tire noise caused by suspension/no rotation

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I have a 2012 Mazda 3i Grand Touring with the OEM Bridgestone tires.

5000 miles ago (at 20,000 miles) the tires were rotated, and I noticed the fronts now have a hum to them, along with kind of a warble at certain speeds and on certain roads (I notice it more on cement than asphalt).

Based on Google searching I'm guessing this is caused by aggressive factory rear suspension settings combined with a lack of rotation. The dealer was supposed to rotate them at 10,000 miles as part of my service plan but I suspected at the time they didn't, and now I suspect it even more. Which should teach me to purchase a dealer service plan I guess.

Anyway I like the way the car drives and I don't want to mess with adjustable links in the back, so I will rotate at 5K from now on.

My question is, will the tire noise lessen as they wear back to even, or does it not get better from here?
 
Once a wear pattern starts in a tire, it can be very difficult to get rid of it - after all, any new wear pattern is on top of what is already there.

The only true way is to start over.
 
OK, thanks! In the meantime, assuming there is tread and I can deal with the noise, is there any reason not to keep running these tires?
 
Originally Posted By: jdeare
I have a 2012 Mazda 3i Grand Touring with the OEM Bridgestone tires.

5000 miles ago (at 20,000 miles) the tires were rotated, and I noticed the fronts now have a hum to them, along with kind of a warble at certain speeds and on certain roads (I notice it more on cement than asphalt).

Based on Google searching I'm guessing this is caused by aggressive factory rear suspension settings combined with a lack of rotation. The dealer was supposed to rotate them at 10,000 miles as part of my service plan but I suspected at the time they didn't, and now I suspect it even more. Which should teach me to purchase a dealer service plan I guess.

Anyway I like the way the car drives and I don't want to mess with adjustable links in the back, so I will rotate at 5K from now on.

My question is, will the tire noise lessen as they wear back to even, or does it not get better from here?


If you don't get the alignment corrected you will cause the same hum/warble problem in new tires.
Put markings on the tires when you take the car for a rotation, make sure the rotation is done. However, if the alignment is out then rotating won't really do much good re: hum/noise/warble.
Have the alignment checked. Your car will still perform nicely when set to factory spec if it is out. Do you like the way the car drives with whining tires ??
 
I'll have the alignment checked when I get new tires. I can't see a point in doing it now.

I should have marked the tires, but I didn't, and by the time I thought of it they were already working on the car.
 
When I got my Focus, I didn't rotate until 9K miles. I was used to front wheel drive cars wearing their front tires.

Boy, was I in for a surprise when I noticed how severely the rears were wearing! The RR in particular.
 
Originally Posted By: jdeare
OK, thanks! In the meantime, assuming there is tread and I can deal with the noise, is there any reason not to keep running these tires?


None.

If it were me, I would let the tires stay where they are for 10k to even out, then go with 5k after that, and also try a cross rotation next time.
 
my gf's civic was on the stock, never rotated tires at 33k when I rotated them. They were VERY loud. The dealer recommended new tires when we took the car in for warranty work, but I ignored it. The noise never completely went away, but it decreased significantly, to where we weren't worried. The tires replaced about 10k after that due to low tread before winter time.
 
It's a shame that one should mark tires, oil filter and do other things to make sure the dealer does that task they were paid to do. One saving grace is the Internet. If a retail business messes with a customer the Internet can become a 900 pound gorilla.
 
Thanks guys! 10k and then 5k after that is my plan. I'm hoping that these will last until about 50,000 miles so plenty of time.

OneEyeJack, I agree. Luckily I have a local place that is pretty trustworthy, I should have either done it myself or gone there instead of the dealer.
 
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