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Driveshaft / RWD - normal to hear it?
| 11-20-2018, 07:44 AM | #1 |
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Driveshaft / RWD - normal to hear it?
Ever since I put my winter tyres on (which are noticeably quiter than the summer ones), I hear some very low weaning noise coming from underneath the car, around the center or a bit aft and it varies with speed. Mostly noticable around 70-90 km/h
Since this is my first car with RWD (X-Drive actually), I was wondering if it is normal to hear something at all? I don't think the noise comes from the tires. The car is less than an year old and with very low mileage.
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| 11-20-2018, 08:43 AM | #2 |
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Think you mean AWD not FWD, as you stated you have x drive, at any rate it is not normal to hear driveshaft noises at any speed with AWD. I have had (3) BMW AWD with never a noise...
Actually my Blizzak winter tires make more noise then my Michelin AS3+ summer tires, but it's ez to tell that it is tire noise
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| 11-20-2018, 09:05 AM | #3 |
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I mean RWD since on a pure FWD it would definitely not make sense to hear any driveshaft noise aft of the engine bay
 The AWD (X-drive) makes no difference aft of the engine bay in comparison to RWD, that's why I wrote RWD. Ok, strange. I will keep an eye on it. It really does not sound like tire noise, since the tire noise is audible separately.
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| 11-20-2018, 09:05 AM | #4 |
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The key words here are "Ever since I put my winter tyres on ". If you notice something different after making a change, the first thing to check is what was changed. Have you ever run these tires before? If not, are they all the same diameter? One thing you can do is to switch back to your summer tires to see if the sound goes away.
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| 11-20-2018, 09:07 AM | #5 | |
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Quote:
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| 11-20-2018, 09:10 AM | #6 | |
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I suspect you did not get to the bottom of what I am saying - "Ever since I put my winter tyres on (which are noticeably quiter than the summer ones)".
- It is my suspicion that the noise might have been there before as well but not audible due to the noticeably noisier summer tires. I have driven the winter tires before but shortly (month or two) and have not noticed anything unusual at that time, but the car was new to me at that time so no datum. Quote:
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| 11-20-2018, 11:02 AM | #7 |
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High pitch noise from drivetrain? Not normal. Some low frequency rumble especially when cold? Probably nothing to worry about, although should not happen in that new car.
Tires can make very strange noises so I would not rule it out yet. |
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| 11-20-2018, 11:08 AM | #8 |
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After some driving today, I am leaning towards tyres. At around 60-70 km/h there's that higher pitch noise that may as well be a combined whining from the 4 tyres. The noise is definitely and directly speed related and not rpm/throttle/brakes related.... a bit like a bearing, but I believe I recognise several acoustic components which merge... like if 4 tires/wheels make similar but slightly different noise.
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| 11-20-2018, 11:12 AM | #9 |
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If its a whining sound coming from the gear stick/dash area on open throttle & stops when backing off this is normal as its the injectors doing there job
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| 11-20-2018, 11:14 AM | #10 |
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Nothing like it. Read previous post. Not at all throttle-related.
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| 11-20-2018, 01:21 PM | #11 | |
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Was my first drive out today on my winter wheel set, certainly different sounds in the cabin, comparted to my summer tyres. On one section of new surface, I was hearing new sounds that alerted me. The car was virtually silent on the summer wheels, on that section of road at the weekend, so know it has to be tyres, not from the drivetrain. |
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| 11-20-2018, 01:24 PM | #12 |
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FWIW I had some a set of tires that were in great shape, plenty of miles left, but were what I would consider "noisy" in that they had a little bit of a rhythmic sound... hard to describe. I actually thought I had a wheel bearing going out. Swapped tires, completely gone. They were both "quiet" in terms of road noise... but yeah, I think maybe just poor QC or slight run out in the belts or something. No vibration. So weird.
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| 11-20-2018, 01:30 PM | #13 |
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The background noise is definitely changing depending on road surface. I tend to notice the noise in question more on more silent (newer) asphalt. Tends to be more or less absorbed on rougher asphalt.
It does indeed sound a bit like resonance. I hope it is just tires. Will monitor further. Question (silly one): does the driveshaft to the rear wheels rotate with a speed solely depending on wheels rpm or engine rpm...? If it is something related to the drivetrain, would I notice difference depending on gear / engine rpms? The noise is definitely only related to actual car speed.
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| 11-20-2018, 01:51 PM | #14 | |
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Same for me, the sound changes with road surface and to a lesser degree with changes in speed. Rear driveshafts are wheel rpm and therefore road speed related. |
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| 11-20-2018, 02:03 PM | #15 |
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I hear a similar noise. I've heard it in all my xdrive cars. Normal
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| 11-21-2018, 03:38 PM | #16 |
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You didn't give us the age or mileage of you F36 but if it is "older" and a xDrive it could be the xDrive Transfer Case. These are known to whine prior to failure and is a know issue in xDrive cars.
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| 11-22-2018, 05:47 AM | #17 |
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Look at the last sentence of my initial post....
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| 11-22-2018, 12:01 PM | #18 |
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Still could be the Transfer Case. A friend had one fail early due to low fluid levels. Since your under warranty have the dealer check it. They put the car on the lift running and in gear and listen to the transfer case with a stethoscope.
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