Bad Wheel Bearing?
 

So, while driving my 8 I get the sound of the wheel spinning. It can't be the wheels themselves becoming loose (had them torqued on) so I am thinking it must be the wheel bearing on the rear right side of the car?

Do these go out often or could even b ea possibility?

A wheel bearing going bad probably wouldn't make a sound, unless it failed catastrophically somehow. Your sound is probably something else. You'll have to describe the sound and when it happens. Does it make the sound continuously ... only under braking ... only in right hand or left hand turns? Is it a rumble, a squeal, or a screech?

In my Mazda 6, the sound is continuous and only when you press the brakes the sound stops. I think the wheel bearing at the rear passenger side is going bad... :dunno:

it could be a wheel bearing, they will make a growling/tire noise when they go bad, however a tire will also make a similar noise when its bad/not circular.

so step one is to rotate the tires, and if the noise changes you probably need a tire. if the noise stays the same then it is a possible wheel bearing.

tires can wear out of round. IE its not a circle anymore, picture an octagon, or a twelveagon.

bearings in the RWD Mazda's are robust, but its possible its worn/damaged.

Wheel bearings do go bad and they do make a sound when failing.... I've replaced both my front ones at about 85k miles.... Also helped a friend replace his on his 60k mile '04. They don't seem to last long on this car...

^ this...

how much thread left in your tires?

Grab on to the wheels while the car is parked, and give it a good hard shake - pulling it hard in towards your chest. If the wheel bearing is bad you will feel and/or hear a distinct metal clicking type noise.

I am about to have my Mazda 6 get checked about the noise, because the noise is driving me crazy... :wallbash: lol

Well, when I got my wheels torqued last (few weeks ago) the tech told me that they are feathering in the back. I plan on replacing the wheels anyways in about a month or so.

The sound is not when braking, so that gets rid of the option that the brakes are making the sound. It is the sound of a tire spinning type of thing - increasing with speed obviously. Not a real "thunking" sound. I will try the "pulling the wheel" thing today when I have a chance to see if that is that.

The car is at 104k right now, so not sure how "robust" the bearings should be. I do hope it is just the tires, even though I still have warranty on the car anyways that would probably cover the bearings.

how many miles on your tire? if its worn out then its your tire but if its brand new then it could be the bearing..

I bought the tires when I got the car, I did rotate the tires once when I plasti-dipped them back in fall.

Though, I have put on at least around 4-5k already in the past year couple months (since September). I think the tread is fineish - the tech when I got the wheels torqued never mentioned the overall tread, and they were fine when I bought them. Though he did mention the feathering on the inside due to the floating rear axles that rx-8's have.

if its feathering it might need an alignment, and feathering could be the noise

Mazda's are known for cupping/feather on the inside edge of the tire which cause a constant noise. Not so much the RX8 but if you have excessive camber or toe-in its quiet possible. This tire wear is NOT caused by the axle design what so ever.

- Inspect tires, rotate if required.

Mildly warn wheel bearing should start making noise at a certain speed, badly worn can make a constant noise and will actually seize making the hub very difficult to move with the wheel off.

- Drive on a straight road at the speed most promenent to the noise, swerve smoothly from side to side... you should hear a change in tone from when the bearing has load & when it doesn't.
- Rear bearings are harder however it is possible to hear them from doing light acceleration & decleration.

Another option is to use a mechanic's stethoscope with the vehicle in the air or drive wheels raised. Simply apply the scope to the spindle right where the bearing sits (around the axle), you should hear a drastic sound difference between your good bearing and a worn out one.

Hope that helps.

i sometimes get a noise when turning to the left and my traction control left comes on. its only when turning to the left though. and of course if my DSC is off it doesnt do it so ive been driving around with it off.

^ i am sure if you turned hard enough to the right with DSC on it will do it too lol

actually....no it doesnt.

I hear tire echo or tire sound continuously from back side on My 8. That echo sound remains the same in high and low speeds...is it the axle, tire or the bearing?

Well dang
 

Just adding in case.. but my driver tire just started this a week ago and has been getting worse. Mainly at low speeds.

After reading everyones replies I decided to remove the wheel and noticed that there were 2 threaded holes for screws.

Checked the driver rear wheel and it had the screws. Took one to Lowes and matched them up... added the screws to the front driver rotor and now the noise is gone.

Guess who ever did the previous break job just figured havong the rim torqued on would secure the rotor.... he guessed wrong.