acford

I had my stock Michelin tires until 42,000 miles which was probably what caused my accident. I let me tires go a little too long (even though there was still a little tread left). I started to fishtail and hit a high curb at about 25 - 35 MPH. All 4 tires were shreaded.

I had it towed to a reputable body shop where my brother in law has been a body mechanic for about 15 years. They replaced 3 of my wheels and of course all 4 tires. I decided to go with the Falken ZE-512 series this time around. They are rated number 1 by Consumer Reports.

I've been getting what sounds like heavy road noise in the 40 - 60 MPH range. It is a very consistent, patterned noise. Kind of like a "whah whah whah" noise. Then it is not that noticable until I hit 80 MPH and above. It has gotten to be VERY annoying!

The OEM Michelins didn't handle worth anything, but they were very quiet, even at the end of their tread life at 42,000 miles. I could do 100 MPH and feel like I was driving on air. I had no problems with those tires, except for the lack in performance/handling.

I called Falken Tire and explained the problem. They seem to think the noise is coming from a damaged bearing or bearings. The body shop did a thorough job in inspecting the suspension for damage, but I guess they might have missed the bearings.

Has anybody else had a problem similar to this? Does it sound probable that the noise could be generated from the bearing(s)? Can anything else in the suspension cause noises like I described above after hitting a curb? Thanks!

fsttyms1

a few have had bearings go bad on their car. a bearing should make it self be heard in the lower mph though. can you tell where the sound is coming from? Front Rear?

acford

I can't tell where the sound is coming from. It doesn't sound like front or rear. It just sounds all around. I really can't tell.

fsttyms1

you may have to get it into a shop/hoist and see if a wheel or what wheel could be making the noise

acford

I was already planning on bringing it back to the same body shop that I brought it to the first place. They are willing to work with me and they are a "direct billable" shop for Erie Insurance. So I wouldn't need to come up with any more funds. In other words, they continue working on it until I'm satisfied.

The reason for this post however was to see if I could get an understanding of what to look for. I'm sure the body mechanics are going to give me a bunch of mechanical terminology that I know nothing about. I just wanted to prepare myself or even give them information from people that have already experienced something like this.

fsttyms1

well it all depends on whats wrong? trying to describe a sound over teh internet can get complicated. from your discription it could be bearings, a bad shock causing the tire to not ride smooth, or it could be you got a bad tire or bad set of tires?? Isolating whats causing it need to be figured out and what end of the car is causing it.

fla-tls

Remember that 9/10 times, bearing noise cannot be duplicated on a lift. You have to have the bearing loaded for it to make noise.

Having said that... Did you get a 4 wheel alignment when you got the new tires?

If so, I'd also believe it was bearings. If not, get an alignment first before you go any further.

acford

Dude, I JUST got back from the body shop and I checked my email and there was your response about putting it up on a lift. Like I mentioned above, my brother-in-law works there and allowed me to come into the shop while they put it up on the lift.

It's interesting what you said that 9/10 the sound can not be duplicated on a lift. They put it up on the lift while I watched and listened. Then they even used a stethascope type device to do a more in depth listen. They didn't hear anything. They are thinking it might be a defective tire.

The tires I bought are directional, so they rotated them front to back just to see if that would make any difference. I just drove it to work and it doesn't seem like there is any difference. It almost seemed like the sound was "slightly" lower, but I couldn't really tell. It was definitely still in the 45 - 55 MPH range.

They recommended that I take it to the dealership and have the tranny checked out along with anything else that could potentially cause the noise. This is a royal pain! I don't have time for all this!! If it is a defective tire, how would I know??? How would I know which tire it is? How do you troubleshoot something like that? Who would do the troubleshooting?

These are things that are going through my mind. I honestly don't know what to do from here except taking it to the dealer and let them check it out.

Any ideas???

fla-tls

Take it to the dealership or another reputable shop that you trust that specializes in tires. Tell them all of what happened to the car and let them check it out.

A bad tire can generally be picked out by a visual inspection (by someone who knows what they're looking for) and a forced road balance. A forced road balance uses a machine that can inspect the tire for out of round, runnout, and balance issues to a VERY small degree.

The results of the balance will be a number. Generally 10 or so is good. If any tire scores above a 20, it's probably suspect.

Also - while they're doing the balance they will be able to see a damaged wheel as well.

I think you will end up finding that it is bearings. Bearing noise is a constant hum that is sometimes hard to determine where it is coming from. The pitch of the hum varies directly with speed.

acford

I've scheduled an appointment with the dealer. I'm hearing all sorts of stories about the bearings. According to my brother and other technicians, when a bearing is damaged or starts to go, you hear more of a metal to metal screaching sound. I've also read on other forums where the sound doesn't necessarily have to be a screaching noise. It could also be a humm. I'm confused! How could a metal bearing cause either a screaching or humm sound?

I'm hoping the dealership will be able to figure this out. I called the Falken Tire company and they would be very suprised if I had a defective tire. They said that there is about a 1/500 chance that the tire could be defective. I seriously doubt that the noise I'm hearing is coming from the tires.

I put a lot of stress on my car when I hit that curb. I just wish I knew more about cars and suspensions to know what could be effected by an accident of this nature. As for the wheels, 3 out of the 4 were replaced with brand new factory wheels. So all I know for sure at this point is that my wheels are new and the alignment is right on. Thanks for the info!

fla-tls

I personally have never heard bad bearings make a screeching noise. Perhaps if you let them go long enough...

Good luck.

whatwasthat

try to find my thread about baa bearings. I replaced 2 already.


to find a bad bearing, drive the car 35+ mph and swurve left & right. what you want to do is put weight on the bearings. Now listen carefully, if the noise gets louder/ softer, then the bearings are bad. find my threads that I made for more info...

figueroa1357

dude its your tires my brother had the same problem

fsttyms1

Me either. bearings when on the way out make a humming noise. Ive replaced my fare share in the past and none have screeched, some with low groans, mostly humming