Honda Car Forum

My 05 Accord Hybrid has always felt like an iron slab on turns. It
holds steady but the front slides out like it's driving on sand. Based
on tire wear and the mark it leaves on smooth surfaces, I can see that
it's taking turns entirely on the outside edge of the outer front tire.
A hard turn leaves behind one black line about two inches thick.

Is this bad traction caused by weak tires or poor suspension geometry?
I've been thinking about getting rid of my car for many reasons, and
never cornering well could be the last straw. Do I invest in better
tires or get a new car?

I've checked the suspension and I've tried a higher tire pressure
already. Has anyone upgraded the tires on their 05 HAH?

I'm guessing poor suspension geometry. I believe how much the tire
leans side to side is called camber. Camber should be adjusted so that
the tire remains flat on the road while cornering (and driving
straight). My old Civic needed a "camber kit" because camber wasn't
directly adjustable. Don't know about Accords. Hybrics probably have
more junk that is unfamiliar to most mechanics (regenerative
braking/electric motors). A reputable alignment shop should be able
to help you with this. Yeah, I know, this is like finding an honest
politician.

A reputable alignment shop should be able
to help you with this. Yeah, I know, this is like finding an honest
politician.

LOL - agree completely - actually found one in Minneapolis. Kevin get
that suspension looked at - something else maybe going on - if
something lets go at freeway speeds - you might get an expensive
adrenalin rush - don't need/want those events.

speednxs wrote:
> I'm guessing poor suspension geometry.

is it possible the OEM tires are chosen for maximum MPG as well?

What tires do you have on the car? The electric steering in the hybrid is
not quite as good as the normal steering in other Accords but it isn't
supposed to be bad. I have no problems with my wife's hybrid accord.


"Kevin McMurtrie" <mcmurtri@dslextreme.com> wrote in message
news:mcmurtri-FDD3E6.23442910042006@sn-radius.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net...
> My 05 Accord Hybrid has always felt like an iron slab on turns. It
> holds steady but the front slides out like it's driving on sand. Based
> on tire wear and the mark it leaves on smooth surfaces, I can see that
> it's taking turns entirely on the outside edge of the outer front tire.
> A hard turn leaves behind one black line about two inches thick.
>
> Is this bad traction caused by weak tires or poor suspension geometry?
> I've been thinking about getting rid of my car for many reasons, and
> never cornering well could be the last straw. Do I invest in better
> tires or get a new car?
>
> I've checked the suspension and I've tried a higher tire pressure
> already. Has anyone upgraded the tires on their 05 HAH?

In article <1144772153.397296.255890@j33g2000cwa.googlegroups .com>,
"speednxs" <speednxsticket@earthlink.net> wrote:

> I'm guessing poor suspension geometry. I believe how much the tire
> leans side to side is called camber. Camber should be adjusted so that
> the tire remains flat on the road while cornering (and driving
> straight). My old Civic needed a "camber kit" because camber wasn't
> directly adjustable. Don't know about Accords. Hybrics probably have
> more junk that is unfamiliar to most mechanics (regenerative
> braking/electric motors). A reputable alignment shop should be able
> to help you with this. Yeah, I know, this is like finding an honest
> politician.

Actually, it would be castor that needs adjusting, and it's not
adjustable. The tire is perfectly flat on straight and gentle turns so
camber is fine. It's hard turns where the tires are running on their
edge.

I'd like know if the tires have abnormally weak sidewalls or if the
suspension just doesn't hold the wheels at a good angle. Or both?
Between the low milage, transmission downshift lag, poor handling, and
suspect reliability, I'm not sure if I want to keep this car for its
full life or trade it while it's still a highly valued model.

Yeah, it's my fault. I didn't push the car hard enough in the test
drive. It has an awesome 0-60 but it doesn't handle well when driven
aggressively and it doesn't save gas when driven conservatively.

My wife's commute is a crawl to work. Stop and go mostly stopped. She gets
about 29 mpg on her Accord hybrid. On her 300M she used to get about 20
mpg.


"Kevin McMurtrie" <mcmurtri@dslextreme.com> wrote in message
news:mcmurtri-25C76A.23032611042006@sn-radius.vsrv-sjc.supernews.net...
> In article <1144772153.397296.255890@j33g2000cwa.googlegroups .com>,
> "speednxs" <speednxsticket@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>> I'm guessing poor suspension geometry. I believe how much the tire
>> leans side to side is called camber. Camber should be adjusted so that
>> the tire remains flat on the road while cornering (and driving
>> straight). My old Civic needed a "camber kit" because camber wasn't
>> directly adjustable. Don't know about Accords. Hybrics probably have
>> more junk that is unfamiliar to most mechanics (regenerative
>> braking/electric motors). A reputable alignment shop should be able
>> to help you with this. Yeah, I know, this is like finding an honest
>> politician.
>
> Actually, it would be castor that needs adjusting, and it's not
> adjustable. The tire is perfectly flat on straight and gentle turns so
> camber is fine. It's hard turns where the tires are running on their
> edge.
>
> I'd like know if the tires have abnormally weak sidewalls or if the
> suspension just doesn't hold the wheels at a good angle. Or both?
> Between the low milage, transmission downshift lag, poor handling, and
> suspect reliability, I'm not sure if I want to keep this car for its
> full life or trade it while it's still a highly valued model.
>
> Yeah, it's my fault. I didn't push the car hard enough in the test
> drive. It has an awesome 0-60 but it doesn't handle well when driven
> aggressively and it doesn't save gas when driven conservatively.

Kevin McMurtrie wrote:

> I can see that
> it's taking turns entirely on the outside edge of the outer front tire.
> A hard turn leaves behind one black line about two inches thick.
>

Too much weight transfer for the tire, suspension system as a whole?
Slow up or trade up, would be my advice. You're driving this car far
harder than the designers intended, IMHO.

Civic Si?
Need something larger? Infiniti G35?