Miata noise

[DWBOX2000]

Since you guys answer all my life questions, I actually have a car one. My sons 2001 Miata has a slight knocking when going straight. Stops when turning. Doesn’t matter whether in gear or not, accelerating, decelerating. Seems to appear as the car warmed up. Not at start up, but a few minutes in.

Thoughts? Thanks.

[HardDrive]

Does it change with speed? First guess is wheel bearing.

[pavulon]

Is the noise more or less prominent when turning left or right? Long, sweeping turns (cloverleafs, roundabouts) may tell the tale.

[fastfredracing]

Is the noise coming from the front or rear, or under you? Im with Harddrive . I have put a few wheel bearings on them over the years. Go straight down the road, then try to just barely turn one direction, then drift back the other way, your goal here is to try to shift weight to one wheel , then the other , then see if you can tell if the frequency of the noise changes . Usually, the faulty bearing will be on the side opposite of the direction you are steering when you hear it

[DWBOX2000]

Goes away when turning left or right. Acceleration doesn’t matter. Car has 75k on it and seem a few track days. If I Jack the car up, will the wheel have a little play when I wiggle?

[pavulon]

Originally Posted by DWBOX2000

Goes away when turning left or right. Acceleration doesn’t matter. Car has 75k on it and seem a few track days. If I Jack the car up, will the wheel have a little play when I wiggle?

If so, there's your probable issue.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by DWBOX2000

Goes away when turning left or right. Acceleration doesn’t matter. Car has 75k on it and seem a few track days. If I Jack the car up, will the wheel have a little play when I wiggle?

It might, but no wiggle doesn't mean a good bearing. Lots of good suggestions for you here at this Porsche message board.

[Zeke]

Not at all familiar with a Miata but my '71 911 did that and it was a bad CV on the half shaft.

[unclebilly]

Front hub / wheel bearing. These are a weak point in these cars.

[DWBOX2000]

Thanks everyone: I appreciate it.

[cstreit]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

Front hub / wheel bearing. These are a weak point in these cars.

This is where I’d start. Then sway bar bushings, then cv joints.

[Kraftwerk]

True the wheel bearings wear out super quick, so fast, an aftermarket bearing is available at a price, and is said to be much more robust. Everything in these cars is tiny - tiny so wear is inevitable, as is noise ..

[gordner]

after a good drive, if the wheel bearing is going the center of that wheel will be significantly hotter than the others. Easy way to diagnose a failing wheel bearing.

[supdaf]

I have a 91 miata used for autocross and track days. Front wheel bearings are easy to replace. I have replaced several due to similiar symptoms. Pressed an old one apart and i could not find an issue.

Buy a spare or two. The last one i changed took less than 30 minutes.