Loud tires... or bad wheel bearings?

[Digitalwave]

My new BFG G-Force Sports were really quiet for the first couple months that I owned them, but now from the 30-70mph range they have gotten really loud. I figured there are a lot of rocks stuck in the tread but I've only seen a hand ful, and some glass shards left from the hurricane. The tire pressures are fine. I am going to take the tires off and clean out the treads over thanksgiving.

I've read reviews and everyone says these tires aren't loud, quite the contrary. What does the sound of a bad (or going) wheel bearing sound like? The noise basically like my old ES100s when they were dying, just a little louder. The tires only have maybe 1,500 miles on them.

[cgregory]

A bad wheel bearing sounds like a really loud roar...pretty much always more pronounced when you turn. It's kind of droning sound. Before you do anything else, just jack the car up and push back and forth on each wheel; if there's play, it's indicative of a bad bearing. You can also try spinning the wheels. If they don't spin freely (aside from the pads dragging), that could also be a bad bearing.

[Digitalwave]

A bad wheel bearing sounds like a really loud roar...pretty much always more pronounced when you turn. It's kind of droning sound. Before you do anything else, just jack the car up and push back and forth on each wheel; if there's play, it's indicative of a bad bearing. You can also try spinning the wheels. If they don't spin freely (aside from the pads dragging), that could also be a bad bearing.

The wheel moving can also be from worn ball joints though.

The sound goes away when turning.

[T.Dot E30]

sounds more like a bad wheel bearing to me.

But to be sure, do you have another set of wheels you can swap on to be sure?

My summers are noisy at first I thought it was a bad wheel bearing, but i found out after putting my winters on, it was the tires.

[Digitalwave]

I have my bottlecaps, I could do that.

[Mystikal]

LOL, the most obvious solution escaped you.

Good job, Teej.

[golde30]

you should hear R-compounds on the street...i thought i had a bad diff or something...

[Jordan]

you should hear R-compounds on the street...i thought i had a bad diff or something...

Sounds like duct tape once warmed up. Fun fun.

[MR 325]

Sounds like duct tape once warmed up. Fun fun.

:D