Tire Noise on my Elantra.

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pbm

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I recently put a 2008 Hyundai Elantra on the road that I purchased several months ago.
It has just under 29K original miles and still had the OE Hankook H426 tires. The front tires were worn and had wear on the inner edge so I ordered 4 Hankook H727s. (it seems the original owner never rotated the tires).
When I went to change them I realized that the OE original H426s on the rear were in excellent shape (probably had 65% still left and very even wear). I moved them to the front and installed 2 H727s on the rear.
All is well except that I find that there is a lot of 'tire drone'. It does seem louder on certain roads and at lower speeds (35-55mph).
Would you guys think it's the tires or are Elantra's just noisy?
I do plan on getting an alignment this week.....If worse comes to worse i can always install the other 2 H727s but it seems wastefull with all the thread left on the OEs.
Thoughts?
 
I didn't think of that since it is a noise rather than a vibration (I had thought that tire imbalance showed up as vibration, particularly at speed).
The sound is similar to what I've heard from SUVs running 'All Terrain' or snow tires....a drone.
I'll look into the wheel balance. Thanks
 
Does the noise move when you swap the tires front to back?

If not, it could be a wheel bearing.

I've thought some no-name rear tires were the cause of the noise on my civic, but it turned out to be a bad wheel bearing.
 
Originally Posted By: JamesBond
Does the noise move when you swap the tires front to back?

If not, it could be a wheel bearing.

I've thought some no-name rear tires were the cause of the noise on my civic, but it turned out to be a bad wheel bearing.



I'll have to check. Thanks, that is certainly a possibility.
 
Elantras of that vintage tend to destroy tires if not rotated. Definitely check the inside edge of the old ones for feathering. If they aren't feathered, check the balance, check for flat spots if it sat. Have the alignment checked. Alignment issues could be partially to blame for tire wear. I can guarantee that most vehicles I look at are at least slightly out of alignment after a year of driving.
OH, and you have a brake switch recall on your car(all 2008's are affected). If you haven't visited the dealer, go, it's free. That switch runs your brake lights, traction control, abs, etc. The switches just came off national backorder 2 weeks ago. Get it done before they run out again.
 
Thanks Salv,...I'll look into that recall.
I appreciate all the feedback...that's why BITOG is my favorite Site.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
The tires are probably feathered since they were never rotated.


Maybe this is what my tire dealer calls "lapping" on the Michelin Harmony's on the Altima.
It started making a lot of noise after the first rotation, which I neglected till about 10K. Dealer says the rear, being lighter, gets more up/down movement (or somesuch) which causes the "lapping" and unless the tires are rotated every 5K you're gonna have that problem. Not being totally convinced, I've asked two other tire dealers and get the same story. At any rate, they are the noisest tires I've ever had. One dealer said If I can't get the car done regularly, perhaps I need to buy a less expensive tire and never rotate them. Am thinking seriously of doing that.
 
Just an FYI:

It is pretty common for the rear tires on FWD's to develop irregular wear if not rotated. 20K seems to be the value where this starts to show up - even for vehicles with alignments "in spec".

Irregular wear can come out as a vibration and/or noise (which are really the same thing, just different frequencies). You may not even be able to feel the irregular wear pattern, but some vehicles act as amplifiers and even a small amount can set off the vehicle (resonant frequencies).

While it is possible to wear a different pattern into an irregularly worn tire, the process is slow and not very reliable.
 
Update:
I put the other 2 new Hankook H727s on the front and had an alignment done and the noise is GONE. It was either the balance or the 'feathering' (which I can't see) but at any rate I'm very happy.

PS: The alignment was 'in spec' except that the left 'SAI' was at 14 when 13.9 was the limit. The shop brought the toe into the center of the range even though it was within spec.

Salv: I made the appointment for the recall too.

Thanks Guys...
 
I'll bet on the feathering.

Last summer my son bought a used set of rims and tires to put on his then new Mazda3. I mean a couple months old. As soon as he put them on the car sounded like it had a bad wheel bearing or two, maybe 4. Terribly loud. Keep in mind, he was working as a tire and lube tech and re-balanced them before he put them on his car.

Glad to hear it cleared up. What do you think of the 727s?
 
Originally Posted By: cp3
I'll bet on the feathering.

Last summer my son bought a used set of rims and tires to put on his then new Mazda3. I mean a couple months old. As soon as he put them on the car sounded like it had a bad wheel bearing or two, maybe 4. Terribly loud. Keep in mind, he was working as a tire and lube tech and re-balanced them before he put them on his car.

Glad to hear it cleared up. What do you think of the 727s?




I only have them on a few days so I can't give a good assessment.
I recommended them to my b-I-l for his Corolla 2 years ago and his are wearing great but he complains that they aren't great in wet weather.
I showed him the Tirerack surveys but he says they slide a lot and wouldn't buy them again. I bought them because I wanted a long lasting, reasonably priced tire and I drive conservatively (at least in bad weather). I figured that most people are happy with them so I'd give them a shot.

PS: I really like the 2008 Elantra. It is a more refined car than my 2008 Corolla and so far the MPG's are very close.



"You need an alignment"

I assume you are talking about the SAI being slightly off?
From what I understand that is not adjustable.
 
It could be a characteristic of that vehicle and not the tires. Check out some of the car mag reviews to see if noise is mentioned. Not to say there aren't better tires out there
I have ridden in a Sonora and it had a higher level of road noise at speed
 
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My BIL is currently leasing a '12 Elantra which came with Hankook Optimo H426's and they are almost worn out at 29K. He's looking for tires to get through the next year as the lease runs out, Sept. '14.

Sad thing is, this '12 Elantra came with 215-45-17's and the choices are fewer for a good price/tire combo(especially in foul weather). I suggested for him to go with either the General AltiMAX HP or the Kumho Ecsta 4X from DTD. Although the Continential Extreme Contact DWS is what I would have suggested if he were going to have more time with the car. I also suggested for him to stay away from the 17" tires next time.

There is no Optimo H727's or Cooper CS4's in his 17" size which would be ideal IMHO as, I know his driving style. My daughter has the H727's on her '06 Mazda3 in 205-55-16 and they're doing fine with over 30K miles thus far. Although, not the optimum tire for a Mazda3, certainly a very good choice for her driving style and our climate without having to change over to snow/ice tires.

No way she'll get even remotely close to the 100K mileage wearout on these H727's but, 60K is possible and that's fine! We may even change'em out at 50K(depends) as snow/ice is always a factor...We'll see!
 
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