money I didn't have over the years. These nicer and finer tuned German/Japanese cars are meant to drive on smooth German/Autobahn type conditions as the rule, not roads/highways in cracked/potholed/disrepair as is the Midwest from all my extensive driving, as I can tell..

Anyway, sorry to belabor points I'm sure many have heard before.

Driving at night on a major yet not well lit highway in St. Louis ~3 weeks ago I reach a speed of ~60MPH.. I hadn't drove this direction in a while so hadn't been aware of any existing/new potholes/disrepair in the highway. For most of the major roads/highways in St. Louis I have the potholes/etc mapped in my mind to miss them all, but they pop up DAILY so it's almost impossible to miss them all all the time. These were BY FAR THE BIGGEST, NASTIEST potholes or disrepair in a highway/road I've ever ever hit.. Plus, I've never hit any pothole going so fast at highway speed, which makes it all the worse. It was like a roller coaster. I play it back in mind and can't believe it happened and it makes me so angry that seemingly no matter how hard we try, the Cities/States will NOT let you keep your possessions nice and well maintained, of which for most of us our CAR is the most prized. Maybe if the car had 70,000 miles or I'd had it a long time could I be a little easier about it, but it's less than 6 months old and I've done my darndest to keep it nice. So to say I'm worried and very angry is an understatement.

I hit 3 major potholes which were situated in a small area inside the same lane, hitting 2 wth the left wheels and one with the right. It was so violent and abrupt, honestly I couldn't believe it. 4,000 miles on the brand new car, of which previous cars I've had I am always very vigilant to miss potholes and keep the suspension/wheels nice. Potholes/road disrepair is my #1 pet peeve, as I like my car to ride perfect or as close to new like when I purchased it, for as long as possible if not forever.

In result, THe car has went form a literally perfect smooth ride with low-no inside cabin road/bump noise, to a more clunky sounding ride with each little bump in the road, the alignment is surely off to the left, the wheel is off center a bit not too bad, and the ride is just overall crummy and rough... a nuance any car owner who loves their car would notice immediately but often times mechanics test driving it to assess wouldn't notice since they don't know the car.

Can anyone recommend to me what to do, what might be damaged/bent/messed up, or what to look for (parked, I can turn the wheels and see in the wheel/suspension a bit, but don't have access to a rack outside of taking it to the shop), or make sure to have checked out when I take it to hopefully a decent mechanic shop in St Louis (hoping they don't give me the run around or attempt to passify me saying they thoroughly inspected the suspension when they really didn't), etc.

Is there anyone in the St Louis region who is local who maybe would be kind enough to help me out or converse? I have been freaking out over it for 3 weeks now and am close to being able to get it in to a shop. I plan on an 4-wheel alignment, rebalancing/rotation, and otherwise try to insist and hope they thoroughly and proficiently inspect all 4 wheel areas suspensions components.. my fear is that I won't be able to explain it right and as a result won't inspect it right/thoroughly enough, they won't find anything,etc (as has happened to me in years past and I had to go to like 5 places over weeks before they found the problem and was fixed).

Again, thank you all so much for having a nice forum from what I have seen so far. I apprecaite your time and hope to get this taken care of and also to learn more into the future.

C.

jhenka

iTrader: (1)

I would have them take a good look at the struts there could be damage causing the sh*ty ride. Also check all your wheel and see if your loosing air.

Welcome to the community! Hope you restore your g to beautiful condition once more and love it as much as we all love ours.

Steveo47

iTrader: (8)

^^^ so sorry to hear that, i lie in edmonton alberta and there has been constant freezing and warming so there is a vrazy amount of pot homes, i havent hit any huge ones, but i have fit a few. It happens and i wouldnt sweat it too much, get an alignment and see how the ride quality improves, if its still ****ty consider coilovers to replace (or go to the dealer and maybe you can get free ones under warrantly??)

wooway

thank you to those who have responded so far..

i am bit confused by all what to look for in the suspension components and to have made sure to check... these modern finer tuned suspensions are more elaborate it seems than cars of just even a few years ago...i am a bit lost... also, i'm under the impression that an Alignment (Hunter equiptment at the place I've used in the past) is also in and of itself a diagnostic tool which can/would point out not just the overt imbalances in camber/caster/toe of course, but also kind of point out where damage/etc in the suspension may be if there is anything damaged/bent/loose.. ?

does anyone know if there's a resource/book/guide I can access or print out that has the layout
in diagram form for 2010 G37x specific, like the one's AutoZone used to sell for each car make/model?
this is the most modern car I've ever had so I am (to be honest) a bit confused as to all the potential components in these Infinti AWD models suspension'...

it seems the more intricacies and components, the more potential to get
damaged, and the harder to diagnose...

thanks to all who reply
C.
... sound like a newbie to cars, but since I'm not able to work on them
and get first hand experience, I've been religated a bit to speculation and inquiry.

yogregb

iTrader: (7)

Might be the longest first post ever! I would recommend you google performance/suspension shops in your area with good reviews and Nissan experience, Stay away from places like Big O and tire chain places etc.... Dealers tend not to want to repair damage under warranty... good luck and welcome!

wooway

Thanks yogregb.. is that a compliment, lol?

I've used a place for the past 5 years that caters to Audi/BMW/Porsche and performance cars. They have always seemed to treat us ok and be proficient, but I always have to stay on them a bit when we take it in and I sit with the car.
I've learned that no matter what history or track record you have with businesses, people, etc it's the safe bet to never really trust anyone or get too trusting.
I am always on the lookout for new/alternative places that may give better service/perspective/etc.

Another way to phrase the question of what to do...
Can anyone recommend to me what THEY would do if they hit 3 massive potholes at 60mph on the highway.

Anyone hailing from st Loius on the board?

C.
ps. i am blown away by the power of the G37x. i get on it every once in a while and wow it is ~50% faster than the TT 3.2... just for reference to anyone who might dig it.

Breitling65

If you didn't drive in Brooklyn (or any other NY boroughs) you never saw real potholes in your life. I am literally thinking I am back to the Soviet Union roads while driving there yesterday on Bay Parkway and Ave P between McDonalds Ave and Ocean Pkw, anyone from this area could continue from here Don't even think driving G there, I was stressed lot driving my Jeep!!!! Would they still need Bloomberg there to continue such roads disaster in NY? I am glad I moved to NJ long ago ...

jhenka

iTrader: (1)

I agree, in brooklyn we don't have potholes we have craters. The are so bad in fact i feel as if i'm going offroading sometimes... That's the only reason i refuse to drop my car or buy rims. I know that if somebody who is lowered were to hit a crater at speed, that car will most likely be totaled.

Breitling65

Question to you since you are in NY, I am watching news and listening radio from NY and no one brings this problem up. Why is that? I use to leave in NY and I could see same potholes in place as I left 10 years ago just much bigger. Are we leaving in civilized world? Staten Island seem better for roads, but anyway. For whom are you voting there? Giuliani MUST comeback and make this city as it was with him!!!

HappyG

My record was 10+ flat tires on 1 car in 1 year. I decided not to count after 10 flats.

jhenka

iTrader: (1)

Well people do bring it up but it falls on deaf ears NY can't seem to manage their money. That's why the bridge and bus fares keep going up. The problem isn't making them aware its making them utilize the money better.

wooway

Does anyone have an shop they can recommend in the St Louis area you guys know of or can recommend?

wooway

regb,
what place are your referring to when you say "stay away from places like Big O"?
also, i am reading from another post that when i get the alignment anyday now, the SAI
measuremnt on the alignment spec sheet is a good damage/imbalance indicator to show probably underlying problems in the suspension? is this correct?

thanks again... have a great day.