Tyre noise

[spa]

Recently, i have began to notice an ugly whining sound coming from my tyres when travelling at speeds around 50+. Initially i thought it may have been engine noise, but isolated it to the tyres by switching off the engine while going at speed. I've been trying to find some possible reasons using google, still a bit unsure what it could be though. wheel bearings?? i think the sound has been present for a while now, i just didn't really do anything about it...

does anyone have any ideas? or should i take it to the mechanic right away.....

cheers guys..

[99gti]

Just confirming, you get the noise whilst coasing along in neutural? If so it may be wheel bearings. How many K's are on the car?

[spa]

yep, i tested it by crusing along at 70ish, putting it to neutral, and switching off the engine...

i'm just coming up to my 60000 service..
what's the possible problem with the wheel bearings? I *think* I may have had this problem for at least a couple of thousand ks now... is it an expensive problem to fix??

[spa]

hmm... was just reading up on wheel bearings... mayyybe i should get this checked out asap... definitely sounds like the correct symptoms..

has anyone had this done before? any ideas of cost? at least so i know i'm not being fleeced!

[DIDZ]

Just confirming, you get the noise whilst coasing along in neutural? If so it may be wheel bearings. How many K's are on the car?

Cha ching - wheel bearings was the first thing that came to mind.

spa, if they start making a grinding metal on metal noise, I'd be getting scared.

[spa]

Cha ching - wheel bearings was the first thing that came to mind.

spa, if they start making a grinding metal on metal noise, I'd be getting scared.

!!!!!

nah, no metal noise yet...
going to do some tests tonight and will see how it goes...
just pulled this off of google, seems simple enough to test, any one else have any simple tests i can try?:

"Testing to find out if the wheel bearings are shot do this.
Jack up the car, making sure the tire is off the ground.
Put your hands on the top and bottom of the tire(not the sides)
Then try to wiggle the tire.
If you can move the tire at all,then the wheel bearings are shot, and will need to be replaced.
If movement is found, be sure to check that it's not coming from a bad ball joint, as well. This movement can be seen from just looking at the ball joint, when you wiggle the tire. But most times it'll be from your wheel bearings."

[balkanac]

yup, that's usually how they test wheel bearings.
The wheel moves because the bearing is not "tight" anymore. Very simple

[spa]

thanks for the input!
so then what do they do?
depending on how bad it is they just fix it? or is it the kind of thing that has to be replaced if loose....

[spa]

strangely enough, the test i mentioned above yields a normal result ie. wheel bearings appear to be ok.

hm. back to the drawing board....

[Golf Loon]

Run your hand along the road surface of the tyre when parked to see if they are scalloped. This means they have broken down and are out of round.
Can make the noise you describe and is easy to fix.

If its a wheel bearing the noise should grow or weaken as you load up the bearings. Try some slaloning or cornering and see if the noise changes.

[spa]

Run your hand along the road surface of the tyre when parked to see if they are scalloped. This means they have broken down and are out of round.
Can make the noise you describe and is easy to fix.

If its a wheel bearing the noise should grow or weaken as you load up the bearings. Try some slaloning or cornering and see if the noise changes.

hmm i just tried swerving between lanes while driving, and the noise still seems to be present, so i guess this rules out wheel bearing problems...

are you suggesting it could be my tyres which are broken? not too sure what you mean by 'scalloped'...
not sure if it's important, but the two front tyres are a different brand to my two back tyres....

[Jmac]

Mate could still be your wheel bearings , doesnt matter if they are tight they can have rough spots. Out of all the wheel bearings (front) i havent had excessive play but tonnes of noise. When you drive along when you load up the bearing by steering the noise should get louder. If it is tyres it will be there at all speeds and hum, and hum will slow down till you come to a stop. Scalloping happens at the rear mate which is high spots in your tyres very common. Run your hand round the inside edge of your rear tyres.

[spa]

hm... thanks for the input...!
i'm goign to get the car serviced next week, and the guy said he'd look at it for me, and he's seen it all before.. so hopefully will all be good after that!

Oh, then i start looking at getting a chip installed

[Lima]

How old are your tyres? This may be the daft simple explanation, but it is amazing at how noisy worn tyres can get. After I replaced the Pilot Sports that came with my TT wheels I was amazed at the transformation, under braking especially. Much quieter, better steering and heaps smoother at speeds approaching traffic lights etc.

[spa]

Yeh, I don’t know how old they are as I bought the car this year, but the ones at the front are definitely more worn out, the back looks quite new..

It is possible I will look at getting front tyres that match my back tyres..
My back tyres are eagle f1’s, my front tyres are nankang somethings.

What kind of tyres do you guys have? Have you found any big differences between brands/types etc?