Hello! I am back after a long time away! After buying a BMW 540 6-speed in 2004, I gave my most recent Civic (the 1998 HX) to my mother. However, I am once again back in the Civic "Hobby" due to not only helping her with her 1998 HX, but also helping her with my formerly owned 1991 Civic Si (which her roommate now drives). I think the Civic (especially the older generations) is an awesome value for the dollar. I think that the 1991 Si may be the best of all, but I was also very fond of the 1992-1995 generation as well. I think the 1998 sacrificed too much to Cost Control and handles like a dog ans has cheap seats.

Now to my question - the 1991 Si handles SO well, despite it having 130K miles on it now. However, it develops a vibration in the front end, a "shimmy" that gets worse as you approach 55 mph. Took it to an Indie shop, they said it was wheel balance, and they balanced all 4 wheels. Didn't fix the problem.

So today I rotated/swapped the front tires to the rear and vice-versa. Still having the vibration in the front!! You can definitely feel it in the steering wheel. It's enough to shake teeth loose! It is strongest off-throttle (but has no relation to brakes).

The CV boots are all visually OK, but I am thinking it could still be dry or worn CV joints. Other than that it could be one of the many suspension bushings/pieces up there being worn out.

Any ideas what could be causing this problem? I would take it to the stealer, but the Honda dealers around here all suck service-wise. This vibration is ruining an otherwise awesome-driving car! Please help!!

 

Inner tread seperation in the tires was my issue. It didn't start kicking in untill 75 though so yours might be a bit farther along than mine. That's all I can come up with. Best of luck.

 

Stock wheels or aftermarket? Most aftermarket wheels are "lug centric" in other words the wheels are centered on the rotor and brake assmly. via the lug nuts. stock wheels are hub centic. If you are using after market wheels, get some hub centering rings. This is an easy fix if all of your tires are still round and are balanced properly

 

i think it could be a tie rod or ball joint.

 

WOW, good point. Actually the problem surfaced after I bought some aftermarket wheels, AR 152's. And I bought them used, so you are probably right! Now, the question is where can I get some centering rings? I can visualized what they must be but have never heard of them. Any help with source/retailer? Thanks!

 

you could try out a discount tire or belle tire store, or ebay

 

Actually, I discovered that Summit Racing carries Gorilla brand hub centering rings. Unfortunately, I need to know the outside diameter of my Civic's hub and the inside diameter of the AR-157 wheel hub (these American Racing wheels are what's on there now). See Gorilla's site for matrix of available sizes: http://www.gorilla-auto.com/products...=270&sfID2=278

So my question is how to derive the
1) O.D. of the 1991 Civic Si's hub
2) I.D. of AR-157 wheel hub, which is no longer offered by AR.

Anyone? Anyone? Thanks if you can help!