[brownen]

Hi all,
apologies if this is in the wrong place.
I currently have what I believe is the standard tyres on my i30 1.6 CRDi (Hankook I think)
But the noise is a tad offputting at times, I do a hell of a lot of miles and a lot of motorway driving, what would you say is the best tyre to go for (I only need the front 2 replacing, the back 2 seem fine).
I bow to your superior knowledge and experience if anyone can help please?

Thanks
Neil

[eye30]

I replaced the stock hankook with the same and I found the new ones ok.

The old ones where made in Korea whereas the new ones are Czech.

I wonder whether the tyre compound is different which gives better reduced noise/ firmer ride.

[baroudeur]

I replaced the stock hankook with the same and I found the new ones ok.

The old ones where made in Korea whereas the new ones are Czech.

I wonder whether the tyre compound is different which gives better reduced noise/ firmer ride.

Aren't the Czech/Slovak built cars on Hungarian Hankooks.....mine is?

The new tyre regulations require tyres to be sold with noise, wet grip and rolling resistance gradings shown.

http://www.atseuromaster.co.uk/assets/files/Tyre%20Labelling%20FAQs.pdf

[AlanHo]

My previous i30 had Hankooks which were really noisy. You may recall a long thread I started when I used a decibel meter to measure the noise levels before changing all 4 tyres at only 3000 miles to Yokohama Decibel low noise tyres. The Yokohama were better - but not by a million miles.

My new 2012 i30 came fitted with Hankook Ventus Prime 2 tyres but I had them swapped to Continental Premium Contact 2 tyres by the dealer after previous test drives. These continentals are much, much quieter than the Hankook on my previous car - but that car had 17" rims and this car has 16" rims and is the newer model with better sound insulation.

You can see the comparisons in this thread

https://www.i30ownersclub.com/forum/index.php?topic=14198.0

My best guess is that the Continentals I have are as quiet as any tyre on the market - continental technical dept claim that other brands make tyres that are as quiet but none are quieter. They admitted that quiet tyres have a reduced tread life compared with their other tyres.

Regarding the tyre regulations mentioned by baradeur - the noise data is for external noise measurement and not internal cabin noise. The regulation is aimed at reducing environmental traffic noise.

[brownen]

Thanks for your advice, looks like it's more the cabin that is noisy rather than the tyres and to be fair the Mileage is more important to me as I will be putting a few miles on the clock.

[Surferdude]

I assume from your e-mail address you're in the UK.
Alan Ho's advice is sound. ( ).

Sorry.

But he's right. The Conti model he talks about is excellent in the noise generation department, rides smoothly and has a positive feel on the road.

[baroudeur]

 - the noise data is for external noise measurement and not internal cabin noise. The regulation is aimed at reducing environmental traffic noise.

But if we are discussing  noise in the car that is generated by the tyres then these ratings will have some bearing.  A noisy tyre outside will be a noisy tyre inside.

[AlanHo]

 - the noise data is for external noise measurement and not internal cabin noise. The regulation is aimed at reducing environmental traffic noise.

But if we are discussing  noise in the car that is generated by the tyres then these ratings will have some bearing.  A noisy tyre outside will be a noisy tyre inside.

I believe you are right to some extent, but that is not the whole story. External road noise is generated by the friction of tread movement against the surface of the road and high velocity air displacement trapped in the contact patch. The new porous tarmac now used to resurface motorways and A roads was developed to allow water to drain through the surface and reduce the risk of aqua planing - a bonus is the fact that the porosity allows air trapped in the contact patch to escape into the surface which significantly reduces tyre noise.

Some external tyre noise will be transmitted to the cabin through the wheel and tyre wall. The stiffer the side wall and the lower the tyre profile - more noise will be transmitted. Sports tyres and possibly eco tyres tend to have stiffer side walls and will transmit more noise to the cabin compared with low noise tyres which are more compliant.

It is entirely possible for two tyres of identical size and external noise rating to perform quite differently regarding cabin noise.  It depends upon their construction and compound.

It is a complex subject and we have not yet got into the subject of harmonics and natural frequencies. Sufficeth it to say that a particular tyre will not perform the same on different cars - because difference in the wheel bearings, drive shafts, suspension components and bodyshell will produce a different harmonic profile and affect the level of noise frequencies (generated by the tyres) transmitted to the cabin.  For example, the new i30 has hollow drive shafts to reduce road noise transmission to the bodyshell and cabin because a tube is less efficient at transmitting noise than a solid shaft.

I am not an expert at noise transmission - I hated the subject when doing my engineering degree - but some of the stuff still lingers in the old brain.

[Dazzler]

Nicely worded explanation Alan (very interesting)

[Surferdude]

Great post Alan and right on the money regarding harmonics.

Tyre manufacturers (and car makers) have a thing they test for called "NVH"
Noise
Vibration
Harmonics

A massive can of worms and as Alan says, varies from car to car, tyre to tyre and road surface to road surface.
And just to complicate things I've seen a set of tyres taken off one car (a Holden Statesman) because they were noisy. A week later they were fitted to another Holden Statesman (same year model, same trim, same wheels , approximately the same mileage) and they were as quiet as a mouse.

[baroudeur]

 I've seen a set of tyres taken off one car (a Holden Statesman) because they were noisy. A week later they were fitted to another Holden Statesman (same year model, same trim, same wheels , approximately the same mileage) and they were as quiet as a mouse.

But by what standard?  The same driver?   The same test equipment?  The same roads?

Placebos are well known in the medical world...one believes what one thinks!

[Surferdude]

 I've seen a set of tyres taken off one car (a Holden Statesman) because they were noisy. A week later they were fitted to another Holden Statesman (same year model, same trim, same wheels , approximately the same mileage) and they were as quiet as a mouse.

But by what standard?  The same driver?   The same test equipment?  The same roads?

Placebos are well known in the medical world...one believes what one thinks!

Not an official test.
The tyres were fitted to the car by a dealer in North Qld. The driver complained, dealer went for a drive with him and agreed. Fitted another set of different tread (but same brand) tyres and the problem went away.
A couple of weeks later another customer, related to the dealer came in and wanted a 'deal" on some tyres. At that stage the rep hadn't been through to write up claims on the "noisy" tyres so, as the relative's car was exactly the same as the ones taken off and because the dealer was puzzled as to why he had a problem with tyres he's never had a problem with before, decided to try an experimemt.
The result was as stated above and he sold the relo the tyres at a slightly reduced price. They wore out normally with no further issues.

So, to answer your questions.

But by what standard?  As above
The same driver?  Yes. The tyre dealer with at that stage over 25 years experience in the industry.
 The same test equipment? The cars were both V8 automatic Statesman (Holden) with approximately the same klms on them. Both with unmodified suspension.
The same roads? Yep. In town - Innisfail and on the nearby Bruce Highway.

FYI they were Goodyear GAII, an international tread pattern modified in Australia in conjunction with Ford and GMH engineers to meet the OE requirements of those two manufacturers with regards to NVH considerations.

[tla]

Were the individual tyres installed in the same positions on the new car?  Would it have made a difference?

[Surferdude]

Were the individual tyres installed in the same positions on the new car?  Would it have made a difference?

Good question. I don't know if they were or not. The dealer may have marked their positions when he pulled them off initially but I doubt it. They were rotated on the original car before removal with no effect so i guess it woudln't have in this case.
But it can do. Moreso in the case of vibrations or pulling rather than road noise though.

[baroudeur]

But by what standard? As above
The same driver? Yes. The tyre dealer with at that stage over 25 years experience in the industry.
 The same test equipment?
The same roads? Yep. In town - Innisfail and on the nearby Bruce Highway.

Sorry Surferdude but I use the  alternative white background for the site and yellow on white is unreadable.

(The standard white on black background is very hard on the eyesight.)

[Shambles]

Sorry Surferdude but I use the  alternative white background for the site and yellow on white is unreadable.

Try hitting control and A, which "selects" the text on a page - might make it easier to read when using our Curve theme (which I'm currently using)

That sounds like another request to fix bright colours... are you still counting Shambles?

[constipated]

(The standard white on black background is very hard on the eyesight.)

How do you choose an alternate colour scheme? I've often found the black and white writing very difficult to read on my phone when outdoors.

[AlanHo]

(The standard white on black background is very hard on the eyesight.)

How do you choose an alternate colour scheme? I've often found the black and white writing very difficult to read on my phone when outdoors.

Click on "Profile"
Then "Modify Profile"
Then "Look and Layout"
Then by Current Theme click on "Change"

Now select which theme you prefer from Curve, Blackbox, Actualism or Red It Random.

[Shambles]

That sounds like another request to fix bright colours... are you still counting Shambles?

Fix how, though? 

A months hard labour saw the introduction of two new themes to expand the choice of background, but nothing we can do can legislate for posts made with yellow text (yes I'm guilty of that), light green or even red.

...I've often found the black and white writing very difficult to read on my phone when outdoors.

Did you know we have TapaTalk installed?

[Surferdude]

Sorry. I didn't know the yellow was hard to read on some backgrounds. As most of us use the black and someone early on suggested the yellow to me I've continued to use it.

[Doggie 1]

I used to work with a police woman once who was married to a dark-skinned police officer and she always said, "Once you've had black, you never go back."
So I've always used black backgrounds on my computer ever since. (I think that's what she meant  )

[rustynutz]

"Once you've had black, you never go back."

It's true, I've never gone back.....