Vibration in steering wheel
 

I have a 2013 370Z Nismo with 12k miles on it, original tires, Eibach springs and H&R wheel spacers.

I don't drive it hard or over brake and the car has been properly aligned to factory specs. The inside of the front tires is now worn to the point where I will replace them in the next month or so BUT for some time I have been getting vibration in the steering wheel when I hit the brakes at highway speed and it isn't always consistent.

Has anyone else had these issues on this car?

I am wondering if the rotors on these cars tend to warp? I was going to replace the OEM tires in front with Michelin Piot Super Sports and upgrade the front rotors to: Racing Brake (2-piece) with Ferodo pads.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

If the insides of both tires are worn then you have an alignment problem. You may need to find another alignment shop.

Rotors seldom warp under normal driving conditions. You have to get them very hot (racing, 130-0 in 6 sec, etc.) before they will warp. Probably some glazing that you can get rid of by doing 60-5 a few times.

I lowered the car with Eibach springs and had the alignment checked twice. It's within spec and the wear with these soft tires isn't beyond what I expected. I think I'll have new fronts put on, get some new brake pads and clean the rotors with 3M roloc and see if that solves the problem.

High speed? How fast? I've had that happen to me at around 100 mph braking. Just put on eibachs as well but haven't driven fast. I'm waiting for it to settle so I can get alignment just like you did

@zefaulter, it happens really at any speed above 60 mph I would say. The thing is it doesn't always happen, just some of the time. It can actually go away or at least appear to get better.

I was once told (with Mazda RX-8's) that driving with the rotors nice and warmed up then hitting water/rain (i.e., quenching the rotors) will cause them to warp. My previous RX-8 experienced this. Perhaps the Z is also susceptible to this? It was intermittent with my RX-8 as well but worse on some days than others.

I have the same problem with my car... I aligned the car a second time and problem still there.... its gotta be the rotors...

So if it is the rotors, is it unsafe to drive the car with them? Do they need to be replaced right away?

No, I wouldn't say it is unsafe per se, but it is unhealthy for the car's brake system. The pressure in the brake lines will be pulsing as the pads try to bite down on the warped rotors, which accelerates wear and tear. Also bad for the pads, of course. When you have the rotors turned or replaced, the pads must be replaced as well.

From reading here in other threads, the Rotors are kind of weak. My rotors warped within a couple months. So I replaced them with stoptech rotors and breaks. Now I have no problems at all.. No noise, reduced dust, and it feels like it grabs better.

if im braking hard, going above HW speeds it does vibrate a little bit. stock tires, stock suspension, 10k miles. havent done anything yet that would have cooked the rotors into warping, i think its just fitted with shitty breaks stock and a HORRIBLE ABS/traction control system. So I dont have a doubt in my mind that its the reason why, probably trying to keep the car from slipping even if its not even close using all those ******* useless pitch and yaw sensors. Unhooking mine soon to see if the intrusive fun killing traction BS system finally turns off and will be mindful to see if it makes the vibration go away too.

With braking, it is most likely that the rotors need to be resurfaced (or if you have spacers, they may have warped, I suppose), or possibly the wheels need to be re-balanced.

Vibration without braking would definitely be wheel balancing issues or possibly uneven tire wear.

well if the rotors need to be resurfaced after 10k miles of normal commute driving then this will be the last nissan I pay money for. it has its original tires and suspension and no spacers. aside from what I already mentioned maybe a pothole or something knocked it out of whack? but it doesn't vibrate ALL THE TIME, only under really hard breaking from high speeds. this I imagine would make the car "squirrel" under hard breaking into a turn because if the steering wheel is juttering so are the front tires. thats why i thought its probably the ABS/TC system just being a bitch.

Probably just some glaze on the surface of the rotors. Do a few 60-5 mph panic stops and see if that helps get rid of the vibration. If it doesn't help, then get the suspension checked by an expert.