I just had the wheels and tires on my road force balanced by the dealership and everything is spot on. Still has a vibration in the steering wheel between 65-75 mph.
What else could possibly cause it? It does not change with acceleration or deceleration or with brake application.
Yeah smooth pavement. I had the tires balanced three times by NTB, then just to make sure I had the Honda dealer do the road force balancing, they also said the wheels are true and straight.
Would bad bearings cause a vibration? I figured they would just make a bunch of noise.
Only between 65 and 75? Sure sounds like a tire/wheel out of balance but in that you've had it checked several times, I guess we'll have to eliminate that.
Such a vibration is most likely coming from a rotating assembly but, there are other possibilities. Have you had your suspension checked for worn bushings? How about your engine/transmission mounts? Shocks/struts in good shape? Steering linkage? Hard to diagnose a problem without actually seeing/driving the vehicle but, if were me, I'd ask an experienced Honda Tech to take it for a test drive and get his/her opinion.
------------------ Ron
Isn't it strange that after a bombing, everyone blames the bomber, his upbringing, his environment, his culture, his mental state but … after a shooting, the problem is the gun?
My Uncle Frank was a staunch Conservative and voted straight Republican until the day he died in Chicago. Since then he has voted Democrat. Shrug
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 08-07-2015).]
A flaw in a tire, worn suspension components like inner or outer tie rods, warped brake rotor, worn drive axle to name a few, but usually 35 and again around 65 indicates balance.
axle CV joints bad ? If its a stick, clutch or pressure plate bad.I wouldnt suspect the steering damper (if it has one) as I always took them off and threw them away from Fieros to Mercedes. Broken belt in tire.
Do you have someone you can swap their tires and wheels onto yours to try. If not, try switching yours from front to rear and see if either has any effect. Even if theyre different sizes, it wont hurt for a short test run.
On hard to find vibrations, I like to take my cars to a local shop that spin balances them on the car. Anything out of wack on a wheel or tire will show up right away. Bubble or computer balance may be right on, but it dont show an out of round rim or tire. You need to run the wheel to speed and measure runnout with a gauge.
[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 08-07-2015).]
A flaw in a tire, worn suspension components like inner or outer tie rods, warped brake rotor, worn drive axle to name a few, but usually 35 and again around 65 indicates balance.
I second the flaw in the tire. Check for a broken belt by slowly running your hand all around the tires feeling for a slight bulge. Years ago I had a Buick that vibrated at speed. I balanced the tires several times all to no avail. Finally a tech at one of the tire places showed me the bulge on 2 of my tires. Apparently the steel belts can break or shift and the tire will never run smooth. So I bit the bullet and bought a set of Michelins and enjoyed the smoothest set of tires I have ever felt. I was so impressed that I swore off all other brands.
Originally posted by Hudini:I second the flaw in the tire. Check for a broken belt by slowly running your hand all around the tires feeling for a slight bulge. Years ago I had a Buick that vibrated at speed. I balanced the tires several times all to no avail. Finally a tech at one of the tire places showed me the bulge on 2 of my tires. Apparently the steel belts can break or shift and the tire will never run smooth. So I bit the bullet and bought a set of Michelins and enjoyed the smoothest set of tires I have ever felt. I was so impressed that I swore off all other brands.
I will go third on the bad tire. I had one that looked fine, I rotated it to the back, the problem was barely noticeable so, I was going to ignore it. Al the sudden, a baseball sized deformity appeared on the tire and the car was undriveable.
It's a modern car, but use some old school technology. If you feel it in the steering wheel, it's in the front. If you feel it in your butt, it's in the rear.
Most tire machines will only detect a bent rim if the machine is calibrated before balancing (often a skipped step) and if the bend is somewhat significant.
Complain until they give you a new set of tires so we can rule that out.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I tried rotating the tires and the problem did not change. I'm beginning to think it might be a bad rotor, I would hope that all my of my tires aren't defective, they are a decent brand (Cooper CS5 Ultras).
quote
Most tire machines will only detect a bent rim if the machine is calibrated before balancing (often a skipped step) and if the bend is somewhat significant.
Would this show up on a road force balancer? My impression was that a road force machine would pick any hard spots or irregularities in the wheel or tire.
Unfortunately replacing the rotors on this car requires removing the knuckle - stupid Honda captive rotors
[This message has been edited by masospaghetti (edited 08-08-2015).]
You can check runout on the rotors before pulling them. Just set up some kind of stationary pointer that you can touch against the friction surface of the rotor. Turn the rotor and if the pointer doesn't stay in contact, pull it and have it turned.
You can check runout on the rotors before pulling them. Just set up some kind of stationary pointer that you can touch against the friction surface of the rotor. Turn the rotor and if the pointer doesn't stay in contact, pull it and have it turned.
If it was enough to cause vibrations, I'd think he'd be able to feel the brake pedal pulsing. Maybe not, but that would be my assumption.
Took apart the driver's side today and got the rotor off. Nothing obvious but I do remember that I had to grind on the rotor to get the hub to fit, apparently this is a really common problem. I'm going to install some "ultra premium" rotors that are supposedly mill balanced and hopefully don't have to be ground to fit.
I sure hope its not axle problems. They were super-expensive Raxles with new Lobro CV joints. That is a whole another story though. Driver's bearing feels nice and tight and smooth.
I have a suspicion that all of the "non-premium" rotors are made by the same company and from the same factory despite the dozen or so different brand labels. And probably, the "premium" rotors are all made by a second factory somewhere. I even thought about getting OEM Honda rotors from the dealer for $100 each
[This message has been edited by masospaghetti (edited 08-09-2015).]
Careful... Vibration may feel came from front but is really came from back or other way around.
Bent axles or dieing trans bearings can axle vibration. Dieing trans bearings can allow inner CV to rotate off center.
If You have spare set of mounted wheels or can borrow a set then do that. Another set will answer it is a tire problem.
quote
Originally posted by rogergarrison: an out of round rotor can vibrate when spinning and not cause the brake pedal to vibrate.
Like cars w/ GA and other brake upgrades w/o hub centric rings/shims.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
You had to grind on the rotors to make them fit? Never heard of that before. Hmmm..................................
------------------ Ron
Isn't it strange that after a bombing, everyone blames the bomber, his upbringing, his environment, his culture, his mental state but … after a shooting, the problem is the gun?
My Uncle Frank was a staunch Conservative and voted straight Republican until the day he died in Chicago. Since then he has voted Democrat. Shrug
1) out of round tire 2) tire run out (tread) 3) motor mount/trans mount 4) loose subframe(cradle) bolts 5)engine balancer tossing a spot welded weight, same with flexplate/flywheel/torque converter/clutch 6) brake rotor tossing a balance weight . 7)control arm bushing shot.. 8) missing lug nut 9) axle shaft balance weight tossed.. 10) trans axle bearing shot..having play 11) axle shaft nut loose, most times from a shop reusing the old nut.. 12) tire tech furbard the balance job. 13)upper strut bearing/plate shot or loose..
[This message has been edited by E.Furgal (edited 08-10-2015).]
Not holding my breath but the drive this morning felt a lot better than before. Highway here isn't completely smooth so its hard to tell.
Replaced both brake rotors with NAPA/Raybestos "ultra-premium" rotors. I couldn't detect any warpage or out of round problems in the old ones but replaced them anyway. Honda's rotor design in the early 90's was terrible and requires removing the axle nut and separating the spindle from the LCA.
