tyre / road noise

Hello all

I have just bought a V reg (1999) Honda Prelude 2.2 VTi Motegi in the
UK. This only my 2nd car (first was a Vauxhall/Opel/GM Cavalier) and
the first sports car I've owned. I am a bit concerned with the tyre /
road noise. I have 17" alloys and directional tread tyres to fit them,
all correctly fitted according to the arrows on each tyre to indicate
rotation direction.

I know it is difficult to express how loud the noise is in words!

Is there anything I can check or any other people who think / have had
excessive tyre /road noise?

Is it just to be expected that with such tyres/cars you do get
considerably more noise than with a car like the cavalier?

The wheel balancing, tracking, and tyre pressures seem OK by the way.

The only wheel steering problem I've had is when I stop normally at
lights, sometimes the steering wheel pulls gently but firmly to off
centre in either direction. Now this may just be the camber of the
roads in Liverpool (!) but my friend says it could bt tyre pressure,
or brake caliper settings being different on each side of the car?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Robert.

 

I had a 96 Accord that had excessive tire noise from the start. This was
confirmed by the dealer and the factory rep and determined to be "normal"
road noise. I put up with it until the tires needed replacing and alas the
noise went away. It must have been that particular run of tires because I
replaces the originals with the same brand and size. Go figure!!!!!

 

Are those new tyres? What brand and type? Some of the modern all-season
tyres get very noisy on the last 50% of their wear - I had Pirelli P4000STs
which about drove me crazy. Even at low speeds, under braking they sounded
like an old tram-car electric motor - at speed the whine was very
"wearing".

How are the tyres wearing?... evenly across the tread with no cupping?...
best indication of alignment or tyre construction problem. Most of us here
pressure the tires 2-3lbs higher than Honda recommends: e.g. 32psi instead
of 29psi and of course use a good gauge - not the gas station one. If it's
pulling in either direction, are you sure it isn't just road surface
irregularities? You tend to get ripples in the asphalt at traffic lights
from the load of heavy trucks braking.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

I recently but Motegi 15s on my CRV. I too noticed the road noise all of a
sudden.

It was explained to me that the Motegi rims are lighter and there is not as
much of them as there was on my factory rims. The Rims are now echoing the
road noise.

 

Hi George

The tyres are quite new, but worn differently according to the
Advanced AA check I had done. The tread depths ( I presume the
miniumum found) ranged from 4-8mm. I got one depth for each tyre.

Two tyres are Star-Millenium (?) and I think two are Bridgestone. They
all are 215/45/ZR17.

One question, how do I know the alloys fitted are the same width as
the tyres fitted to them? I have the double 5 spoke alloy types
presumably fitted when the car was bought new.

I recently bought a tyre gauge from Halfords (a hand held digital one
you just press into the valve). All tyres were 30 or 31 psi. The gauge
says its readings are accurate to +/-1 psi.

I haven't looked at how they are wearing. I suppose I'll just wait
until my first service as owner and see what they say in general about
the steering/alignment/wear/tyres etc. Then try and correlate that to
what I was told when I bought it and when the AA Check was done.

The car has done 90-110mph on motorways for extended periods of time
now and steering feels OK.

I think that at lights you could be right and that it is hopefully
just uneven tarmac. Sometimes though I do get a distinct pull on the
steering wheel just before the car stops, so it doesn't move the car
dangerously but the steering wheel angle alters by a good 20 degrees.
It's as if the brake on one side has stopped that wheel dead and the
other is still turning so you'd get 'pull' to the stopped side
wouldn't you?

I'll try the 32psi for a few weeks anyway and keep you posted on the
outcomes of any future service. It's just bugging me that I don't know
any definite answers or if indeed there are any definite problems.

Robert.

 

That's interesting. I'm just back from a trip and missed part of the
start of this thread, but my 03 Accord does this sometimes. I'm
braking to a light and the wheel pulls significantly one way or the
other just before I stop. It's almost like which ever way the wheel is
off center, it goes further that way just as the car reaches a full
stop. I've never had another car do this.