Tire noise

[2001Explorers]

Peter,
As long as you are happy and feel safe driving. That's all that matters. Happiness is an individual thing. What floats one persons boat....... I am running the stock tires and they seem fine to me. No outrageous road noises. I agree. Now that MFT is working flawlessly for most there will be other things picked apart. I really can't say I'm having problems with anything now. Loving my Explorer. I also have a 2001, not sure if you could tell by my name. I love the older gens. I'm older now and really love the newer gen. All these bells and whistles sometimes get me a little confused though. Way more complicated then my Model T. LOL.

 

[Bill #5 Explorer]

The very last place I would buy tires is the tire rack

Why not? I buy about 2 sets of tires per year from them. Most of my friends do too.

 

[Bill #5 Explorer]

Also, as I mentioned, this tire retailer was the only one willing to give me anything for the Hankooks. I phoned around and no else one was willing to take them.

Peter

Don't worry, as soon as the other tire retailers in the area wise up that Explorer owners are willing to give away their OEM tires plus a $1,000 in exchange for 4 Yokos, there will be a little more competition.

 

[peterk9]

Peter,
As long as you are happy and feel safe driving. That's all that matters. Way more complicated then my Model T. LOL.

Our first family vehicle was a used '51 Chev. It believe it had the Powergluide transmission, their first I think. I recall that we had to add the turn signals by strapping the device to the steering column. I was only 12 at the time and remember spending a lot of time just sitting in the car in the garage.

Peter

 

[xplanfan]

I have the 20" Hankook 426 tires on my 2012 Explorer, and yes they have always mad a lot of road noise. I can tolerate the noise, but the shimmy vibrations are very annoying. My Ford Service shop replaced one tire when they road force balanced them which improved the situation, but the shimmy is still there from 60-70 MPH. My mechanic say the shimmy is because these tires flat spot after sitting and that this goes away after driving them a few miles; however, my shimmy never goes away.

 

[peterk9]

I have the 20" Hankook 426 tires on my 2012 Explorer, and yes they have always mad a lot of road noise......My mechanic say the shimmy is because these tires flat spot after sitting and that this goes away after driving them a few miles; however, my shimmy never goes away.

Your mechanic is correct about the tendancy for the tires to flat spot and they do correct themselves after a few miles.

Peter

 

[xplanfan]

Your mechanic is correct about the tendancy for the tires to flat spot and they do correct themselves after a few miles.

Peter

If it's true that the flat spotting correct itself after a few miles then there is something else wrong with my tires or my suspension. My mechanic says the shimmy vibration at speed is not my tires and is normal for my vehicle.

 

[peterk9]

If it's true that the flat spotting correct itself after a few miles then there is something else wrong with my tires or my suspension. My mechanic says the shimmy vibration at speed is not my tires and is normal for my vehicle.

I have heard that before on this Forum. Personally, I don't believe any vibration in a vehicle is normal. I don't think manufacturers go around making sure their product vibrates. Vehicles that is.

Peter

 

[spitfisher]

My rule of thumb, shimmy is usually balance of the tire, definitely a shimmy at certain speeds is balance. Shimmy at low speeds only could be a flat spot, but the dealer or tire store should be able to determine this in a few minutes. And the tire should be replaced, my guess just the one tire not all four with low mileage.
The suspension and alignment of the tire will not have characteristics of a little shimmy, there will be things like noise, tire wear, tracking & steering wheel pull.

Having attended Michelin training years ago, some companies go above and beyond to ensure quality control, while others just make product to accommodate fleet sales and price points. Still others put more marketing in the name than in R and D.
I had never really heard anything compelling about hankook.

One last thing, curbs, pot holes, can damage the integrity of the tire, as can a lock up at high speeds. tires also should be rotated every seasonally 4 times a year or every 4-5000 to ensure the best wear. Otherwise chopping, and shoulder wear can be come apparent in under 10k miles. Good luck

 

[fifthranger]

My rule of thumb, shimmy is usually balance of the tire, definitely a shimmy at certain speeds is balance. Shimmy at low speeds only could be a flat spot, but the dealer or tire store should be able to determine this in a few minutes. And the tire should be replaced, my guess just the one tire not all four with low mileage.
The suspension and alignment of the tire will not have characteristics of a little shimmy, there will be things like noise, tire wear, tracking & steering wheel pull.

Having attended Michelin training years ago, some companies go above and beyond to ensure quality control, while others just make product to accommodate fleet sales and price points. Still others put more marketing in the name than in R and D.
I had never really heard anything compelling about hankook.

One last thing, curbs, pot holes, can damage the integrity of the tire, as can a lock up at high speeds. tires also should be rotated every seasonally 4 times a year or every 4-5000 to ensure the best wear. Otherwise chopping, and shoulder wear can be come apparent in under 10k miles. Good luck

Good post. Hankook is a relatively new tire, I believe. I know that they are Korean and were OEM on my wife's 07' Ford Edge. Overall, I was very impressed by them despite not following the recommendations by Ford or the manufacturer to rotate frequently. Also, I am surprised by reading a lot of negative posts describing their noise and tendencey to wear. I have always used the standard all-season tires with my vehicle(s), and I never had a set of tires that I absolutely hated. In fact, I say positive things about the Continental Conticrac (A.K.A. Conticrap) tires on my Ranger. Anyway, we were running the Hankook Dynapro AS for 45,000 miles and replaced a set because we ran over something metal. The dealer had the vehicle for warranty work, and when they said they couldn't patch the tire, I told them replace the 2nd worse tire also with the same 40K Dynapro. The other set were rotated and lasted another 12,000 miles until they were replaced with real el cheapo's. Now less than 10,000 miles later, all four tires are at 7/32nd's in tread, but the el cheapo's are wearing twice as fast as the Hankook's. I should have just put a 2nd set of the Dynapro on since they had given us no trouble originally.

 

[xplanfan]

My rule of thumb, shimmy is usually balance of the tire, definitely a shimmy at certain speeds is balance. Shimmy at low speeds only could be a flat spot, but the dealer or tire store should be able to determine this in a few minutes. And the tire should be replaced, my guess just the one tire not all four with low mileage.
The suspension and alignment of the tire will not have characteristics of a little shimmy, there will be things like noise, tire wear, tracking & steering wheel pull.

Having attended Michelin training years ago, some companies go above and beyond to ensure quality control, while others just make product to accommodate fleet sales and price points. Still others put more marketing in the name than in R and D.
I had never really heard anything compelling about hankook.

One last thing, curbs, pot holes, can damage the integrity of the tire, as can a lock up at high speeds. tires also should be rotated every seasonally 4 times a year or every 4-5000 to ensure the best wear. Otherwise chopping, and shoulder wear can be come apparent in under 10k miles. Good luck

I agree - good post. Thanks for sharing. My local Firestone shop offered to check my tires on their road force balance equipment, but I passed because I was busy and didn't want to fork over $50. I am having second thoughts now because it would certainly be worth the gamble if could solved my shimmy problem.