Nissan Almera Hatchback - rough on the road!

cruiser_cork

My boyfriend recently bought a 05 Nissan Almera hatchback but it appears to be very rough on country roads. He had a 95 Almera hatchback and it was a lot smoother. There are 195 65 16" alloy wheels on the car. There is a new set of BF Goodrich tyres on the wheels. Has anyone else experienced this? Coz otherwise the car spec is perfect. The dealer said it could be the tyres. Any advice welcome. :cool:

Henry Ford III

What do you mean by rough? Ride quality?

If so it could be something to do with wheels, tyres, and suspension.

Is it modified?

cruiser_cork

Thanks for replying. When i say rough i mean you feel every bump on the road especially the minor roads in the country. It hasnt been modified. The 95 model was so much smoother.

Alun

The standard tyres on the Almera (according to Nissan's website at least) are 195/55 16", so that's a bit odd. The 65 tyres would actually be bigger than the standard ones (a 20mm increase in rolling radius!), both screwing up the speedo and possibly messing with the ride too.

PauloMN

cruiser_cork wrote:

Thanks for replying. When i say rough i mean you feel every bump on the road especially the minor roads in the country. It hasnt been modified. The 95 model was so much smoother.

Assuming there's nothing wrong with the car, I'd imagine what you are feeling is just a newer, tighter car. There's a 10 year difference, and the ride on the newer car is probably harder by design. Do you/him find the car handles better in general, aside from the harder ride quality?

As suggested above, check the recommended wheel/tyre sizes according to the manual. Are you certain it hasn't been modified in any way?

bazz26

I would image that the 95 Almera would have had smaller profile rims and tyres also than the 05 Almera. The 95 Almera I think had 14" wheels compared to the 2005's 16" wheels. The 2005 Almera hatchback model was also known as the "Sport" which could mean that it had a more "sporty" suspension setup than the old 95 one. These factors would definately make the newer Almera have a firmer ride.

Henry Ford III

Obvious answer but check the tyre pressures too.

bazz26

Indeed.

The MkI was also known to be a better handling car than the MkII too.

cruiser_cork

Thanks for the replies!! I double checked the size of the tyres on the car, they are 195 55 16. The size of tyres on the old Almera were 175 70 13. The recommended tyre pressure is 31psi, the tyres were at 32 in the front and 30 at the back.

bazz26

cruiser_cork wrote:

Thanks for the replies!! I double checked the size of the tyres on the car, they are 195 55 16. The size of tyres on the old Almera were 175 70 13. The recommended tyre pressure is 31psi, the tyres were at 32 in the front and 30 at the back.

I think then that it is down to the increased size of the rims/tyres which make the ride of the 2005 Almera more firm.

You could always test drive another similar 2005 Almera to compare.

dingding

While it is harder on country roads, it will be more stable on main roads / motorways. There will be less of a shaking when trucks etc.. passing you.

Although more uncomfortable, may be safer.