I received a set of Michelin Artic Alpine snow tires in the correct size from a co-worker. They had well over 50% tread left and should get me easily through this winter. I had them installed the other day, but they make the weirdest noise. Almost sounds like a wheel bearing going bad or something. No shakes or vibrations. Just a noise that starts at around 30 mph and is at its worst to about 45 mph. I ran it up to about 80 on the highway and it seems to quiet down a fair bit with speed. Seems to also get slightly louder under deceleration and a little quieter under acceleration (loaded and unloaded). Oh, and it seems to be coming from the front.

Anyone have any thoughts? These are supposed to be pretty quiet snow tires from what I understand. Oh, and I have had snow tires on many cars before, but nothing that sounds like this!

Thanks
E

Best thing you can do is rotate the front ones to the back and see if the noise follows.

Are they studded?

Nope. No Studs!
The guy at the tire store said that they might have worn incorrectly due to placement. (They are unidirectional and might have been on the wrong way in the past?).

Bad belts in the tire(*)?

Sounds like you are pretty sure it is the tires though?

Can't imagine what else it would be. I haven't dne anything else with it. Was nice and quiet and smooth before I did the snows, and then noisy as hell right after. About a 1 hour time difference.

over inflation?

They don't look overinflated to me. At least not enough to cause THAT much noise. I am thinking that my great deal may not be that great afterall.... Sigh

I've heard a few people w/ Michelins that had bad belts. Jim W did. I'm really not sure how you'd diagnose that though.

Michelin is typically a very good tire w/little problems. A belt will usually be an issue from hitting a curb or some large object. Meaning..you'd know what caused the problem.

There are many things that could cause the noise.. I assume it'* not merely road noise from an open outter edge on the tire.

Personally..one of my methods for clearing up an issue like this is smoking up the tires a little. Clean off any cupping or edges that have developed (this is tyipcally the reason for noise) and start fresh.

Plus..it can be fun.

Probably a slight cupping from the previous car'* wear pattern. I had X-Ones that had a noise at 80K miles. I couldn't see or feel any uneven wear but it was like a wheel bearing. A bad belt would be a lower frequency happening 1-2 tiems per rotation.

I fixed mine by getting new Michelins. I don't know that you'll wear yours back to smooth other than by frequent rotations. And by keeping proper inflation.