What do I do now?

[CMF_micragirl]

Took the car to Pedders for a checkup, mostly to find out if I had done a wheel bearing, as I had noise coming from the rear, or so I thought. It turns out, that my tyres have gone hard, and I have tiny hairline cracks in the rubber, and this is making the car noisy. Now that I am not driving the micra so much, what sort of tyres do I put on her? I have 13" rims. Its a pity because there is still plenty of tread on them. I don't really need to go for the long lasting ones now, do I? As a result of her checkup, the only thing that needs attention is the steering rack, he said its nothing major just yet, but there is signs of wear. Has anyone else had to do theirs yet, and if so, how much did it cost? Pedders quoted me $500-00 ballpark as he had no idea on cost of parts.
Thanks guys....
Caroline

 

[CMF_Snoopy]

Get a quote from all coast power steering.I have delt with them for years. They do all things p/s & Ive only had one failure in almost 6years (which might I add they picked the car up from our workshop & fixed it that day, now its perfect) & they have rebuilt a lot of racks & pumps for us. They have a full workshop, so they can do it for you inhouse & it all comes with a warrenty (cant remember how long it is. Its either 12 or 24 months)

I will dig up there phone number on monday.

 

[CMF_micragirl]

Thanks Snoopy, just tried calling but no one there today. Was just flicking through the forums reading about shockies and springs, I want to set it up so that the rear is not sitting as high, cornering is less...um sloppy, but I don't want to make the ride harder. Cisco suggested a while back getting whiteline springs and koni shocks, but read Jammin's post and found he was quoted $4500-00 for supply and fit....that's more than the whole car is worth huh. And that was just for Koni's. Basically I'd like the micra to handle like the swift...the faster you go the more it hugs the road, cornering is fantastic in the swift, it isn't for the faint hearted. I was told to resist the urge to brake when approaching a bend, I couldn't do it at first, but then I thought what the heck, let's see what everyone's raving about...decided to try it on a roundabout which has an S bend directly after it....the micra hates this particular piece of road and I swear 2 wheels are off the ground when going through it. But not the swift, in fact if you accelerate through the curves, it seems to stick even harder. It just feels so damn stable. I want this in the Micra too. *sighs*

 

[CMF_Yom]

Standard micra camber and castor angles arent exactly suited to fast driving. Quite often totally standard micras will chew the outside edges of the tyres without even going fast.

Whiteline swaybars front and rear, plus front castor bushings and camber pins with some whiteline recommended settings will help control your bodyroll and make the car feel stiffer without ruining ride quality. The extra camber will allow the car to utilise the tyres tread surface properly while cornering (as well as make steering feel sharper at speed) and the castor should improve the steering response overall as well.

You won't ever be able to handle better than the swift without hurting your ride quality (as you may have already gathered from the swift's stiffer ride). And when you do get it handling better than the more modern swift you'll probably find it not as pleasureable to drive as the swift (which is quite unfortunate).

As for tyres I'd recommend moving to the super s tyre size - 175/60R13. Wider rubber, slightly lower profile and they won't set your speedo out too much. I'd recommend the yokohama A539 as they grip very well and are a very stable and safe tyre. THey are a very soft compound. It would be worth noting that all tyres will crack and harden over time too.

 

[CMF_nsm]

hey micra girl...

if u are interested,KYB front and rear shocks with lowered KING springs will set you back around $770.00...all you need is someone to fit them (probably about $200-$300 in labour...i can organise them if need be...hope this helps...