s54

(Someone asked for this to be a new thread)

This has been beaten to death, but maybe this will help those of you with flat-spotting/vibration problems.

I went through the whole rigmarole of calling the dealer, calling ACS, blah blah, for two months. Finally last week the dealer put "new" EL42s on, which solved the flat-spotting somewhat, but I still had a pretty nasty vibration at 60MPH. I was still not happy, so I took it back yesterday.

They kept it until today and they said the "new" EL42w were also bad because, even after balancing them, the vibration was still there around 68 MPH.

Here is the twist - they pulled new tires AND new rims off an April production car and put them on my car - Problem solved. I have not seen any threads about bad rims, and all the focus has been on the EL42s.

Maybe the EL42s were partly to blame, but maybe they had a rim problem as well. Either way, the car is smooth as glass now.

BTW, the SM said Acura "knew they had problems with the Nylon tires" and he did not understand why they switched to Bridgestone."

S

rets

S54, I saw your post in another thread... this twist seems pretty amazing to most of ppl...

Good to know who else should be blamed for...



"...why they switched to Bridgestone...", Someone will disclose this answer to ppl very soon...

alv1

Maybe F/BS gave a great deal after the ford fiasco

Novice

But, the cold temp related flatspotting still has to do with the BS tires, correct?

s54

In my case the new tires helped the flat-spotting somewhat when they replaced only the tires, but since they put on new "new" tires and new rims, I can't tell you what made the difference - only that the combination made a huge difference.

S

rets

S54, what week were your tires made? I mean what's the 4-digit numbers... Thanks.

grimcabana

I have an '04 TL on order from Acura of Westchester and all this talk about the EL 42s is freak'n me out!

I just called the dealership and they say that the new TLs are no longer coming w/ EL 42s. The sales guy didn't know what the new stock tires were, but he said he'd let me know.

Has anyone else heard about a change? I can't imagine that he'd be blowing smoke considering that I don't have to accept delivery and it'll be pretty apparent what tires the TL is sitting on.

Novice

They haven't changed their website about the tire yet. So, I would double check if they ship new cars with new tires:

Tires


P235/45R17 93W Bridgestone Turanza All-Season
235/45R17 93W Bridgestone Potenza High-Performanc

Xpditor

My TL was built 4-12-04. I have no discernable vibration problem. Smooth as silk.

BUT, I notice LOTS of balancing weights on the wheels. I am talking about 10 in a row stuck on with some kind of adhesive. They are square weights all in a row. Not very attractive. Are the wheels that far out of balance or the tires??

XM

umbl0

How about those that switched to non-OEM wheels. Vibration free?

s54

Good question, rets. When they put the new tires on last week they were the TUV version, but they still had a flat spot (less so than before) and a vibration problem (more noticeable at 60MPH now). However, I checked the tires they put on yesterday (along with the new rims) and they are the PVC version, built 52/03. Huh?

I don't know and I really don't care - all I can say is that it is smooth as glass and maybe it comes down to replacing rims.

S

dheel

On my second replacement tires, I had some wheels have around six or seven weights- was .25 ounce a piece. Which would be around ounce and half. The Bridgestone service guy said that wasnt all that much weight. Sounds like a bunch to me though. He said he has seen around five ounces on one tire.
My new LS-Z's have less though. I have heard good tires shouldn't need much balance, such as Michelins. Don't know how true this to be.

dheel

Actually upon just looking at my LS-Z's that I got last week, one wheel on the front has 10- .25 /ounce
weights on it. The rest have no more than five on each wheel. The funny thing is three tires were made 35th week of 03, the one with additional weight was made 32nd week of 03. Also I was
standing right there when the service guy balanced the one wheel and said it is taking more weight but its nothing wrong with the tire. Also I noticed more regular weights on the inside of the wheels on the second set of EL42's, that the guy removed before balancing my LS-Z's. Think I might have to get Roadforce to just see if tires are ok and balanced correctly.

BigBluu

This must be an isolated incident as almost everyone on this board only feels the vibration the first 5/10 minutes, then it's smooth sailing. So I don't think it's a rim issue.

finishline

I'm not sure about "almost everyone" but the vibration I get never goes away. It's not just flatspotting. I think there are a number of people who have the same problem. If the vibration was only for the first 5-10 minutes, that would be like a freakin' VACATION compared to what I've been dealing with for the last month.