Cyberkinetic

I'm having 2 problems and I'm hoping to get some feedback on what the causes might be. The car is an 01 Civic with 138,000km

1) Although I had my tires rotated and balanced, my wheel shakes on the highway over 110km/hour; sometimes it shakes more than others.

2) When applying the brakes and slowing down from high speeds (90+ km/hr), I hear a shuddering noise, and can feel a vibration under my brake pedal. The front brakes are premium ceramic pads and are only 4 months old; I also installed brand new rotors at the same time. I just checked the rear drum brakes a few days ago, and they don't need to be replaced (they are still the original Honda shoes).

I'll be taking the car on somewhat of a long trip in a few weeks, and although it's not imperative that these problems get fixed, I'd like to have an idea what the possible causes might be so I can have it looked at.

imported_jdm ek4

I get the vibrations too....i beleive its my tires and the rims might be warped too. I bought the car with the rims and they look pretty banged up. Did you check your drive shafts and ball joints?

Cantonagod

It gets expensive chasing a problem like this, trust me!!

Check in this order:

Check rotors for warps (can happen, even new)

Have wheels and tires balanced on a Hunter Alignment Machine (do you have have aftermarket rims? Hub Centric? Bent rim? )

Drive shaft and ball joints (you would hear noise too, tick tick tick for drive shaft, squeak squeak for ball joint if it was gone) Check for play in all suspension parts anyway.

imported_Torrey

He's absolutely right.

I have the same problem, but I know its due to a driveshaft AND bad alignment.

imported_Cablerat

Cantonagod has basically pointed out all the possibilities..

Start with the easiest things to diagnose and move on. Generally though, if you are feeling shake in the brake pedal it's because of the rotors.

Tires may seem balanced on the machine, but can have tread seperation, which can't be balanced properly and makes the tire garbage.

imported_Mischev

**** man..get it looked at soon time, my friggen ball joint snapped on me this mornin lukily i was on a small street and no the hyway

cibs

yeah if it's shuddering during braking it could easily be your rotors, even if they are brand new... measure the run out on them...

imported_gatherer

check alignment as well..... (althouigh I'd check everything else first)

imported_Green_Goblin

I have a problem almost similar to this.

I have a 95 civic coupe with 206K+

When Im driving on normal streets, if the streets cracked and filled improperly, the tires will pull which ever way the crack goes. Its probably cuz of my low pro tires tho, (205/40/17).

When Im on the highway tho, its fine when Im going below 110kmh, but when Im above, sometimes it feels like the steering wheel isnt fully in control, and it feels lighter when I move it left n right. When this happens the car starts to move left and I turn right to bring it straight again and then it starts going right too much so then Im pretty much caught in a loop. I try to keep it inline and bring down my speed. Once Im 110...its perfectly normal again.

I talked to a few friends they said that since my car is lowered like 2.75' drop, it is very close to the ground so wind gets caught and it will push me now and then. Since I am at high speeds it affects me the most. My tires, and rims are fine. I do have a very squeaky bushing on the front right...
Oh the steering wheel was swapped by the previous owner from stock to momo and then back to stock again.

Could any of you give me some good advice??
I alwayz watch my speed on the highway never go above 110 newayz..saves me from drawing attention from cops. I will be taking the car to a mechanic soon.

Speaking of mechanic...Do any of you know a shop that is used to working on lowered cars that are modified a bit? I want to go to a place that has the proper lift, and people arent all out to rip u off.

Sorry for usin your thread Cyberkinetic..

imported_t_dot_SiR

re-do the alignment and see how it goes first.... i had to re-do my alignment before once because my mech said my rims were wet or something, so the machine didn't balance it well or something (not too sure if its true), but he re-do it for me on a good day where the rims and tires were super dried... the tires went really well.... i test drove it upto 170 on the highway and it felt amazing...

if problem still persist, some simple inspection would be checking if the rims are warp... jack up the car... try to play around with the wheel by pushing it turning it, etc... see if there's any unusual movement....

lastly, if all things seems good..... get a mechanic to check it for you.. or try to listening carefully to the shafts and balljoints....

imported_Green_Goblin

ball joint was messed up when I bought it, but I got a new one put in. The right side squeaks so Im guessing thats the bushing that needs to be replaced. I figured when I Get that replaced I'll get the mechanic to look at it.

I have no real tooks to jack up this car cuz of the drop. Im still open to any suggestions on who to go for this stuff...
Someone reliable, who has experience working on modified cars,
honest and has a proper lift for lowered cars.

Any suggestions??

imported_winner007

ok i won't give u a guessing game. Here are all the answers.
If u brake and it vibrates it is the rotors. If u are cruising and it vibrates sometimes and go away it could be tire balance. Also check for high and low spots of the tires too. Check the front end to see if there are any lose parts.

imported_mikepasini

suspension...




its all in suspension...well, not all, but chances are for your 95 civic (green_goblin) with it lowered that much, you are probably on stock suspension.

i have a 96, was lowered about 2 inches and whenever you hit uneven road the wheel starts to pull and i thought it was cause out my 205 width tired, but i put 195s and it was the same... a little better, but mainly the same... i just changed my suspenstion to kyb agx and the problem is almost gone... the car is so much more stable. i still need alignment done, my toe in is ok, but my camber is still messed up, but whatever, just get a pro alignment and live with the camber, but at least its all even...

also, the wheel used to shake going a but over 110, 120, but now it doesn;t... dude, i can go 190 and the suspesion feels like its floating in mid air.. kinda messed, anyone know if thats normal? but its tight as hell, i can changed 3 lanes in like 1 second with this car now going 190(on a closed track of course )