Droning/Humming Noise from Tires

[BokCh0y]

Got a droning noise coming from my passenger side tires, can't tell if it's the front or back. Is this a sign of a separated belt? I didn't see anything in terms of cracks or bulging on either tire but it does make a droning/humming noise when i go past a certain speed and it stays pretty constant until i slow down. Also no weird wear.

Had this noise last summer with these tires and rims on the car, thought it was wheel bearing, put the winters on and the noise went away. Drove all winter with the winters and nothing. Come last week, tossed the summers on and the noise is back, so pretty sure it isn't wheel bearing.

Tires are Bridgestone RE050 RFT - 205/55/17 84W on a Mini Cooper S.

Also if I have to buy new tires, can I go from W to a V rated tire? I know W is for 270+ and the V is for 240, but realistically there's no way I'm gonna ever break 200 with that car.

Thanks!!!

[Tej.S]

I could be wrong, but it might just be shitty run flat tires lol. Run flats are notorious for road noise when compared to non-RF tires. I'm dreading putting mine back on lol.

Edit: yes, you can from W to V rated.

[BokCh0y]

Yeah i'm wondering if it's the run flats in general too, they're loud as fuck and the ride comfort for sure has gone down.

[ExtraSlow]

sometimes rotating the tires helps with road noise as it changes the loads on the tires "just enough".

[BokCh0y]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
sometimes rotating the tires helps with road noise as it changes the loads on the tires "just enough".

Yep already tried that. Back to front and front to back, didn't help. In fact I think it may be louder now.

So does it sound like a belt issue then?

[never]

Any weird wear patterns (scalloped)? Or any vibration associated with the noise (needs a balance)?

[Tej.S]

Originally posted by BokCh0y


Yep already tried that. Back to front and front to back, didn't help. In fact I think it may be louder now.

So does it sound like a belt issue then?

If it were me, I would get it checked out just to be safe. However, you mentioned that the noise went away when you put your winter tires, which makes me feel like it is just the RFs. I'm only making this assumption because I went through the same thing lol. As soon as I had my non-RF winters installed last year, my mind/ears were at peace haha. The difference is honestly night and day.

[Thaco]

i dont think a separated tire would cause excessive road noise like that, but it is normally pretty easy to diagnose a seaparated tire.

This is an exaggerated case, but it gives you an idea what to look for

[revelations]

I had the same thing with mine. Turns out BOTH rear tires (though it was a bearing too) had a tread separation issue - but it was even along the inner edge and was UNIFORM.

The tire edge looked like a serrated pizza cutter, with very small round (but numerous) evenly spaced bumps so that it was tough to visually tell. Once I ran my hand on the egdes I could fee it.


» Click image for larger version

[BokCh0y]

Originally posted by Thaco
i dont think a separated tire would cause excessive road noise like that, but it is normally pretty easy to diagnose a seaparated tire.

This is an exaggerated case, but it gives you an idea what to look for

No bulges on the tire either, on any of them.

Originally posted by never
Any weird wear patterns (scalloped)? Or any vibration associated with the noise (needs a balance)?

Nope. I took a good look at them when i swapped them out, no scalloping or weird wear patterns that's why I thought the tires were ok.

The only weird pattern I've ever seen is when you do all chest and neglect to do your back, but that's another story

I'm likely going to buy new tires just because these are loud as fuck and have that weird droning issue. Was looking at the Michelin Pilot AS3. Heard they are a great tire for the Mini.

[never]

^ Hahahaha...fucker!!!

[Tik-Tok]

Have you always had this noise with these specific rims? If so, have you checked to see if any part of the brake is touching the rim itself?

I bought some Tacoma 17's for my 4runner with a 5mm offset difference that I didn't think would matter... turned out it did because of a ridge along the brake caliper (from the manufacturing process) that was jusssst touching, it make the most horrendous grinding/humming sound. A dremel took care of that ridge pretty easily.

[BokCh0y]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok
Have you always had this noise with these specific rims? If so, have you checked to see if any part of the brake is touching the rim itself?

I bought some Tacoma 17's for my 4runner with a 5mm offset difference that I didn't think would matter... turned out it did because of a ridge along the brake caliper (from the manufacturing process) that was jusssst touching, it make the most horrendous grinding/humming sound. A dremel took care of that ridge pretty easily.

I'll take a look tomorrow in the light, thanks for this tidbit of advice. I'm sure they rims aren't an issue, but you never know. And yes, have always had that issue with this set of rims, but I picked them up last spring and used it the last summer and now this summer. Rims are OEM stock mini cooper rims too, so they aren't anything different. Noise only happens though after I hit a certain speed, like 40km+.