6spdzoomzoom

I know the tire problem is most likely a design flaw. Do you guys think it could cause a tire failure at some point?

Hybrid

What problem? The nylon construction causing the flat-spotting? That's not a safety problem, and has existed in many tires for years and years.

6spdzoomzoom

The vibration problem at 50-55 and 80+

Hybrid

I guess that would depend on the real cause of that higher speed vibration problem. If the problem is truly due to the tires, and that's very possible, it could be due to something like belts that aren't applied correctly during the construction process. Anything that vibrates the tire continuously and violently is going to eventually weaken it. It will also weaken lots of suspension parts in the car over time, of course, just like driving over rough roads would. So, I would guess, that over lots of miles, a vibrating tire, particularly if it's a severe vibration, wouldn't be as safe as one that ran true and smooth. That's my opinion anyway.

Lots of cars on the road run with cheap tires that are unbalanced for their whole lifetime, though. And blowouts seem pretty rare. Ford Explorer tire blowouts were due to a combination of things, apparently: poor tires plus underinflation causing overheating.

I don't think the slow-speed flat-spotting problem would be much of a safety problem, because it only occurs for the first few miles of driving, and it's generally at lower speed.

So I guess my conclusion would be, at the level of vibration that I think is being experienced by most TL owners that are complaining (detectable by owner, but some passengers may wonder what the big deal is), it's unlikely to be a safety problem. But if it were my car, I'd work on getting it fixed (not just for safety reasons), but not treat it as an emergency.

rets

Well said, Hybrid.

Also, since ppl have known and researched lots of details about EL42, we know this is not a decent tire for 04TL.

If new guys don't know this and think of Acura has a great car with great "tires", they may make a big mistake 'cause this tire may not grip so well, not control well when snowing, and not handling good when flooring into the water-full streets.

need4spd

Also the tires may be causing some tracking issues.

Hybrid

I had some Dunlop tires once (D60 A2, if I remember the model right, purchased as aftermarket replacements for a 1st generation MR2) that had a vibration problem, mostly a shimmy in the steering, that couldn't be cured by multiple attempts at balancing. Finally a shop investigated a little more and showed me by running their balancer at slow speed that the tread on 3 of 4 of the tires wasn't applied "straight" around the tire. The tread grooves that should have been straight actually waved back and forth as the tire rotated. So the steering was obviously trying to follow the tread, which lead to the wheels fighting each other slightly and a vibration in the steering wheel. The dealer put a set of Michelins on the car, for free, for me to drive around on for a few miles. They didn't even bother balancing them. They were pretty sure I'd buy them, I guess. I did. No vibrations (they did balance them after I purchased). Got my money back on the Dunlops (Tire Rack was the source of those. They admitted after agreeing to the return that "Oh, yeah, we've had lots of complaints on those, and they are being built on old Firestone equipment in an old plant." I wish they'd told me this before I bought). I learned a lot from this ordeal. #1 is that if a tire vibration problem isn't cured by rebalancing, start checking the tires themselves. #2, investigate tire quality carefully before buying. These days, there are better balancers out there. (Specifically a Hunter model that's been mentioned before that does "road force" measurements and can diagnose pulling and other problems). Plus, there's the Internet now, for an info. source, which didn't really exist then.

vtechbrain

Tires don't kill people, people kill people!

Modeler

I don't believe these tires would ever fail in the Ford Explorer Firestones fashion, but I do consider these tires to be very dangerous and had them replaced. The reason is their piss-poor snow and wet traction. These can easily cause an accident that could be avoided by spending $400 on better tires.

svtmike

And web sites don't post stupid statements, people post stupid statements.

I think there is something fundamentally wrong with the EL42's we've been getting, maybe a design problem or possibly a manufacturing problem.

There are 04 TLs getting EL42s that are seriously out of acceptable limits on harmonic vibrations. That could be caused by faulty belts, and that can be very dangerous.

Mike

theslik1

I drive a '98 Eclipse Spyder...y'all don't know anything about vibration. :p

Seriously though, how bad is this vibration? Does it feel like an actual wobble or is it higher frequency? I just took my 5AT TL on a jaunt to Myrtle Beach at 90+ mph and it was as smooth as I expected it to be. I have 2000 miles on it now.

svtmike

It's a wobble/shimmy kind of vibration. Each cycle can be discretely felt in the hands.

Mike

acuraddict

Yes, the EL42s are dangerous. If for no other reason, because hydroplaning is horrible with the EL42s. This could absolutely lead to fatalities. This was one of the things I presented to my dealer and regional rep to persuade them to give me different tires.

Tirerack's list of consumer reviews of the EL42 show complaint after complaint about hydroplaning, and I experienced it myselft on the 101 freeway in Ventura, CA. I had to pull over to make sure nothing was wrong with the car. Seriously, I had never felt anything like it before.

Anyway, I printed these comments and the rating chart from the tirerack graphics and presented the data as an example for my quest for better tires. Of course, the datum that was positive was not included.

svtmike

That would be the one positive review provided by a mysterious person from Wausau, WI who says he'll buy them again? Wonder who that could be!

Mike

acuraddict

:lol1:

whiteTL

Get new tires?