maserati QP wheel alignment specifications

rs48635

Member
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3,181
Who would you recommend in/near London? (I live in SW1). A few places with Hunter machines all said its to hard, and to take it to the dealer (HR Owen).

I also have the inner 25% excessive wear, but on the rears only as far as I can tell...
Take a day trip to the seaside and visit sportsitalia workshop. Can always get a train back to London if work demands.

See you're already in good hands.
 
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RichardSEL

Junior Member
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130
Take a day trip to the seaside and visit sportsitalia workshop. Can always get a train back to London if work demands. See you're already in good hands.

Wot? Well, there's the River Itchen about three miles away walking from Bursledon. There you can walk along its banks (about five miles) to Bitterne Park and from there catch a bus to central Southampton or the docks and the Solent. BR serves all three locations. But there's no seaside (viz bucket 'n spade, kiss-me-quick hat, candy floss) that I know of. What did I miss?
 

rs48635

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3,181
Wot? Well, there's the River Itchen about three miles away walking from Bursledon. There you can walk along its banks (about five miles) to Bitterne Park and from there catch a bus to central Southampton or the docks and the Solent. BR serves all three locations. But there's no seaside (viz bucket 'n spade, kiss-me-quick hat, candy floss) that I know of. What did I miss?
Compared to where I live - it IS the seaside :D
 

rs48635

Member
Messages
3,181
Yes this bush is torn internally as the notches do not align anymore:

View attachment 65399


Cannot see the indentation on mine and assume bushes are same on QP - GT. Is it too much to assume all bushes are fitted such that notches face outboard to allow inspection? At least these ones can be replaced unlike previous models. Maserati engineering does make progress.
Maybe it needs to go on a ramp.
 

flat-12

Member
Messages
120
Fellow Form Members, the following comments are just my opinion. I am not a mechanic, just an enthusiast who has worked on many types of cars over the years, muscle-cars to exotics...and everything in between. If I am in error in any way, please correct me.

The bushing design certainly isn't the best. The inner and outer sleeves are joined by the rubber isolator part. The outer sleeve rotates as the suspension arm moves up and down, while the inner sleeve remains stationary. During suspension movement (up and down) the rubber isolator portion is twisting.

After new bushings have been pressed into the suspension arm, and the suspension arm is being installed back onto the vehicle, BEFORE torquing up the bolts, move the suspension into the "vehicle at rest" position, and then tighten everything up. Do not tighten things up with the suspension hanging. The "notches" should be lined up with the vehicle suspension in the "at rest" position (as if the vehicle is on the ground). If they are not...then either the bushing is bad or it was not torqued up correctly. If the vehicle is on a lift with the suspension hanging, the notches will not be lined up.
 

RichardSEL

Junior Member
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130
In my case I actually saw the mechanic move the outer notch plate round by screwdriver blade away from the fixed notch. Thus showing that the outer sleeve was part-ripped away from the inner.
Checkout post #39 the blue arrows show
 

Zep

Moderator
Messages
9,110
My understanding is that the notch mentioned above is only present on GTS bushes as it denotes the position of a protruding lug on the inner sleeve designed to reduce deflection under cornering loads. This notch is used to align the protrusion when installing the bush with the factory tool. QPVs that lack the lug will also lack the notch.
 

flat-12

Member
Messages
120
I have a 2013 Quattroporte-S and the bushings that I removed has that internal Lug, and the new bushings I installed also had the Lug. You want to orient the Lug pointing outwards from the vehicle, roughly horizontal...if that make sense. Here is picture of the old bushings....
 

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flat-12

Member
Messages
120
A fellow forum member mentioned that a Polish company offers Poly Urethane bushings for the upper control arms, as it turns out a member of the "other" Maserati forum purchased a set and the were too short.
https://www.maseratilife.com/threads/polyurethane-bushes.123350/

Even though the above bushings didn't work out, I was intrigued...an on-line search revealed another potential source for the upper bushings...call JEEPERF. These bushings appear to be a great design and should last forever, I have emailed the company asking if they fit the QP5 cars. Stay tuned...
https://www.jeeperf.com/product-page/maserati-186496
 

RichardSEL

Junior Member
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130
The Jeef ones say they are for: "The bushings will fit Maserati Coupe, Spyder, Gransport, Upper Arm Flanbloc Bushings Maserati Part # : 186496"
So look forward to the reply whether they're good for QP5 Automatica '08MY
 

flat-12

Member
Messages
120
I asked for more details regarding bushings for the 5th generation Quattroporte, and below is JEEPERF's reply. Based on this, I would assume that bushings for the QP are not "in stock" and would have to be fabricated. But they would indeed last a LONG time based on what I see....probably worth it. It would be good to hear feedback from Maserati owners out there who have JEEPERF's bushings installed - to see how they work over time.

"....We design and Re-engineer bushings for most model cars. The bushings for your quattroporte need to be re-engineered as two halves per bushing for better handling, long life and good vehicle control. Each bushing (2 halves) will range from $125 to $185. These will likely be lifetime bushings that will not be replaced again for a very long time....."
 

RichardSEL

Junior Member
Messages
130
I'll ask them about delivery then. US$185 = £142. At two per side = £288 which is same price nett as can be paid for OEM complete kit. For me then there's the +s&h +import duty.
Thanks for keeping this topic uptodate :)
 

Zep

Moderator
Messages
9,110
Certainly very interesting. It would be good to see what they change as the existing design makes the bushes extremely stiff in on direction (steering input) but allows a fair amount of compliance in the others.
 

RichardSEL

Junior Member
Messages
130
Just had a very fast reply from Jeeperf who asks me: "Are they for the LCA? Fronts or rears??"
Not being a mechanic I just took the pictures of what had been pointed out to me at the mechanics.
Here's another that shows a bit more location:
65625
What are these properly designated as? Two per arm which I'm told are the same (?)
Any clarification welcome!
 

flat-12

Member
Messages
120
Hi RichardSEL....those pictured are the upper control arm bushings, there is a bushing at the front of the control arm, and another bushing at the rear of the control arm. The lower control arm also has front and rear bushings.
 

RichardSEL

Junior Member
Messages
130
Thanks for that ~ was far too impatient so went for what's now again available
Expect to collect my QP5 early next week then down to Kernow for a long weekend and back. Currently driving around in a Merc SLR ~ just not the same... :0037: