Had this problem for a little while and am still unable to find the cause. Here's the issue...

- Vibration at highway speed only begins at 100kmh/60mph and gets worse as speed increases from there

Here's what I've tried...

1. Brand new steel rims with brand new Goodyear winter tires (issue seems to be worse with winters on these rims)
2. Several sets of used alloy rims with new all-season tires (seems to be better on all seasons)
3. Balancing, alignment, swapping wheels front to back, etc.

Here's what I've checked...

- Suspension components tight with no play (ball joints, tie rods, shocks are old but seem ok)
- CV axles seem to be ok but when I ran it on a hoist seemed to shake a little bit
- Engine mounts are in good condition

A little about my car...

- 1999 Honda Civic Coupe D16Y8 US-EX, CAN-Si
- 120,000 kms / 75,000 miles
- Original engine, original suspension, original drivetrain
- Car has been well maintained since ownership at 90,000 kms / 55,000 miles

**Thank you very much for your help in advance. I am picky about my car and like to solve issues like vibration, strange sounds, etc.

 

Does vibration also increase at higher engine rpms in 1st and 2nd gear?

What are the conditions of the lower control arms and the rubber bushings?

 

- No vibration in steering wheel in 1st and 2nd - it is only apparent at highway speeds.

- Lower control arms and bushings seem to be in passable condition.

 

Wheel balance would seem to be the obvious prime suspect, despite the fact that you have stated that balancing has been done.

Is it possible that your shop is unable to properly balance the steel rim/winter tire combination? Have you tried a different shop?

 

So this is what I was going to try next. There is a shop about 100kms away from me that does a special "on car" balancing and alignment that is supposed to be superior to other machines as it accounts for rolling resistance and whatnot.

Ideally I would like to NOT have to do that for each set of rims and tires I have but will do it if I absolutely have to and there are no other obvious things to check that I may have missed.

 

Maybe you can save money by focusing solely on wheel balancing at the other shop given that miss-balanced wheels are the most likely culprit for the wheel shake.

Alternatively, return your car to the original shop and ask for rebalancing due to issue. It's not uncommon for my tire shop to get the balancing wrong from time to time.

 

So I actually did the balancing by myself as I used to work at a Honda dealership not too long ago. I rebalanced all wheels at least twice and made sure I was doing it to spec. Unfortunately going back isn't an option because I did them myself. From what I noticed, the machine I used was a little bit dated I can't remember the brand but it is calibrated every few years.

I do agree that balancing using a PROPER machine at a shop that specializes in this sort of thing would be the way to go.