I have read in other threads that there have been complaints about the OEM Potenzas RE040's getting noisy as they wear.

My original tires are approaching 19k miles - about 70% on interstates - and I have actually been quite pleased with them until recently. Over the last month or so I have started to notice a pretty substantial groan or hum at speeds between about 60 and 70 MPH. The noise seems to be speed dependent, as opposed to engine RPM or throttle application. Is this the type of noise that people have experienced with wear?

Since in my case the noise seemed to start rather suddenly I am wondering if it's the tires or something else (perhaps something in the drivetrain?). I guess it could be that the noise has existed for awhile and gradually increased to the point that it just recently became noticeable. Is there any way to make a determination without replacing the tires? They still have a decent amount of tread (maybe another 5k miles) and I hate to have to replace them now but the noise is pretty aggravating.

Any opinions? Thanks.

 

I only have about 13K miles on my factory tires, but recently I noticed that there's significantly more road noise than earlier. Funny thing is, the increased noise appeared right around the time I last rotated my tires. Coincidence? I'm not sure, but there's definitely more noise. It is certain that I won't buy these tires when it comes to replacement.

 

Yep they get noisy as they wear, time to get new tires if you can't stand it. I got about 17K miles out of my set that came on the car.

 

i got about 20k out of my stock tires. its natural for tires to get noisy when they start to wear down