Sort of sounds like a cracked wheel itself. Anyone know an x-ray tech who would like to check it out for you...that would be the way to find out.

 

I had this problem with aftermarket forged aluminum wheels on my GTO. It turned out to be the center caps clicking/popping and the way I was torquing the wheels done was the cause. If I put the full weight of the car on any of the wheels and torqued the wheels down the center caps would click or pop when going around corners. If I torqued them down to the proper torque with no weight on the wheels the clicking/popping didn't happen. Thought I was going nuts until I figured it out. I kept stopping and looking for rocks in the tires and there would be none.

 

I don't know...sounds like when you back off the torque and the noise is going away, something still isn't right. More torque and it starts clicking, sounds more like a crack too me but I'm not a structural engineer of wheels. Center caps, anything is possible. Remove them and try again with the proper torque. Driving a high performance car around when the wheel bolts aren't torqued properly somehow doesn't sound good too me.

 

I too notice this popping sound, guess it applies to each year model, I hear it only on the passenger side when turning right.

 

They were removed.

No way this is a cracked wheel.



Interesting. If you look at the date of this thread you can tell I have kind of quit caring about it. I can get it to stop for short periods, but it just comes back. There are multiple threads on cadillacforums.com about the new CTS-V having this very same issue. I will try removing the center caps and see what happens. If the caps are popping then the wheel will also have to be flexing. That doesn't seem right.

 

i now have this exact noise. noticed on hard rt slow turns a very little when turning left too. Also in reverse.

 

I had the exact problem with my 06 C6. Dealer replace both front wheel bearings, noise went away and never returned.

 

Thanks for the input, I'll keep you posted

 

well dealer said the rotors need to be cleaned where they meet the hub and it would fix the prob. I was doubting the repair but seems to be what i needed.

 

OK, well, then, one more thing we can check out if we have the problem. I also have a click and I was thinking it may be the axle nuts. It seems like my problem disappears if I have the brake depressed slightly as I slowly go over expansion joints in the road. I have to be passing a parked car really slowly to have a chance on hearing the sound. But I can check the rotors easily enough.

 

Well finally!!! I joined the Vette forum, just for this problem! Not many answered my first post in the genral discussion forum, so I was beginning to think that not one single Vette on earth besides mine, had this problem!

I just bought my 05 Z51 a week ago...and this annoying noise has been driving me crazy. Only on the right side, like several of you have had...only when in sharp turns.....Which solution seemed to help the most???
Trust me enough heads turn when this car rolls into view...FULL attention ....and the click click click kinda ruins the effect!

I am looking forwar to hearing which "fix" helped the most!!!

 

For me, I only had the clicking noise on hard left turns (steering wheel turned all the way to the left) at slow speeds. To me, it sounded as if it was coming from the center cap (I had the wife drive the car in a circle while I walked along side of the car). I hadn't tested to see if I still had the noise for quite a while, as I don't take hard left turns (steering wheel turned all the way to the left) very often. So I tried to make the noise again a couple of days ago and I could not. If my theory about the center cap is correct, then I may not have the issue anymore as I now have spyder wheels which have a different center cap. You might want to try to remove the center caps on the front wheels and see if the noise stops. If that doesn't work, try knkali's suggestion.

 

I would say that the best thing for you is to understand what all the problems were and to check each one. What fixes one person's car is probably not going to fix yours because there are many reasons for the click. From my time being on this forum, let me see if I can list what could be the cause:

1. Wheel bearings. Lift the car up off the wheels, grab the wheels/tires and see if you can nudge them up/down. If so, it may be a wheel bearing.

2. End links. On the Z I believe you may have the one with the grease fittings. Even so, you may be able to grab the link or anti-sway bar and move it and see if the link makes a noise. Maybe check the nuts and see if they have come loose. Sometimes these things don't get greased and they go bad due to lack of maintenance.

3. If you have aftermarket wheels, check to see with the wheel off if the hold down washer is on one of the studs. The stock wheels have a detent on the back to account for this thin piece of metal that holds the rotor on in place while the car is being assembled. Simply remove the hold down washer from the stud(s).

4. Brake pads. Sometimes the brake pads can rattle. Test this out while driving slowly with the windows down and the top on by another car and listen as you go by expansion joints at low speed. Then do the same thing with the brakes slightly depressed and see if that makes a difference.

5. Rear axle nuts. They could be loose. Take the center cap off the rear tires and check the torque with a torque wrench. There was a recall on these. They are probably about 8 bucks each if you want to do it yourself. Some people reported they were loose. Your wheel won't fall off if these come loose, but the half shaft will not put the right amount of pressure on some rear bearings and it (I think) results in a clicking sound. Don't over tighten. The new torque spec I think is 160ft/lbs, but also use the permanent locktite if you need this.

That is all I can remember.


If I were to guess on only going right, I would say a suspension piece like an end link would be the thing I would check first. Maybe a tie-rod end also. If you take it to an alignment shop they may be able to figure it out if it's one of those.

 

All good suggestions. Thanks for taking the time for posting them. However, I don’t believe the noises I was hearing or that of the OP are caused by these items. It is a much different noise than some to the items you mention above. Cases in point:

1. As the original OP stated and in my case as well, it only happens on hard turns. That means the steering wheel turned 100% in one direction.

2. The click happened in the same spot as the car was moving. E.g., I had the wife drive the car in a circle while I walked along side with my ear to the wheel. You can imagine how slow she was driving to allow me to walk beside the wheel. The click always happened at the same spot. If she increased her speed, the speed of the click would increase. This also rules out loose axel nuts, as the noise was coming from the right front wheel, not the rear. My wheels were stock at the time, so it rules this out as well. I did have non stock center caps though. Lastly, the tinnerman clips were removed so it wasn't this either.

3. It wasn't end links. That noise happens over bumps. I've had bad end links, and this is a totally different noise. This click noise is higher in pitch and only happens on hard left or right turns, at very slow speeds.

4. Doubt it is a suspension problem. The noise is not "bump" related.

5. The noise does not happen with the wheels in the air and steering wheel turned. Only on the ground.

6. After pulling my wheel off to look for anything that might be loose, the noise went away - temporarily. However, after about 8 hard left turns the noise came back.

7. If I loosened up on the lugnuts, the noise goes away, and I could not get the noise to come back. I ended up lowering the torque on the right lugnuts to 90 lbs and never heard the noise again.

The best way I could describe the noise is that it was very similar to the same noise I would hear while the car cooled down after a long drive. Around the wheels I would hear a faint click, tick etc. as the wheels cooled down. This is the same noise I would hear while turning. With my new spyder wheels, I no longer hear this noise while the wheels cool off after a drive. I also no longer hear the click even with the lugnuts torqued to specs. Personally, I think it was the center caps. If not that, knkali's suggestion above seems like it might have merit. Just thought I would share my experience with this noise issue.

 

Thanks for all of the advice and tips! I have a lot to look into now, but I feel so much better knowing mine isn't the only one with the issue!

 

my noise sounded like rocks in a hub cap when I made a sharp slow speed turn. Go to an enclosed parking garage. That is how I discovered it. I couldnt believe it when the service manager said he thinks he knew what it was and it was rust behind the rotors. It seems to have don the trick though--so far.

 

I too had a strange clicking sound during turns. Localized by having friend drive car in circles in a mall parking lot after hours. The factory lug nuts had somehow "separated". Though the lug nuts were tight on the studs, I found I could rotate the outer shell just a bit on some of the lug nuts. I bought a cheapish set of four replacement lug nuts and replaced just the "separated" ones and the clicking stopped. At this point I have installed a full set of new lug nuts and the clicking has not returned.

I was doing a lot of auto-x for the first couple of years with the car and think that all the tire change cycles may have contributed to the lug nut issue.

 

I do see that the tread is a bit old however it has been very usefull to me, so thanx to all of you. I have the same cracking noise when turning 100% to the left and now I know where I will start my search Once I find the cause I will be sure to post it so others can learn from my experience.

 

Okay, I have a 2010 Grand Sport Coupe with the same issue with on 18000 miles. I have Forged 360 wheels on as well. So, I took it to the dealer for them to fix it. I will post my result after my car is done.