Mitsubishi Colt banging from wheel sound audio recording

[Adam32]

I have a 2009 Mitsubishi Colt 1.3 CZ2. There is a loud banging sound, which appears to be coming from the drivers side front wheel, to the extent that it sounds like a train! The weird thing is that this nearly always happens at low speed. When you get above 40mph, its barely noticeable. I don't notice it any worse when steering. I thought it may be the wheel bearing, but I have had the car jacked up and don’t notice any excess play. Please see the below link to an audio recording that I have just made

https://voca.ro/1azJZBpBn63Z

What do people think it is?

[littleredrooster]

Has part of the tyre delaminated? Any bulges/bumps anywhere, especially on the hidden inside face?

[cuprabob]

As above, check the tyre for delamination or something significant stuck in the tread. If that's OK it could be a CV joint, probably inner If it doesn't get worse with steering lock.

[Adam32]

cuprabob said:

As above, check the tyre for delamination or something significant stuck in the tread. If that's OK it could be a CV joint, probably inner If it doesn't get worse with steering lock.

I did think about that, but why would the sound get progressively better with speed?

[cuprabob]

Adam32 said:

cuprabob said:

As above, check the tyre for delamination or something significant stuck in the tread. If that's OK it could be a CV joint, probably inner If it doesn't get worse with steering lock.

I did think about that, but why would the sound get progressively better with speed?

At speed possibly other noises are more prominent and mask it.

[GreenV8S]

If you swap the front tyres over does the sound swap sides? That would tell you whether it was associated with the wheel/tyre or the bearings.

[Adam32]

GreenV8S said:

If you swap the front tyres over does the sound swap sides? That would tell you whether it was associated with the wheel/tyre or the bearings.

I have just gone ahead and swapped the wheels over and confirm the sound swaps sided, so I guess its either the wheel or the tyre. The really strange thing is that upon close inspection the tyre looks perfectly okay and the wheel seems to look okay. I will take it in somewhere and see if they can put it on a machine to diagnose the problem- either balancing the wheel or a new tyre.

[GreenV8S]

Adam32 said:

I have just gone ahead and swapped the wheels over and confirm the sound swaps sided, so I guess its either the wheel or the tyre. The really strange thing is that upon close inspection the tyre looks perfectly okay and the wheel seems to look okay. I will take it in somewhere and see if they can put it on a machine to diagnose the problem- either balancing the wheel or a new tyre.

That's sensible. If you can't see external damage, it's possible there's an internal structural problem - and that's not something you want to be driving on.