Vicious scraping and rubbing with Blizzak 205/55/17 Steelies, dealer says no steel???

[bacarl]

Everyone has different sensitivity to squeaks and rattles. Most any noise bothers me, but my gf on the other hand doesn't even notice stuff I do. She's like 'how do you even hear that?'

I understand Luke's issue - a new car should not make noise period. My car has this noise just for the first mile or so when it's cold out, then it goes away so it doesn't bother me. But if my car sounded like Element's (and I think Luke's does) I would have a problem.

Sorry for asking an obvious question, but do you know where the sta bar bushings are? If you do, try working some all-weather grease underneath them. The downside to this is that grease attracts contaminants. If you don't want to try this yourself, take the car in and take a service guy or tech for a ride to indicate what your problem is. If they tell you it's normal state your case like you have here: that it's your only car to ever do this, it's unacceptable, puts Mazda in a bad light, etc. They should fix it.

 

[Circle9]

Bushing noises

 

[JingChuan]

Look, your situation is not typical.

Doubtful. I live where it actually gets cold in winter, and something on my car makes the most awful noise for at least the first 20 minutes of driving. First time I heard it, I thought the air dam was dragging on the ground. I pulled over and looked around for any kind of loose plastic, but everything was in place. The sound went away by the time I got home. Pretty damn annoying, and should be a TSB if they expect the car to be driven in cold climates.

 

[Young Roids]

Yup I thought something was scraping the ground the first time I heard it.

 

[Mike240SX]

To those that say "you bought a performance car, deal with squeaks and rattles," I say...

"You bought a $14,000 entry-level economy car with beefed up suspension and motor, deal with squeaks and rattles."

Yeah, the car costs $23-25k out of the box, but you aren't paying for refinement. I can deal with it. If I wanted a quiet ride I would've bought a used G35 or 3-series.

 

[LukeP]

Cold weather squeek video

And here we....go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y5F2rpV9oc

I've never heard anything make this sound, and so long as it's not from Italy or France, I've driven or been a passenger in pretty much everything under these conditions.

 

[Benior]

Mine also seems to make a horrible scraping noise when it's below 20F while going over speed humps and some crowned intersections. Checked for anything hanging or ice buildup and didn't see anything. The problem seems to go away in warmer, yet still below freezing weather. Not sure if it'd go away on longer drives, my commute is pretty short.

I've got 215/50-17 Dunlop Winter Sport M3 tires mounted on some 17x7 MSW alloys.

The scraping sound is quite noticeable, and bizarre. My B15 Sentra SE-R was based on a cheap economy car, and though it made more noise in cold weather, it didn't do anything like this.

 

[Nliiitend1]

That noise in the video is definitely the sway bar collar bushing noise.

 

[60181]

That noise in the video is definitely the sway bar collar bushing noise.

is Mazda aware of this? Why do our bushings do this and do some other cars?

haven't heard it yet, but then we don't get nearly that cold often if at all.

 

[martin_nj]

a soft rubber bushing will not make noise but will flex more

a poly bushing that is stiffer will make that noise...

i had the noise on my bmw when i went with aftermarket sway bars.... haven't had it yet here, and haven't yet stuck my head under to see what type of bushing we have.... try greasing it up a bit

 

[Antonio DiMarco]

+1

a soft rubber bushing will not make noise but will flex more

a poly bushing that is stiffer will make that noise...

i had the noise on my bmw when i went with aftermarket sway bars.... haven't had it yet here, and haven't yet stuck my head under to see what type of bushing we have.... try greasing it up a bit

 

[Nliiitend1]

a soft rubber bushing will not make noise but will flex more

a poly bushing that is stiffer will make that noise...

i had the noise on my bmw when i went with aftermarket sway bars.... haven't had it yet here, and haven't yet stuck my head under to see what type of bushing we have.... try greasing it up a bit

A relatively STIFF rubber bushing WILL make that noise in very cold conditions, and that is what we have on the MS3.

I wouldn't recommend greasing it with any petroleum-based grease, as that will most likely degrade the rubber and cause it to dry out.

 

[mazdaspeed32007]

i actually have had this problem too with the "tire rubbing sound" i have a question though. if it is the bushings, and i think it is on mine if everybody believes so, they also squeek in the summer time over bumps. like....a rear window 1980's cheverolt blazer squeek. if anyone has ridden in one they know. and if it is these buchings can you use lithium grease on these things to help out or what do i do?

 

[Nliiitend1]

Is it the same noise in the summer as in the winter?

If it's more of a "squeak" than a rubbing/scraping/crunching sound, it's probably the exhaust joint where the stock downpipe attaches to the stock cat-back. The gasket at that joint has been known to squeak on these cars...

 

[mazdaspeed32007]

wow i probably should have read into the thread....ie. the post right above mine. in any case the squeek in the summer is quite possibly the same part?

 

[Nliiitend1]

It's "possible" but I don't know how likely it is. I've never noticed my swaybar bushings making any noise in the warmer months.

 

[theurgy]

I'll second the theory that it's the swaybar bushings.
First time I heard it on my Speed3 last year it scared the crap out of me.
I was sure it was tires rubbing.... then I heard the same complaints of the same noise from others and realized later that it was the bushings.
The noise still sounds horrible... but it's expected now.