outraygeous

Hello to all, I've joined this forum a couple of months ago and must commend every contributor on this board for their knowledgable input. I used to frequent roadfly's forum for my E46 M3. But without further delay here goes.

I started to hear a humming noise from the driver side front end a while back. I just found it wierd, and this of course happened just prior to me taking a road trip to Toronto. I visited BMW of Manhattan and explained to them the issue, I told them I suspected the bearings to be the culprit. After about an hour the service advisor told me they checked and test drove the car. The issue with the car is the tires, which are not OEM tires, and it is feathering. I of course was unable to accept that explanation and seeked out another answer.

I rotated the tires with the idea that if the noise is originating from the front it must then be the front tires that are feathered. Therefore the noise should shift with to the rear, however it did not. I then took the car to another dealer in Long Island and again explained that I thought it was the bearing, they too after holding my car for an entire weekend told me it's the tires which are not OEM that are feathering. I then visited a third party mechanic whom I know personally, he also agreed it is the tires but he knows a service advisor at the LI dealer and will call in a favor to have the bearings swapped out. I took the car to the same dealer in LI once again and they swapped out the bearings. When I drove the car after receiving it the noise was gone and the car was still running on the non OEM tires. I experienced this problem with My 01 M3 and had become all too fimiliar with the issue, I was just shocked that BMW did not clearly test that issue even after I mentioned it as a strong possibility.

BTW, I drove from NYC to Toronto - drove around Toronto while there for a day - and drove back to NYC on a total of 2.5 tanks of gas. I'm still amazed at the fuel economy of this car. Loving it more everyday.

Ray

brianstash

Do you have the sports package with the 245/40-R18's low profile tires?

That's the humming I contiune to hear and I'm actually still getting used to it! I don't like it!!!

Then again I bought me car with used tires on it, 3 raptors, and 1 dunlop... I can't wait to put 4 new michlin's on it!

B

outraygeous

I bought mine used aswell, with a set of used Goodyears on it. So this is the reason I was given for the noise and was told that I should put Conti's on the car instead. I do not have the sport package but, I want to put 19's on. I think that the type of tires you put on really determines the amount of noise you get. I had an E46 M3 previously and I ran Michelin Pilot Sport and Michelin Pilot Sport A/S and had very little noise from those. Tires usually have a noise rating in decibel, you should check that prior to making your next tire purchase.

brianstash

That is exactally what I'm doing. This is very good advise. I've been on www.tirerack.com and both the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2's rate a 8.7 on noise confort and the A/S's rate 8.1. I've called and chatted with many tire places recently and some people said the A/S might be quieter than the PS2's..... your thoughts? (The car will never be in the snow.)

arsenalfc

I have similar noise with my car. I thought it was the front bearing. dealer test drove it and said it was the aftermarket tires. They switched the wheels and tires and the noise was gone. I will need new tires soon.

RJH&CO

man, this would bother me also.

jagbagri

I had the same problem for a while now. About a couple of months ago, mentioned it to the dealer, they test drove with me and confirmed the noise but said it is because of the RFT almost wearing out noise. I still had about another 5000 miles left on them so I thought I will bear the noise until then. Then I got a side wall unrepairable nail on one of them about a week ago. So got four new non-RFT and guess what, even though they were much quieter but THAT noise was still there. So yesterday I brought my car back at the dealer for some warranty service and mention them about the humming noise still there after the new tires.

This time they changed the bearings in the front and now the noise is GONE... much quieter and smooth ride now.

StasGS4

Anyone else had their front bearings replaced?

v_therussian

I had some humming when I just got my car and I too thought it was bearings. I too took it to BMW of Manhattan and was told that its the tires. I've since gone out of warranty and also switched to non-RFT tires. The noise seems to be gone now, so I'm not really worried. But it concerns me that so many people have issues with bearings.

Now I'm gonna be listening to humming noises from my front, thanks a lot


Also, slightly a very cost-effective alternative to Michelins are the DWS tires from Continentals, at least if you're looking for all-seasons. The sidewalls tend to flex a little at first, but if you over-inflate them just a little, they are great. And cost about half of what Michelins do.

Bonziat

Can someone tell me the how many miles these cars have before the bearing fails.