Noise reduction?

[91_festy_Gl]

Hey all. Is there a way to reduce the tire humming noise inside the cabin? When my car had 12's on it the noise was kinda not to bad but ever since I threw on some 15's the humming noise is really irritating. I was thinking maybe some of that sound reducing plastic insulator people use when they install huge car systems. Turning up the music helps but its hard to enjoy a quiet ride.

Just something I was wondering about.

[bhazard]

Wheel bearings?

[91_festy_Gl]

Thats what I though. I have brand new ones to replace the old but to me it doesnt sound like bearings. I thought maybe my tires were low but they wasnt. Seriously it sounds like a lifted chevy running 31/10/50's or something. its not a grumble but a hum. You can hear the tires picking up speed as the car accelerates. Im running kumho ecsta 195/50/15's if that matters?

[Flyin4stroke]

loud exhaust will fix that!

Im running the same tire i dont really notice the noise but you could take the carpet out and sound dampen the floor on the inside.. Dynamat isn't cheap but it works...

[TominMO]

I just got some batting from Wal-Mart and stuffed it inside the cavity on the other side of the rear interior plastic; that helped. The stuff's cheap too. Also put some inside the hatch.

[hotfordcat]

Change the tread pattern on the tires.

[91_festy_Gl]

The tires roll in the direction the tire rotation is suppost to be. Im going to change out all the bearings saturday and see what happens. If that dont work I am going to try to sound proof the whole interior. I never noticed this on my brothers festy so It way be my wheel bearings. I noticed the car doesnt like to coast either.

[spiko]

I have terrible road noise, especially with my FMS exhaust. I'm going to tear the whole thing apart soon and do everything top to bottom.

[frogman]

Undercoating just the wheel well area will help some. Sort of a hassle to drop the struts to do it.
Shop around and get some advice on which brands/type would give the thickest/denser coat.

[91_festy_Gl]

Ya I have a completly brand new front end sitting in the back of the car. Work kinda gets in the way right now so I have to make some time to show the festy some love. undercoating the fender wells is a great idea. I might try that.

[alpaccino]

Hey I am very interested in this topic seen as how my carpet is now out

[hotfordcat]

No, not change the tire direction, change the tires. Some tread designs roar on the highway, the tires you have now may be some of those.

[blkfordsedan]

Although undercoating & sound proofing will make the car a lot nicer (and probably warmer) to drive, before going to all that trouble I would determine if it is the tires making the noise. Any tread design with open blocks or lugs on the outer edges are prone to generating a "humm". Especially if they begin to cup out or feather due to worn struts, bad alignment or even lack of rotation. That's why most tread blocks get progressively smaller & larger as you go around the tire. The constantly changing sizes break up the noise pattern. Check the inside edge for a sawtooth wear pattern. My '04 Mustang has a directional tread pattern and it will sound like I'm running 7.50-16 mud grips if I don't rotate the tires every 5K miles.

First, I would try driving over different road surfaces (i.e. asphalt, concrete, gravel, etc.) to see if it changes with the road surface. Wheel bearings should make a consistent noise regardless. You could also try replacing both front wheels with a different tire (even putting original 12" wheels/tires would work) to see if it makes a difference.

[91_festy_Gl]

Although undercoating & sound proofing will make the car a lot nicer (and probably warmer) to drive, before going to all that trouble I would determine if it is the tires making the noise. Any tread design with open blocks or lugs on the outer edges are prone to generating a "humm". Especially if they begin to cup out or feather due to worn struts, bad alignment or even lack of rotation. That's why most tread blocks get progressively smaller & larger as you go around the tire. The constantly changing sizes break up the noise pattern. Check the inside edge for a sawtooth wear pattern. My '04 Mustang has a directional tread pattern and it will sound like I'm running 7.50-16 mud grips if I don't rotate the tires every 5K miles.

First, I would try driving over different road surfaces (i.e. asphalt, concrete, gravel, etc.) to see if it changes with the road surface. Wheel bearings should make a consistent noise regardless. You could also try replacing both front wheels with a different tire (even putting original 12" wheels/tires would work) to see if it makes a difference.

I appreciate the info man but I think im am going to go through everything. I have to replace LCA's, tie rod ends, wheel bearings, brake calipers, struts and probably springs.

As of right now my calipers need changed. My brakes are spongy and I think it has to do with the protege calipers. They work fine but it seems like my festiva system isnt enough to actually compress the piston allowing the car to brake more solid. There is no air in the lines.

Once I get the LCA's and the tie rods on ill replace the bearings and go get it balenced and aligned. If I still have this humming noise I will try the suggested, and hopefully fix this problem.

I still like the ideas on sound proofing and undercoating though.

[perucho]

Hey all. Is there a way to reduce the tire humming noise inside the cabin? When my car had 12's on it the noise was kinda not to bad but ever since I threw on some 15's the humming noise is really irritating. I was thinking maybe some of that sound reducing plastic insulator people use when they install huge car systems. Turning up the music helps but its hard to enjoy a quiet ride.

Just something I was wondering about.

I would bet it's your rear bearings. Mine did the same thing. I did a complete Aspire brake swap and installed new wheels/tires at the same time. I thought it was noisy tire tread but it was just too loud. Replaced the rear bearings with Timken's and the noise was gone!