"Out of round" tires - noise like wheel bearing

[jstaylor@ix.netcom.com (J S Taylor)]

Sounds familiar. In my 1994 100CS FWD, I started getting whirring 
noises from the front end at 35K. I was sure it was a flaky wheel 
bearing. Audi dealer said no. Trusted local tire guy also said no.

Finally, I borrowed a pair of wheel/tires and confirmed that the 
problem was in the tire. The one bad tire was on my LF wheel & was the 
same model as the OEM tires (were they Eagles? I've tried to forget). 
It wasn't actually a roundness thing -- it had to do with cupping 
creating rough edges around the tires.

What was bizarre is that the tire had more than 50% of its tread, my 
trusted tire guy assured me that it wasn't caused by mis-alignment or 
underinflation, it was not a tire defect, the tire guy could look at 
the tire on the car and knew that was causing the noise, and that it 
didn't affect safety.

He said I could buy a new tire but he suggested turning the radio up. 
:)

    John Taylor
    Arlington VA