Tire's worn out or???

[sbmackie]

So, the boy and I drive to a DE/Autocross, no issues 'cept some firmness in the tires when we start out (Hankook RS-2's at the wear bars in the rear and getting close in the front), 275 mile trip, smooth, no issues. Get to the venue, drive three 20 minute sessions, drive to hotel, all seems normal. Next morning, drive to venue, we get a droning/rumble (I can feel it in the wheel), starts at around 60 or so. Seems to go away as we drive. Drive event, no issues. On drive back home, I notice it just seems louder (road noise) then I am used to, at speed (85-ish).

So: Are the 1.5 year old "Kooks worn out (heat cycled to death, four or five track days, 2000 miles of street driving, 8 AX's) or is something else amiss?

All else on the car felt normal, no gushing leaks, heat issues, boots look good, just this droning noise at speed.

Thanks
Scott

PS the boy drove his first track event one day after getting his liscense. He IS the man.

[theiceman]

i would climb right under and take a real close look at the inside tread .. i bet your chorded..

[Canada Kev]

Doh!!

[Action600]

Possibly lost a wheel weight?

[Paulporsche]

Could it be wheel bearings?

[tonythetarga]

Originally Posted by Paulporsche

Could it be wheel bearings?

I'd second this call. Could be dry or plumb worn out. I'd remove them, clean and inspect. If they look OK, repack with good high temp synthetic grease and put them back in and go for a drive.

[Mitch Leland]

Just a suggestion... There's a good chance that one of your wheel weights came off. As a precaution you should cover each wheel weight with foil tape as heat generated from the brakes can loosen the adhesive of the wheel weights.

[CharlesJones]

My money would be on a wheel bearing, perhaps in a front wheel given that you feel the drone though the steering wheel. Maybe its worth getting the front of the car on axil stands and seeing if you can wobble either wheel in the 12 o'clock - 6 o'clock plane. That might not be the only test to diagnose wheel bearings, so it might be worth doing a search on this.

The only other thing which I can think of which it might be is a sticking front caliper. Does the drone go away briefly if you stab the brakes?

[sbmackie]

So we put it on the stand, pull the wheels. After a short drive to the shop, the front brakes are dragging badly. Water in line. Funny, we didn't notice any undue brake fade on track.

Rotors might be warped. Opportunity for slotted upgrade and some new pagids? Note to self; Bleed after EVERY EVENT.

So we'll flush and refill and R and R wheel bearings. It's been 17,000 miles since this was done, prolly about time.

[KTL]

What Pagids are you using? If Orange, might want to change and save yourself another set of deposited rotors in the future. I'd try cleaning the rotors with an abrasive material to remove the pad layer and see if they're "unwarped"

For future reference, wheel bearing actual problematic wear/failure is easily detectable by taking long sweeping corners at speed- not that high of a speed, either. You'll hear the bearing talking to you and then it's just a matter of finding which one it is. It's not always the bearing you think it is. Just experienced this front wheel bearing guessing game at Nelson Ledges w/our POS BMW Lemons car.

[sbmackie]

So we dig in to the wheels today, and find some worn out bearings on both sides. Replace both bearings,, rotors are within spec, (replace at next pad change with some slotted ones) pads ok, bleed system and replace with new Super Blue. Problem solved. Brakes drag a bit when hot, we're told by Bruce Anderson this is normal up to a point. Dragging quits after brakes cool a bit. Car still roles easily forward and back with "dragging brakes".

If anybody is interested

sbm

[Paulporsche]

We're interested. It's always best to follow up on a thread by posting the outcome. Now we and anyone who searches in the future will know.