Equipment involved in this post:
2007 Nissan 350Z Enthusiast Coupe (TPMS) – San Marino Blue – normal calipers (not Brembo)
Front Tires: 225/45-18 Yokohama YK520 95V XL B
Rear Tires: 245/45-18 Yokohama YK520 100V XL B
Front Wheels: ASA AR1 18x8 Bolt Pattern: 5-114.3 Silver
Rear Wheels: ASA AR1 18x8.5 Bolt Pattern: 5-114.3 Silver

In January, I slid on a right turn, and hit my two left side rims on a curb. I believed that I had knocked the alignment out on the car, and after my tires showed some odd wear patterns, I decided to change the tires out and then get realigned.

I bought the tires above, but was advised that my front left rim was significantly damaged, and that my rear left rim could use some repair or replacement as well. The cost for stock rims was very high. I decided to buy the ASA wheels listed above, and had them put on the car.

I took the car home on a Friday night, driving at low speeds to get home. On Saturday morning, I got out on the highway to hear that the sound of the wheels was a deafening throbbing vibration noise. I took the tires back to “Vendor A” and they pulled the front tires, rebalanced them, and gave me an apology. The apology was not just for the noise, but also because they broke an air pressure sensor, had to replace it, and then had to send me to the dealer to reset the computer to recognize the sensor.

I got back out on the highway, and the noise was still very loud, but this time, was loud in the back. I went back to the shop, and had the managers tell me that they didn’t believe me, but wouldn’t go for a test drive with me. I argued, and the manager personally took me to the machine to rebalance the rear tires. To his horror, neither tire was in balance. In fact, the first tire was off 1 oz on one side, and 3.75 oz on the other. I received another apology, and was sent on my way. I took it out on the highway, and all was fine (albeit at moderate speeds ~50 mph)

On Monday, I took off for work, and as I got up above 60 mph, the noise came back, but this time clearly in the front. I took the car to “Vendor B” and paid $15 to have the front tires rebalanced. They were off AGAIN!
Then, I drove on the highway again, and now in the range between 50 mph and 80 mph there is a noise in the front, but below or above that range, there is no noise.

Other things we checked are:
1. Where the hub rings the correct size, and installed correctly?
2. Are the rims clearing the calipers?
3. Is the tire rubbing on the back side?

What I need to know is how to deal with this. Are there any nationwide tire stores that have better equipment than others? In this post, I feel like Vendor A has much better / newer equipment than Vendor B. Can the Nissan dealership do a better job? Do some of the extreme vehicle shops have better equipment? Are there shops that will drive my car before they give it back to me? Do new rims just sound loud, and the noise will go away?

 

So the cause of the tire noise is what?

 

I assume that the cause is unbalanced tires. I am hoping someone else has an idea of something I might be missing.

 

Yokohama tires are noisy and useless.

 

Did you get the suspension inspected and re-aligned yet? Smacking two wheels into a curb could've bent some of your arms.

 

Unbalanced wheels wobble. Noise is not symptomatic.

 

No one will be able to tell you anything for certain until you get your alignment checked and your wheels in balance.

Did you bend a wheel? I can't see how you smacked two wheels on a curb and didn't do any damage there. Maybe that's why the shop can't get them to balance.

Another suggestion is to check your wheel bearings. Good chance these are messed up as well.

 

I agree. The symptom displayed by an unbalanced tire is vibration (mostly obvious on the fronts since the steering wheel shakes a little, but still apparent on the rear), but unbalanced tires won’t be much more noisy.

CrizmoZ’s problem is probably related to hitting a curb. If the hit was hard enough to bend rims, it probably also caused some suspension damage as well. Damaged suspension components are insidious since that causes a variety of problems with tires, wheels, and handling.

Citrus mentions this:
I’m pretty sure there are some damaged suspension components requiring replacement. A good shop can determine this, but you need a shop that installs suspensions as well as tires. A tire-store-only won't be able to handle this problem.

--Spike

 

You "nailed-it."

Excellent advice. I missed the damaged wheel bearings you mention, but that is certainly something he should evaluate. I have experienced this (damage to wheel bearings), and it could be a part of the problem.

Good post and advice,

--Spike
_________________________
EDIT : To describe what happens when a wheel bearing is damaged.

Symptoms of a damaged wheel bearing:

• The tires are noisy because they are not rolling “true.”
• The tires wear quickly (causing more noise).
• Since the tires can wear almost instantly with a bad wheel bearing, the balance goes bad in just a few miles.

 

if you bent your rim your balance is gonna change every time you put it on the machine.