handling after new wheel and bearings
 

So I finally got my car fixed after 2 months of waiting, and the handling feels kind of funny.

Last November I slid in the rain turning on a freeway onramp (~30-40mph) and went over a curb onto some muddy grass. It drove away fine, but I immediately noticed a rubbing noise coming from the front at freeway speeds, and especially when loaded turning to the right (bad bearings). I took it to the dealer to get it checked out, and they said they couldn't hear the rubbing I was hearing, and everything measured fine--nothing bent or out of place. They said the noise was probably caked mud in the wheel well/suspension. I cleaned the undercarriage, and the noise was still there, so I took it to a BRZ/FRS specialist. They immediately heard the rubbing too, and found my front bearings were bad and the right front wheel was slightly bent. Their next appointment was Jan 21, and told me it was fine to drive on for a few months. My Dad, who's a little hard of hearing, said the car felt fine and I shouldn't worry.

I drove on it for two months, got a new OEM wheel, and yesterday the shop replaced the hub/bearings on both sides and the new right wheel. I drove it last night and this morning on the freeway. The bearing noise is gone, and the car drives straight, but the handling feels a little twitchy and nervous, and there's more road/tire noise compared to before the accident. I remember what it felt like before I went over the curb, and the car was much more planted and quiet feeling.

Is it possible this is because the tire wear pattern from the last 2 months doesn't match the car yet right after the new parts went on? Do you think it'll wear to match and improve after driving on it for a few weeks?

The real question gnawing at me is....is my car ever going to feel as good as it did before I went over that curb?? :bonk:

Sounds like maybe you have either some toe-out, or the tires have trammel you're not used to. Trust the car and try to ignore it; it should start feeling natural again soon! You can rotate those tires to rear rear and see if the steering feels different.

I'd suggest you have the tires rotated and an alignment done - see if that fixes it.


humfrz

Alignment. Always alignment after smacking a wheel(s).

New tires should always go on the rear.

And get an alignment.

There are no new tires or rotation--the front right tire was just put on the new wheel.

I scheduled an alignment! Thanks for the advice guys

What is trammel? I looked it up and can't find anything on it.

If you didn't get new tires, my comment is worthless. After that alignment let us know how things are!

Trammel is when the tires are affected by grooves and surface abnormalities that cause them to wander. Tramlining is the term you'll mostly hear

bruh...if you hit a curb at 30-40 mph, you bent some some suspension components for sure.

30-40mph is extremely high speed to slide into and up over a curb.

Even drifting sideways into a curb (like fooling around in the snow or something) at ~10-15mph is going to cause some moderate-to-serious issues.

Either you're grossly overestimating the speed you slammed into the curb, or you have undetected issues.

general rule:

If the damage to the suspension requires replacement of one or more components, you should always get an alignment before second guessing what is going on.

And frankly, if the "specialist" didn't already have an alignment included or recommended as part of the work, that isn't much of a specialist to begin with...

Suspension repairs 101!

handling after new wheel and bearings
 

I was coming home late at night after working about 16 hours. It was wet. I was doing about 35mph in 5th gear. The car ahead of me turned off so I was able to speed up. I wasn’t tearing around, had my guard down and was half asleep. I left it in 5th and gave it just a tad bit of throttle and the car went sideways before I woke up. It didn’t even make it 180 but I slid off and into some soft mud and even then it was enough to bend my front right lower control arm. Luckily it was only an $80 part plus an alignment of course. This was in my IS300. No way could you hit a curb at 40 and not bend something other than a rim.

Ok, I got the car back from alignment, and it feels flawless. I think I need to clear some things up here.

I was probably going slower than 30mph, and I did not slide sideways into the curb. My car was pointed at the curb and rolled almost straight over it. Maybe 20-30 deg off center. Definitely did not hit the side of my tire/wheel. It was a right turn, and I slid the rear out, regained traction, and rolled over the right side of the road (inside of the corner).

It drove fine for a couple of months, no handling issues whatsoever. I just heard a faint rubbing noise under turning load at freeway speeds that was confirmed to be bearings. The dealer checked all the components they would expect to be bent (struts, suspension, they said it was a comprehensive check). they found nothing out of spec. Again, the car drove just fine, but I am REALLY nitpicky and heard the bearing noise at high speed (>60mph). The suspension shop I took it to did measure my alignment and suspension components right away, and found everything was fine except the bearings and a very slightly bent front right wheel.

I asked for an alignment after replacing the bearings and wheel because I am a perfectionist and saw they had one of those machines that attaches sensors to your wheels and can get it within 1/100th of a degree. He found everything was fine except a very slight toe in the rear. front was fine, needed no further adjustment.

I had the same thing done to a motorcycle of mine years ago, and it felt smoother afterward (could have been placebo effect) and gave me peace of mind. Again, The car feels slightly smoother in the turns after yesterday, and either I'm very sensitive to these changes or I am feeling a placebo effect. I think the car is in perfect condition now either way.

I am mind blown as to how one wrecks a car going 30mph and takes it to the dealer complaining of issues and yet the dealer finds nothing wrong.

That must have been an incredibly lazy dealer....unless they charged you $120 to do an inspection and tell you nothing is wrong lol