I have noticed a rubbing sound at low speeds that seems to based on the sound of tire rotation.
Sound comes from front end of car.

Not "rrrrrrrrrr" sound but more like a "rrr rrr rrr rrr" sound.
Of course I can't hear it once speed increases

I have still have the runflats that have 35,000 miles but pleanty of tread left and they are inflated correct.

Any ideas?

Let me know

Mona

 

bad wheel bearing, possibly...

 

I can pretty much guarantee that it's your tires. I had EXACTLY the same sound, and instantly thought it was the bearing. I took it to one dealer and they told me it was because the tread was getting low, but I thought it was BS because I have never heard tires making a noise like that.

So I took it to another dealer and he told me the same thing, so now I started to believe. I thought the tread looked ok though, as I was also at 35,000 miles (also have run flats). So at 37,000 I couldn't take the noise any more, and purchased new tires.

Problem solved !! I couldn't believe my ears, no more noise.

I do suggest one thing though. If you purchased the run flat insurance and you still have good tread left (they limit the insurance to a certain tread level), put a nail in your tire. It cost me over $700 for two front tires, and the guy told me, next time I am getting low on tread to puncture a tire. Then puncture the other one a couple weeks later to save $700

 

Aah - nothing like a "How-to" guide on insurance fraud. . .just the kind of thing to post online . . .

 

You are an idiot.

 

There was a post on Failed Upper strut mounts... Just wondering if this might be the cause of the phantom noise?

I too have it, but my upper strut mount looks fine. Only get the noise from the right front.

The noise is more like a rubbing sound and it undulates as the car rolls faster. i.e. slow scraping then speeds up as the car speeds up. Only when turning left and the weight is transfered to the front right. Past 10Mph it is gone. Definately not tires in my case.

Bad runflats give a droning noise more like a noisy wheel bearing. The faster you go the noisier it gets. At low speed it's not there. I have had 3 MCS's so far and I know what the runflat noise is like.

If it's a bearing try cornering at speed and the noise will increase significantly. Stright line driving will be quiet.

Kesh

 

I have a 2005 MCS with 17" wheels and run-flats. I've put on about 27.5K miles in the last year (same tires, no punctures, inflated correctly, and plenty of tread left) and I too have noticed a "rrr rrr rrr" rubbing noise. It increases in frequency with vehicle speed and disappears at normal driving speeds. It sounds like it's coming from one of the wheels. So, I jacked up each side and spun each tire with my hand...no "rrr rrr rrr" rubbing noise but I did notice that once I stopped applying rotating force, the wheel stopped instantly due to friction of the brake pads (or so it seems). And, there is a constant metal-on-metal sound while rotating. It seems like the brakes are really tight. The passenger side front wheel is the only one that doesn't make the metal-on-metal noise...this tire is also the only one that spins freely even after applying torque with my hand.

I am wondering if the rubbing isn't coming from the brake pads? I noticed that the sound will disappear and reappear after washing the vehicle. Maybe water is causing a little rust on the rotors that needs to be "rubbed" off by the pads due to normal driving and braking.

I can understand the rust and normal rub-off afterwards, but is it normal for the pads to be so tight that the tire does not spin freely? I should mention that when I spun the tires, I had not washed the car for at least a week and it had been dry weather for several days.

Anyone else have any experience with this?

~Paul

 

I had the same rubbing sound with my Pirellis on S-Lites. I call the sound "Cheap Sneakers" because it sounds just like that - a squishy, rubbing sound. When I got my new tires/rims, the sound went into the garage with the old tires. I also noticed that the sound would alter somewhat if I wet down the tires where they meet the rims.

As for the brake dragging the rotor, this is normal. The pads dont retract from the rotors when de-applied, rather they relax their grip and remain slightly touching the surface of the discs. The very slight (normal) play that exists in the wheel bearings helps the rotors to 'shake off' the pads a bit more when driving, but there will always be the slightest of rubbing. If the pads were to retract or get pushed back by faulty wheel bearings, the initial pedal travel when applying the brakes will be excessive, and subsequent applications would be 'normal' (the brakes will have been 'pumped up'). If you feel this phenomenon, there is excessive play in the wheel bearings, or the rotors are not 'true' (runout, warped, parallelism out of spec, etc).

You will also tend to hear some rubbing sounds after washing the car or if it sat in rain and the rotor surfaces became rusted. One or two brake applications will clear that up, it's normal, especially given some of the more open wheel designs that expose the brake rotors.

 

No, you're just embarrassed because your dishonesty was pointed out.

 

Waytago! Stick it to DA MAN!

 

Not hardly. Tested IQ of <edit>, college education, good job. Hardly an idiot.

You, on the other hand, are a thief.

Whether you defraud the warranty companies or steal from Tire World directly, the result is the same - higher prices for honest people.

Tires wear out. You buy new ones. Don't cheat the insurance companies. Fraud is fraud, regardless of the amount. If you can't afford tires for your MINI, buy a Tercel.

<Additional edit: I humbly apologize to anyone who currently owns, wants to own, or has ever owned the fine Toyota product known as the Tercel. I meant no offense>

 

Now I want to smack both of you. Yes, fraud is very bad, and all of your points are valid. But listing your IQ on an open forum is shamelessly boastful, and is the worst form of arrogance I generally encounter.

We're all very glad you're so smart. The rest of us will get back to our collective grunting.

Muppetmandan: buy tires like the rest of us. Purchasing insurance does not entitle you to free tires due to wear. You would serve the rest of the motoring community well by reporting your MA's comments to his/her manager. Handing out that sort of information to customers should be grounds for termination.

 

And in all my years on the boards, that's probably the first time I've done that - I just don't take kindly to being called an idiot in a public forum by a crook. Boastful? Yeah. Necessary? Probably not. But for someone to come into a public area like this and admit to committing a crime, then labeling someone an idiot because they call them on it - sorry, I got a bit ruffled.

Of all the boards I'm currently on, and all I've been on over the years, this one is the one that never ceases to amaze me with the high caliber of people (for the most part,) the wealth of information, the camaraderie, and the humor. So I tend to get a bit pissed when criminal acts are not only discussed, but tolerated.

What's next? Knocking off a 7-Eleven? Ha ha, wasn't that a riot. . .

We don't tolerate street racing discussions, but fraud is okay? Gimme a break.

To anyone I offended with my original post, I apologize. I'll edit my post if need be. But I still stand by my comments that deliberately putting a nail in your tires to collect insurance money is wrong.

'Nuff said. I'll be quiet now.

 

u r all a idjut.
Man, uunetbill, 164!*#?!!
(Thanks to ahamos for quoting you)
((and now ME, for quoting ahamos))
I have an IQ of (embarrassed shuffling feet ...)
muppetmandan is not a thief; he paid full price. He's passing on a nasty tip from a tire guy.
The tire guy probably is a thief: he made the suggestion to muppetmandan.
And let us not forget Greatbear, who made a funny sarcastic remark that could easily be wrongly interpreted as support for the tire guy!
Will muppetmandan ever return?
Will I discover the error of my own ways?
Should I go out and paint the windows?
Will Lot15 chime in? eh?

 

On one hand, I see your point and agree with it. On the other, if you have tire insurance, then it's not really stealing since you will have already paid the dealership several hundred dollars in order to receive that insurance. Now, if this is your second or third set of tires that all "mysteriously" wear out/get punctured all at once, then yes, I say he should be prosecuted by the dealership for fraud, or at the very least have his coverage revoked with no refund.

But I'd see nothing wrong with doing it once. Hell, you've basically already paid them for the tires.

 

Wow.

On a lighter note, tires shouldn't be making the noise that's been described. What's doing it? Is the tread separating? Something's wrong.

 

As I've gotten older, I've come to feel somewhat slighted paying for items that don't break or wear prenaturally. Case in point, I continue to pay car insurance even though I haven't gotten in an accident in eight years. Why do I pay it? By this time, I've paid enough insurance that I could have bought a new car outright with that money. But I continue to do it anyway.

I'm just thankful that I bank with an institution who issues me a check for adjusted fees every year.

 

Good God, is everyone a crook these days?

From Legal-Explanations.com:

Fraud

n. Intentionally depriving another of his/her/its money, property, or right by using deceit, a trick, or other dishonest means.

If you think that tire insurance is too expensive, don't buy it. Gawd, this rampant dishonesty makes me want to puke. Tires wear out, you buy new ones. Hell, that's like saying "My house has termites - I'll burn it down and let the insurance company build me a new one." or "My car is burning oil, I'll drive it off a cliff and collect the cash for a new one."

An intentional act to collect money on an insurance policy is wrong, wrong, wrong. There is NO grey area here. At least, there's not grey area as far as I'm concerned. And I'm sure that if the company issuing the tire policy knew that you had intentionally placed a nail in your tire - guess what? Not only are you NOT getting a check, but you're probably going to jail as well.

Why does everyone think it's okay to stick it to the insurance companies? "Because insurance is too expensive." Why is it so expensive? Because everyone tries to game the system. Gack - it makes me sick. . .

 

By this reasoning, it's OK to burn your house down and collect on the insurance because the house is getting old and run down and you would like a new one. Insurance is just that, a way to make sure that when an ACCIDENT happens, you are covered.

Replacing tires is an expected expense when you own a car. Part of owning a car is gathering information about when and how often you will have to replace parts. Muppetmandan stated that his tires were at 35,000 miles when he first had them checked out and at 37,000 miles when he replaced them, which if you read the posts on this board is actually pretty darn good for the run-flats.

That being said, he didn't actually condone the practice of putting a nail in your tires, he just reported what his MA told him. Bad MA, Bad MA, no cookie.

-- Jay

 

But back to the initial post:

Mona,

Check your tread with a tread depth gauge. I bet you'd be surprised at how worn the tires actually are at 35K. I have the original tires on my SUV, and at 40K the tread is getting low and they're a LOT noisier than they used to be.

One other thing to check - I had a rubbing noise on mine as well, and it turned out the be the rear lower shock mount cover - it's rubber and had popped off and was rubbing on the rim. Could only hear it a lower speeds. Worth a look.

Bill

 

You, sir, have exceeded your quota of questions per post!

No soup for you!





okay, just kiddin'

 

I have to confess, your high-handed attempt at morality is making me want to puke, thanks.

 

So, what? He gets soup? Enquiring minds wanna know. . .

 

Either way, it doesn't really matter all that much to me. I'm slapping radials on mine instead of more run-flats as is. So, I'm glad I didn't go with the tire insurance. It's a waste of money, imo. Especially when just about every tire place gives its own tire insurance for ridiculously cheap nowadays.

 

Can you please explain to me what makes my attempt at morality 'high-handed?'

I'm simply voicing my opinion, that's all.