piety@hplabs.UUCP (Bob Piety) (11/05/83)
I have a '79 Honda Accord 3-dr with 80K miles on it and drive a winding,
mountain road every day. My Michelin X radials only last 15-20 K miles but
the wear is uneven....they wear much more on the inside.
The alignment checks OK so I'm beginning to suspect the McPhearson struts.
Could that be the cause?
How long should they last under the conditions mentioned?
How to test if they're bad?
How much should it cost to replace them? (I'd do it myself but I
understand that special equipment is required.)
What else could be the cause? (My driving speed is comparable to most
other drivers.)
Can anyone recommend a place in the South Bay Area that does reputable
work on Hondas?
Thanks in advance.
Bobjlw@ariel.UUCP (J.WOOD) (11/06/83)
Front wheel cars such as the Honda Accord are notoriously hard on front tires. 20K is, in my experience with SAABs, fairly normal. It could not only be your static front end alignment, since it sounds like a lack of toe-in, but it could be a generic weakness in the upper strut mountings. There are bars which cross from the top of one strut to the other available for many McPherson strut cars such as RX-7 and BMW. Joseph L. Wood, III AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Holmdel (201) 834-3759 ariel!jlw
burris@ihopa.UUCP (11/07/83)
I have a 1981 Accord and have put over 42,000 miles on the factory original tires. Unfortunately, I began to neglect the recommended tire rotation interval and have now suffered the consequences. Namely, the front tires are in need of replcement while the rear tires appear to still have another 6,000 or more miles left on them. The moral of the story is that you should by all means follow the recommended rotation interval. Dave Burris ..!ihnp4!ihopa!burris ATT Bell Labs, Naperville
stanwyck@ihuxr.UUCP (11/08/83)
I have a 198 Datsun 310 (FWD, 4-sp, etc). It now has 65000+ miles.
I have had to buy tires for it twice, and I have heard the same thing
from Datsun dealers, Goodyear, Firestone, and (excuse me) M. Wards.
On a front wheel drive car it is no longer recommended that you ever rotate
your tires. Instead, replace your front wheel tires twice to three times
as often as you replace your rears. Since your rear tires (on a FWD) are
essentially trailer wheels, if you don't overload your car too often they
should nearly last forever.
Again, this is merely what I have been told by many people. I, myself, am
extremely ignorant on the subject.
--
================================================================================
________
Don Stanwyck ( ) ihnp4!ihuxr!stanwyck
@( o o )@
312-979-6667 ( || ) Bell Labs @ Naperville, IL
Cornet-367-6667 ( \../ )
(______)speaker@umcp-cs.UUCP (11/08/83)
Well now that we're on the subject of Hondas.... My Civic S model has made a funny hollow rattle eve since I bought it. It manifests itself in the first 5 minutes of driving whenever I go over a bump (like a speed bump... OOOHH, how I hate those things!) The sound is akin to a large tin can being jounced around under the front axel (oh god). Anyone got any ideas or have any similar experiences? -- - Speaker-To-Stuffed-Animals speaker@umcp-cs speaker.umcp-cs@CSnet-Relay
jjb@pyuxnn.UUCP (J Bernardis) (11/08/83)
I have a 1980 Accord and have put over 35000 miles on the original tires
without their showing any significant wear. I intended to follow the
recommended tire-rotation schedule, but the last time I took it into
the dealer (who I have never had any problems with), they told me that,
acting upon a recommendation from Honda itself, they no longer rotate
tires. They claimed that no benefit was to be gained by it!!!!
Anyone else have this same experience?
Jeff Bernardis, AT&T Western Electric @ Piscataway NJ
{eagle, allegra, cbosgd, ihnp4}!pyuxnn!jjbmickey@cca.UUCP (Merrill Levine) (11/09/83)
My Honda Civic ('81 1500 GL) also has the same problem. However, it only
seems to manifest itself when a) the temp. is below 50 and b) the car is
cold. My past suspision has been something in the exhast manifold or the
catalytic converter has to 'get up to temperature'. Once it does, the part
expands and stops rattling.
On the subject of tires, my Civic tires were rotated every 10K miles (front
to back) and I got 38,000 out of the original Bridgestones. The only reason
I replaced them (and it wasn't due to tread wear) is that my struts are
deteriorating and a performance expert suggested new rubber was a cheaper
short run solution to new struts (I'm trading in the car this week). He was
right!hakanson@orstcs.UUCP (11/10/83)
#R:ihuxr:-75400:orstcs:3000019:000:1973
orstcs!hakanson Nov 8 22:55:00 1983
I must both agree and disagree with the above opinion (that FWD cars
should not have their tires rotated, because that way the back ones
will last forever).
There is the advantage that the above scheme lets you get away with
buying only two tires at a time. I can see no other advantage.
In all, the total mileage given by all four (or six, or eight) tires
that you wear out on your car will probably be the same whether or not
you rotate them (assuming, of course, that your front end is aligned
and your front tires wear evenly).
This, then brings me to what I consider the disadvantages of the
"wear out the front tires only" scheme. First, it could end up
being hazardous to have tires of (possibly radically) different
condition on both ends of your car. Second, it's entirely likely
that you won't be able to buy the exact same tires that are on
the back of your car, so you may end up with different styles
or brands of tires on either end of your car. This can also lead
to hazardous handling characteristics. If your car was delivered
with all 4 tires exactly alike, then there is a very good possibility
that the car was designed to handle best with the same type tire
on each corner of the car. It's just common sense that mixing
tire conditions and types will upset the balance of handling.
Third, when the rubber of your rear tires becomes old and brittle,
and one of them blows out because it got tired after 100K miles,
even though it still has useable tread on it, you won't be able
to use that tread anymore. And fourth, why would most manufacturers
recommend that you rotate the tires on your FWD car (usually more often
than on a RWD car) if it doesn't sell more tires or more cars?
Of course, if you never find yourself in the extremes of traction,
and you never expect to do so, then you may ignore the above
disadvantages. (Good luck!)
Marion Hakanson {hp-pcd,teklabs}!orstcs!hakanson (Usenet)
hakanson@{oregon-state,orstcs} (CSnet)ksh@cbosgd.UUCP (Karen Summers-Horton) (11/11/83)
There has been quite a bit of discussion about the noises made by Honda's. I had this explained to me quite recently and will relay to you what I was told by our local Honda service department. There are TWO noises that come from the rear end of our 1981 Honda Accord. The first is a "rattle" that comes from the left rear - mainly in cold weather. I was told that this was the fuel pump, and Honda's are notorious for their noisy fuel pumps. The noise goes away after a couple of minutes of driving. The second noise is a "whining" that I was told had to do with the emission control system on the Honda. It has something to do with vapors being routed back through the system rather than sent out into the air. The whining noise occurs in WARM weather, and frequently continues for 10-15 seconds after the car is turned off. Karen Summers-Horton