Alright guys I have a 2000 Civic With a full B16 swap.

The car still has the Ex drums in the back and the rotors and pads in front were replaced about a year ago.

I was running a set of civic steel wheels with winter tires and just recently bought a set of si wheels with used tires and installed them earlier this week.

ever since I put the wheels on, I've heard this cyclical/pulsating hum coming from the wheels. the best way I can describe the sound is a "wum wum wum wum..." it happens regardless of me accelerating, breaking or coasting. the rate of the pulsating sound is directly related to speed. the sound itself is not too horribly loud but definitely noticeable.

my initial reaction is it's just the tires in desperate need of a balance.. but with my luck it's a bad wheel bearing. I just find it hard to believe that a wheel bearing has started to go bad at the exact time I changed wheels.

I haven't done the "turn the car when it's making the sound" trick to see if it changes or is isolated to one side yet but I plan on doing so next time I'm driving.

aaaaaanyways, I know this is probably the most paranoid post in this category but I just want to be sure and see if anyone has any other insight on the matter before I start "panic spending" in attempt to get rid of this damn noise.

let me know and thanks for any input!

 

It does sound like a wheel hub bearing. It's easy to diagnose, though. Put the front of the car on jack stands. Grab the wheel at 12 and 6, and try to wiggle it. Now grab at 3 and 9, and try to wiggle. If it wiggles at 12/6 but not at 3/9, you have a bad ball joint. If it wiggles at 3/9 but not at 12/6, you have a bad tie rod, or tie rod end. If it wiggles at both, you either have a bad wheel hub bearing, or all of the above.

 

Put one of the old wheels back on.

 

I'll have to put this thing up on stands next time I can get my jack and stands...

however.... I did just take it for a drive and do the turn while the sound is happening deal... the sound stays the same while turning to the right fairly sharply. when I turn to the left, the sound still is present, but the pulsations/cycles become slower and more drawn out.. so basically it goes "wum wum wum wuuuuuuum wuuuuuuuum wuuuuuuum."

so to me that sounds like a bearing is going bad on the front driver's side.

 

Sounds like bad or cupped tires

 

This is very true! However, even if it *doesn't* wiggle, it can still be the bearing. Sometimes just spinning the wheel can give you a clue.

Try rotating the tires and see if the sound moves... (or swap out that one wheel, as someone suggested). That could eliminate the tire as the culprit.

 

yeah I'm considering doing the tire swap and spinning the wheel while I'm at it.. I noticed I can't hear the sound after about 30-35 mph. so the range I hear it is roughly 15-35 mph. however that could just be because the sound becomes so consistent it blends in with all the other driving noises

 

Replace each new wheel one at a time with one of your old ones until you isolate the culprit.

 

If you aren't familiar with tire diagnostics (cupping, feathering, and the like), you can also post a few detailed pictures of the tread. Preferably two or three from the side, looking straight across the tread, and two or three looking straight down at the tread.

 

will do. I'll most likely dive deep into this Thursday afternoon. I'll post pics while also replacing the wheels one at a time to see if I can isolate the problem if it's tire related.

thank you all for the input. I'll post updates tomorrow afternoon/evening.

 

Alright so I jacked up the left side if the car to get a better look at what might be going on... I have a feeling it's not tire noise or a bearing... instead I'm thinkin it might possible be a bad caliper.. when I spin the wheel, I can hear a slight rubbing sound.. and it is cyclical... there's no play in the wheel At 12 and 6 or 9 and 3... I've felt pretty much every suspension component on this side while turning the wheel and I can feel any vibration or grinding...

so I'm thinking it's either a bad caliper and/or a slightly warped rotor and the pads are slightly rubbing along the rotor. I will try to post a video on YouTube and post the link to it here... let me know if anyone has any more input.

thanks

 

Could be a stuck caliper pin.

 

Alright here's the video on YouTube. hopefully this gives you all a better idea of what I'm hearing.

Btw I almost forgot to mention, I know for a fact it's not dust guard scrape because I made sure by causing the dust guard to rub against the rotor to compare the noise and they're very different.

anyways, let me know what you all think. thanks.

 

good point man.. I hope it's something like that. that's a hell of a lot easier than a bad piston or something.

 

I'm at work and can't really hear anything. I'll give it another listen when I get home in a few hours.

 

Sounds like a brake component sticking. Pop your wheel off, and spin the rotor. Check it for warpage while spinning. If it looks straight, check your caliper slide pins. They probably are full of very old silicone lubricant that is dirty and caked. Clean pins off as well as the rubber protective boots and apply some more silicone lubricant. Check for noise.

 

Yep, that definitely sounds like brake slide.

 

awesome.. thank you guys for the feedback.. I really appreciate it!.. I'll post a quick update when I've fixed the issue...