thumping sound after you let off the gas

shawn110975

shawn110975

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Guys my 1992 NSX is have a weird issue, its never done this before,
when I press the gas everything is normal, thru 0.0 mph to 45 mph

speeds after 45 if you press the gas all is well but when you let off the gas and the car's speed drops you hear this thumping sound. I thought maybe something in my tire ( nail, bolt ) checked the tires and nothing.
I did notice that my fender liners on that side ( front passengerside ) was rubbing on the wheel but I fixed that and still the same thing.
the car is lowered on Ebachs springs, took it to my buddies shop with a lift and checked the boots they are all fine, checked the bushings in the front all fine. made sure there was nothing stuck under the car that could be rubbing and nothing.

the sound is almost like something is flapping in the front I dont know what else to check. could the tire be out of balance? as I checked and the weights are still attached and my race trick metal tape is still in place.

now the tires are BF Goodrich with Hella tread/grip

any ideas? getting married this weekend and dont wanna have a broke down NSX with a pissed off Bride in my car and I have to rip her dress to tie the axle back together LOL
 
Are you sure it is coming from the front Shawn? Check your motor mounts. Anything rolling around in your trunk? Spare tire or battery hold downs loose?

shawn110975 said:
Guys my 1992 NSX is have a weird issue, its never done this before,
when I press the gas everything is normal, thru 0.0 mph to 45 mph

speeds after 45 if you press the gas all is well but when you let off the gas and the car's speed drops you hear this thumping sound. I thought maybe something in my tire ( nail, bolt ) checked the tires and nothing.
I did notice that my fender liners on that side ( front passengerside ) was rubbing on the wheel but I fixed that and still the same thing.
the car is lowered on Ebachs springs, took it to my buddies shop with a lift and checked the boots they are all fine, checked the bushings in the front all fine. made sure there was nothing stuck under the car that could be rubbing and nothing.

the sound is almost like something is flapping in the front I dont know what else to check. could the tire be out of balance? as I checked and the weights are still attached and my race trick metal tape is still in place.

now the tires are BF Goodrich with Hella tread/grip

any ideas? getting married this weekend and dont wanna have a broke down NSX with a pissed off Bride in my car and I have to rip her dress to tie the axle back together LOL
Click to expand...
 
yeah its none of those. I was reading maybe my snap ring but there is no play in the shaft while in gear. its almost like something is on a moving spinning part i.e wheel, rotor, axle, or rubbing
 
What happens if you accelerate to, say, 40 and then let off the gas?

What happens if you accelerate to 55 and then just keep the speed steady?

Is your exhaust loud enough that it is drowning out the sound when you are accelerating but not when you are coasting?

What is the frequency of the thumping sound? Like playing cards in bicycle spokes? Or slow enough where you can guestimate the thumps per second? And does the frequency change with vehicle speed?

I know, questions, questions. But we'd really like to get this figured out so you don't get in trouble with your new bride. Congrats on that, btw.
 
Shawn, this may sound stupid but have you checked all of your lug nuts & made sure they're on and torqued down? Reason I ask is that I had the same problem several weeks ago, suspected everything from wheel bearings to a bad axle and it turned out that some douchenozzle apparently tried to steal my right rear wheel. 3 of the 5 lugs were missing and the remaining 2 were loose enough that the wheel was vibrating and became audibly noticeable above 40 MPH while accelerating and when braking under that speed. Just a thought---

Sometimes it's the simple things that trip us up. Congrats, BTW. You do know you're supposed to use her garter to hold the axle in, right?
 
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that has happend to me before car was wobbling pretty bad at high speeds and took it to the dealer and you could remove the lugs by hand and I had the car up to 80 wow what a wake up call. I will check the lugs that may be the issue. thanks,

as for exhaust its OEM, and if im doing 60 and climbing, and let off the gas you can hear the thumping. could it be hub bearings they are almost 20 years old.
 
Doesn't sound like wheel bearings to me. Brake caliper mounting bolts tight? I'm guessing you would know by now if one of those fell off though...
 
You may want to take your NSX mechanic for a ride to demonstrate it to him.

I bet Nabil would recognize the cause instantly...
 
I use these to properly secure the dead hooker in my trunk. You may want to give them a shot.

Bungee-Cords-BTGA041-.jpg
 
Stevieray is the winner Ok fixed the issue. the rear lugs were loose. I mean you could just unscrew them by hand this has happened to me before I guess when I do oil changes I forget to tighten the lugs. rear passengerside
torqued them donw and now no sounds. newbee move

at the speeds I keep my NSX at I need to triple check the lugs I dont want one of my wheel shooting into on coming traffic at triple digit speeds.

thanks for all the help guys you pointed me in the right direction.
 
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make sure you inspect your studs for any damage to the threads.
 
Glad you got it figured out. Here are two related bits of advice.

Use a torque wrench (normally set to 80 ft-lbs), and you may want to check it against someone else's to make sure it is accurate.

Make sure your lug nuts are the proper shape for your wheels, as shown below. Honda/Acura wheels have a ball-shaped seating area and need lug nuts that also have a ball-shaped seating area. Most aftermarket wheels have a tapered/conical seating area and need lug nuts with the same shaped seating area. If you have lug nuts whose seating area is a different shape from your wheels, they only come into contact along one or two circles, not over the entire area, and the lug nuts can easily wear and come loose.

lug_nut.jpg
 
Glad you found it, Shawn. At least someone didn't try to gank your wheels. After my little deal, I immediately went and got a set of Gorilla "The System" locking lugs, P/N 71633N like these.

Try to steal my shit now, damned thieving wankers---
 
Last edited:
IWantNSX said:
Im a fan of the mcgard wheel lock.
http://www.mcgard.com/Applications/AutomotiveSearch/default.aspx?QToK=9/cIzA6y1XkduJz+1MC+kg==

Came factory on my last toyota car. $16 for the key alone. But nit just anyone can buy it, you have to have the serial to the key. Of course dealership have the master set so they can order the correct one for you, since the car came from them.
Click to expand...

McGards are OK but if I'm going to protect a $1200+ OEM or aftermarket wheel, I'm going with Gorillas (which are serial # keyed as well) or Project Kics, which are hideously expensive. Case in point, I had a OEM Honda McGard lock on one of my Legend's wheels and 1/4 of the damn thing cracked & broke off, looked like it was made out of pot metal. Since the key wouldn't lock on, I just hammered a spare 19MM socket onto the broke-ass McGard with a 3 lb sledge and broke it loose with a 3/8 drive breaker bar. That little episode broke me (pun intended) of ever using McGards again. I've also seen a mechanic split a McGard dead in half with a can of refrigerant, a cold chisel and a small sledge because the customer wouldn't bring the lock key back to the shop. LOL'd big on that one...

Not being argumentative but if I'm a thief and I see a car that has 1 locking lug per wheel and another that has 5 , I know which one I'm going after.:biggrin:
 
Last edited:
Understand your point. It just seems like you can see gorillas lug at auto part store. Im sure their high end, better quality, are better.
 
You're right, that's their low end stuff. Gorilla's top line gear is really good but if you want to see crazy, check out the Project Kics Dual Phase System---$380 for lug nuts? Bottom line though, if somebody wants your stuff bad enough, they'll get it and there's not a whole lot you can do about it. Sad world we live in---
 
Most of the McGard branded sets of wheel locks have the tapered/conical seating area you'll need for aftermarket wheels.

The Honda branded sets of wheel locks you get from the Honda/Acura dealer are made by McGard, but have the ball-shaped/spherical/radial seating area you'll need for Honda/Acura wheels.

I've used Honda/McGard wheel locks for years, and never had any problems with them.
 

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