Hello all,

I'm having a few problems. Two of them I'm pretty sure I know the cause of. The others I'm not sure. The first problem is my steering wheel is vibrating sometimes when I go over 60mph. I'm sure that's wheel balancing. The second problem is the car swerves to the right. That's probably alignment. The third is the one I'm confused about. When I'm driving straight, there is a loud humming noise coming from the left front side. If I curve right, the noise goes away. I'm thinking it has to do with the alignment being off. I'm guessing the tread pattern of the tire is causing the noise. Has anyone had this problem? I'm running Federal SS595 tires. I know they're cheap tires, but I don't think it should be making all that noise. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

 

I suggest getting better tires. I had those tires on my old honda and immediately replaced them. Some cheap brand of tires have more than average noise. The humming could be from the tire. Cheaper tires are also more prone to balancing problems.

Yokohama Avid TRZ or BFGoodrich Traction T/A T are decent tires that come in the stock 185/60-15 tire size.

 

I've thought about replacing the tires already. They're practically brand new though. I would hate to spend the money if I can get the problem fixed another way. By the way, I have 18s on the box.

 

Start with an alignment and wheel balancing... if nothing else, you'll get the most out of the tires, and have a more pleasant driving experience...

Really bad alignment can definitely cause tire noise... letting it go on can chew the tires right off, and lead to noise even after the problem is corrected...

 

Sounds like a wheel bearing going out.

 

If it turns out to be the wheel bearing, is that something difficult to replace?

 

If your not a mechanical kind of guy (or girl) then have it done.

There will most likely be a couple specialty tools needed to do the job like a pickle fork and a way to press the bearing out and press the new one in.
The part is not expensive but labor will be.

When you have to have work done I almost always suggest going to the dealer and avoiding “Joes” garage. The dealer is usually a little more expensive but you get mechanics that know YOUR car and have seen your problem before.

 

I hope it's not a bearing. I'll try alignment first to see if that takes care of it.

 

A quality shop will know if it’s a bearing as that is one of the MANY things that should be inspected before doing an alignment and they wont do an alignment on a front end that has bad components.

Again I suggest the dealer and not "Joes".

 

If you suspect that it is a bearing, jack your car up and spin the wheel by hand. If the bearing is bad, there will be a constant grinding noise. Check the tire and the wheel well. Your tire might be rubbing against something giving that sound and when you turn the wheel a certain way, the humming noise may go away because the tire isn't touching anymore.

If your pulling to one side, your alignment is off and if you don't get it properly aligned, you will wear out the tire faster than normall. You are also putting an uneven strain on the wheel bearing which can do damage to the bearing.

Vibration at the steraring wheel can be caused by bad tires on the front, the wheel may have been installed improperly not using the star pattern so it is not sitting flush against the hub, or you can have a blown strut in front causing the front tire to bounce at high speeds without the strut working to dampen the jumping. Check the front struts for any fluid leaking from them.

These are somethings you can do yourself before involving a shop.

 

Great suggestion to check the bearing. I'll try that this weekend. I don't think that will be the problem because the noise is not there at low speeds. I also don't think it is rubbing because otherwise I'd see some kind of mark on the tire itself or somewhere in the wheel well. The last time I had the car aligned, I had different rims installed. They were different size and offset. Could that have made a difference?

 

That won't account for the problems described. Check the tire pressure first- if it's way out from one side to the other, it can cause pulling...

 

I've already checked air pressure. It's the same on all four sides.

 

Funny, I have 28K on mine and have yet to get it realigned. Cheap tires are always loud. I had some Nankangs and they were terrible loud. Sounds like more than just an alignment is the culprit. Good luck and let us know what it turns out to be for sure. Thanks.

 

I had Nankangs on before the ones I have now and they were loud, but not as loud as the current tires. I haven't had a chance to get it aligned yet. I'll post again once I find out what the problem is.

 

Hello all. Just a quick update in case anyone is having a similar problem. I took my box to get aligned and balanced today. Turns out the toe was a little off, but it was not the cause of the noise. The bearings are bad. The guy at the shop suggested to take it to the dealer. First thought was $$$$. So I called the dealer to find out how much the damage would be and the service guy tells me that the bearings are covered under warranty for 5 years or 60K miles. I didn't know that so that was a relief. Anyway, I'm taking it in on Monday so I'll post again when I get it back and let you all know the outcome.

Thanks for all the help. By the way, I have 49K miles right now. Is it worth doing the 50K mile service?

 

i think i have the same problem. theres that sound like its a bad wheel bearing on the front left wheel. had it for a while now but too lazy to bring it in. guess i will soon.

 

I have the problem with the shaking steering wheel when i hit around 50-55. the place i had put the rims and tires on had to re balance them because the place i got them from did a horrible job. So if they re balanced them, then i should just need an alignment right?

 

either they are not balanced correctly or you need hubcentric rings. If you already have the rings, switch out the front tires to the rear and see what happens.

 

On the somewhat topic of cheap tires up there ^^^.

Is the difference between a $850 17" package with Perelli's worth getting rather than the same package but with 18's at $800 with Kumho's? I understand that Perelli's are definitely the better tire... but i also know that a lot of ppl have kumho's on here and I never hear anything bad... Just asking whats probably the better buy considering price and performance gained (i drive "spiritedly" but I'm humble to the fact that I did buy a box... not an RSX ).

The package I'm considering is here (6th package down). 17's because of the price... but I wanted 18's more.