V50 Road Noise

[blacklab]

Hi

On certain roads my V50 2005 makes a rubbling noise from the rear but when the road surface changes it disapears.
Does anyone else get this? The rear tyres are Linglong, cheapies I guess, which came with it. This may be the cause?

If it was the bearing then it would do it all the time, any ideas?

Thanks

[blacklab]

Sorry, should be rumbling noise not rubbling!

[gmain1967]

I'd say it might be to do with tyres - my folks have a V50 with Pirelli P6000's on it and it has more road noise than my T4....!

[Daim]

If it changes on road surface it can only be the tires. If it was the car, it would do it on all surfaces. Rumbling can be a "sawtooth". Under certain conditions it is there and others not.

And please, change those "Linglong" tires. It may be cool to save a few quid, but the cost of life isn't worth saving a few quid.

[blacklab]

The dealer who supplied it fitted the cheap tyres, I'd never heard of them!

Interesting to see how some tyres can make this noise.

[iantowil]

My C70 had stepped rear tyres - rumbled as if a wheel bearing had failed, and vibration especially 60mph upwards. Had the alignment checked and adjusted at FRF in Swansea - it was about £60 for full 4 wheel laser alignment - they have a new setup that seems really good, and for once the main dealer is relatively competitive on price - Harris Bros are about £45 from memory. You might not need alignment, but worth bearing mind if you do.

One other thing - the nice tread pattern tyres that resemble the Goodyear F1s seem more prone to stepping than a more irregular traditional pattern. I think the Linglongs you have might look good but could be prone to stepping if they're the ones I'm thinking of.

Just a final point - the alignment didn't solve my problem, changing tyres did but it meant I didn't ruin the new tyres.

Hope this proves a bit of help.

[blacklab]

Thanks for this info, really helpful.

As a matter of interest, what tyre supplier do you use? Harris Bros?

I wouldn't have put these Dingdongs on, I've been down the cheap/budget route before and as the saying goes.....buy cheap, pay twice! I've found this out in the past with tyres.

First thing people say, "has your wheel bearing gone?", then it goes away when on another bit of road. Very weird!

[iantowil]

Last 4 tyres I bought March/June and all at Harris Bros by the Vetch Field. Found their prices better than the internet and of course fitting is in with it. I found the boys there great - I made a point of saying I was a bit of a car enthusiast and the wheels were mint, so could they be careful - rather than get offended they WERE careful - found them great. I went there after my mate had a very good deal for Michelins from the for his Imprezza from them. Only down side is they are busy most of the time and its a bit tight there - they get 4 cars in at a time.

Put Kumhos on the C70 and they seem fine, but damn they are wearing fast on the front. I've had Kumhos a few times now and they seem good. I did try Hankooks I think it was on my Cougar, and they were noisy.

Worth checking you've got no stepping as the sound you describe sounds identical to my problem - run you're hand around the inner and outer edge of the rear tyres against the direction of the tread pattern (rotation) and see if you can feel any stepping - you'll now if its there. Apparently Golfs are also a sod for this - C70s certainly are, or at least mine is - I should say was.......here's hoping!

Another plus for Harris Bros - and I'm not employed by them or on commission I promise. When changing the fronts I asked them to balance the rear tyres because I had a vibration - in with the deal. They youngster immediately said the problem was stepping not balancing and showed me what he meant - this was a new one on me but it expalined all the symptoms I had. He balanced them anyway but still the same. Alignment at FRF. Changed rear tyres at Harris Bros, problem gone.

[blacklab]

That's handy to know about Harris bros, I see they do mobile fitting but I guess this comes at a price.

Well......I've just been out to check the stepping and low and behold I can feel it! If this is the due to the tyre manufacturer then they should be banned! I've never had to change a tyre due to this, only when worn!
I cannot believe this and FRF put the damn things on before they sold it.
Should dealers be putting this substandard rubbish on used cars?

Thanks again.

[iantowil]

No worries. And don't forget about the alignment - it could be argued that given FRF put tyres on that are prone to stepping, maybe they'll do something for you on the laser alignment - I guess depends on the circumstances. I was told by a few pretty good sources that the stepped tyres I had on the back, Avon ZZ3s were prone to stepping and didn't work particularly well on a C70 - However the car was quite abit out of spec on the rear alignment, so possibly a bit of both.

Anyway, good luck - this can all be a pain in the arse.