PacCoastFwy923 Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 This morning I swapped the stock 16 split spoke wheels off my '05 Legacy, replacing them with stock 17 five-spokes from an '06 Legacy GT. The new tires are the Michelin Primacy MXM4, replacing Bridgestone Portenza. Right away, I'm noticing noise, noise, noise at freeway speed -- kind of like the buzzing whine that comes from a tire on a grooved concrete road, except I'm hearing this on asphalt, too, with no variation. Nowhere do I see anybody calling the MXM4 a loud tire, so I'd hate to go back and make a fuss and exchange for a different tire, just to get similar results. Yet I can't imagine the stock Subaru 17 is the culprit. Tapatalk via Droid Maxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGR-LGT Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 are they new new, or used Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacCoastFwy923 Posted April 11, 2014 Author Share Posted April 11, 2014 Tires are brand new. Tapatalk via Droid Maxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGR-LGT Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Wow that is suprising. I had primacy mxm4 on my wife's forester xt and was super smooth. Michelins does have a 30 day promise plan, take em back for inspection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacCoastFwy923 Posted April 11, 2014 Author Share Posted April 11, 2014 They're buttery smooth as far as balance and tracking are concerned -- that was apparent right from the get-go. Just that loud buzzing hum at highway speeds... Yeah, I'll have to go back and just have one of the guys have a listen. Tapatalk via Droid Maxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacCoastFwy923 Posted April 11, 2014 Author Share Posted April 11, 2014 I found a review suggesting I give then time to break in. But this morning my boys asked me to open the skylight so they could look for the airplane they heard flying over us. That's pretty bad. :/ Tapatalk via Droid Maxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoobyscoodle Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 I've never heard of loud wheels before. What tire pressures are you running? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacCoastFwy923 Posted April 12, 2014 Author Share Posted April 12, 2014 I upped to the Subaru-recommended pressure for the 17's -- 36/33 I think? Had been 32/30 with the 16's. I'm wondering if there's a wheel bearing issue that I've been driving with undetected that's now making itself known. I can't believe a tire tread can be this noisy on fresh-paved asphalt. Tapatalk via Droid Maxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGR-LGT Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Wheel bearings and loud tires make almost the same noise. I wanted to sayit was probably a wheel bearing, but you said it wasnt there before. Do you still ahve the 16s? Swap em back over and see what it does. ORRRRR take it to a shop and ask them to diagnose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJr Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 +1 had the same issue, it was the rear wheel bearings! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outahere Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 ………..Nowhere do I see anybody calling the MXM4 a loud tire, so I'd hate to go back and make a fuss and exchange for a different tire, just to get similar results. Yet I can't imagine the stock Subaru 17 is the culprit………. It could be wheel bearings, which is a common problem with a 2005 LGT. I have a set of W speed rated Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires on my wagon also, and while they don't create a lot of external noise (except on concrete), they do transmit a lot of road noise into the passenger cabin when driving on coarse road surfaces. My set of Nokian R2 winter tires, with their aggressive tread design, create noticeably less cabin noise than the Michelins. I wonder if any tire can be truly quiet on this car. IMO, the 2005 LGT wagon has poor isolation from road noise, decent isolation from wind noise, and good isolation from engine noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacCoastFwy923 Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 To update, the shop is replacing the two rear wheel bearings, plus they're telling me about a torn boot on a half shaft I up front, so hopefully that'll address my issue. Off topic for this sub-forum, but should I have the two front bearings replaced now, too? The car has 160k miles and is on all original bearings. Tapatalk via Droid Maxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJr Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Replaced my rears, the fronts were fine, only 77k though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Motion Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 front boots won't make noise, but will splatter grease all over your wheels... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacCoastFwy923 Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 I was thinking if the boot is shot, maybe so it's the U-joint. Anyway, I told them to put in new bearings all around. I'm betting all will be quiet when I pick it up next week. Tapatalk via Droid Maxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacCoastFwy923 Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 So yep, that fixed it -- quiet as a mouse now with the new bearings in. Tapatalk via Droid Maxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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