Hey everyone. My GT has under 5k miles and suspension mods are below. I recently had a set of blizzaks mounted and noticed this strange binding sound when turning coming from the front left. The car needs to have been driven for about 10 or 15 minutes and it seems to get progressively worse as I drive the car. Then I jump back in later and the noise is gone until things warm up again.

It started happening around the time I had the blizzaks installed so I took it back up to the shop and the tech. said it was the tire binding because it's so soft. These blizzaks are indeed very soft, but I'm having a hard time believing this. For a few reasons:

1. I get the same behavior in the rain.
2. It only comes from the front left.
3. I sacrificed a cookie sheet as an experiment and ended up driving up on it with the left front tire after it had warmed up. My intent was to reduce as much friction as possible to determine if it was the tire or not. I turned left and right and sure enough the sound was still there even though I was on the cookie sheet.

I had my wife turning the wheel while having the hood propped up and my hands directly on the strut mount. I was thinking maybe it was loose but it's solid as a rock.

Here is a video I just shot a few minutes ago, skip to about the 10 second mark to start hearing this crazy sound. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

Video:
Thanks!

 

My .02- it sounds like the the inner treadblock catching the inner fender roll. Is it doing this as you put in steering angle or independent of it?

The ride height setting changes slightly as you drive the car, the fluid in the dampers warms, depending how much weight you have in the car, where its distributed, etc. I also know that in EVERY vehicle I've ever put aftermarket springs in they loose height over time. Springs settle, even the best ones, even ones guaranteed not to.

 

Saw you said new Blizzaks which are running at max diameter (if they're brand new), and are probably blocky/aggressive? was the video made -after- driving?? If so then my theory may be correct If the vid was done cold I'm pissin' into the breeze, LOL.

 

Sounds like a bad upper strut mount to me

 

You may be on to something here. First thing I thought of was an automotive version of clipping playing cards to my bike frame when I was a kid so they would make that sort of sound with the spokes.

 

It is absolutely a strut mount. I had the same exact noise when I installed a set of assembled struts that I thought had complete strut mounts, but the upper spring perches were actually removed to be installed on the previous owner's camber plates. The massive sideload caused that binding and releasing noise when I turned the wheel. Thing sounded like a massive banjo string that was way loose being plucked, the way it reverberated around the front subframe.



This has nothing to do with tread blocks. Mine was silent until there was heat in the engine bay and, therefore, heat in the strut mounts. The heat softened the rubber in the center of the strut mount, causing the binding. Replacing them made my noise go away.

 

Yes it is the strut mounts get the gt 500 mounts for $99 on clearance at AM.