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Droning noise above 40mph


taffyjason

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I've looked for a while to settle this issue, but thought i'd ask again..

 

Does the 350z above this speed develop a droning sound, kind of like an old world war 2 engine in the distance, increases with speed, is it typical for this car as i notice there's little insulation at the back end.

 

Should i worry ? wheel bearing? diff ? (argh!)

 

Recently had a japspeed K2 exhaust, the droning was the same.

 

The sound doesnt go when i push the clutch in, so its not at the engine side at least.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions would be very much appreciated.

 

Cheers!

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probably a wheel bearing, get on a straight road, and load each side of the car, basically sway the car gently side to side like a drunk driver!

 

and see if the sound changes when you put load on the side the noise is coming from!

 

watch out for oncoming traffic though lol!! prob best to do when it quiet!

 

alternatively, raise the car and spin each wheel and see if you can hear which one is noiser than the others! they need to be spun pretty fast for this to work though!

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well the two rear tyres are in good condition but different makes, some muppet before me fitted one budget one decent, so thats on the cards to change,

 

I'l give the swaying a try, but in Norfolk there's scant few roads to do that at 40mph...40mph and your car is shaking like a drug addict with only diet coke as a drug, the roads are appalling here!!

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i can imagine haha! by sway i just mean like your turning, so that the wheels on that side become loaded and it should make the noise more pronounce - if its a wheel bearing!

 

thought we should start with the basic checks! plus its cheaper than paying a garage to diag it!

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start with looking for uneven wear on tyres around the circumference and not accross the width you could be suffering from cupping, it was an issue with early bridgestones when the zed was first released. Your cheap tyre may have the same issue. Tyre pattern was redesigned on the Bridgestones and Nissan replaced the tyres.

 

Feathering/Cupping

 

These terms are used to refer to a specific type of undesirable front tyre wear on some 350zs. This problem occurred for many (but not a majority) of owners in the US and has been found in the UK as well.

 

The tyres wear unevenly on their outer (check) edge leading to roaring/rumbling/howling noise which gets worse as wear/mileage increases. Some owners have reported associated steering feel changes and even reduced front end grip.

 

Nissan GB now recognise that this condition can occur and will inspect tyres when the problem is reported. If they find that the problem is affecting a car, they will usually replace the tyres and reset the toe-in settings of the car to avoid the problem re-curring.

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Thanks for the advice, i will look into getting two new MATCHING tyres! hopefully its just uneven road noise and wear, like you suggested, its more an irritant than a problem, as im sure with everyone, as soon as you tune into a rattle or a unusual noise, you fear the worst.

 

Just curious to what a worn diff would sound like? but for 40k miles, it would have to have been massacred on a track somewhere!

 

I'll keep the forum updated.

 

Many thanks

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For what it is worth, in the 6 years I have been involved with the 350/370s, reported problems with the diffs are extremely rare and espcially at the relatively low mileage yours has done.

 

Two matching tyres (ideally 4) are certainly the first thing to try. Just a little thought though given the fact you have two different tyres on the rear. Maybe one side of the car has hit a kerb in the past (not unknown ;) ) and that has damaged a bearing so check for any play/noise when you get the rear jacked up.

 

I would also recommend a wheel alignment - that and a good set of tyres are crtical for best perfomance as the ZEDs are sensitive to these being neglected.

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I have experience of cheap budget tyres causing droning very simular to wheel bearing noise....I was convinced it was a wheel bearing till the tyres were changed and the noise gone..on another occassion and car I have experienced wheel shake very sumular to a out of balance issue, but again it was due to tyres...so your issue could easily be down to tyres. :thumbs:

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i changed the diff oil recently, was gloopy but free of anything metallic.....

 

Stupid question but did you use the right oil and fill it to the correct level? I don't think there's any service schedule for changing the diff oil as its supposed to last the lifetime of the car (in theory at least). No harm in changing it every so often though :thumbs: .

 

 

Pete

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just jack the car up, grad the wheel at the top and the bottom and rock it back and forth and if it moves its a wheel bearing. I found that a bit more accurate than move side to side as the noise wouldnt change no how soft/violently i moved the car from side to side

 

Could be a worn diff but then i found all my diffs would make mofe of a re-verbirating metallic noise before going bang

 

 

could be the road/tyre contatc noise as i found most tyres make a different noise, could be under inflated tyres to

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well the rear tyres, one is an Avon, which is near the worn marker and the other is a good Continental, one is rated stiff, the other soft......at this point i bet a few of you are saying 'ahhhhhh bingo' ...

 

so was talking at getting new tyres with the local garage, he can get me two Pirelli zero's for 196 a piece, which is way less than the list price....

 

tried the driving side to side method, which had no effect, only gets louder when going faster.

 

car in the garage monday for two 'banana' wishbone bushes, he's gonna take it for a drive, as he builds track cars and services ferraris, i hope he's the man to find the issue!

 

cheers all

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Lol 400 quid for two tyres !!!!!! Try camskill they do tyres of every brand make and model for cheaper than most Places

 

The different tyres could very well contribute to wearing your diff out. I used a pair of

Tyres in my s13 one was 225/40 and the other was 225/45 and it destroyed my diff with in 1000 miles

 

Still jacking it up and grabbing the wheels and turing back and forth will be the best way to

Check the bearings

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Well i argued with myself (i do this often) and thought, well crappy Norfolk country roads, covered in tractor mud, winter coming....do i want to buy budget and maybe turn my 350z into a convertible by rolling it...or do i want some confidence....soooo i bought 2 Pirelli P Zero's

 

Hopefully this will solve the droning AND help me stay alive this winter!

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