New 18ins Alloys...wierd Noise?

[darvd]

Hey all, i have a 2005 Avensis, just got 18ins put on the other day. look great, i expected a bit of road noise but theres a wired Humming Sound which has been described to me as the sound of a Wheel Bearing on the way out? I have went to 2 mechanics and have said nothings wrong?? Any ideas, it really is annoying me!

It seems to coming from the left hand side of the car and the noise doesn't seem to be there if standing outside as the car passes??

the wheels are 225/40/18

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks

Darren

[Bosnjo]

You hear it at any speed or just on high speed?

[runboy]

Constant or comes and goes? Could be the road surface-I have some near me that play a tune when you drive over them.....

[darvd]

it changes in amount off noise depening on speed, i could be going 100kmh not hear much then be doing 40kmh a hear more, when i brake the noise seems to deepen? it is like a humming, my brother has a '94 BMW w/ 18ins and has not got this noise...? i don't know its really annyoing

[Bosnjo]

Mmmm, it sounds like brake pads. Remember that they are touching the disks even when you're not braking. I have that idea because you were saying that sound changes when you're braking

[victor kakol]

Have you got the old wheels that you can put back on? then you could see if the noise goes away.

The brake pads shouldn't particularly flex (or make a noise) as everthing down there is moving in all directions, at the same time, together

[darvd]

ya i have the old wheels, i rang the toyota main dealer where i bought it this morning and told them, he said bring up and technician will take for a drive for me to see whats wrong.(the guy i was talking to said it sounds like the wheel bearing?)

Thanks for all the help

P.s there was no noise with the old wheels

[Bosnjo]

The brake pads shouldn't particularly flex (or make a noise) as everthing down there is moving in all directions, at the same time, together

EXCUSE ME????? DISKS AND PADS "MOVING" TOGETHER????

[LIAM.MCGLOIN]

When i fitted 18" a small part of the inner wing protection was rubbing of the tread of the tyre,it soon wore it down,but i trimmed it back abit also.The only other thing is that i have the car lowered 35mm also.But if you look under the arch you will see if it is making contact at any point.Hope this helps.

[darvd]

does'nt seem to rubbing, i can fit my fingers in around the wheel and the arch no problems, its a weird one, don't what it is??

[darvd]

i just got back from the toyota main dealer where i bought my car and the technian said the sound is from the tyres? Buy ing better tyres might help he said, has anyone else had any experiance on what tyrs to put on an Avensis 18's?

[PeaJay]

That's the only problem with a text based chat...

You can't describe a noise very well.

I'd be miffed if I bought new tyres just to keep the noise because it was nothing to do with that.

Is it all round, or in the back too? get someone else to drive around with you swapping places.

see if it is constant...

i'm in straw clutching mode here as I have no idea

[darvd]

ha ha, i have tried that too! had my friends with their heads out different windows to see where the noise was coming from. they said it seems to be more the left side front or back or maybe both....im lost??

[darvd]

i have given up hope, the garages were no help, the shop i bought the wheels off were no help and the toyota main dealer were no help! So i have taken off the wheels and wala the noise is gone...now i just have to sell them!

[K19NE G]

i just got back from the toyota main dealer where i bought my car and the technian said the sound is from the tyres? Buy ing better tyres might help he said, has anyone else had any experiance on what tyrs to put on an Avensis 18's?

My mum's Seat Ibiza had the same problem (albeit with 15" alloys and not 18") and the humming noise, which sounded like a wheel bearing on the way out, got sooo bad, that I bought her a new quiter set of tyres for Xmas! Before I did, I had the alloys checked for kerbing/damage/balance and then I tried the old standard wheels on and the noise went, so that proved to me that it was the tyres causing the problem....

[darvd]

you put new tyres on the 15ins and put them back on the car & noise went? what kind of tyres did you get? and is there any specfic tyre you should put on for an avensis?

[Bosnjo]

As you can all see, in this forum there was a lot of conversation about new Avensis 16' or 17' tyres. Mine has 16' and I'm very hapy with little road noise compared with people with 17'. So, as a conclusion I took, bigger tyres (I mean lower profile and wider tyre) more noise.

[darvd]

that is true, i don't mind more road nosie, but this isn't a road nosie, its a weird kind of humming?

[LIAM.MCGLOIN]

that is true, i don't mind more road nosie, but this isn't a road nosie, its a weird kind of humming?

It may just be the quality of the tyres .although i put on budget tyres,Kumho ecsta 225/40/zr18,and there is no noise ,maybe you should go back to where you got the tyres and see if they will change them if they agree with you about the excess noise.

.

[darvd]

why would the tyres cause a humming noise?

[victor kakol]

that is true, i don't mind more road nosie, but this isn't a road nosie, its a weird kind of humming?

It may just be the quality of the tyres .although i put on budget tyres,Kumho ecsta 225/40/zr18,and there is no noise ,maybe you should go back to where you got the tyres and see if they will change them if they agree with you about the excess noise.

.

The humming could be the tyre tread on the road surface. When you brake, the tyre area touching the road surface increases because there is more of a load on them. This will make the noise deepen or get louder.

The noise of the tyre (coming through to the cab) will increase with a decrease of the wall size of the tyre because there is less of a sound damping effect.

So, in summary, the ''fatter'' the tyre, less road noise, but more of an uncool look. The ''thinner'' the tyre, the more road noise, but manging to look like the dogs ********.

[GVS]

why would the tyres cause a humming noise?

I am a new member to this baord and Toyotas. I bought my first one, 3 year old Avensis T4 hatch some weeks ago and was disappointed about the level of road noise. 17" alloys with P6000 on front and Goodyear on rear.

I took the car back to dealer who checked all suspection and brakes, they put it down to uneven wear on rear tyres as well as non goodyear (softer compound) on front.

The noise is like a wheel bearing on its way out and does vary depending on road surface.

I did test drive a newer a T3X before buying my Avensis and it had normal smalled tyres on it, but the road noise was non existant.......

Sounds like what many have said large types - very wide 215's.

Its livable.

G

[darvd]

thanks for all the input, i have Wanli s-1088 ( 225/40/18) Tyres

Should i sell the wheels or buy new tyres? If so what would be the best option tyre?

Here is a link to a pic of the wheels i have: http://www.tyresave.co.uk/alloypix/big/kyoto.jpg

[johnbaker]

thanks for all the input, i have Wanli s-1088 ( 225/40/18) Tyres

Should i sell the wheels or buy new tyres? If so what would be the best option tyre?

Here is a link to a pic of the wheels i have: http://www.tyresave.co.uk/alloypix/big/kyoto.jpg

darvd, hi - This is really interesting! Last December I bought a 2002 Mk2 facelift (Mk 2.5) MX-5 1.8iS VT with hardtop. I bought it knowing it had a weird road speed related noise thinking it woud be easy to trace and cure the noise. It came with part worn 205 Wanli S1088 tyres on 16" wheels. (You can guess what's coming!) My local very good engineer has had the car twice now and checked absolutely everything mechanical and can't find the source of the noise. I couldn't decide whether it was front or rear and at times suspected the diff, the drive shaft CV joints, prop shaft UJ etc etc. After much discussion on the MX-5 Owners Club Forum (www.mx5ocforum.co.uk - Prop Shaft UJ Noise? posting) I finally decided it was right front wheel bearing and replaced it. Wrong!

The noise starts as a low 'growl' at about 15 mph and by 25 mph it's a low pitched pulsating/moaning 'wooowooowooo' noise, almost a typical bearing noise. With increased speed, the pitch of the noise rises and the frequency of the pulses increase. It peaks in volume at 30/50 mph and by 60 mph other general noises mask it. It doesn't vary with power on or off, braking, or when swerving left and right. It's so loud it's driving me mad and spoils every mile I drive.

After yet another check at the local garage they were at a complete loss and are now wondering about tyre noise.

Do the symptoms I've described seem similar to yours? I haven't been able to get hold of another set of wheels to try mine on and I'm wary of throwing away the Wanlis, which have loads of tread left, only to find that it's not tyres after all.

MX-5 are notoriously difficult to trace where noises are coming from due to the design of the structure of the car and the power plant frame that links the engine and gearbox to the diff, not to mention assorted tie bars on the later models that are hard-bolted to, for example, the diff mounting to the bodyshell, these being for stiffening the structure of the car.

I found your posting after a long ask.com search and I'm listed as having an MR2. I nearly bought one and wish now that I had instead of buying my second MX-5!

I'll try and PM you in case you're not following this thread any longer. I'd be VERY interested to hear your comments, either on here or direct to john.535baker@btinternet.com

Thanks in advance - John Baker I'll be away for few days soon but will get back to you.

[dark andrew]

The wheels/tyres may fit into the arch but have you checked around the back of the wheel? The way the suspension is put together, the plate on the shock that that the spring sits in actually intrudes into the wheel arch behind the wheel and with a wider tyre/larger wheel combination it could that that's rubbing. A similar thing happened to me when I put 50 aspect tyres on my stock 17" wheels, I thought I had plenty of space in the arch but the inside of my wheel would catch this plate every time I went over a speed hump.