QuestionI have a 93 Nissan Kingcab. 151,000 miles. Well maintained. Just put on new Uniroyal tires. Noise out of the rear tires, but not the front. Even wear. Not a gringing noise, but rather a 'road'noise. More noticable when I slow down. Any help would be appreciated.
AnswerJohn,
What you have is called "pattern noise". It is noise generated because of the pattern of the tread. (The only thing that bothers me about this diagnosis, is that pattern noise should be sensitive to the vehicle speed, changing pitch and volume, and should not be affected by whether you are accelerating or slowing down. So there is a possibility that the noise is something else, but I don't really think so.)
There are 2 problems here: This first is that the road surface has a texture (I call it a macrotexture) and the tire has a texture (the tread pattern) and these 2 interact to generate noise. Change one, and the noise changes. It is almost impossible to design a tread pattern that is compatible with all the possible of road surfaces AND give you good traction in rain and snow.
BTW, this is a way to tell if it is pattern noise - the noise changes when you get on different road surfaces. If it doesn't, then the noise is not coming from the tires.
Now you mention you have "new tires" and then say "even wear". New tires should have NO wear. So did the noise develop over time or was it there from the time you got the new tires?
If it developed over time, then you probably have irregular wear developing and should reduce your intervals between tire rotation. An alignment is also called for.
If it was apparent immediately after the new tires were put on, there isn't much you can do, BUT you ought to check to make sure the proper inflation pressure is being used.
Look for the placard on your vehicle. The placard, among many things, tells the original tire size and the proper inflation pressure for that size. The placard is usually located on a doorpost or in the glove box. I like to use 3 to 5 psi above the placard. I get better fuel economy, better tire wear, better wet traction, better snow traction, better steering response, better tire durability, and only give up a bit of ride harshness.
"They" say you should check your tire pressures once a month. Don't trust the guys at the shop to do it. These guys are paid by the hour and this is one of the easiest things to shortcut. Besides, there are a lot of mechanics you don't know where to look for the proper inflation. No, it is not on the sidewall.
Buy yourself a tire gauge - a $5.00 pencil gauge works just fine, but I prefer the pistol grip digitals because they are remarkably accurate. The check takes all of 5 minutes and it is the cheapest safety check you can make.
Hope this helps.
