Piston Slap: Spare Me Your Noisy Rubber!

TTAC Commentator gtemnykh writes:

About 5,000 miles ago, I installed new General Altimax RT43 tires on my 2012 Honda Civic LX, a well-regarded tire according to most sources. Everything was great when I first had them installed: No noticeable increase in noise and much better wet grip.

It was only several thousand miles later that I noticed tire noise. It’s loudest between 40 and 50 mph and sounds like I’m riding around on snow tires. At highway speeds, it’s less noticeable or not at all.

My question: Have you heard of tires starting out more or less quiet, only to later get louder as they approach 5,000 miles?

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  • Zipper69 So, my '94 Ranger doesn't cut it?
  • GregLocock Since fixed interval servicing costs per km or mile are dwarfed by any other line item except tires and batteries, I think you are barking up the wrong tree, for new vehicle owners at least.
  • Theflyersfan Excellent dealer - 2 years scheduled maintenance included from the dealer (not Mazda) as part of the deal. One warranty repair - a bolt had to be tightened in the exhaust system. Only out of pocket were the winter tires and a couple of seasons of paying to get them swapped on and off. So about $1000 for the tires, $80 for each tire swap and that's it.
  • EBFlex You can smell the desperation.
  • Safeblonde MSRP and dealer markup are two different things. That price is a fiction.