arentz07

Ever since I've had my BFGoodrich G-Force Comp-2 A/S tires installed in October 2018, I've noticed an odd humming sound at certain speeds. Essentially if I go about 65-75 MPH, I get a hum coming from the front of the car. If I get up to anything over 75, the sound might go away. Sometimes it persists, seemingly depending on the road surface. Until now, if I just avoided highways, I would almost never encounter the humming sound.

However, lately, it's been warmer outside, and the hotter weather seems to cause this humming sound to occur at other speeds, like right around 30-40 MPH, and again at highway speeds. The tone/pitch of the sound doesn't seem to change much if at all based on how fast I am going. And, lately, I've been able to notice that the sound seems to only come from my front-left wheel.

A few notes, if they matter:

• The front-left tire was recently replaced due to a sidewall bubble.
  • This change seemed to make no difference in the sound.
• The front-left WHEEL was also replaced recently, due to it being bent, presumably due to the same issue as the tire itself.
  • This change seemed to make no difference in the sound, just like the tire.
• I keep the tires inflated at 36 PSI cold.
• The noise doesn't seem to change if I turn the steering wheel.
• I'd say the noise is most noticeable if I am at a constant speed rather than braking or accelerating. It comes and goes, but seems to only stick around at select speeds.

Is it a bearing?
I watched a video by ChrisFix showing how to tell if a bearing is bad/going bad, as that was my first thought. Basically, he said to jack the car up and then see if there's any play in the wheel. That is, can I shake/turn the wheel horizontally or vertically. In my test, I could not move the wheel at all in either direction. I don't think this means the bearing isn't the problem, but maybe it's not.

Do you guys have any idea what's happening here? Is it totally normal for the tires to do this, and I am being paranoid? I only ask because it really seems like it's just the one tire, not both fronts. Thanks.

Here's that video:

mvppadilla

There was another thread around here about a bad bearing. That person was also not noticing any play in the wheel, but replacing the bearing fixed the issue for them.

See thread: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...-could-be.html

arentz07

Thanks. Yeah I watched the video, and it sounds nothing like the sound I am experiencing. My sound isn't as constant, and the speed I am going seems to have no effect on the pitch of the sound, as in that video. Maybe I should try to get a video?

Flash5

Sounds like the loud hum I get from my Michelin A/S 3+’s up front. It only occurs once I hit 65-75 MPH goes away if I’m below or above those speeds. In my case it’s definitely how the wind hits the tires and I’m guessing the design of the tire has to do with it too.

Will31894

Just as Flash5 mentioned I had the same humming noise at the same speeds from Michelin A/S 3 tires. Its good to know what other tires make that noise so I don't make that purchase ahah. I went through the same process as you, the dealership re aligned the car twice, re balanced, checked for wheel bearing issues and found nothing. I decided to switch over to continental dws 06 and the noise never occurred again!

arentz07

Thanks. I am already planning to just take it to the dealership and see if they can find anything obvious, but I will make sure and mention that others have reported this issue with other tires.

It's gotta be some weird resonance thing. The humming sound only occurs between 30-35 MPH and 60-65 MPH. If I got 70 for example, it goes away. If I go 40, it goes away. But just below those speeds, boom, humming is back. I also think it's louder now that the weather is warmer - in winter, I rarely heard it.

Tires are spooky, man.

Flash5

I'm 99% sure it is resonance. Just weird that some tires do it and some don't. I really believe it's the design of the tire that determines this haha.