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Model specific boards => Golf mk6 => Topic started by: dubber36 on 03 December 2012, 10:43
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I've done the search and found topics about this, but has anyone got to the bottom of what causes it and can it be fixed under warranty as my car will be 3 in January?
Mine's on its original Dunlops which have suffered saw tooth wearing on the inner edges. This is making the usual wheel bearing drone and causing slight vibrations at around 70mph.
I understand that this could be caused by incorrect toe settings and that some makes of tyres wear more than others due to this. I know I'll need to change the rear tyres, but have I fitted new front Dunlops recently, so would want to keep 4 matching tyres if possible. I'm hoping that if the geometry is correct, the new tyres (Dunlops or other) will be ok.
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As far as I know this is just a trait of VW group cars using this platform. My Leon did the same, along with everyone else's! I found when the tyres are part worn I swap the fronts with the rears which stops the noise until the fresher rear tyres wear into shape again.
Also I found Goodyear asymmetric 2's were much quieter.
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But once the tyres are worn, surely swapping them onto the front will just move the noise to there?
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I have been fortunate in that I have not suffered this on my MK5 or MK6 GTI's so I can't really comment but these cars had done 25K+ miles and had very worn tyres (Dunlop and Michelin) but not min depth, does this happen once the tyres get down to a certain depth?
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I had this on my Focus TDCi, MK5 Golf GT Sport and my Leon's rears have just done the same, so not specific to VAG cars.
It's not brand specific as I have had Toyo, Bridgestone and Goodyear's all do exactly the same and it starts around 32k miles.
No idea what causes it, just accept it as 'one of those things' which modern fwd cars seem to do.
One garage did ask if I did a lot of miles without passengers in the back, which I do but didn't really get any decent response as to why this would make a difference.
Very common but from scouring all sorts of owners forums never found anything conclusive as to the cause.
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The problem is not the car but the tyre design, It is called heel and toe wear and is caused because the tread blocks on the inside of the tyre are not connected. It seems to be most prevalent on front wheel drive cars with the undriven wheels. Here is an explanation from another site.
Heel and Toe wear occurs when the tread-block passes through the contact area. The leading edge of the block is compressed at the moment of contact - which slows down the rate rotation on that particular tread block. The trailing edge of the block has to accelerate to catch up with the general rotation of the tyre and "flicks" through the point of contact causing more wear at that point.
The Conti Sport 5 I bought recently have a line of rubber between each of the inside blocks so hopefully they should not suffer. They are so much quieter than the Dunlops that came off.
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I haven't had that but I put the winter set on this weekend and noticed that both fronts were quite worn on the inner edge.
the tyres will be replaced when the winters come off with some new ones but suprised me how worn they were compared to the outer edge particularly as this is the hardest to see so can go unnoticed
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I spoke to the dealer today to see what they had to say. He told me pretty much the same as Mike posted.
It's not so much of an issue on cars with smaller wheels and higher profile tyres, as there is more "give" in the tyre, so heel and toe wear is less pronounced.
He suggested new rear tyres, then a full alignment check to ensure everything is pointing in the right direction, then run the rear tyres with a few more psi in them and swap them front to back every 5k or so.
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Im not sure but I thought I posted about this before as I have suffered it with bridgestones.
Someone pointed me in the direction of autoexpress long term gtd at the.time. they called it 50 pence pease ware.
Luckie I had the old issues.
It can be fixed but as AE say VW won't as its within tolerence.
It's because yours like mine will be nearer an extreme tolerence.
Get the rear suspension reset and it will be less likley to happen.
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yes the tolerances for wheel alignment is huge
my car had probably 700 miles on it when i fitted the WALK and had wheel alignment done and the back end was a mile away from the ideal but within manufactures limits
on the hunters machine just about everything on the back end was in the red as set by the factory.
i rotate my wheels front to back at least every 4000 miles and to be honest i havent experienced this issue at all
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But once the tyres are worn, surely swapping them onto the front will just move the noise to there?
Snoopy in his post has pretty much said what I was going to say. However, putting the 50p worn tyres on the front won't necessarily put the drone up front as the setup on the front is different...not to mention better sound insulation up front, wheels further from the cabin etc.
Some tyres are more prone to droning though, Bridgestone's from my research being the worst.
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If you switch the wheels from side to side it will reduce the noise until they go the other way, by this stage the tyres will probably need replaced anyway.
I did this with the Dunlops and it did seem to work, no problems as long as they are Asymmetric.
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My Dunlops are Sport Maxx's which are directional, so can't do that.
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if you swap them on to the front from time to time then surely they will wear the tyre correctly again as the fronts are doing all the work and wearing much quicker. i definitely havent got this issue on my car so im sure it works.
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if you swap them on to the front from time to time then surely they will wear the tyre correctly again as the fronts are doing all the work and wearing much quicker. i definitely havent got this issue on my car so im sure it works.
I get mine swapped front to rear when it is serviced so I would agree that this approach does appear to work as I haven't experienced this issue either.
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Think mine had about 3k on when it started to do it. So didn't work for me. :grin:
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maybe the dunlops are more prone to it? or maybe your alignment was way out from new?
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Had this problem on my Astra coupe. Changed from dunlops to continentals on the advice of the tyre fitter as the block pattern on the inner edge was different and did not suffer the problem again. Inner edge tyre tread design seems to play a part with some designs more tolerant to alignment problems.
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New rear Dunlops went on today and it's as quiet as a new car once again.
Before you shoot me down, I had got a pair of as good as new Dunlops on the front, so wanted them all to match. My Golf does so few miles, it would take for ever to wear the fronts down to be able to replace them to match a different tyre that I could have fitted to the rear.
It's going into the dealer for a full geometry check very soon, so hopefully they can square it up (if it's out) and if I swap the tyres around from time to time, all should be good until I need all four tyres replacing.
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Further to my last post, I drove the car for the first time since driving home from having the new rear tyres fitted, which was in the dark. In the daylight today, on the way to the MOT test, I noticed that the steering wheel wasn't straight.
Could it be that the geometry had previously been set on uneven tyres and now that new tyres are fitted, it's showing up incorrectly aligned rear suspension? Looking underneath the car today, the rear is adjustable for both camber and toe. I understand that it is the wrong toe settings that cause the tyre wear, so if is toeing unevenly on each side, that would cause crabbing, hence the crooked steering wheel. Any other thoughts?
It's booked in at the dealers for a geometry check and brake fluid on the 2nd Jan and most probably won't be driven until then. I'd like to be armed with some information as to what to ask/tell them when I take it in.
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so just to clarify they didnt touch the tacking/alignment at all when they changed the tyres?
thats very strange that after new tyres the car isnt tracking straight without adjustments being made to the alignment.
does the car pull left or right or is it literally just the wheel isnt straight?
these have a steering angle sensor which can need resetting if the steering alignment is far out
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No, it simply had the rear tyres changed, nothing else.
The car doesn't pull one way or another, it's just that the steering wheel is slightly towards the left when driving straight. I haven't hit any kerbs or pot holes, so can't have knocked anything out of line.
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It's in at the dealers today, so let's see what it's like when I pick it up this afternoon. In the mean time, I'm driving round in their DSG Bettle, which has a cracking DAB/Fender stereo.
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So that is what the droning noise is. I thought it was wheel bearings but my Golf GTI has only done 18000 miles. New tyres on rear done about 4000 miles, front tyres 18000, 14000 miles on the rear.
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Well, it's like a different car now. When I got out of it and into the Bettle this morning, I was surprised at how much better the new car felt. Having driven the Bettle for about 150 miles today, I got back in my Golf and felt very reassured that apart from the slightly firmer ride, it felt very similar to the Bettle. Tyre noise has all but gone and the feel of the steering is vastly improved.
It cost £100 + VAT, plus the two rear tyres that were worn anyway, so money well spent I reckon.
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What was the cause out of interest, alignment?
Sounds a good outcome though :cool:
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What was the cause out of interest, alignment?
They tried to tell me it was from hitting kerbs, speed bumps and potholes at speed. I know that's not been the case in the two years we've had it, but who knows how it was driven by the previous owner. It did have a poorly refurbished wheel that I have replaced with a new one, so it probably has been up the kerb at some point.