3.3TT Car feels 'floaty' at high speeds

[brancky3]

First off, my car tracks perfectly straight. There are no weird noises. Everything is super smooth even over rough roads. But, when I accelerate hard and exceed ~60mph the car starts to feel 'floaty'. I don't know how to describe it exactly, it's just definitely not as planted as I feel it should be. This happens on both my 19" stock wheels / summer tires and my 18" winter wheels / snow tires.

Honestly, I'm not sure this is even an issue but I know for sure my last car (Audi S3) did not feel the same. I'm thinking of asking my dealer to check the alignment since I really didn't notice any leaking shocks or anything out of the ordinary when I changed my wheels out a few weeks ago.

Has anyone experienced the same thing?

 

[sym]

Since you have the adjustable dampers, is this in comfort suspension mode or sport?

 

[Jimmer]

Havent had that issue. The fastest I have been so far in the Stinger is 100 mph and haven't gotten the floaty feeling.

 

[brancky3]

Since you have the adjustable dampers, is this in comfort suspension mode or sport?

Sport - I don't really drive aggressively in comfort mode. I can try today but I doubt it will make a difference.

 

[Doel]

First off, my car tracks perfectly straight. There are no weird noises. Everything is super smooth even over rough roads. But, when I accelerate hard and exceed ~60mph the car starts to feel 'floaty'. I don't know how to describe it exactly, it's just definitely not as planted as I feel it should be. This happens on both my 19" stock wheels / summer tires and my 18" winter wheels / snow tires.

Honestly, I'm not sure this is even an issue but I know for sure my last car (Audi S3) did not feel the same. I'm thinking of asking my dealer to check the alignment since I really didn't notice any leaking shocks or anything out of the ordinary when I changed my wheels out a few weeks ago.

Has anyone experienced the same thing?

go to your dealer and drive another stinger to see if it feels the same

 

[brancky3]

go to your dealer and drive another stinger to see if it feels the same

Yea I might. I'm going in next week sometime to get something else done on the car so I'll ask them to check alignment then and also if they have another GT2 on the lot that I can try out real quick.

 

[AV8R]

Put sway bars on, no float.

 

[only1harry]

How long have you had the car? Sometimes the suspension on cars settles a lot after a while, and needs to have the upper/lower control arm and sway bar bolts loosened up and retightened. The final tightening/torque of the bolts must take place under load. ie: with the car sitting on the rack (or ground). It will then feel tighter and confidence inspiring again at high speeds and almost always resolves the "floating" issue, unless something is worn out and needs to be replaced. The floating feeling usually occurs when the bushings are twisted by the suspension which has settled over time, hence not working optimally. To resolve this many of the suspension bolts need to be loosened, tightened lightly by hand, and then torqued under suspension load - with the weight of the car on the wheels/suspension.
This normally does not occur for at least 2 years, usually 3, and at or over 30k miles, so I would guess that it would be premature to do this on your Stinger... but who knows how soft the Stinger's bushings are, but this is what many BMW owners do every couple of years to get the suspension back to normal and eliminate the floatiness at high speeds. Your average Bimmer (other than M cars) has very soft suspension bushings and don't last long unless you do the procedure I described which prolongs the wear/tear on them. Since a German from BMW designed the suspension, I wouldn't doubt that this needs to be done to the Stinger as well at ~30K intervals. Unforunately many techs/mechanics are clueless when it comes to suspensions and sometimes look at you like you have 3 hears, so you must find a race/performance shop to do this, because they do it all the time and know what it takes to make a car handle well and feel solid.

 

[brancky3]

I have about 4500 miles.

 

[only1harry]

So was your GT2 always feeling this way at high speeds, or when did it start? Did you do anything or upgrade anything on the car? Did you have tires rotated, or changed tires and noticed the floaty feeling? You said it was also floaty with the 19's. Was it less floaty with the 19's and summer tires? Could be the 18's just magnify the feeling, and it was more "normal" with the 19's?

 

[brancky3]

So was your GT2 always feeling this way at high speeds, or when did it start? Did you do anything or upgrade anything on the car? Did you have tires rotated, or changed tires and noticed the floaty feeling? You said it was also floaty with the 19's. Was it less floaty with the 19's and summer tires? Could be the 18's just magnify the feeling, and it was more "normal" with the 19's?

It always felt the same with the 19s and with my brand new 18s . Also happens in comfort mode, although not as bad it seems? Maybe it's in my head regarding comfort vs sport. Starts around 70mph either way

 

[brassardv]

The way i understand the adaptive damper will aways analyze the road condition to be in comfort even in sport mode.
But IF NEED in sport mode it focus on steering stability.

but as you see my english is low level i may not understand it right

 

[only1harry]

I don't own one yet, but test drove a 2019 GT twice, as early as last night, and had it up to about 95mph. It didn't feel "floaty" at high speeds, but not planted as well as my 335i, so I am not sure what's normal for this car Sorry... and it sounds like you are not sure either since you have not driven other Stingers. It just felt more like my wife's Accord which I call "normal". It definitely did not have that glued to the road feeling or a sports car feeling at high speeds, or low speeds for that matter. It has a heavy car feeling is the only way I can explain it, but it wasn't bad by any means. The acceleration and decent handling (for its size) I think makes up for the way the car feels otherwise. I would have bought that '19 GT on the spot yesterday (because of the $4,200 off MSRP), if it weren't for a constant steering wheel vibrations (and felt in the seat by me and the sales mgr. next to me), that some others here have complained about and can't get resolved.

I have a feeling what you are describing is normal for the Stinger, and you are most likely comparing it to other cars you have driven in the past. BTW, did you adjust the tire pressures to Kia's recommended 36/39 psi? If you are running 40 psi or higher, the car will feel (more) floaty and the ride gets more bumpy. I would even bring the pressures down to 34F/36R to see if it makes a difference. Some of these new cars they are putting out today are very sensitive in how they behave with different tire pressures. My 335i 's tire pressures are supposed to be 35/39 (staggered set up), but the car feels a little floaty and bumpy with that setting. It feels best with 33/35 or 34/36 and more stable on the highway, so I am constantly adjusting the pressures as the outside temps change. You should know that your tire pressure will change by 1 psi for every 10 deg. difference outside.

 

[brancky3]

I'll try adjusting the pressures, good point. I think front are rear are both 36?

 

[Waynerm002]

I'm pretty sure the pressure is 38/36 (F/R). The Stinger is not a tight Sports car, it's a comfortable cruiser but most of want it to be which is why a lot of folks have installed lowering springs and sway bars. Knowing how it was engineered and by whom, I was hoping for sportier but I can tell you that with the Michelins the ride was firmer than I prefer and changing the tires made it better. Now, I felt it was a bit soft but the more I drive it and push it, I find it quite enjoyable as is. As a daily driver and commuter car this thing is just awesome.

 

[ZyroXZ2]

Not what you all are experiencing... I've been deep into the triple digits, and it's not floaty at all. Though, mine's just a GT, so I don't have adjustable suspension.

Something seems off for it to feel noticeable floaty, though. Either that, or the way the adjustable suspension reads the road changes when it's reading what summarily can be defined as a "blur" at high speeds, lol

 

[MerlintheMad]

First off, my car tracks perfectly straight. There are no weird noises. Everything is super smooth even over rough roads. But, when I accelerate hard and exceed ~60mph the car starts to feel 'floaty'. I don't know how to describe it exactly, it's just definitely not as planted as I feel it should be. This happens on both my 19" stock wheels / summer tires and my 18" winter wheels / snow tires.

Honestly, I'm not sure this is even an issue but I know for sure my last car (Audi S3) did not feel the same. I'm thinking of asking my dealer to check the alignment since I really didn't notice any leaking shocks or anything out of the ordinary when I changed my wheels out a few weeks ago.

Has anyone experienced the same thing?

No. Rather, the opposite. The faster I went the more "hunkered down" the car felt, encouraging yet higher speed. At 150+ it was amazing. I want to do it again! (Please, Oh Lord?)

 

[MerlintheMad]

I don't own one yet, but test drove a 2019 GT twice, as early as last night, and had it up to about 95mph. It didn't feel "floaty" at high speeds, but not planted as well as my 335i, so I am not sure what's normal for this car Sorry... and it sounds like you are not sure either since you have not driven other Stingers. It just felt more like my wife's Accord which I call "normal". It definitely did not have that glued to the road feeling or a sports car feeling at high speeds, or low speeds for that matter. It has a heavy car feeling is the only way I can explain it, but it wasn't bad by any means. The acceleration and decent handling (for its size) I think makes up for the way the car feels otherwise. I would have bought that '19 GT on the spot yesterday (because of the $4,200 off MSRP), if it weren't for a constant steering wheel vibrations (and felt in the seat by me and the sales mgr. next to me), that some others here have complained about and can't get resolved.

I have a feeling what you are describing is normal for the Stinger, and you are most likely comparing it to other cars you have driven in the past. BTW, did you adjust the tire pressures to Kia's recommended 36/39 psi? If you are running 40 psi or higher, the car will feel (more) floaty and the ride gets more bumpy. I would even bring the pressures down to 34F/36R to see if it makes a difference. Some of these new cars they are putting out today are very sensitive in how they behave with different tire pressures. My 335i 's tire pressures are supposed to be 35/39 (staggered set up), but the car feels a little floaty and bumpy with that setting. It feels best with 33/35 or 34/36 and more stable on the highway, so I am constantly adjusting the pressures as the outside temps change. You should know that your tire pressure will change by 1 psi for every 10 deg. difference outside.

My "fast ride" earlier this year was with the pilot summers; and I did my best to have the psi at the recommended 38/36. Today I was looking at the G meter as I accelerated on a cloverleaf, with Nitto Motivo UHP A/S, inflated to 40 psi (the TPMS showed 40 psi, which means, near as I have been able to determine, closer to c. 42 psi, since the TPMS seem to read two to three pounds low); so of course I am running on tires that are a bit over inflated: deliberately so, as I want a bit more cushion in case of potholes. The G meter peaked at .8 G. I was impressed (new to this sort of thing): but at the same time I wondered if the Pilot summers would have taken the car right up to .9 G before making noise; at .8 G the Motivos were roaring (not howling).

 

[Dochidalgo]

First off, my car tracks perfectly straight. There are no weird noises. Everything is super smooth even over rough roads. But, when I accelerate hard and exceed ~60mph the car starts to feel 'floaty'. I don't know how to describe it exactly, it's just definitely not as planted as I feel it should be. This happens on both my 19" stock wheels / summer tires and my 18" winter wheels / snow tires.
Honestly, I'm not sure this is even an issue but I know for sure my last car (Audi S3) did not feel the same. I'm thinking of asking my dealer to check the alignment since I really didn't notice any leaking shocks or anything out of the ordinary when I changed my wheels out a few weeks ago.
Has anyone experienced the same thing?

The general conclusion of this forum for that problem that you write is to change the sway bars and possibly the springs.

 

[DrGCS3]

This might not be your solution, but what setting is your lane keep assist? I will say that I had a lot of the same feelings about my car within the first week. Even wondering about alignment despite the car driving straight. After deactivating Lane keep assist one rainy night, the entire attitude of the car seemed to change. Just an idea. I won’t go back to using the active lane keep assist, it really gave me a “floaty” and somewhat disconnected feeling from my car and the road.