Thumping noise from tyres

[lloydyyy]

Hi guys,

Need some advice. I had new tyres fitted to the rear of the car last week, and the tyres that were once on the rear rotated to the front. Since then, there's a thumping noise coming from somewhere. It speeds up and slows down with the rhythm of the car. I've had a look at the tread and inner surfaces of the tyres and there doesn't seem to be anything caught in the tread or defects with the sidewalls.

I'm due to take the car back in on Saturday for it to be checked but was hoping to be given some advice in the meantime.

[CyprusPluto]

It might be loose trim in the wheel arch. The faster you go the quicker it moves/rattles and it sounds like a thump because it's knocking against the bodywork and this is echoing in the cabin

[Blatto]

Or maybe just a wheel balance problem, can you feel anything through the steering i.e does it shake in time with the noise?

 

[Ryan_Tango]

You don't have your bunny in your back seat do you?  Lift your car up (use a jack or lift it yourself if you can) and make sure everything it solid and doesn't wobble

[Bobr]

I have exactly the same problem and it has occurred since I had a new tyre.

 

[DaveTheDog]

I also have a speed related thump coming from the rear of the car.
It only really bothers me on smooth tarmac when its really noticeable.
The rear tyres are original so I'm at a bit of a loss to figure out what it is.

 

 

[isetta]

51 minutes ago, DaveTheDog said:

I also have a speed related thump coming from the rear of the car.
It only really bothers me on smooth tarmac when its really noticeable.
The rear tyres are original so I'm at a bit of a loss to figure out what it is.

 

 

could be wheel balance if a wheel balance weight has come off

[lloydyyy]

No loose trim under the wheel arch nor any bunnies in the backseat 

The steering wheel doesn't shake at all and I've ruled out any weights catching on the calipers. The sound isn't a heavy thump, but a cross between a light thump and a helicopter noise   It's difficult to describe but it definitely sounds like something caught in the tread, and the noise speeds up and slows down in rhythm with the speed of the car. It's noticeable when I'm driving 20mph+.

The plug in the 3rd photo is an old puncture repair but I doubt this would be making the noise. The front tyres are on 4mm so they're due to be replaced soon, but I'd still like to resolve the cause of the issue before replacing the tyres. I've run my hands over the tyres and they feel smooth - no feathering or dips indicative of cupping.

I read on another forum that this could be the result of waiting a long time between rotations. It was also mentioned that tyres wear in a pattern and "take a set" from the position they were in. The cords "get used to" which way they were running and the thread wears out differently front and back. Apparently when you drive it and they start to wear in their new position the noise will go away. Hopefully this is the case.

 

[DieselPig]

Are the front tyres fitted the right way round? There should be an arrow saying rotation direction if they are asymmetric tyres.

[greysquirrel]

I had this same issue on a Focus. Thought I had a rear wheel bearing going, but jacked it up and no sign of wear, so swapped back wheels to front. The sound moved with it and became a rhythmic thud, at slow speeds on smooth roads it felt like distinct bumps in the road. The tyres were on 4mm, but had been on the car for 4 years and 50k miles (really), so I bought a new pair and it's fine now. The tyre fitter said it's caused by the way the rear suspension works and wears the tyres unevenly.

[lloydyyy]

Just checked the wheel nuts - torqued up fine and the tyres are fitted with the outside markings on the outside of the wheel arch. Couldn't see any arrows on the asymmetric tyres but the outside markings are on the outside of the tyre.

[Bobr]

This is exactly what I am getting and sounds like it's coming from the rear offside tyre.   That tyre is brand new and has only done about 300 miles.

[lloydyyy]

4 minutes ago, Bobr said:

This is exactly what I am getting and sounds like it's coming from the rear offside tyre.   That tyre is brand new and has only done about 300 miles.

In all honesty I can't tell where the noise is coming from. I drove to my friend's house to pick him up this morning and he could hear the tyres thumping down the road and said it was quite noisy. Then in the car he said he could hear the noise as well. I'm fairly certain it's the front tyres - which were on the back and had done about 32k miles over about 3 years on the back before being rotated to the front.

[lloydyyy]

Have some news but there was no obvious cause. Wheel nuts, balance weights, tracking, shocks, bushes and bearings all checked and were fine. The only cause of the problem we could think of is the long time between tyre rotations. The tyres were on the back for 3 years/32k miles. They're on 4mm at the moment and they'll need to be changed soon.

[Vendee]

Another thing to check is "tyre feathering". Its when the individual tread blocks on the inner or outer edge of the tyre wear on the leading edge of the block and not so much on the trailing edge. You end up with a saw tooth effect which can be very noisy and can sometimes come to light when you move your tyres from front to back. Some tyre models are more prone than others. 

 

Edit, sorry...just read your post again and seen that you said you had already checked for feathering. 

 

Edited August 26, 2017 by Vendee

[lloydyyy]

I couldn't feel any feathering on the tyres but the guys at the garage said they could feel very minor feathering. That might be the cause of the noise. What would cause feathering of the tyres? The shocks, etc. were all okay.

[iantt]

noise is most likely feathering, even minor. mine are feathered only slightly on 1 tyre. this creates sufficient noise for it to be noticable at 10-20mph. some manufactures tyres suffer more than others. (pirellis used to be bad some years ago on focus mk1. )
either put up with it or buy another 2 tyres.
ive ignored mine for 2 yrs.

[Xgpaddywagon]

I had that happen spent a lot of $ looking for the cause wheel bearings , brakes etc for about a year , a tyre fitter drove it & was correct there was a weak spot in the tyre surface that had a slight bulge .


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[Bobr]

I had an engineer check my car for this noise and he couldn't get to the bottom of it at all.

[Woodley]

My Fiesta has a speed related noise from the offside rear as well, I have swapped out all four wheels and tires for another set, replaced the rubber spring mounts and still get the noise. I have had the bearings checked and they said they are fine. Mine is a 2012 Mk7, last of the Fiesta's before they released the big mouth front end. 

[lloydyyy]

I'm hoping it's just feathering on my front tyres that's causing the noise. Never had the problem before. Hopefully it's just that set of tyres that were prone to it for whatever reason. I'll reply to this thread when I replace the tyres to let you all know if it was that set of tyres or the new set on the rear.

[Bobr]

We've had a real downpour in Nottingham today and I've noticed that the thumping noise is a lot more pronounced in the rain.

[Bobr]

My car has been in today to have new disks and pads on the front.   At the same time, my mechanic has had the rear drums off, checked the bearings all round and checked everything else he could think of.   He can only suggest that it is the new tyre that is causing the noise.   I am going to put the spare on and see if it make any difference.

[E TEA 66]

I've never had this issue myself when rotating the tyres although I did have a similar noise  issue on an old Rover many years ago but that was due to it being sat on the drive for a few months with a flat rear tyre due to a slow leaking valve but as in your case i'd just try swapping the front wheels  over with each other to see if that makes any improvement ,,

[Xgpaddywagon]

My car has been in today to have new disks and pads on the front.   At the same time, my mechanic has had the rear drums off, checked the bearings all round and checked everything else he could think of.   He can only suggest that it is the new tyre that is causing the noise.   I am going to put the spare on and see if it make any difference.

I did all that too , cost me $100s . I should have looked at the cheapest option first . It was a slight bubble in the tyre of course after a year of putting up with it they wouldn't give me a new tyre


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