Drone sound at speed

[cdscivic]

Recently got an NSX and slowly addressing things that need updating or fixing on it. The latest is a drone at speed, it sounds like the rear but who knows. I do know one wheel was bent and have since handled that issue, thinking it was the noise. Well it was some of the noise but not all, its still pretty loud in the car....i can hear it over the exhaust. What could this be?

My gut is telling me wheel bearing maybe but normally that's a groan, this sounds like really loud tire noise but they are new Falkens.

ANyway, thanks in advance!

 

[Honcho]

Drone/groan is almost always the rear wheel bearings. The left rear usually goes first if the car has been tracked a lot. CV joints are more a clicking/thunking.

 

[Old Guy]

The NSX is not particularly good at isolating road noise. Also, different tires have different noise profiles and some tires are noisy even when they are brand new. I have some Bridgestone RE760 tires which were claimed to be a low noise tire; however, on some road surfaces the tires would howl like crazy. Around here they sometimes use popcorn mix asphalt in areas to reduce hydroplaning and the RE760s are deafening on that surface. Try driving on different road surfaces to check for the noise level. If the noise changes with the surface the problem might be the tires. If the noise is consistent, then time to look for something else.

I would describe bearing noise as a howl, not a groan; but, one person's howl might be another's groan. Have you jacked up the rear end and given the wheels a spin to see if you can hear any noise? A failing bearing will often rumble when you rotate the wheel. You can also do the side to side pull on the wheel to see if there is any movement or clicking which might be a bearing problem - or other problems.

Inspect the rear calipers to make sure that you have free movement of the caliper allowing complete retraction of the pads. Based upon what you describe, dragging pads or hardware does not sound like your problem; but, easy to check once the wheel is off.

 

[cdscivic]

The NSX is not particularly good at isolating road noise. Also, different tires have different noise profiles and some tires are noisy even when they are brand new. I have some Bridgestone RE760 tires which were claimed to be a low noise tire; however, on some road surfaces the tires would howl like crazy. Around here they sometimes use popcorn mix asphalt in areas to reduce hydroplaning and the RE760s are deafening on that surface. Try driving on different road surfaces to check for the noise level. If the noise changes with the surface the problem might be the tires. If the noise is consistent, then time to look for something else.

I would describe bearing noise as a howl, not a groan; but, one person's howl might be another's groan. Have you jacked up the rear end and given the wheels a spin to see if you can hear any noise? A failing bearing will often rumble when you rotate the wheel. You can also do the side to side pull on the wheel to see if there is any movement or clicking which might be a bearing problem - or other problems.

Inspect the rear calipers to make sure that you have free movement of the caliper allowing complete retraction of the pads. Based upon what you describe, dragging pads or hardware does not sound like your problem; but, easy to check once the wheel is off.

I would definitely say it's been consistent across-the-board on surfaces. This weekend I'll put it on the lift and check out the various points above!