Leon FR tdi tyre noise

[fralan]

hi, i have owned the tdi sport 140 on a 56plate and now have the fr tdi 57 plate. both of them have suffered with the tyre noise from the rear. also you can feel how the last quarter on the tyres wear differently. ive been told this is down to the independent rear suspension. when cornering hard the car will have a crab effect and this contributes to the wear to the inside of the rear tyres and causes the uneven tyre wear.

This is known to happen on the golf, the audi a3 and a4 as the same suspension set up is used.

both cars were supplied with bridgestones, these are the worst tyres for the problem because of the tread design. found overall grip in wet and dry good, but the noise drives me mad. since then had michelins sport sp2 fitted and this has eradicated the tyre noise. the insides still wear uneven i.e have high and low points but to be hoenest i think this is a design fault with the rear suspension and is something we will all have to put up with.

 

[Chan_P1_TDi_FR]

get 4-wheel alignment don't by an tuner or independant. All you guys are complaining about tyre noise and excessive wear. It's easily sorted. The rear tyre noise is down to excessive camber and reducing that slight makes a huge difference. Also stay well away from bridgestones. running on goodyears and there are great. dunlop are also pretty good.
My car is now so quiet on the motorway, it's quieter than my brothers lexus IS250 and my dads 525D at 80 mph. I mostly get wind noise from the wing mirror area at those speeds.

 

[jtr]

Same problem here (Leon FR TDI 08), contacted Customer Services and got the same load of tosh back from them. Mine had done 13K and were illegal on the insides at the back but had over 5mm in the middle and outer. Had 4 way laser alignment done and was told the car is within the tolerance for the set-up.

I had raised the tyre problem with the Dealer twice and Seat UK when they had about 5k and 7.5k on and was told there was nothing wrong - guess I was right and there was. As it had been raised I was told that my dealer would put a goodwill request in with Seat but to be honest don't expect owt from them.

They sell the cars and don't care or know how to keep the running right - highly doubt I will be buying another Seat and this is my 4 and would say the worst of the lot. The guy at the tyre services place said he see Leon FR regularly with the problem and in the trade it is a known fault but Seat won't admit it - could it have something to do with the new model having a softer suspension set up

 

[alx_chung]

Same problem here (Leon FR TDI 08), contacted Customer Services and got the same load of tosh back from them. Mine had done 13K and were illegal on the insides at the back but had over 5mm in the middle and outer. Had 4 way laser alignment done and was told the car is within the tolerance for the set-up.

I had raised the tyre problem with the Dealer twice and Seat UK when they had about 5k and 7.5k on and was told there was nothing wrong - guess I was right and there was. As it had been raised I was told that my dealer would put a goodwill request in with Seat but to be honest don't expect owt from them.

They sell the cars and don't care or know how to keep the running right - highly doubt I will be buying another Seat and this is my 4 and would say the worst of the lot. The guy at the tyre services place said he see Leon FR regularly with the problem and in the trade it is a known fault but Seat won't admit it - could it have something to do with the new model having a softer suspension set up

A lot of the guys have had their wheels aligned properly and some places have actually adjusted the rear settings away from the OEM Camber settings to try and fix the problem with the insides wearing out too quickly. I got mines done the other week and the mechanic adjusted mines to try and alievate the problem.
Alex

 

[jbs]

Just replaced my rear tyres on my Sport tdi at 19000. I suffered the 'is it isn't it rear wheel bearings problem' for the last couple of thousand miles and then had enough. My dealer said tyre 'normal wear sir' , tyre fitter said rear tyes feathered on the inside edge. Nearside rear looked visibly out so after fitting Continental Sport Contact2's (the noise disappeared!) had the tracking laser checked. Rear inside was way out, as expected. The tracking specialist was of the opinion that some of the more vicious speed bumps could have contributed to the problem, so I am conciously choosing local routes to avoid them.

 

[Shadders]

Well it now looks like it's time to replace at least 2 tyres on mine as front are getting bit low & may have very slow puncture.

Currently running Goodyear F1's & rear tyres look brand new. I have been suffering with the dreaded wheel bearing sound effects but had 4 wheel alignment done few months back. Didn't make any difference as tyres already run in. Hoping new ones will sort problem but not sure if will get away with replacing 2 & moving rear tyres to front with new set going on the back.

Has anyone tried this & do you think will get rid of the noise?

I have also noticed front tyres more worn in centre which normally points to overinflation. I have been running with 33psi front & 29psi rear. Sticker in fuel cap says 32psi front but looks really squashed at this pressure!

If anyone can offer some advice on tyre pressures & recommend brand of new tyres to try would appreciate any help.
Tyre size 225/45/17 2.0Tdi Sport. Was thinking about Goodyear Assymetrics.

 

[JohnnyR1Red]

It seems I have the same problem, picked up my 08 FR170 from Stoke today and drove the 200 miles to Newcastle and now my head is banging. It is so loud especially on concrete roads. It currently has Pirellis on, the car has only done 15000 miles.

I can't put up with this so I will be taking it to a dealer as soon as I have time to see what they say.

If I was to ditch the Pirellis in favour of Continenals would this improve it a lot, I am willing to bin all 4 tyres to be honest as I can't drive long distances the way it is.

 

[Stealthdave]

it will improve with new tyres until they were in the same way again.....I've given up on a solution and dont notice it, only when others get in the car and comment...

 

[JohnnyR1Red]

it will improve with new tyres until they were in the same way again.....I've given up on a solution and dont notice it, only when others get in the car and comment...

I think with driving 200 miles today on motorways I have seen the worst of my car already. My ears were sore when I got home, I haven't really checked the tyres properly so don't really know if they are worn in different places. They just look like they have decent tread.

I will see how it goes in normal use before I decide whether to bin the existing stuff. Can you explain the 50p thing, what should I look for?

I feel a bit down after reading about the noise now I have bought the car and as you say there is not a lot you can other than put new ones on.

Thanks

 

[Chan_P1_TDi_FR]

there is actually a lot people can do, but some people seem to be blind and not read advice from other people. it's mostly down to the alignment configuration. i'm not the only one who has absolutely no problems with tyre wear or noise. I love motorway journeys in my car, it's rather quiet in fact, wind noise is louder than my tyres. the car is running on excessive rear camber causing excessive noise and uneven wear. Seat will never acknowledge this as it would mean paying out for thousands of cars to get the alignment redone.

 

[bigbore]

yep i have same but have found cheap cure. turn me radio up higher

 

[Stealthdave]

there is actually a lot people can do, but some people seem to be blind and not read advice from other people. it's mostly down to the alignment configuration. i'm not the only one who has absolutely no problems with tyre wear or noise. I love motorway journeys in my car, it's rather quiet in fact, wind noise is louder than my tyres. the car is running on excessive rear camber causing excessive noise and uneven wear. Seat will never acknowledge this as it would mean paying out for thousands of cars to get the alignment redone.

Thats a bit harsh bud. I have took my car for a laser wheel alignment and only one wheel was slightly out, and I beleive I did that catching the curb at work. The car was fine when first purchased (bought it new), and was a gradual thing.

How did you manage to sort?, because you seem to be one of the only people I have read that has fixed the problem. You say you have adjusted the camber slightly, did you also get new tyres at the same time?

 

[JohnnyR1Red]

there is actually a lot people can do, but some people seem to be blind and not read advice from other people. it's mostly down to the alignment configuration. i'm not the only one who has absolutely no problems with tyre wear or noise. I love motorway journeys in my car, it's rather quiet in fact, wind noise is louder than my tyres. the car is running on excessive rear camber causing excessive noise and uneven wear. Seat will never acknowledge this as it would mean paying out for thousands of cars to get the alignment redone.

So somewhere like Kwik Fit could sort it?

 

[alx_chung]

So somewhere like Kwik Fit could sort it?

You would need to go to somewhere that does 4 wheel alignment and 4 wheel geometry as well. The majority of Kwik Fits, ATS etc only do 2 wheel alignment and will only adjust the front two wheels.
The best places to go to are specialist tyre places or you could find them under this website
Alex

 

[Chan_P1_TDi_FR]

If I came across harsh, I apologize. But I given advice on a fix when this thread started and someone else has mentioned the same thing, but all people talk about is changing tyres, which isn't going to fix the problem at all. It may temporarily solve some tyre noise, but that will come back when the uneven wear starts again.
Tbh, I wouldn't trust kwik fit. Star performance reduced my rear camber by 0.5 degree as they said the standard camber setting was bad for road noise and uneven wear. Same on skoda's apparantly. I didn't change the tyres at the same time. I've done 15k on my rear tyres and they were hardly warn.

Some independent garages do 4-wheel alignment for about £50, a lot cheaper than changing tyres.

 

[Stealthdave]

I had a 4 wheel alignment but this didnt fix it.

 

[Shadders]

Same here.

I had 4 wheel alignment done at Xmas with no change. To be fair, the tyres were probably knackered as had done about 8k before I had this done.

Yesterday I had 2 new Goodyears put on the rear & the old F1's moved to the front. Alreay it seems better but now strange feel at front which I expected.

Once I get the next pair of tyres I think it'll be fine. Fingers crossed!

I going to try & post a picture of my alighment graphs so someone can have a look tell me what they think & if look OK.

Cheers

 

[JohnnyR1Red]

I have checked the nearest place to me for a full alignment and it is £99 plus vat. I am going to give it a go to see if it sort it out. My rear tyres look quite new but the fronts have no wear on the outsides but the middle is practically bald! How can this be possible.

I do feel the sound is coming from my fronts as I can feel it through my feet. I will change the tyres when I get the alignment done.

 

[alx_chung]

Guys have a look at this thread.
Might be of help.
Alex

 

[Chan_P1_TDi_FR]

when getting 4 wheel alignment, u need to specify a reduction in camber. As the link alex has given above, the rear camber was too great.

as for the alignment costing £99, thats too expensive. try finding another garage.