Technical Twin air body movement

[theninezero]

Hello

I’ve got an 11 plate Twinair Lounge, and it feels odd. Let me explain...

Any time I hit an aberration in the road and I’m off-straight, the rear of the car feels as though it shifts on its axle. The wheels stay where they are on the tarmac, but the body wobbles and moves. I’ve replaced the rear shocks as the top bushes were shot, and it’s improved a bit, but it’s still a bit disconcerting.

Has anyone else felt this, and if so, how have you cured it? I’m going to need to get some new wishbones up front soon, but if the movement on the rear is just something to be lived with, I’m of a mind to part ex it for a TA Panda before I shell out on the repairs to the front.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[jrkitching]

Hello

I’ve got an 11 plate Twinair Lounge, and it feels odd. Let me explain...

Any time I hit an aberration in the road and I’m off-straight, the rear of the car feels as though it shifts on its axle. The wheels stay where they are on the tarmac, but the body wobbles and moves. I’ve replaced the rear shocks as the top bushes were shot, and it’s improved a bit, but it’s still a bit disconcerting.

Has anyone else felt this, and if so, how have you cured it? I’m going to need to get some new wishbones up front soon, but if the movement on the rear is just something to be lived with, I’m of a mind to part ex it for a TA Panda before I shell out on the repairs to the front.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

What's the history of the car? Have you owned it from new?

 

[theninezero]

Thanks for responding jrkitching

The car has one previous owner, has never been in an accident, and has full main dealer service history, getting a service every year regardless of mileage. It appears to have been very well looked after, and was Waxoyled from new. The previous owner did 30k miles between 2011 and 2016, when I bought it, and it’s just gone over 40k with me. It’s on the 16” option alloys from new, with OEM Continentals (which are hard as hell) - I replaced the fronts with Yokohamas after a couple of slow punctures on the Contis, which has improved the crashiness a bit up front (I know new ones are meant to go on the back, but the Contis on the back were only about 1,000 miles old at the time, so I left them).

The front strut top mounts are very rusted, but don’t appear to show much play, while the noise over bumps on the front is getting worse - I have this down as a probable wishbone bush (clunky when coming off speed bumps mainly), but I travelled 100 miles as a passenger in it yesterday and there’s an additional noise that sounds like a worn shock (over mid size bumps at higher speed).

I like the car an awful lot, so I don’t mind spending the cash to put it right, if the movement at the rear is just a “500 thing”, then I’ll look at my options.

Thanks for reading!

 

[jrkitching]

has never been in an accident

Not being funny or suggesting there's a problem, but how do you know this? I know it's not likely that the bodyshell isn't straight, but we really should rule this out before digging further.

500 handling isn't brilliant, but by 2011 all cars were fitted with the strengthened rear beam, which helps a bit. Suspension parts are notorious for premature wear and worn suspension can make any car hop about a bit. If you plan on keeping the car, fitting something better than OEM quality isn't a bad idea. There are plenty of posts on here from folks who've done just that, and there are various options to suit all tastes (and budgets!).

The easiest way to find out if "they all do that, sir" is to test drive a new one. AFAIK there haven't been any significant suspension changes since the 2010 technical facelift, so if yours is markedly different, there's something wrong which, by implication, can be fixed.

If you find a new 500 is the same, I doubt there's much point buying a Panda as it uses a similar suspension setup. If you're driving close to the edge, you may simply be bumping against the limits of rear beam geometry, and that's common to most small cars these days, because it's cheap to manufacture and works well enough for most folks, most of the time.

 

[theninezero]

No, fair point - I’m going on what the previous owner told me, and that there are no obvious signs of repair.

I’ve driven an Abarth that I didn’t notice do this, as well as Pandas (ditto), but my 500 has always felt like a crashier ride. I’ll try and get out in another one, over a piece of road where I know mine misbehaves and report back.

Thanks again

 

[Mercky]

Make sure if you drive another one that it’s on 16’s too, they will be crashier then 15’s by nature. Presumably you’ve checked tyre pressures?

 

[theninezero]

Thanks Mercky, I have. Couldn’t get a drive of one on 16s, but I’ve been out in one on 15s, and it doesn’t behave like mine. Maybe slightly the same sensation, but like 10% of what mine does, if that - I probably wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t been specifically looking out for it. The ride in general felt more compliant, but then it was on 15s and 5 years newer...

 

[Bluetruck]

Not a 500c is it, they wobble like jelly on even the smoothest roads.

 

[theninezero]

Nah Bluetruck it’s a straight 500. I’m going to get it somewhere I can get properly underneath it next weekend and have a good poke about

 

[Bluetruck]

Hmm. Its rare for the rear axle bushes to give problems but still check them. Make sure all the rear axle bolts bolts are tight. The larger front wishbone bushes can become unbonded from the arms, worth a look. Also check the front subframe bolts for tightness.

 

[theninezero]

Thanks, I’ll give them a prod. Beam bushes would make sense, but it’d be unexpected...