Thanks, George, that's really good to hear your advice about doing a CarFax
check and favoring toe-in. I'll certainly do the web check, and probably
I'll never rest until I get a good shop to do an alignment. By cosmetic side
of the tire I mean that the sidewall of one side has a two or three inch
wide band of fine radial lines and the other side is rather blank.
Thanks, again, Roy.



"George Macdonald" <fammacd=!SPAM^nothanks@tellurian.com> wrote in message
news:3f4fb0e4.29821946@news.tellurian.com...
| On Thu, 28 Aug 2003 15:34:21 -0500, "Lanning" <LanningREMOOVE@THIScox.net>
| wrote:
|
| >George, what could be the reason(s) my '02 "Si" has always wandered too
| >much?
| >
| >I should say that an unusual thing about my car is that it came with
three
| >of the tires having the cosmetic side toward the inside. I doubt Honda
built
| >it like that.
|
| Hmm I don't know the car in detail so I'm not sure what cosmetic side
means
| on a tire, unless its a unidirectional tire and has some special
indication
| of such - worth checking.
|
| >Also, when I got the extended warranty contract, I saw that the end date
was
| >about five months earlier than it should be. Calling the dealer and
Honda, I
| >find that an incorrect "in-service date" was used. The car was built a
full
| >year before I bought it, and it seems to have basically been on my
dealer's
| >lot almost that long according to the shipping information. It had about
30
| >miles on it. Does this all make you think something is fishy, like
something
| >happened to the car, or even that it could have been sold albeit briefly?
|
| I'd think if it had been sold, there would be traceable records, CarFax,
| State docs, etc., by VIN. At worst, it was in a minor accident on a test
| drive or salesman's screw up in the parking lot. I've seen the idiots
| clearing the showroom at end of day lock-down and they drive them like
| they're stealing them... for a few hundred meters at most. Never buy a
| showroom car. OTOH it may have been just slightly out of adjustment from
| the factory.
|
| >The dealer said they have fixed the extended warranty date, and that I'll
be
| >getting a new warranty contract in the mail. As for the tires, they said
to
| >bring the car in for reversing the three tires and balancing them. They
| >didn't even question me as to the possibility of my having done something
to
| >create the tire situation.
| >
| >There doesn't seem to be any TSB for wandering (most irritating on the
| >highway), but two other posters here who have the new model "Si" have
noted
| >the same thing after I mentioned it here.
| >
| >I talked to a tire shop mgr. who said new cars sometimes have their
| >alignment ruined by the downforce of being tied down during shipment, and
| >this car was made in England.
|
| I think, in your situation, I'd get the best shop you can find to do an
| alignment check and ask for the front toe to favor the toe-in end of
| adjustment tolerance. IIRC most cases of wander in newish cars are due to
| even a small amount of toe-out.
|
| >
| >"George Macdonald" <fammacd=!SPAM^nothanks@tellurian.com> wrote in
message
| >news:3f4dac50.71986248@news.tellurian.com...
| >| On Wed, 27 Aug 2003 02:14:58 GMT, "vinniemak" <vinniemak@netzero.net>
| >| wrote:
| >|
| >| >My wife has a 1991 Honda Civic hatchback with 121K miles. The car
still
| >| >runs great. The resale is down low enough that for the last 3 years,
I
| >| >said...if this car has any issues we'll get rid of it and get a new
| >| >one...BUT HONDA'S DON'T DIE EASY....this one still has 5 years left on
it
| >at
| >| >least. No problems...excepting..
| >| >
| >| >The tire wear is somewhat uneven. I noticed the "inside" to be a
little
| >| >more worn than the outside. I have seen camber kits for Honda Civic
| >| >hatchbacks being sold on Ebay.
| >|
| >| Is it only on the front and evenly worn on the inside on both sides?
As
| >| the suspension "settles" on those cars, the front wheels tend to
develop a
| >| slight toe-out, which can easily be corrected by cranking half a turn
or
| >so
| >| on both tie rod ends. There isn't much to adjust otherwise but at that
| >age
| >| it might be worth checking on radius rod bushings and and other
bushings &
| >| ball joints for wear.
| >|
| >| Rgds, George Macdonald
| >|
| >| "Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" -
Who,
| >me??
| >
| >
|
| Rgds, George Macdonald
|
| "Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who,
me??