Last year when I took the boss's Roomster for its service I asked them to diagnose what I thought was probably a bearing noise of some kind on the front left. Wheel bearing possibly, drive shaft, maybe even the time-bomb DSG gearbox.
They said they could find nothing wrong.
By this year the noise was worse. Their diagnosis was a misshapen tyre, front left. They had checked all the wheel-rotation-related parts and bearings and found nothing else.
Al tyres were down to 4mm. They were Dunlops, 205/45R16, borderline silly profile as far as I'm concerned.
Now, I already had what I assumed was an irrational prejudice against Dunlops. The last set of Dunlops I had was donkeys years ago and it took pounds of lead to balance them so I have avoided them ever since, there being lots of other brands (the Roomster came with them from new).
It now has 4 new Goodyear Eagle F1 from Costco, £303 fitted (£60 cheaper than mytyres so I assumed a good price and looked no further).
The noise has gone.
I suppose I could just have replaced the duff one but I won't have mismatched tyres and didn't want to perpetuate the Dunlops.
Happy now. But poorer.
This has to be bad luck doesn't it? Dunlops can't really be poor tyres?
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Never liked them, never had them since the 70s when they had the most appalling wet grip.
Rational? who knows, but never had the wet grip problem again
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Curiously my Roomster has a slight bump bump noise proportional to wheel rotation. Tyres are 195/55R15. Pirelli Cinturato at front and Firestones rear. I got Pirellis fitted after a pothole incident days after I bought it, Firestones were on at purchase. Compared with Berlingo's appetite for rears 20k and fronts 25k it's hardly wearing them at all.
Can't identify which corner noise is coming from and garage said 'no fault found' at last service.
Just keep monitoring.
While I still had Xantia got new pair to rear and put part worn rears to front. Evident as soon as I was above walking pace that something wasn't right; like driving on worn shocks it felt uncomfortably edgy and no confidence in ability to keep straight under braking. Possibly rears were wearing oddly due to issues with bearing in suspension's trailing arms.
Got part worns changed for new pdq.
Worrying bit was that Mrs B couldn't tell there was anything wrong.
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>>Worrying bit was that Mrs B couldn't tell there was anything wrong.
My wife once drove my Granada 4x4 from Edinburgh to our house in the Scottish Borders, a distance of some 25 miles on mainly NSL roads with one front tyre completely flat. There was nothing left of the tyre when she arrived and the alloy wheel was completely knackered.
Her only comment was that she thought it perhaps might have been making a bit of a "funny noise" but she thought she'd let me check it out when she got home...
They live among us.
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>> Curiously my Roomster has a slight bump bump noise proportional to wheel rotation.
>>
>>
>>
Mrs O'Reliant had that a car or two ago. Turned out to be a bulge on one of the tyre treads (Can't remember which one). I could feel nothing while running my hands round the tread with the tyre inflated but when I let the tyres down one at a time and did the same thing I found it straight away on the offending rubber.
Worth trying, if nothing else you'll get a bit of exercise if you re-inflate with a foot pump.
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Xantias were prone to wearing/feathering the inner edge of the rear tyres in an odd fashion that left them bumpy. Mind you, wearing was a relative term, I took a tyre off the rear of my Estate at 110k / 10 years that I'm pretty sure was original! Rear brakes were the same - I put new pads in mine at 130k, replacing the factory fit originals...
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I remember we had a very similar issue on our 2007 A3 some 10 years ago! Sounded like a wheel bearing had gone. And that was on Goodyears. I think there must be something about the suspension geometry of these VAG cars...isn’t the Roomster on the same platform?
www.tyresmoke.net/forum/topic/112506-what-size-tyres-8p-a3-with-17-wheels/?do=findComment&comment=1370641
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Long time ago, we had a car that steadfastly pulled to the left despite numerous attempts to reset the tracking. Eventually the problem was traced to a tyre that had communist leanings. Changed that and all was well.
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I vowed never to touch Dunlop again decades ago.
1. Bought a couple of 5-20x13s (remember them?) and after a few days, noticed one had an extra sipe on the tread. Inspection revealed it was much wider than the other(I suspect it was a 5-60x13), although both were marked the same size. A Dunlop representative called and whilst declaring no such thing could happen, arranged for two new tyres to be fitted!
2. Noticed the front tyres were wearing on the outside edges. Got the tracking checked and found to be no problem. The guy checking agreed with me there had to be something wrong so pulled off the front wheels. They were triangle shaped, The tread had de-laminated from the outside edge of both tyres, causing rapid wear on that side. I'd bought them brand new, but Dunlop claimed there was no problem!
3. Noticed a whump, whump noise a few miles from home. Decided to check it when I got there. Never made it, the bulge that had appeared on the inside edge of the tyre burst before I got home.
Manatee. Either you're prejudiced, I'm paranoid, or.......................................................!
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That's it then, no more Dunlops!
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I posted about the same kind of problem on HJ many years ago, with an Omega. Everyone thought it was a bearing including knowledgeable mates who actually heard it. It was Micheldever tyres who actually identified it.
My tyre brand was Avons.
See this thread from 2004 for details www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=17635
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>> My tyre brand was Avons.
>
A dunlop company.
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There was an old-fashioned kind of wheel rim long ago that didn't automatically centre the tyre bead when fitting. Like with a bike tyre, you had to jiggle it about while inflating to make sure the circular guide line was concentric with the rim.
I didn't realise this until I found the car leaping up and down alarmingly. It was about1/4" eccentric.
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Old man was doing under 1000miles/year at the end of his driving career.
He picked me up from the airport in his Citroen ZX and I drove us home (I don't like being a passenger) and the steering was wobbling like mad in my hand, worse with speed.
Took it to local Kwik Fit expecting some steering or suspension catastrophe - dude couldn't find anything wrong, then took it for a test drive, put it back up on the ramp and spun the wheels - the fronts had half-inch flat spots from sitting for weeks at a time.
Cured with new Michelins from Costco - can't remember the original brand but was likely to be Michelins too.
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>> >> My tyre brand was Avons.
>> A dunlop company.
Dunlop are now owned by Goodyear.
Seems Avon is now owned by Cooper Tyres.
Nearly all tyre companies these days seem to own one other.
www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/who-owns-what-tyre-brands.htm
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The MINI Clubman came with Dunlop SportMaxx from the factory. Very, very average in the wet. The only tyre brand out there I'd ever consider fitting now is Michelin. Had a range of them from Energys on the ED 320d, to Primacys on an MX-5, to Super Sports on the M140i, and all had bags of grip in both wet and dry, and lasted well,more than offsetting the additional up front cost.
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Had Dunlop Sportmaxx RT on the Kizashi - were decent enough albeit in 235/45x18 guise.
Replaced the fronts when they wore down with Uniroyal Rainsport 3 which are simply fantastic in the wet (but slightly meh when pushing hard in the dry) and always a decent price.
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I have Michelin CrossClimates on my Prius and they really are superb, being great in the wet, grippy and really soften the already great ride.
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Continental also own Matador and Barum. I've just had a pair of Matador HP47s fitted to replace two Continental S3s - less than half the price each of a S3 at £50 delivered for 225/45/17 tyres. That included delivery by Oponeo from Germany.
They are rated much higher on Tyre Reviews than Barum, yet are much cheaper than the latter brand. End result was two tyres fitted by my independent garage for a total of £130, much less than the £165 quoted by a local tyres specialist.
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Many Dunlops are now Goodyears made on the same production line, same construction, variation of tread pattern and sidewall. I think they are fine for about 10 years.
I would still never buy them as my mum bought me Dunlop plimsolls for PE at junior school and everyone took the piz as they weren't addidas. When I grew up, I was shocked to to fine they made tyres too
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Re Dunlops…
>>>I would still never buy them as my mum bought me Dunlop plimsolls for PE at junior school and everyone took the piz as they weren't addidas. When I grew up, I was shocked to to fine they made tyres too
Tongue in cheek or not that is probably as good a reason as the others for not buying Dunlops given further above... I think we have moved on with things from the days Caesar suffered poor handling on his chariot using them.
Just for balance of opinion... I like to know my tyres are doing the best for my driving and now across three cars we are on our 5th recent set of Dunlops.
A little under the very top priced tyres... no lumps or out of round issues... and most important keep us out of the hedges wet and dry.... wear a bit quickly though.
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I've always worked with branded goods at the design and manufacturing stages through to wholesale. Now, I've no idea how it works with tyres, but I can tell you that very few footwear brands ( yes even the most upmarket of those ) use their own factories anymore. Most contract that out to the best bidder at the time.
I remember trying ( unsuccessfully ) to explain to someone that their prejudice against a certain well known shoe brand ( because they had a pair they were dissatisfied with 20 years ago ) was based on nothing more than their lasting objection to the label on them. The shoes they bought 20 years ago would have been made in a factory that no longer exists, on machines which have long since been scrapped, by a workforce no longer employed in the industry, to QC standards which have long since been superseded and managed by people who were now retired or dead.
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>> I remember trying ( unsuccessfully ) to explain to someone that their prejudice against a
>> certain well known shoe brand...
>>... long since
>> been superseded and managed by people who were now retired or dead.
Which just goes to show that reputations are made by many experiences and destroyed by one.
My favourite everyday shoes (Ecco) have just split across the sole which was far from worn out. Not sure I'll buy any more!
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>> I remember we had a very similar issue on our 2007 A3 some 10 years
>> ago! Sounded like a wheel bearing had gone. And that was on Goodyears. I think
>> there must be something about the suspension geometry of these VAG cars...isn’t the Roomster on
>> the same platform?
I think the back end might be!
As I understand it the Roomster is a Fabia/Polo at the front and and Octavia/Golf at the back.
Seems unlikely to me but certainly up to the B pillar it's just like a Fabia.
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>> The last set of Dunlops I had was donkeys years ago and it took pounds of lead
>> to balance them
It amazes me the amount of tyre fitters who ignore the coloured dots on the sidewall of the tyre. They don't seem to realise what they're for and just slap the tyre onto the rim.
If they correctly aligned the yellow dot with the valve when fitting the tyre, then in most cases very few weights are needed, unless the wheel itself is out of true.
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>> It amazes me the amount of tyre fitters who ignore the coloured dots on the
>> sidewall of the tyre. They don't seem to realise what they're for and just slap
>> the tyre onto the rim.
>>
>> If they correctly aligned the yellow dot with the valve when fitting the tyre, then
>> in most cases very few weights are needed, unless the wheel itself is out of
>> true.
>>
I just learned something. :)
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True unless there is also a red dot which takes priority. i.e align with the red not the yellow.
Any colour other dots should be ignored
Some manufacturers don’t use dots.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Mon 4 Jun 18 at 14:36
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I didn't know about the dots at all until I read this. Why do they use morw than one dot?
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*Posted then saw above... in agreement.
To further educate/confuse the yellow (or sometimes white or blue) dot indicates the lightest part of tyre hence if it is placed adj the valve... which usually adds weight... so that is good for balance.
The red dot is the highest point of the tyre. Some OE rims are marked with their low spot... more common with steel wheels though... and then the red dot can be aligned with this for the least out of round.
The dots are mainly for maker's production line fitting where the tyre/wheel has to closely match spec for vibration for an OE result.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Mon 4 Jun 18 at 15:09
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And as explained in GCN's link the red dot does take priority but only if you have a rim marked for its low spot... the red dot priority does not mean putting it near the valve rather than the yellow.
Time and again folks will struggle with a vibration thought to be a balance issue when in reality it's an out of round that can't be balanced out.... hence the red dot priority where the rim low spot can be ID'd.
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Unround tyres - Zero
