Accord Questions

Discussion in 'Accord' started by Rhino, Jan 11, 2011.

  1. Rhino

    Rhino Guest

    I'm in Canada and I've just replaced my 1992 Accord EX-R with a 2001 Accord
    EX-L. The old car is probably going to the wrecker since I don't expect to
    be able to sell it due to pretty bad rust.

    Is there any way to tell if the rims from my old car will fit on the new car
    without actually trying it? My mechanic told me that even though both are
    4-bolt rims, the inside surface of the old car's rims may be different than
    the inside surface of the rims on the new car and that the old rims may not
    go onto the new car as a result. I don't particularly want to try that
    because I have no garage and it is miserably cold outside and likely will be
    until April....

    Also are there any other parts you'd suggest scavenging from the old car to
    possibly reuse with the newer car? I am *not* terribly handy with cars and
    storage space is limited so I don't think scavenging the engine,
    transmission, etc. are realistic options ;-)
     
    Rhino, Jan 11, 2011
    #1
  2. Rhino

    Tegger Guest



    They're "wheels", not "rims". Wheels HAVE rims, which is how the tire
    stays put.

    Chances are good that the overall wheel diameters and width are
    different between the '92 and '01. What's the tire size indicated on
    both sets?

    The problem is primarily twofold:
    1) the wheels themselves are probably a smaller diameter, which means
    there would likely be insufficient room for the '01's brakes inside the
    wheel.
    2) the "offset" is probably different between the two. "Offset" is the
    shift of the centerline between the two wheel rims relative to the hub
    surface. Wrong offsets put unusual stress on your wheel bearings and
    your steering system, leading to accelerated failure of both.

    Basically, you need to measure three things:
    1) overall wheel diameter (edge to edge) and width (rim to rim). The
    wheel will have a notation somewhere on it, like "6JJ", or "5½JJ". This
    tells you the width between the rims in inches. The diameter can be told
    from the tire size.
    2) Find or make a straightedge that goes from one edge to the other of
    the outer rim, and measure the distance from the straightedge to the hub
    surface. Remove one of the wheel nuts so you can stick a straightened
    coat-hanger wire or such all the way through to the hub surface (as your
    measuring gauge).
    3) the distance between opposite wheel bolts.

    If ANY of the three are different, it's unwise (or impossible in the
    case of the bolt pattern) to use the old wheels on the new car if you're
    interested in maximum reliability and durability.






    Chances are excellent that not a single easily-salvageable part will be
    reusable from the '92 to the '01.
     
    Tegger, Jan 12, 2011
    #2
  3. Rhino

    Clete Guest

    They are exactly the same. Check for yourself.

    www.adaptitusa.com/referencebook.htm
     
    Clete, Jan 12, 2011
    #3
  4. Rhino

    Tegger Guest



    That page does not give diameter, rim width, or offset, only the dimensions
    relating to the hub area.

    From that page, you'd conclude that the wheels for the Civic and Integra
    are the same, but they are not: The offset is different between the two.
     
    Tegger, Jan 12, 2011
    #4
  5. Rhino

    Clete Guest


    I think he will be fine

    http://www.discountedwheelwarehouse.com/Honda___Vehicle_Bolt_Pattern_Reference.cfm
     
    Clete, Jan 12, 2011
    #5
  6. Rhino

    Tegger Guest



    Not so sure.

    I see the '90-'96 is 14x6, and 98+ is 15x6. It's unlikely his '01's brakes
    will fit inside a 14" wheel.

    OP would be wisest to measure as I originally suggested.
     
    Tegger, Jan 12, 2011
    #6
  7. Rhino

    Clete Guest


    The 92 EX which the OP had is 15x6.
     
    Clete, Jan 12, 2011
    #7
  8. Rhino

    Tegger Guest


    Yep, you're right. I missed that. But unless the OP knows for certain that
    the wheels are original to the car, he'd be wise to at least double-check
    the diameter and width.
     
    Tegger, Jan 12, 2011
    #8


  9. Hell, all he has to do is bundle up and jack up both cars and switch a
    wheel to see if it fits...

    Or are you Canadians too woosie for that?

    <G>

    JT
     
    Grumpy AuContraire, Jan 12, 2011
    #9
  10. Rhino

    Tegger Guest



    And work in the wet, messy, cold snow while the car drips all over you and
    your tools. Ugh.


    It's a major pain unless you have a garage, that's for sure.

    I avoid any sort of work in the winter except for oil changes. Everything
    gets done before the weather turns cold (it's a balmy 15F as I type).
    Winter weather is the big reason I do so much preventive maintenance when
    the weather is good. That way I'm reasonably assured that nothing will go
    wrong while the weather is unpleasant.
     
    Tegger, Jan 12, 2011
    #10
  11. Rhino

    Rhino Guest

    Actually, I'm well aware of the difference between wheels, rims and tires:
    the tires are those black rubber things, the rims are the metal parts that
    the tires are mounted on and the wheel is the combination of the tire and
    the rim. ;-)

    I wasn't worried about the tires because I already know that they aren't
    going to be a problem. However, I was cautioned that the rims might not be
    compatible between the two cars. That's why my question was focused on the
    rims.
    According to the door panels for the two cars, the '92 is supposed to have
    P195/60R15 87H tires and the '01 is supposed to have P195/65R15 89H tires.
    My mechanic said that the differences between 60R and 65R are not
    significant nor are the differences between 87H and 89H. If he's wrong about
    that, please say so. I know that the '15' for each tire description
    indicates that they are 15" rims.
    Can you possibly point me to a picture online that shows me exactly where
    I'm supposed to measure. I'm not clear from this description what I am
    measuring.
    Again, I'm not quite clear where exactly I am measuring. A picture that
    shows the start and end points of what I am going to measure would be very
    helpful here.
    I should be able to manage that measurement ;-)
    They both have a four bolt pattern. I asked the mechanic if the bolt hotes
    on the two sets of rims might be at different distances from the center of
    the rim but he said no. Again, if he is mistaken, that would be useful to
    know. For the moment, I'll assume that the bolt holes are exact same
    distance from the rim centers of both sets of rims and that the bolt holes
    themselves are the exact same diameter.
    I'm prepared for that. It would be a bonus if the wheels and the battery
    were mutually compatible between the cars but I'm not holding my breath. I'm
    going out to measure the batteries now to get their height, width, and depth
    to see if they are both the same. I know they're both 12 Volt but that
    doesn't make them interchangeable if the batteries have different physical
    dimensions.

    I don't expect it's worth the bother to salvage fuses or water pumps or
    whatever from the older car because the parts on the old car are generally
    old and worn out anyway; fuses and other small parts are presumably too
    inexpensive to bother with.
     
    Rhino, Jan 14, 2011
    #11
  12. Rhino

    Rhino Guest

    I assume that <G> is a grin ;-)

    I can't speak for all Canadians but this Canadian is not too eager to mess
    with bumper jacks in snowy parking lots in frigid temperatures. It's -10
    (Celsius) with the wind chill as I write this, which is 14 F and this is the
    warmest it's been in weeks ;-) That's why I'm trying to "work smarter, not
    harder" by posting this to the newsgroup ;-)
     
    Rhino, Jan 14, 2011
    #12
  13. Rhino

    Cameo Guest

    Bravo! We have a winner here.
     
    Cameo, Jan 14, 2011
    #13
  14. Rhino

    Rhino Guest

    I've measured the distance between the centers of the opposing bolts that
    hold the wheels on both cars and both sets seem to be exactly 4.5 inches,
    measured with a decent steel ruler.

    I've looked for information about the rims and found 15 x 51/2 JJ on the old
    car very easily. I had to do a *lot* of hunting on the rims of the '01 but
    finally found a designation on one of the new rims that possibly says 15 X 6
    JJ. Unfortunately, all of the new rims have so much crud/corrosion on them
    that I can't read that latter number with any certainty on ANY of the 4
    rims. It might be "15 X 6 JJ", "15 x 8 JJ", or even "15 x B JJ" or "15 X G
    JJ". I'm guessing that some sort of solvent or cleanser would clean up the
    metal enough so that it would be easier to read but I have no idea what
    product would be best to accomplish that. (I tried water and a kitchen
    sponge but that didn't accomplish anything.) Does it matter? Or does the
    fact that the second number is *not* 5 1/2 mean that the rims are
    sufficiently different that they are not switchable from one car to the
    other? I'm guessing that the first number in the designation is the wheel
    diameter and the second is the width of the rim but feel free to correct me
    if I'm wrong.

    Considering all the incremental improvements made to the Accord between '92
    and '01, I'm surprised that they moved the rim designation from the visible
    side of the rim in '92 to the back side in '01; the back side was far
    dirtier than the visible side making it MUCH harder to read the stuff
    stamped on the '01 rims. By the way, both sets of rims had "Honda" or "Honda
    Motor Company" stamped on them so they appear to be original equipment, not
    after-market.
     
    Rhino, Jan 14, 2011
    #14
  15. Rhino

    Tegger Guest



    Not quite.

    Tire: the black rubber part
    Wheel: the assembly of both wheel rim and wheel center, steel wheels being
    comprised of those two parts
    Wheel Rim: the part of the wheel that the tire is mounted on
    Wheel Center: the part that the rim is welded to, and which has the holes
    for hub and wheel bolts.

    Aluminum and magnesium wheels are normally one-piece, with rim and center
    in a single casting. There have been hybrids over the years, a notable one
    being BBS's 3-piece wheels from the '80s. Those had a cast center and a
    rolled 2-piece rim. They were held together with about a hundred little
    bolts and lots of adhesive.

    So what's the complete wheel/tire assembly called? Properly it's just that:
    the "wheel/tire assembly". It's also referred to by Honda as the
    "road wheel".
     
    Tegger, Jan 14, 2011
    #15
  16. Rhino

    Tegger Guest



    The 195/65s have about a 3% greater circumference than the 195/60s.

    Putting the '92's tires on the '01 will result in a speedometer error of
    3% slow, so an indicated 60mph will actually be 62.



    They're 15" wheels, yes.



    Don't worry about it now. With the links Clete posted, I'm guessing the
    offsets are likely the same between the two sets of wheels. In short,
    it's quite likely they're fully interchangeable.

    I'm assuming you've indeed got actual Honda wheels on both cars, not the
    very-similar-looking Canadian Tire wheels.




    Skip the battery.

    The wheels and tires are definitely interchangeable.



    Skip the water pump as well, even if it might fit. New OEM is about
    $100, and used OEM is a VERY bad idea.

    Hondas never blow fuses unless somebody's monkeyed with the wiring. I am
    running all-original fuses on my 20-year-old, 358,000 miles Integra.
    And yeah, fuses are too cheap to want to salvage.

    What you /might/ want to do, now that I think of it, is to pull the
    dashboard apart and salvage all those teeny-tiny light bulbs that
    illuminate the instruments, shift quadrant and other things. You can get
    them at the wrecker's easily enough, but they're awfully expensive from
    the dealer. If they fit the '01, you've saved a trip to the wrecker's.
    If they don't fit, they're small enough to toss in the trash without a
    second thought.

    Or better yet, try selling the heap to the wreckers for its scrap value.
    You might clear $100, more than enough for light bulbs /and/ a case of
    beer.
     
    Tegger, Jan 14, 2011
    #16
  17. Rhino

    Tegger Guest



    Take a measuring tape across the tread. It will be close enough to the
    rim width that you should be able to rule out the 8" guess.

    The designation will be a diameter in inches, then a width in inches,
    then a rim profile.

    Rim diameter (also overall wheel diameter): 15"
    Rim Width : 6"
    Rim-shape designation : JJ

    Summary: 15x6JJ




    They should be interchangeable. The tires are the same width between new
    and old (195), so Honda evidently just spread the beads apart a bit
    further with the new car. Since the new car's tires are taller (65-
    section versus the old car's 60-section), that would allow the 1/2"
    spread.




    That's correct.


    Good news for you. OEM is always best.


    Funny, but mine don't say "Honda" anywhere on them. All I can find is a
    logo next to the size designation that looks like a letter "Y" inside a
    diamond shape.
     
    Tegger, Jan 14, 2011
    #17
  18. Rhino

    Tegger Guest


    That's BACKWARDS, sorry!

    Correct:
    Putting the '92's tires on the '01 will result in a speedometer error
    of 3% FAST, so an indicated 60mph will actually be 58.
     
    Tegger, Jan 14, 2011
    #18
  19. Rhino

    Cameo Guest

    Sorry Tegger, I meant it as a joke and thought I could dispense with the
    smiley.
     
    Cameo, Jan 15, 2011
    #19
  20. Rhino

    Tegger Guest


    That's why I'm bald: too many jokes going over my head...
     
    Tegger, Jan 15, 2011
    #20
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