Hey Gang,

I was wondering if anyone had heard of this problem. Here is the issue;

In 2003 I bought a set of FDR Rims from Talon Tires in Montreal for the winter. I was part of a RX8 group buy. Anyways the Rims were FDR 30's 17 inch's. The ones that look like the stock RX8 Rims. Anyway's the Rims were great for two season. Now in the third season they seem to be making noise. I bring the car into Mazda at first they think the problem is the brake rotors, that snapping TSB. They put the fix in as per the TSB but to no avail. Second visit they try putting on stock Rims and the trouble goes away.
So they say the Rims are no longer good as they are slipping againest the brake callipers. Center caps are in correctly and the Rims have not been damaged. I also had the tires rotated as I thought maybe the balancing weights were interfering with the callipers, I wanted a second opinion. Sill to no avail. Has anybody had/heard of this happening, rims being great for two season then all of a sudden they are no longer good. I don't feel the dealer is trying to rip me off as they have been a great help with everything, even fixxing things for free etc. I just find this really odd as does John at Talon Tires in Montreal.
As always your input is welcomed.

 

exactly what kind of noise is it making? do you have conical shaped lug nuts? do you have hub centric rings? if it is a snapping noise your hear and a OEM wheel fixes the problem, you may have mounting issues. if the snapping noise persists it could be faulty sway bar endlinks. is it a roaring/howling type of noise when driving highway speeds?

gotta be a little more specific if you want help. the more information that is available, the easier it is the diagnose.

 

Wrong Lug nuts??

 

could it have anything to do with the tpms module (if you even have them installed)? does it happen on all 4 wheels, or just one corner of the car?

 

^^ Canadian Car = no TPMS

 

you know...sometimes tire particles build up inside the wheel/tire assemble and form into "pebbles". if you have super sensitive hearing, you could be hearing that. OR something stuck between the threads causing a clicking sound whenever the wheels are in motion.

so many possibilities

 

The noise only happens when turning at slow speeds, when going up a steep slope at low speeds and when sudden braking at about 48 kms or less. I can best describe it as a snapping noise that sounds like something is making contact with the front end. Mazda tells me its the rims. They say as soon as I replace them the trouble will go away. I will be bring it in on Thursday morning to fix. I will let you know the outcome.

 

o right, canadian...duh

 

could it be the tread catching on a piece of the car body?
im not sure how, but as the car becomes slightly lower to the ground with downforce, it might be "just out of reach" from the larger treadblocks, but as u climb a hill at low speeds, there is little downforce (almost zip), & the car is "leaning" back. but i cant explain the noise coming under harder braking, so maybe my idea isn't worth anything....

 

sounds like that bulletin mazda put out about the 18" wheels not being tight enough. most likely it's the aftermarket wheels...if not...sway bar endlinks.

 

tq lugs to 108 ft lbs.

beers