Tire noise

[umina]

I have been thinking that my wheel bearings are worn (tough to believe since I only have 40K miles on the car), but have recently been checking out tire reviews of the tires that came with the car (Falken ZE-502's) and everyone says the make a loud whoo whoo sound at speeds below 40 and still noise at faster speeds. This is the EXACT same problem i'm having. So to rule out the tires, or rule out the wheel bearings, I need to try some different tires. I don't know anyone with a taurus or Sable I could swap wheels with temporarily. My inlaws however just bought a '05 Chevy Impala with the same tire size as my sable. My question is, anyone know if I can just put their steel wheels on my sable and if they will have enough clearance or offset? My sable is an '01 with 215x60R16s, the Impala has 225x60R16's. The width shouldn't matter, since newer tauruses and sables had this wider tire on them.

The inlaws are getting new tires cause they don't like the goodyears on the car, so I could get a nearly new set (they bought from dealer who had just put new tires on it) for free!! Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

[drdisque]

the steel wheels off the impala won't fit on your car because they aren't the right bolt pattern.

If you get their tires mounted on your wheels, it will make your speedometer read 1.8% slower than you are actually travelling, but other than that they should be fine.

[umina]

Originally Posted by drdisque

the steel wheels off the impala won't fit on your car because they aren't the right bolt pattern.

If you get their tires mounted on your wheels, it will make your speedometer read 1.8% slower than you are actually travelling, but other than that they should be fine.

Bummer about the bolt pattern. Why would the tires make my speedo under indicate, they are the same height, only the width is different, but I've test driven '04 tauruses at the dealer with stock rims that have a 225 width 16 inch tire on them....

[KimMG]

215x60R16 215mm wide, 60% of 215mm (129mm) sidewall height
225x60R16 225mm wide, 60% of 225mm (135mm) sidewall height

Conclusion, the wider tires are 6mm (1/4") taller.

umina- Why didn't your inlaws like the Goodyears?

[umina]

Originally Posted by KimMG

215x60R16 215mm wide, 60% of 215mm (129mm) sidewall height
225x60R16 225mm wide, 60% of 225mm (135mm) sidewall height

Conclusion, the wider tires are 6mm (1/4") taller.

umina- Why didn't your inlaws like the Goodyears?

They are big TOYO fans, and they claim the goodyears make a detectable woo woo wooing noise when going slow or turning. I rode in the car, and I guess I'm just not that much of a perfectionist. If you want to hear tire noise, you need only take a ride in my car with these lousy Falken tires...

[brokenantimatter]

Go to a tire shop and pay the 45 - 65 dollars to have the tires mounted.

[brokenantimatter]

Am I the only person that gets tires replaced every 16 months?

[Willyum]

You didn't mention if you rotate the wheels regularly. Tires left in the same spot over a long period of time tend to develop edges and will be noisy.

[Willyum]

You didn't mention if you rotate the wheels regularly. Tires left in the same spot over a long period of time tend to develop edges and will be noisy.

[Millermagic]

I'm going through the same problem right now with my car, we're fairly certain it is the wheel bearing on the left front.

Anyway, if the sound is coming just from the front, try rotating the front tires to the back and see if the sound goes to the back. And with these cars, you have to rotate the tires every 5000 miles or they will wear terribly.

[umina]

Originally Posted by Millermagic

I'm going through the same problem right now with my car, we're fairly certain it is the wheel bearing on the left front.

Anyway, if the sound is coming just from the front, try rotating the front tires to the back and see if the sound goes to the back. And with these cars, you have to rotate the tires every 5000 miles or they will wear terribly.

That was the first thing I did when I noticed the noise after buying the car. It may have helped for a few weeks, but then back to normal. I had the car aligned and it was fine. I should be gettin the tires (free) before the end of month. I'll post back and let you all know how it fairs...

[KimMG]

Originally Posted by brokenantimatter

Am I the only person that gets tires replaced every 16 months?

brokenantimatter-
Why are you getting your tires replaced so often? Do you drive a lot of miles in a 16 month period? Are you getting close to the mileage the tires are rated for?
I have eighty thousand mile Michelins on my truck and after driving more than seventy-five thousand miles I had to replace them. Due to my short commute, that took about five years. A friend of mine however has a long commute, over one hundred miles a day, therefore she is wears out a set in less than two years. The tires she has are rated for about fifty thousand miles.

[umina]

Well I did it! This morning, I got my inlaws tires mounted on my car after they bought 70K mile TOYO tires. The tires they had were 225 70 R16's, Goodyear Eagle BA tires. They've prolly got a good 30-40K miles left in them, they are like new. My tire noise all but vanished!! Its amazing how putting new tires on solved all my woes and worries, especially about having to replace a wheel bearing. Unfortuneatly, since the car is now quiet, now I hear all sorts of other little rattles and squeeks, and that the car seems to ping and or knock constantly with EVERYTHING but the featherest touch on the pedal. anyhow, I'll start a new post for that. Thanks for all the feedback on this tire issue!

[brokenantimatter]

I grew up in an era would tires would only last a few months, it is a habit I choose not to break. Also I only use factory tires on three of my vehicles all the rest are usually 20,000 performance tires or off road.

Every Three Days
My cars are washed.

Every Two Weeks
My cars are waxed and detailed if needed

Every 1,500-2,000 miles
Oil Changed

Every six months
Rotors resurfaced
Brakes replaced and bled out
Fuel Filter replaced
F&R Alignment

Once Per Year
Tranny Flushed
Air Filter Cleaned
Refrigerant Redone

Every sixteen months
Tire are replaced

[Millermagic]

As far as rotors warping, mine were warped at 15000 miles, before we even touched the tires.