I had my upper control arms replaced last year. I run snow tires in the winter and am on my third year with this set, so I decided to wear them through the summer and get new ones this winter. They've always been noisy, which I expect because of the more aggressive tread pattern and compound, but when I had them rotated last week, the noise and vibration moved up to the front and is much MUCH MUCH worse. I inspected them and they are worn exactly how the TSB shows they will wear with the incorrect control arms, with flat edges like an octagon, but more sides. This would obviously cause the massive noise and mild grating vibration I am getting.

Q: anybody else getting this type of wear AFTER the replacement? I need to look under the car and see if I can identify what control arms are in it...the thought had crossed my mind that the dealer blew me off and told me they changed them and did nothing .

I know the snow tires in the summer will exaggerate the tire wear because of the softer compound vs. my normal 80K miles tires I usually run, but I would imagine that eventually they would show similar wear as well.

 

Yes I did and actually ware my two rear tires down to bald. I was on holidays and traveled from Victoria, Canada to Palm Springs area.I discovered the problem when I arrived at Dessert Hot Springs. I took the car into a Honda Dealer at Cathedral Grove for re-alignment and two new Dunlaps. The rear where towed way out, so Honda in Victoria screwed up. They would not admit it however so I was out three hundred bucks. Needless to say I no longer do my service there. H

 

This could be different from Hal's toe problem. The wear problem is due to camber. I have had this same problem.

Check to see if the camber is still off spec from the new TSB specifications. The camber should be 0 to -1.5 degrees. If you have good will left with your dealer go back and talk to them about it. The problem can be fixed by putting in new springs, or (better) getting an independent alignment shop to put in adjustable arms. Unfortunately the cost will come out of your pocket.

 

I believe there is a letter C on the new replacement upper control arms. H

 

Yes that is correct.

But even with the replacement C upper control arms the camber was still out of spec. with my car. Consulting an independent alignment shop recommended rear adjustable upper control arms be installed. New rear springs can be installed, this might bring up the car body enough to bring the camber into spec., but they would have to be bought from Honda as aftermarket are not out yet.

 

Yes , I had to have new rear springs with C upper control arms in order to get on spec. H

 

ok, i'll have them check it out again when I take it back in to figure the software / battery issues out. I believe they only did the upper control arms. I've had a independent alignment shop tell me the rear is out and they cannot adjust it, but i don't remember what exactly it is that is out.

 

Wait a minute Jason, you are running soft, agressive snow tires in the summer and complaining your car isn't right all of a sudden this year after a couple years of good service and that you are getting poor mileage, no, please, really, come-on.

 

The point that I had made was only the rear tires have exactly the wear pattern and noise noted in the TSB. Yes, I would expect the wear to show up sooner because of the softer winter compound, although the reason I'm wearing them through this summer is because they are 3+ years old and have hardened and greatly lost their bite last winter. The front tires have worn fine with no noise or weird wear patterns whatsoever. Very interesting since the TSB was suppose to address this issue.

My concern is that when I go back to my normal Michilin HydroEdges for the spring-through fall next year, maybe not in year 1, but in year 2 the issue will return.

This post has helped...i'm pretty sure they didn't do anything with the springs, and my alignment shop has noted an unfixable alignment issue in the rear even after the TSB fix, so something is still up. Wanted to see what the community was experiencing post TSB fix.

As for mileage, haven't once complained about it with the tires, i expect the 3 - 4 mpg drop with them on over the Hydroedges, although this spring I averaged 40+ on E0 with the winter tires and mild weather.

 

Look for adjustable upper arms from: http://performance-suspension.eibach.com/

Info from site:

PRO-ALIGNMENT Kit

# 5.67470K

Footnotes: Camber Arm. Rear - Camber +/-3.0 Degrees Of Adjustment.

Performance Springs

• Precision Alignment Kits for Maximum Performance and Prevents Uneven Tire Wear
• Wider Range of Camber Adjustment Suitable for Street or Track Tuning
• Two Year Warranty

After the installation of either an Eibach Pro-Kit, Sportline spring kit or Pro-Street coil-over kit, a vehicle's alignment should always be checked. Once a vehicle is lowered, wheel camber may become excessively negative, meaning the top of the tire is angled inward (toward the center of the vehicle). While some negative camber aids in improving traction and road adhesion, too much can result in compromised handling and accelerated tire wear.
Eibach offers a complete range of Pro-Alignment kits, which provide a simple, affordable solution to correct excessive negative camber. These alignment kits not only assist in adjusting a vehicle's camber back to factory specifications, but they also allow an experienced chassis tuner to utilize the increased adjustment range to "dial-in" a performance-oriented alignment that uses negative camber to maximize a chassis' true potential. With correct alignment, turn-in becomes more precise and handling becomes gratifyingly crisp and predictable. High-speed stability is also enhanced, making an Eibach Pro-Alignment kit a necessity for the serious performance tuner.
For the extreme lowering of Sportline and Pro-Street applications, look for the alignment kits with a greater range of alignment necessary to accommodate the extreme lowering. These will be listed below the standard Pro-Alignment kit in the applications section.