I recently picked up some stock wheels, I didnt like the look of the wheels that came with my car, they were some off brand wheels.

So before putting the wheels on, I looked at the tires that were on them, the rears had even wear but the front was slightly worn more on the inner side. (it wasnt much though, just enough for me to tell).

Skip to about 2 or 3 weeks later, I'm driving a friend and he told me that the car was loud as if the bearings were bad. I hadn't noticed it until he pointed it out and now its bothering me. I dont think its the bearings though because the oscillating noise doesnt get louder at higher speeds nor does it change at turns. can the slight uneven wear be causing the sound? I only hear the noise at low speeds, below 20mph (coming to a stop or while accelerating).

In addition to this, I hear a faint on/off whistling sound when im driving. I only notice it when im in 2nd or 3rd gear. But it comes and goes and only happens a few times while i drive. its not wind and it isnt the wheels i put on, I noticed this sound a while back just havent been able to figure it out. could it be a belt?

I also tried to record the sounds on a voice memo on my phone but you cant hear the sounds from the recordings.

let me know if you have any ideas!

 

I call it a wam wam wam. It's bad tires, cheap tires suck.

 

Is it the tread? Or the way it's wearing? Cause I was about to lower the car.

 

Sounds like your tires are feathered which is an uneven amount of tread, usually just on one side. Bad alignment/cheap tires are the cause of this issue. Nothing can be done with those, they're toast.