F'kin ice

[lee111s]

Toally gutted.

Was driving the elise this morning, doing no more than 15 mph, changed gear, didnt even apply throttle, it was the power from just lifting the clutch and the back end stepped out...straightened it out but due to the totaly sheet ice, I slid across the other side of the road and bounced off the kurb like a dodgem car

Now when I go above 20 the steering wheel vibrates. Any ideas on what it could be?

[Pumpkinheeed]

Fingers crossed you've just knocked out the balancing on the wheels.

[nsm3]

Bad luck, did you damage the wheels or just bounce off the tyres?

Maybe you need to get the tracking looked at?

I was the same in my Exige this morning - tip toeing everywhere, but I think the traction control helped out, as it was cuttting in almost everywhere, just above tickover revs!

[bordseye]

bent wheel, bent suspension, maybe even bent chassis. not likely to be balance at just 20 mph

[lee111s]

I've spoken to a local lotus specialist and he reckons the wheels on the s1 111s are made from kit kat wrappers so he said it's probably a buckled wheel, or possible a cracked wishbone. It's going in tomorrow for them to have a look at it some fingers crossed it's nothing massive....It appeared that I just bounced off the tryes, there was a bit of a bang and at that moment my heart sank.

I can't see it being a bent chassis...at least I hope not

[Sam_68]

bordseye said:

bent wheel, bent suspension, maybe even bent chassis. not likely to be balance at just 20 mph

Bent wheel would be favourite... bent suspension or bent chassis and you'd expect it to just pull badly to one side rather than actually vibrate.

Should be visually obvious (check the balance weights are still in place, then jack the wheel up and spin it by hand - any distortion of the rim should be easy to see).

[bordseye]

check the tyre - you could just have raised an "egg" on the side of the tyre or on the tread.

[shangani]

Really sorry to hear that. There have been some major accidents up north due to the ice. Good luck getting it fixed.

I was out in the elise on Sunday for the first time in ages. I had quite a few interesting moments.

[lee111s]

Ok,

I've been our and had another look. There's no noises when moving from full lock to opposite full lock. The wishbones, both top and bottom are in one piece and the dampers/springs appear to be ok as well, so I'm hoping its the tracking.

The wheel took a bit of a bashing and there's a fairly big scrape along the edge but seeing as they're made from kit kat wrappers, it's possible that it's buckled. I'll let you know how I get on.

thanks for the advice so far

[piooly]

Most likely it has bent one of these on the front wheel

http://www.eliseparts.com/shop/index.php?main_page...

Does it drive straight when the steering wheel is central? If it does, then you have not bent one of the above. This part is designed to give in such situations. Easy to change over. Not sure if this would involve knocking/vibration. If you have hit a rear wheel then you may have damaged one of the drive shafts (the bearings that is, that would knock)

[lee111s]

It was just the front drivers side that hit. There is no knocking on driving. I will check tonight to see if it goes in a straight line when I go home tonight. The vibration I described is more like a bump, but feels like a vibration in the steering wheel the faster you go.

[piooly]

CV joints on the steering wheel column may have become slacker due to the impact. With the car stopped, put a few fingers on the bottom of the steering wheel and shake from side to side very quickly. You will feel if there is any slack in it. Besides that, the steering rack may have taken the impact. If so, you can get a refurb kit or just fit a new one. Cheapest place I know is Titan Motorsport.

[lee111s]

Drove home tonight. The car pulls to the left when the steering wheel is central, but only at speeds above 30. The shake/shuddering of the steering wheel also doesnt start untill about 28-30mph.

will find out tomorrow what the deal is.

[piooly]

You will need a new one of these most likely to cure the tracking in that case. As for the vibration, sounds like a wheel issue seem as it vibrates after 30mph +, probably bent it slightly. You might be lucky and be able to get it re-balanced. Did you hit the curb with the wheels turn up it or where the wheels hit side on?

http://www.eliseparts.com/shop/index.php?main_page...

[lee111s]

I honestly cannot remember...all that was going through my head was stop before that kerb, please sto...BANG

[lee111s]

Update:

I've gotten away with it. Had it checked over this morning at Jude Performance and nothing is broken/bent/snapped and there is no play in the wheels. It's a tracking and geo job which I will get sorted tomorrow

Thanks for all the advice even if it if did make me more worried!

[Sam_68]

Let us know how you get on once the geo is done... I'm quite surprised that tracking/geo resulted in steering vibration.

[lee111s]

I may have described it poorly. It's not a vibration like a vibrating toothbrush. The steering wheel moves a bit and at speed it feels like it's vibrating.

will know more once the tracking has been done

[djroadboy]

I'm pretty sure you'll have a bent wheel. Did they have the wheels checked on a balancing machine?

Dan

[lee111s]

djroadboy said:

I'm pretty sure you'll have a bent wheel. Did they have the wheels checked on a balancing machine?

Dan

Would you not feel a bent wheel all of the time? I only experience the steering wheel movement at around 30mph, surely a bent wheel would cause the problem regardless of speed?

If it is a bent wheel, am I better off buying a new set of front wheels or getting mine repaired?