Aunali9

hey guys,

my car sways very slightly at high speeds, in excess of around 90kmph. it moves left to right only very slightly, as though its getting buffeted around in wind. it smoothly glides left and right with no unusual sounds or anything or bouncing around. it does give me a small scare because i obv dont want to loose control of it. the steering wheel moves with it. its not a large deviation though and doesnt happen at low speeds. what does happen though is that if i hit a large cat-eye or a small pothole, the steering moves by its self. its not enough to make me loose control but i have to grip the steering wheel. the tires and rims are brand new. barely run 30 km yet. yesterday it was making a hell of a racket driving in a straight line and turning to the right, but remounting the engine sorted it out. now its silent and there are no vibrations. just this swaying issue.

jdmh22eg2

Did u get a alignment when u got new wheels/tires? My thought would lean towards possibly a combo of caster and toe together causing the issue. Basically the drive wheels are trying to drive the car and then compinsate for it the other way (of shorts)

Aunali9

yeah i did get an alignment. but that was the first time i looked at the computer screen and couldnt tell what i should be looking for. im going to do some research on that for myself and get the alignment and balancing done again. you dont think its an engine mount problem do you? right now it feels as though the steering is ridiculously sensitive kind of. almost like it moves with the tiniest discrepancies in road surface. and do you think worn out shocks and springs could be causing it?

jdmh22eg2

No i dont think that mounts will do that, as i do alingments everyday at work and never seen that. Shock/ struts could (not likely) springs will NOT. You might have a worn out rack and pinions.

Before u take and get alignment done jack front end up, grab each wheel at 3/9, and 12/6 and wiggle/push pull on each wheel see if anything is loose. If anything is loose fix and realign car. You can not align loosness

Aunali9

ah alright, that makes perfect sense. i shall do that. check looseness, get alignment, get rack and pinions checked, figure the shocks out. sounds like a plan. i hope its just alignment. thanks for the advice!

jdmh22eg2

Np some of on here are here to help

Aunali9

and im grateful for that! just one last question, if you do alignments every day could you tell me what values the caster, camber, and toe should be set at in a stock suspension layout for a 96 civic ek?

jrunager

Some brand new tires can be very sensitve (sort of grabby) until the tread wears down a little bit. Also my brother bought some brand new tires and had to return them because they were warped but that was pretty extreme from what I was told.

jdmh22eg2

100% honest i could not tell ya off top of my head. Tho caster can not be adjusted on a civic, camber can not also (unless you have camber kit), toe i would say honda preferance is/would be about .05-.10 deg each side (not sure on that number tho)

Aunali9

hmm. in your earlier post you mentioned that you suspected a combination of caster and toe leading to this. if so, then how can i correct it if the caster is not adjustable?

jdmh22eg2

You cant, most of time it is a worn bushing/ bent part that adds to the caster.

Aunali9

THAT is frightening haha. i just had everything replaced. i'll have to sell a kidney to redo all of that. but oh well. it must be done. safety first. again thanks for the game plan bro! i love this forum for the stuff i keep learning from people!

jdmh22eg2

Now you have to understand also, when i say in combo of toe and caster that does not always mean your caster is off. It means with what ever caster number your car does have and toe numbers will affect the handling. Caster is one of the biggest factors in straight line handling, and if you have toe added, or wrong caster because a worn bushing something else it all will be a diff handling car.

90_EX_Civic

what the hell do you have on the car?

what kind of car?

new tires?

what are the specs of your tires?

did you seat your axles in right?

have you look into tightening your rack gearing?

Aunali9

@jdmh22eg2: got it.

@90 EX Civic: its a 96 ek sedan, i have nothing on the car, its completely stock. the tires are new yes, barely done 100 km yet. they are bridgestone potenza re001 (we have a limited number of brands and varieties in pakistan). i have checked the axles as part of a noise issue a few days ago. it turned out to be bad mounting. and no i havent looked into tightening the rack gearing.

90_EX_Civic

what size rim?

what is the tire size?

Aunali9

205/55/r15, lenso light rims. almost brand new.

90_EX_Civic

hmm..... might be tread squirm.... but don't rule out that your rack might just need a little tightening. how are your wheel bearings?

steven higgins

Ve A bad strut can cause a "sway" and should be checked by a 'bounce or rebound check',but its more likley that its a caster issue. I've been doing alignments for 8 years now. Check struts before spending money on alignment