Tire " CUPPING" ????? WTF....

[Indusbreed]

I started hearing a low rumble noice coming from the rear Passenger side for past 3 weeks. Brought it over to Westowne Mazda. The mechanic went for a test drive and said its the "Tire Noise". I asked him, what about bearings, he said its not the bearing but the tires. He said rear right tire is badly "cupped". He said the tires have enough tread left on them. He did the Tire alighment and said hopefully the noise will reduce over time.

Drove the car back home and the noise is still there. Should i go for second opinion to have the tires checked, and also the bearings?? I have already spent $ 315.00 with no resolution

Thanks,
IB

[dentinger]

the alignment is just going to stop the problem, not fix it. your tires are mis-evenly worn, causing the noise.
the reason why the mechanic said it might disappear over time, is because the since the alignment was done, the tires should start wearing evenly now, and slowly wear away the "cupping"

also, $315 just to have that checked out? ouch. and if its not the bearing, i'd probably recomment buying at least 2 new tires.

[Indusbreed]

Thanks for the response dentinger. I guess to resolve it permanently, i will have to invest in new Rubber.

[ricohman]

You can decrease cupping by rotating frequently and have the balanced redone every 5000km. But who wants to go through that to get a few extra thou out of the tires.

[Indusbreed]

also, $315 just to have that checked out? ouch. and if its not the bearing, i'd probably recomment buying at least 2 new tires.[/QUOTE]

Actually $ 315 is for the 4 wheel alignment and also they changed 2 front drive belts.

[BMWWW]

Throw someone $20 and swap on their winter tires to eliminate the possibility of it being the winter tires.

Heck, I'd do it if I were in town.

[mazda lover]

also, $315 just to have that checked out? ouch. and if its not the bearing, i'd probably recomment buying at least 2 new tires.

Actually $ 315 is for the 4 wheel alignment and also they changed 2 front drive belts.[/QUOTE]

what are 2 front drive belts??

[dentinger]

what are 2 front drive belts??

im guessing the serpentine belts.

[blackm3]

try rotating the tires, it should help, also how old is your suspension? if it is worn, it might cause cupping aka flaring of the treads, i think it has to do something with the tire hopping as its going forward

[tuck4]

I have the exact same problem and both my rear tires are wreaked on my 2009 car with only 35000 km. You would think Mazda would take some responsibility for this problem as it is obvious that the alignment was out from the beginning. I think they should at least pay for the alignment as I am now stuck for new tires prematurely?

[Indusbreed]

try rotating the tires, it should help, also how old is your suspension? if it is worn, it might cause cupping aka flaring of the treads, i think it has to do something with the tire hopping as its going forward

I have not rotated the tires in the last 3 years. The mechanic never mentioned anything about the suspension. My M3 GS is year 2005. He said not to rotate the tires since this bad tire will generate the road noise where ever he put it. He just advised to drive and hope fully the tire will war uniformly since the alignment is correct now.

I will be getting a dedicated winter tires.

[BMWWW]

Stop getting ahead of yourself and worrying about the suspension when you aren't even sure.

Swap someone's rears on, and problem shoot it first (free).

[BiGBanG]

Rotate your rears to front and it should be gone if it's the tires. I have the same problem but my friend advised me to keep them as is because I had alignment done recently, hoping that it would wear the tires evenly now and eliminate the noise.