[Jimbop1209]

Hello,

Recently I got my tires changed to Nexen N'Fera AU7s and balanced by myself (with actual machines, not with some backyard tools), and this heavy vibration comes and goes. It feels like a flat spot on my tire, and it fades in gradually. There are no issues when driving one day on a freeway, varying from 40~50 mph to 70~80 mph. The next day at the same speeds, the vibrations appear. My old tire setup didn't make this vibration, but it only happens when I drive for a long time. After a stop and go, the vibrations go away.

One day, when the vibrations started to appear, I tapped the brakes and the vibrations went away. I tried remedying this by tightening the rotor screws with an impact screwdriver as I thought it was related to the brakes. But it still comes and goes. While tightening the rotors, I checked the wheels and tires for any unevenness. I also checked the suspension and steering components; nothing was out of the norm. I am running aftermarket wheels, and I do have hub-centric rings.

What do you guys think about this? I thought of this being axle hop, but I'm only lowered about 2cm from stock. Not sure of what's going on, but I might have to rebalance my wheels. I'll add some dashcam footage later.

Not sure if also related, but this one time, my VSA and TSA light came on while driving, and I got stuck in 3rd gear (A/T) with my brake pedal being stiff. It went away after restarting the car.

 

[Jimbop1209]

The vibrations feel like it's coming from the front left.

 

[Litespeed08]

Have you tried switching the wheels left-to-right or front-to-back to see if that changes anything?

 

[Jimbop1209]

Have you tried switching the wheels left-to-right or front-to-back to see if that changes anything?

I haven't thought of that... I might just "fix" it with a rebalance and tire rotation.

 

[reyesjnj]

Switch tires from one side to the other if it goes to the other side the it's the tire, also if the tire is directional it might be the problem. Also check your lower control arm the big round bushing if that is stretched when you lift the car it might need replacing. Let's figure this out

 

[merlinj79]

Also... the stock rotors on this car are sensitive to lugnut torque. Torque the nuts to the correct value, OEM is 80ft/lbs but I use 90 ft/lbs. Make sure you do it with the weight of the car off the wheels, and in the correct order.

Don't use an impact wrench. Actually I do that for convenience but I use a 70 ft/lbs torque rod and then hand-tighten to 90 ft/lbs.

 

[Jimbop1209]

Also... the stock rotors on this car are sensitive to lugnut torque.

I heard about that from someone who worked on multiple Hondas/Acuras. So that's why I tightened the rotor screws.

Make sure you do it with the weight of the car off the wheels, and in the correct order.

Torque the wheels without the vehicle on the floor? I never heard anyone do that, but I'll try to torque the wheels to 90 ft/lbs.

 

[merlinj79]

Torque the wheels without the vehicle on the floor? I never heard anyone do that, but I'll try to torque the wheels to 90 ft/lbs.

Me neither. Until this car.

You can lower it until they barely touch the ground so they don't turn while torquing. Or just jam a piece of wood against the tire.

 

[cl9oem]

If you’re using plastic hub rings, throw them in the garbage. Metal ones are the only way to go. If you do have metal ones, maybe they’re the wrong size?

 

[Jimbop1209]

If you’re using plastic hub rings, throw them in the garbage. Metal ones are the only way to go. If you do have metal ones, maybe they’re the wrong size?

I am using polycarbonate hub rings, and they both fit snugly on the wheel and on the hub. I'll try to change out to metal hub rings.

 

[CG1120]

Is there any possibility there is debris, moisture, or something in the tire? I had this issue with a truck after getting new tires and could not figure out what was wearing out or vibrating. Machine balanced and road force tested at a different place. None were off by more than .25oz. Finally I had the tire broken down and sure enough there was about 1/2 qt of water in the tire. The shop thought the water came from an air line and that happened to be the lucky wheel/tire to get the drink.

 

[Jimbop1209]

I finally got to rebalance my tires, rotate them, and check for any water in the tires (I shook them and didn't hear anything, also pushed the tire valve when it was at the bottom). After that, I torqued my wheels down to 90 ft-lbs with the tires slightly touching the ground. Hopefully, the vibrations won't come back!

 

[Jimbop1209]

I drove my car for 50+ miles, and the vibrations came back again, now at a lower speed (<40 mph). Along with a hard brake pedal while being stuck in 3rd gear, with the VSA and TSA lights coming on. The vibrations come from the same area from the front. I'm running the same polycarbonate hub-centric rings (I have ordered metal ones, they're arriving soon).

 

[reyesjnj]

If this started with the tires try a stiffen set if possible.

 

[Jimbop1209]

If this started with the tires try a stiffen set if possible.

It's not the tires, I rotated and rebalanced them and the vibration is still on the same spot. Now the issue narrows to my axles, wheel bearings, or my brakes.

 

[CalgaryTSX]

It's not the tires, I rotated and rebalanced them and the vibration is still on the same spot. Now the issue narrows to my axles, wheel bearings, or my brakes.

It could still be the tires, since you mentioned all was fine until you installed the new Nexen tires.
Especially the Tier 2, lower quality Nexen tires made in Korea or China.

What brand wheels are you running?

Do you have any other wheels/tires you can try? Borrow a couple from another Honda?

 

[Jimbop1209]

It could still be the tires, since you mentioned all was fine until you installed the new Nexen tires.
Especially the Tier 2, lower quality Nexen tires made in Korea or China.

What brand wheels are you running?

Do you have any other wheels/tires you can try? Borrow a couple from another Honda?

Probably. But if the problem tire (which I thought was the front left tire) was moved to the back, the vibrations would come from the back, and the vibrations stayed for my issue. Could be just another part failing right at the same time when I installed my tires, which happened to me once after I replaced my starter, the alternator died on me.

I am running Konig Hypergrams 18x9.5 +25 with my tire size being 245/40 R18.
I don't have any other wheels to try out, I could try using my spare haha.

 

[Jimbop1209]

Went ahead and checked the front wheels again using a spare tire jack. No looseness or weird noises except for a light drag on the brakes.

 

[cl9oem]

Could be your calipers starting to seize up and your rotors warping. I had a similar issue before that had a shakey steering wheel w/ a thudding sound. It would last maybe a minute or so. Sometimes happened within 5 mins of driving and sometimes 15+

Had the calipers, rotors and pads replaced and I haven’t had the issue since.

 

[cl9oem]

Front brakes btw