Hello

I am brand new to NAM, and I hope I am not being too forward with asking questions.New to me 2011 Hardtop, 56k miles. Significant roar from rear. Initially thought wheel bearings were shot. I use the tach to go from third to fourth because I can't really hear the RPMs.

Driver's side rear, visible negative camber. Passenger side rear, visible toe in.

Alignment guy said camber is maxed out. No adjustment left. Recommended mounting two new tires on the front with more circumferential grooves and less lateral grooves, and move the current fronts to the rear. Come back for re-check. I thought new tires would go on the back. He may have said this and I mixed it up.

Currently have Bridgestone Ecopia 195/55r16. Door jamb decal recommends 175/65r15.

What should I do further to quiet this ride?
Is the camber adj. likely maxed out?
If I get only two tires, which size would be best?

Any model of tires would be helpful too. Seems like Continental are favorites.


Thank you for your thinks.

Love driving this car.

 

How old are the tires? How many miles on them? Those tires are claimed to be "quiet", but most high mileage tires can get pretty noisy as they wear out.

You can easily check if its the tires making noises. Just swap them around the car and see if the noise locations moves. I can't imagine the alignment will change the noise, unless the specs are way out of line.

 

Hey thanks for the reply!

I have no idea how old they are. They have a lot of tread.

I got this car nearly sight unseen. Everything works except the horn and the instrument dimmer button.

 

age of tires? Date of manufacture is molded into the tire ....

https://www.tireamerica.com/resource/tire-date-code

To read the date on a tire, look near the edge of the rim for a series of characters starting with the letters DOT. This is the Department of Transportation (DOT) code, which indicates that the tire has passed all minimum DOT standards for sale in the United States.

This code can tell you the manufacturer of the tire and the factory where it was made, as well as provide lot-specific information used for tracking in case of a recall.

The last four digits of this code tell you when your tire was manufactured. The first two numbers indicate what week of the year it was made (out of 52 weeks per year), and the second two numbers represent the year. For example, 5200 would reveal that a tire was manufactured during the 52nd week of the year 2000.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Many automakers, including Ford, Nissan and Mercedes-Benz, tell owners to replace tires six years after their production date, regardless of tread life. Tire manufacturers such as Continental and Michelin say a tire can last up to 10 years provided you get annual tire inspections after the fifth year.

 

Wowzers.

 

If a train leaves Philadelphia at 11 AM

So the 2011 model year Mini has 56 thousand miles. The tires were made January 2013, and from this we can deduce what? Needs new tires?

Whatcha think?

 

I think these tires are bi-directional.

 

First week of 2013… An almost 9 year old tire is going to have some hardened rubber. Hard rubber rides loud. Even though the tread looks deep, it won’t be as effective at gripping the road. I would consider a new set of tires…

 

"Consider" a new set?? I would say absolutely put a new set of 4 tires on right now!! Don't mess around with tires.

And get a 4-wheel alignment. Then put your car on a regular tire rotation schedule - like every 5000 miles, or less.

I'm paranoid about poor tire wear (not mileage) and I'm kind of a tire snob, so I may "over maintain" my tires.

 

I am trying to pick a new set now.

Thank you.

 

Knowing you are on the edge of your seats.

I declare: Yokohama Avid Ascend GT
Tomorrow. Thank you for your input.

Capt_bj thank you for the good info. That is all.

 

Done. Tires installed.

 

And…? Are they quieter?

 

Yes. Much quieter. Thank you. I looked carefully at the underside of this car and see no frame damage, shock and springs are OK. It's going back on the alignment rack today and I should have a printout of what the findings are.

BTW, is there a better place to post about tire and alignment issues?