Wheel noise, 230k, tried balancing, tires look good

"Tires are really bad": they have 50k, and I have not rotated them
Tire pressure: 32 psi
I have NOT had them rotated
Brand: Goodyear reliant
Rear bearings check: I did put new japanese rear bearings, they are fine
Front bearings check: OK yes, I did the shake test on the fronts, they seem fine, but I did not do the listening advice yet

 

Yes, I am very hard on the car, its high mileage, and I do notice uneven wear while it is spinning

also: 55K miles without tire rotation

Wheel bearings / struts / control arm / ball joints: Yes I am very hard on the car and these can all be possibilities, But I will start with the wheel bearings and the struts. From what I remember, control arm and ball joints are good, but later I will look intensely

 

It is a walmart brand, but they are usa made tires

I do plan on going with the 17 inch allys, and putting yokohama tires (because they're japanese)

are yokohoma as quiet as michellin?

 

"swap the wheel and tire": are you saying:

if I put a perfect wheel and tire on a hub and spin it, and it is wobbly then we know - it could be bad bearing (this statement is what I think you are telling me)

My theory: it is the tires being worn unevenly from not rotating them

17 harder than the 15: I am considering going the 17 route, maybe with bigger tires to raise it a bit, or I might do the factory 215 45 17

I would put factory prius 17 inch wheels

Do you think this is good or bad decision?

"bearing noise at 45 mph": The sound is loud at lower speeds, starting as little as 10 mph. It is a howling sound. Vibration starting at 80 mph. And a whine starting at 65 mph.

"oem bearing never get loose": your statement is saying:

Even if you have a bad bearing, you hold the wheel at 3 and 9 o clock, and do the shake test, and it will NOT show symptoms of bad bearing but still be bad

My theory: those bearings have gone through an absolute nightmare and have almost quarter million miles. They probably are adding to big list of noise makers

 

Any recommendations on going this route:

Get factory prius 17 inch alloys to put on it

New yokohomo tires

I would like to put bigger tire than the factory

Factory size: 215 45 17

Tell me a size bigger that will work on this platform, I dont care about the speedometer

I would like a bit more clearing, car is too low and bottoming out etc

 

Or how about going with this size that tombukt mentioned earlier:

205 50 17....

Another thing I noticed today - the brake has been a bit sticky meaning:

after you are done hitting brake pedal, it still is engaging the brake a bit

Then it release it once you hit gas pedal, almost like the computer is disengaging that brake pressure propagator

Last time I did surgery: I did bleed the brakes by myself using this method:

I put big piece of lumber wedging on the brake pedal, then I go under car and loosen 8 mm bleed valve

Drove for 1 week without sticky feeling

What could be making sticky brake situation?

 

yes I am listening, ok:

"forgot to mention tie rods": yes, next I am doing surgery, I will take pictures and to understand the area, to see if anything is bent, to see how the ball joints are holding up (I might actually have new ball joints to put on possibly)

"rotating": timeline of events: before posting here, I completely forgot to rotate the tires for 50k miles, then, I go and rotate and balance them

It actually made the ride worse, why?

Those tires went and went for 50k and made indentations, so when I rotated them;

it exposed more uneven footprint and the sound got worse

replacing parts/keeping the same tire: yes, I am not purchasing anything YET until I get more critique from yall

(rest of this is response to the general forum)

At this point: I am still angling for the 17 factory prius alloy wheels, with the beefier tire, waiting on responses.

Factory size: 215 45 17

What someone mentioned: 205 50 17

please critique this, but I dont care about speedometer, I want to raise the car an inch with the beefier tire on the 17 wheel

 

Also I want to give an update on the sticky brake situation:

Summary of events: I do surgery, had to bleed the brakes (for whatever reason), then I drive the car for one week. At that point, the brakes will be slightly engaged after letting go. But, they do let go once I start going/accelerating.

Yesterday: my reaction. "This is annoying because it changing the predictability of the cars behavior"

Todays reaction: "You know, I kinda like the car being throttled more because - before, i found myself pressing hard on that brake to stop, it caused some worry. Now, the brakes are more sticky. You know the feeling of needing your brake bled? You are chasing the brake it is further away from you. This feels like opposite. The brake is there by default, it controls the car better, less lunging, more grounded. It feels like the default state is braking."

I will leave it alone and see how it feels, a part of me prefers it

 

[QU

Dang it, I was thinking:

Maybe, since they were just rotated after 55k miles, yes, it will be loud/rumble until it wears down that uneven area. Then, tires MIGHT be tolerable.

Your saying: nope. The damage is done and its too late (for whatever reason)

That is not good news because, the tread on them is good, especially the front, since they were on the back the whole time and didnt wear as bad.

Hmm.. Ok I am imagining these statements. I will give you a detail that might have caused it:

I had the caliper off the rotor and had to turn the car on, instantly it pushed the caliper all the way

That might've messed with that detail you are referencing

Lesson from now on: put some big metal plate on the caliper when doing any surgery in that area because you have to hit the brake to turn the car on, and you do not want the caliper to be pushed in all the way

This detail might be the issue

Now I am thinking, if you have to turn the car on with the caliper off the rotor, maybe just hit the power without pressing brake pedal, maybe you can put it in neutral without touching the brake pedal

 

yes, I’m talking into the phone and not on the computer but I will try to respond

I will study what you were talking about with the puck and the rest of those details

I do oil changes at 10,000 miles

 

I am still waiting for input about going with the beefier 17 inch set up

factory size: 215 45 17
Size someone recommended earlier:
205 50 17

please people critique this plan, tell me what is the danger of doing this or tell me if it’s a good idea

 

Listen to what just happened

The back right tire exploded on the highway

Sidewalls completely gone

After I put on the spare, the ride is way quieter

pixtures will be posted later on

 

Ok now I am on a laptop and can type/give better narration:

Back right wheel blew out the sidewalls

This used to be the FRONT LEFT wheel before rotation

Today driving: wobble sound as usual, then the wobble becomes more intense

I start to worry (at this moment I am doing 75 mph)

Boom, all the air went out, and now I am on the steel rim

Tire is shredding, destruction in that area

By the time I pulled over somewhere safe, the entire sidewall is destroyed (picture coming in 20-30 minutes)

Then I put the spare on

I start driving, sound is actually way quieter, but

There is still general wobbling/howling/etc

Conclusion: maybe that back right wheel was the noisy one

Lesson for anyone paying attention: if you have tire noise, I am advising you to change it because:

That tire that blew out today did not have bad tread, it still had a good amount of tread

But because I torture those tires and did not rotate them, and them not wearing evenly, it still caused them to blow out

It can cause a huge accident and ruin a person financially

Now, I need the input on the next step

I do have the 17 inch alloy prius wheels but not the tires

I am waiting on input from yall to say:

Yes, go with the 205 50 17

Or keep it actually factory with the 215-45 17

Please let me know because the car has a donut on it, and I need to choose a direction asap, and ordering tires takes at least a week

At this moment, I do not feel safe going over 65-70 mph