RazMan

My old 955 S was almost exactly the same ride quality as my present 957. Both are on air and with similar miles. If anything the 957 feels a little tighter, but that could be due to the weight difference between the two (957 is a diesel )
Surely that should be the case as they are practically the same running gear aren't they?

Mani Man

Hi,

I recently bought a 957 and I got what you mean. it does have a floaty feel to it on open roads. For a German car, I don’t think it’s normal, I’ve had merc and bimmers and they drive like glued to the road. This floati-ness for sure doesn’t give me the comfort or the confidence to drive it as it’s meant to be. Not sure if it’s the shocks, spring Etc or that’s how 957 is....I doubt.

~MANI

Petza914

Is the floaty feel you are describing in relation to the steering feel and accuracy or the ride quality? When I think floaty, I think old Lincoln Town Car - is that what you're experiencing but to a lesser degree?

GDA

I know when I have done upper, lower and front strut mounts the wallowing feeling of my 955 completely went away and it then felt like the front bumper just hugged the ground till I got used to it again. Float in the front end given the suspension design would indicate worn / weak lower control arm rear bushings and or weak/blown upper strut mounts.

GL with the repairs.

Mani Man

Hi,
A bit of both, steering feels a bit loose and the car kinda floats(like it’s on springs only) rather then sticking to road, at least with that heavy chassis.

TIA

~mani

Petza914

Check the universal joint coupler that goes from the steering wheel shaft to the rod that goes into the steering rack (top right corner of this photo). The bolt on my coupler was actually loose which provided me with extra steering wheel play so it felt like the car wasn't tracking straight all the time and needed corrections, which because of the play, seemed excessive. Once i tightened the clamp bolt on that joint, the steering became very direct again. Someone had also changed an O2 sensor and routed it incorrectly around the steering shaft - problem with not doing work yourself and POs.

Brainz

Yikes on both those issues ^^^

Petrolhead_007

Maybe you should try a 955. Or could be just a helsinki syndrome towards your old car. Is the steering components / p.s. pump are different in 957? I believe suspension components are pretty much the same. I heard similar issue with E46 BMWs where some earlier models had overboosted steering.
Also, something as simple as air pressures on tires play a huge role in handling

mhariush

I ended up buying a 2008 Dunkelolive Metallic with 133k miles. The struts has been replaced recently, and PO said he also did upper and lower control arms. It drives a whole lot better than all the others I tried, and feel a lot more like it should. could probably be a little tighter still. But definitely, there was something wrong with all the other cars. On that note, they had around 100-120k miles, and the struts and arms on this one was replaced 4k and 8k ago, so with the age of the cars and around 100-120k miles major suspension might be due for replacement... YMMV.

And I really like the new power steering on the 957 vs the 955, much easier to drive around town.

And like some other other posted, it felt a bit like it was moving around on springs only, or had very knobby tires.

RKD in OKC

Check tire pressure.