Road Noise!

[Mountain]

Any opinions?

I recently acquired a set of Coupe wheels in mint condition with almost new tires. I put them on my saloon yesterday. I have to say they look well nice.

Now, I was expecting a little more road noise, but by God, I now sound like a jumbo on the runway just before take off

I have two Michelin pilots, almost new that I put on the front there appears to be no noise from these two.

Two Linglong on the rear where the noise is coming from.

My camber is hideously bad on the rear wheels.....which is a on my "to do soon" job list. The wheels I took of were bald on the inside and almost good as new on the outside!

My theory is the road noise is the result of wider tires exasperating the camber problem. i.e. they are almost on the inner tirewalls......

However, it might just be cheapo tires on the rear that are noisy, but I'm stuck on my theory because they just can't be that noisy...can they?

Anyone else suffered unbearable road noise after adding a bit of tire width?

[teamster1975]

When I first bought my '96 tubby it was noisy as hell when you got above 50 and the steering wheel was virtually jumping out of your hands from the vibes.
Turns out that ALL of the wheels were way out of balance and the front & rear link rods were all fecked. Add to that the rear tyres were much like yours, Telly Savalas on the inner shoulder

[Mountain]

Yeah, must do those rear top links next weekend. I think that's the first port of call before anything else. You can see how bow legged the back end is!

I'm lucky enough to have a retired mechanic as a dad, but his camber gauge is broken......still he does have a car lift in his workshop...so I think its a spirit level and a bit of trial and error.

While we're on the subject, does the '96 2.1dt have adjustable top links? I did the lower suspension bushes last year and they were bitches to get out, I didn't pay any attention to the top links at all the bushes were knackered so I didn't think to look any further.

[teamster1975]

While we're on the subject, does the '96 2.1dt have adjustable top links?

Don't quote me, I've got the petrol turbo, not the diesel!
According to Haynes they all have, I'd be worried if you couldn't adjust the camber! The top bolt has a cam type adjuster on it.

[Mountain]

I'll have a proper look tomorrow. Fingers crossed for a bit of adjustment and a lot of fannying around. if I corner hard the noise is much less which makes me think the camber has a lot to do with it. Mind you could do with getting them balanced regardless.

The guy I got the wheels off gave me a coupe strut brace for a tenner.....with that and the wider wheels the front end feels much more 'solid' but the back end feels very 'spongey'

[HimBigChief]

Yes the 2.1 diesels are adjustable as that's what I've got. My rear 17's are bald as feck on the insides, but I don't think I can adjust the camber enough to get them square. I'm going to get it in to the garage at some point and get all 4 wheels laser aligned so I'm not going through new tyres in less than 4 months!

[Mountain]

Yep, mine is almost doing the splits so I'm not sure if the camber will adjust enough either. I'm temped to replace the links.
The new wider wheels seem to be running on the inner rim and the sound from the rear is horrendous. They also seem to be somewhat toe in.

So how exactly does the top bolt adjust the camber....all I'm seeing is a bolt

What's a kind of average price for alignment these days? I'm tempted to just shell out the cash as the camber gauge is broken and it's a 2 hour run to visit the old man's car lift.

[teamster1975]

So how exactly does the top bolt adjust the camber....all I'm seeing is a bolt

The bolt head & shank are offset.

[HimBigChief]

If it's a 2 hour trip, then it'd probably cost you almost as much in fuel as getting the tracking/alignment done somewhere local. Best bet is to speak to your local garages and see who they recommend in your area. Also, watch them and make sure that they get everything spot on. That's what I usually do while having a bit of banter with the lads doing the work, keeps them amused and encourages them to get it right.

[Mountain]

Probably best to let this be done with the correct equipment.....will be cheaper than all those rear tyres!!

I think I've just inherited the "never pay for anything or trust a garage" attitude from the old man. I spent most of my childhood trawling around scrapyards in the rain.

[teamster1975]

Nowt wrong with that, I enjoy fixing things myself, it's my stress relief from the day job! (And the kids) (And the wife)

[mjb]

Probably best to let this be done with the correct equipment.....will be cheaper than all those rear tyres!!

Aye, I'd head over to a local Kwit-Fit with their super-whizzo alignment machine, and make sure you're standing there while he does it

[Welly]

The Kung-Po type tyres always produce hideous noise, they're just not worth bothering with IMO. I'd rather buy some part-worn Michelin, Goodridge, Vredestein etc. any day if cash was tight.

I binned a brand-new 'Federal' tyre on the Volvo because it was noisy (expensive and weird thing to do but it made me happy to have 4 x P7's all round afterwards).

[eoin27]

Firestone Firehawks everytime

[mjb]

I'm looking to get a pair of firestone TZ200s on the back end of my coupe when I can afford it. No idea what to put on the front yet though...