Due to COVID, I have not been driving my camper conversion Custom van much this year, but when I took it on a longer trip last week I am convinced there has been a degradation in the driving refinement.......... I am sure it didnt transmit so much road buzz through the steering wheel and pedals when I used it to go to work everyday, but is it just my bad memory, am I getting paranoid, or is there a real problem??????
the van is a 2018 Custom ltd L1H1 170PS, I am running 18" alloys with Michelin cross climate SUV 235/50R18 tyres. (these have been on for 2 years) and I run them at 3.1bar back & front.
it is a very simple camper / dayvan conversion, so not heavily loaded.
the feeling I have is that now the transmission of every imperfection on the road, every cats eye etc, is transmitted up through the Chassis & steering wheel [and to a lesser extent through pedals and seat] with high frequency buzz. if i go over a catseye, there is the initial impact you expect, then a secondary "ping" as the impulse resonates undamped through the structure.
best I can describe is that it is what you would get if you had very stiff low profile tyres, or they were over infalated... or perhaps if a rubber mount was failing and transmitting the forces it should absorbing, or a damper on the way out, or a loose bolt..... that kind of thing
I have checked all the tyres are at the normal pressure, and I have tried them at 3.3bar and at 3bar just to check if they are sensitive to pressure, but it still feels the same.
the wheel nuts are all tight and it happens at all driving speeds from 5mph up to 80.
its not extreme, for example, my wife says she cant really notice it, but she doesn't normally drive the van, and she cant hear that her brake pads are worn to the metal, so that is not a resounding vote either way!. But every time I drive it I feel there is a real lack of refinement, and I am sure this is not what the Transit Custom should feel like.
I am almost thinking I would like to do a swap with another transit so I can recalibrate my hands and get a back to back comparison to verify if I am going mad.
so has anybody had similar?
is there anything I should check out?
all help appreciated as I dont think its they type of thing that the dealer would give much help on