PwrDriftr

Hi guys,

I've noticed the the amount of road noise that I hear (as I drive around) has increased dramatically over the last few weeks.

I can hear it at speeds as low as 50Kmph and it does not seem to be affected by engine speed (RPM). Mind you the sound does get louder as vehicle speed increases.

I have a 2004 Audi A4 3.0 6spd with 120K's on it. Could I have a wheel bearing problem?

mikeh

Could be a bearing problem but let try and work through this. How old are your tires? When was the last time you rotated the tires? When you go around a corner is the sound louder and if so which turn is it louder? Have you checked the CV boots?

PwrDriftr

Hi Mike,

This is the 3rd summer on my Dunlop Sport Maxx tires. I figure they have a little bit less than 1/2 the tread left. I'm running 235/40/18, on stock rims. I get no rubbing or anything like that.

Last time they were rotated was in May of 2010.

The sound is consistent with speed and does not seem to get any louder when cornering or turning the wheel.

I have not checked the CV boot.

mikeh

If it were a bearing problem the noise is usually a lot more prevalent during turning, that is why I asked about the tires. Worn tires can sometimes start making noise after some time. When the car is up off the ground see if there is any play in the wheel.

PwrDriftr

Could regular wear of tires, cause increased road noise? Should I used jacks to get my car off the ground or Dukes of Hazard style.

mikeh

Yes regular tire wear can cause road noise. If you do the Dukes of Hazard thing send pics??

cheeba

Yeah, tires can make a surprising amount of road noise, sometimes even sounding like a metal-on-metal type noise. If you can tell which corner the noise is coming from, the easiest thing to do is swap the tires around and see what happens. As Mike said, check the CV boots, and grab the wheel at the top and bottom and see if you can rock the top in and out from the car.

trucker9

A good source of info for tire noise would be to check tirerack.com and see the reviews on the tire and wearing and noise, let the other thousand people that ran that tire give you some insight!

P-Lo

Having the exact same problem. Noise starts at 50km/h, and gets progressively louder.

How do you check the CV boot? What happens if the boot is not torn, and its busted on the inside?

P-Lo

if it was road noise from the tire, why only one tire....