Hi there currently have a 55 reg wrx sti ppp have owned the car roughly 2 months car has full service history with subaru and had cam belt changed car has 52000 miles on the clock and this weekend i have noticed when accelerating in any gear there is a rattling/rubbing/grinding noise coming from the front drivers side sounds like the wheel area only makes noise when car is moving does not sound when stationary or with bonnet up etc at first i thought maybe a wheel bearing or something loose or catching but have jacked car up and checked everywhere and cant see anything and like i say only does when accelerating as soon as i take my foot off of the pedal it stops any ideas any one car still performs excellently as should only thing i have done different daft as sounds is filled up with tesco momentum where as normally use vpower and that tank gone now so filled up with vpower again but surely nothing to do with it. have owned a wrx before for couple of years but never come across this sound thanks again. oh and got the car from garage about 80 miles away from me and only got a 1 month warranty so cant see much point ringing the garage. thanks again..

 

I take it you have a 6 speed box Andy?

Are there any modifications on the car? I had a similar problem on mine and it was the heatshield on the up-pipe which is on the drivers side. It was a sort of resonating sound under acceleration and took me ages to find.

A rattling noise under load is more unusual than when coming off the accelerator so i'd suspect its something loose. Check the turbo heatshield too, and if you can hear anything unusual when you rev it with the bonnet up.

 

Possibly a cv joint on the drive shaft, try putting the steering on full lock, gently accelerate and then back off, try both left and right directions. The noise will be much more pronounced if it is a cv.

 

Other than prodrive performance pack and a bailey dumpvalve which was already on the car when i purchased it the car is standard. dumpvalve appears to be working fine and as it should be. I have ordered a standard recirculating dumpvalve just incase to try see if it makes any difference. have jacked car up had wheels off etc and there no play any where or obvious signs of wear.

 

Yeah and is a 6 speed box. And when bonnet up stationary if revved there no undue noises whatsoever. will check heat shields though. was concerned as i read somewhere it could be somethimg to do with the diff or clutch etc. Thanks again.