GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

One of the things that tends to bother me about this car is the vehicles stability in heavy wind. New tires helped some, but I still find it bothersome to have the wind pushing the vehicle hard enough that I need to compensate. Originally being from California I never had to deal with this, and with winter coming I now find myself wanting a car with a lower profile and possibly more weight. Any suggestions on how to improve the stability of the 1st gen vibe in heavy winds?

happened to me a lot in the vibe, somewhat in the ms3...roll the windows all down was the only thing i could think of. cross wind sucks.

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »happened to me a lot in the vibe, somewhat in the ms3...roll the windows all down was the only thing i could think of. cross wind sucks.Being from our neighboring state you know how cold it gets in the winter, is that the only thing I can really do?

well with side winds :/ yeah I think so I lowered my vibe with hotchkis springs and that helped a tiny bit because the car wasnt as high and the springs were stiffer but you still got pushed around by wind. its the shape of the car and how big the side is

Figured it had to do with the shape. Probably weight too.

I did a quick search regarding this and a member by the name Cohocarl had a similar issue...It seems that changing out the tires, adjusting the PSI in the tires, and by adding a rear sway bar may of helped.http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=1153

Its basically the product of having the surface area of a 4x8 sheet of plywood. I'm lowered, have reduced sidewall tires, 40 series 18" and run 45 series 17's during winter and an RSB, Ive driven during some substantially windy days on snow covered roads and still get moved around but never to the point of instability. I think, just respect the conditions and drive appropriately and you should be fine.

Quote, originally posted by sk8r78 »Its basically the product of having the surface area of a 4x8 sheet of plywood. I'm lowered, have reduced sidewall tires, 40 series 18" and run 45 series 17's during winter and an RSB, Ive driven during some substantially windy days on snow covered roads and still get moved around but never to the point of instability. I think, just respect the conditions and drive appropriately and you should be fine.I never exceed safe speeds for conditions that's a given. I just find it annoying that I can be driving down the highway on a snowy days at 45mph (where the speed limit is normally 70) and still be fighting the crosswinds to stay in my lane while larger SUVs, and semis blow past me creating a potentially unsafe situation (yes, I understand the same laws of physics don't apply to semis in the Dakotas).

the only things i would suggest are just basic physics. reduce drag, removing the roof racks would help reduce drag; add a bit of weight to the car (Newton's 1st law), because it weighs more it'll get moved around less by the same amount of force; and last would to just be slow down.sorry, that's all i have. i will sometimes on the highway at 70mph get pushed by crosswinds on the highways by me, if i slow to 60 they affect me a lot less.

Quote, originally posted by tribalman »the only things i would suggest are just basic physics. reduce drag, removing the roof racks would help reduce drag; add a bit of weight to the car (Newton's 1st law), because it weighs more it'll get moved around less by the same amount of force; and last would to just be slow down.sorry, that's all i have. i will sometimes on the highway at 70mph get pushed by crosswinds on the highways by me, if i slow to 60 they affect me a lot less.If I were to remove my roof rack would there be any unsightly holes in the roof?

Quote, originally posted by DarkSpork »If I were to remove my roof rack would there be any unsightly holes in the roof?yes, roof racks will hardly affect this, they are tiny and tubular. its basically the weight of this car mixed with the flat sides. its a real light car and boxy.

Quote, originally posted by DarkSpork »I never exceed safe speeds for conditions that's a given. I just find it annoying that I can be driving down the highway on a snowy days at 45mph (where the speed limit is normally 70) and still be fighting the crosswinds to stay in my lane while larger SUVs, and semis blow past me creating a potentially unsafe situation (yes, I understand the same laws of physics don't apply to semis in the Dakotas).Has your Vibe always been this sensitive to crosswinds? I sure haven't noticed such a significant effect relative to other vehicles with either of our '06s. Crosswinds were certainly more noticeable on the one trip when we had a large couch on the roof, but even then it didn't feel unsafe or slow me down.Just wondering if there might be some worn or defective component in the suspension. I previously had a '75 Rabbit which had always handled fine in crosswinds. But before moving from Az to NJ we thought it'd be time to get some new front struts. It immediately felt less stable and I complained to the dealer but they said everything looked and tested out fine. So we drove to NJ and had to slow down whenever there were strong crosswinds. Had the car checked by a dealer there and it turned out the Az dealer had left out some important spacers.As to the semis, my recollection from living in Fargo was that after a significant blizzard one could count on seeing scores of them jackknifed along Hwy. 10 and I-94. They sure didn't seem to be immune to winds and snow.

I notice it too, I would say its just the design of the car. About the only thing I can relate it too, is being bounced around on a motorcycle in a heavy wind, or from the wash off a semi.

Quote, originally posted by prathman »Has your Vibe always been this sensitive to crosswinds? I sure haven't noticed such a significant effect relative to other vehicles with either of our '06s. Crosswinds were certainly more noticeable on the one trip when we had a large couch on the roof, but even then it didn't feel unsafe or slow me down.Just wondering if there might be some worn or defective component in the suspension. I previously had a '75 Rabbit which had always handled fine in crosswinds. But before moving from Az to NJ we thought it'd be time to get some new front struts. It immediately felt less stable and I complained to the dealer but they said everything looked and tested out fine. So we drove to NJ and had to slow down whenever there were strong crosswinds. Had the car checked by a dealer there and it turned out the Az dealer had left out some important spacers.As to the semis, my recollection from living in Fargo was that after a significant blizzard one could count on seeing scores of them jackknifed along Hwy. 10 and I-94. They sure didn't seem to be immune to winds and snow.Do you still live in the East Bay? That's where I grew up and had driven a vibe there (borrowed), the winds aren't nearly as strong in that part of the country so it wasn't noticable. Since I've owned the car up here I have had strong crosswinds pull me (they were gusting at 45mph yesterday, driving 70 felt uncomfortable), it is better than when I bought the car (new tires) but still enough of an annoyance that I'm looking at other cars (my friend's cars get it too but its not as bad).

Quote, originally posted by DarkSpork »Do you still live in the East Bay? That's where I grew up and had driven a vibe there (borrowed), the winds aren't nearly as strong in that part of the country so it wasn't noticable. Since I've owned the car up here I have had strong crosswinds pull me (they were gusting at 45mph yesterday, driving 70 felt uncomfortable), it is better than when I bought the car (new tires) but still enough of an annoyance that I'm looking at other cars (my friend's cars get it too but its not as bad).Yes, we're in the East Bay, but one of our Vibes lives in Wisconsin and has made the trip back and forth from there a number of times. And I disagree about this area having less gusty wind. Two of the major windmill farms in the country are only a few miles east and northeast of us and there's a good reason why they're located here. Crosswind gusts can certainly be an issue when driving through the Altamont Pass, Vasco Rd., Montezuma hills, and similar areas here. Not to say that there weren't plenty of windy days on the plains outside of Fargo as well.But if you find it feels unsafe to keep up with most other traffic due to crosswinds then I'd still recommend having someone take a good close look at the suspension components to see if anything is loose, worn, or improperly assembled.

I did notice some improvement with the Progress anti-sway bar, in addition to the great improvement in handling.

add weight to the car and lower it. since i have added all the sound deadner the car is rock solid in high winds when it didn't used to be and same thing goes for the lowering spings