[Surferdude]

The contact5 is what my tyre guy recommended.
I find that my tyres are at their quietest when completely stationary.
Is this normal? 

Yes Dave.
As long as you engine isn't running either.

[Doggie 1]

That helps a lot. 

[Asterix]

The contact5 is what my tyre guy recommended.
I find that my tyres are at their quietest when completely stationary.
Is this normal? 

 

[AlanHo]

I recently wrote to Continental, Pirelli, Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Firestone, Avon and Dunlop as follows...

I suffer from hearing loss and have to use hearing aids. Even with my aids I have difficulty holding a conversation with passengers in my car when driving on rough tarmac or concrete surfaces. The only road surface I find OK is the quiet tarmac now being used to resurface main roads and motorways.

I have owned three new Hyundai i30 diesel cars over the past 4 years as follows.

2010 Hyundai i30 1.6 CRDi Style hatchback.
This car was delivered with Hankook Optimo K415 225-45-R17 tyres which proved to be so noisy that after just three months I had all 4 wheels changed to Yokohama AVS DB V550 tyres. Comparative tests with a decibel meter indicated that cabin noise was reduced by up to 4 dB on rough surfaces. An improvement but cabin noise remained a problem

2012 Hyundai i30 1.6 CRDi Style hatchback.
Before taking delivery of this car I arranged for the dealer to swap the original 205-55-R16 Hankook tyres for Continental Premium Contact 2. The car proved to be on average about 2 dB quieter than the previous car on Yokohamas.

2013 Hyundai i30 1.6 CRDi Style Tourer
I have had this car for 3 months which came fitted with Hankook Ventus Prime 2
205-55-R16 tyres. Cabin noise is again a significant problem and I am looking to change the tyres ASAP.

I would appreciate your advice regarding the tyres you would recommend which would result in a significant reduction in cabin noise in my new car



I have already posted the response from Continental and have now received some other replies as follows..

***********************************************8
Michelin

Thank you for your enquiry about tyres for your Hyundai.
 
Our quietest tyre which is renowned for its comfort is the Primacy tyre.
 
In the 205/55 R16 the options are:
 
Primacy HP
91H
91V
 
Primacy 3
91V
91W
 
Please contact your tyre supplier for availability.

*********************************************

Pirelli

Good morning,

Thank you for your email.

Unfortunately we do not make original equipment for the Hyundai in the size's that you require, therefore I can't recommend a tyre that will be suitable for your needs. 

This is because we have never tried and tested any of our tyres on your vehicle and can't comment on how they will perform.

******************************************

Not very informative is it?

Furthermore, I have read a couple of independent tyre tests where the Michelin Primacy scored badly on tyre noise compared with other premium brands but scored high on wear and handling.

[AlanHo]

Two more replies to my enquiries

******************************************
Goodyear

Thank you for your email,

The quietest tyres we market in this size are :-
* 205/55R16 91V EFFICIENTGRIP TO
* 205/55R16 91V EFFICIENTGRIP FP FI
which both have an outside noise readings of 67 dB on their labels.

However this is external noise, a tyre can from time to time have harmonics that can increase cabin noise as they react with the vehicle harmonics and give a different reading within the cabin.

Regards

David Mullin
Technical Customer Support & Service

*****************************************
Yokohama

Good Morning,

Thank you very much for your enquiry regarding tyres for your Hyundai i30.

The best tyre I could offer you in terms of dB level is the Yokohama BluEarth AE01.
However, looking at the new EU label information your Hankook tyre has a pass-by noise level of 69db and that is exactly the same as our BluEarth tyre.

It is a pass-by noise as opposed to cabin noise so it is difficult to say if you would notice any significant change in the cabin as we have not done any back to back comparisons with these tyres.

Sorry I could not be of more help as this must be a very difficult decision and 'trial and error' isn't the cheapest option when choosing tyres!

Regards,


Russell Barratt
Yokohama HPT Ltd

[AlanHo]

Response received from Dunlop.

I was phoned yesterday by the UK technical manager for Dunlop and we had a 20 minute conversation about tyre noise. He confirmed that tyre generated cabin noise is a complex subject and it is not possible to predict noise levels for each car. A given tyre can be noisy in one model and quiet in another dependent on how a particular combination of suspension components, body shell etc reacts to different sound frequencies and harmonics. He also confirmed that the Euro external noise labelling is only a crude guide to how noisy a given tyre will be in the cabin.

For a tyre manufacturer to give an accurate indication of the cabin noise for each of their tyres in various models - they would have to carry out a proper test of each car brand and model with each of their tyres - which is just not practical for obvious reasons.  He cited a current project where a premium car manufacturer set tyre manufacturers the task of achieving maximum cabin noise levels for a new model of 70 dB at set frequencies on a specific test track in order for their tyres to be an original fit. To do this the major tyre manufacturers are having to design tyres for that specific car - but there is no guarantee that these tyres would be as quiet in other models or brands.

He concluded by advising that the Dunlop Sport BluResponse and Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance tyres are probably the best choices from the Dunlop Goodyear range. The Dunlop version has either won or been rated highly in several European independent tyre tests for low noise, low rolling resistance and exceptional wet grip and braking performance. He added that most independent tests were conducted using Europe's favourite cars - such as the VW Golf or Ford Focus. Hence their findings may not be replicated in another model like the Hyundai i30.

A subjective guide is that where the new BluResponse tyres have been fitted to cars in the company fleet - drivers have noticed improved cabin noise levels.


So after another round of research I have decided to fit my car with the new Dunlop BluResponse tyres. But first I will conduct some noise tests with the present Hankook tyres for comparison.

Watch this space - I have my fingers crossed.

[Lester]

Very good information Alan, thanks for publishing it.

Road surface has a lot to do with tyre noise too.  In Australia we have a lot of concrete surface roads with the expansion strips/gaps due to our extreme temperatures, they are not nice to drive on.  Concrete roads have a life span of some 50 years so that form of construction is attractive to authorities.  Some of our 110 km/h freeways, like the Hume Fwy, Sydney-Melbourne have a lot of concrete sections.

[Surferdude]

Very good information Alan, thanks for publishing it.

Road surface has a lot to do with tyre noise too.  In Australia we have a lot of concrete surface roads with the expansion strips/gaps due to our extreme temperatures, they are not nice to drive on.  Concrete roads have a life span of some 50 years so that form of construction is attractive to authorities.  Some of our 110 km/h freeways, like the Hume Fwy, Sydney-Melbourne have a lot of concrete sections.

And extensve testing of truck tyres on the Hume Highway indicates at least 10% WORSE wear on that higway (due to all the concrete) than on other highways.
So, as with everything to do with tyres (and cars), it's all about compromise.
Concrete roads, as you say, last much, much longer with minimal maintenance, but the trade off is all those extra barrells of oil used to make up the extra 10% of lost tyre life.

[Dazzler]

  Alan  as usual...

Just as a side note my Hybrid comes with Michelin Primacy LC 215/60 R16 95V as standard and it is one of the quietest cars on the road under $100,000.

But obviously the tyres can only take part of the credit for that

[beerman]

Very good information Alan, thanks for publishing it.

Road surface has a lot to do with tyre noise too.  In Australia we have a lot of concrete surface roads with the expansion strips/gaps due to our extreme temperatures, they are not nice to drive on.  Concrete roads have a life span of some 50 years so that form of construction is attractive to authorities.  Some of our 110 km/h freeways, like the Hume Fwy, Sydney-Melbourne have a lot of concrete sections.

And extensve testing of truck tyres on the Hume Highway indicates at least 10% WORSE wear on that higway (due to all the concrete) than on other highways.
So, as with everything to do with tyres (and cars), it's all about compromise.
Concrete roads, as you say, last much, much longer with minimal maintenance, but the trade off is all those extra barrells of oil used to make up the extra 10% of lost tyre life.

I suspected as much, I do Brisbane to Gold Coast Commute, and my tyre ware is ok without being brilliant, considering the long straight runs....

[Doggie 1]

Nice of them to contact you direct and speak with you. 
Thanks Alan for your research as it benefits all members of the forum. 

[AlanHo]

Alan  as usual...

Just as a side note my Hybrid comes with Michelin Primacy LC 215/60 R16 95V as standard and it is one of the quietest cars on the road under $100,000.

But obviously the tyres can only take part of the credit for that

I cannot find a source for that Michelin Tyre in the UK. It seems to have been superceded by the name "Energy Saver" which appears to have the same tread pattern as your tyre.

The Euro labelling for the Energy Saver tyre is :-
C for energy saving (on a scale A (best) to G).
B for wet grip (on a scale A (best) to G).
70dB for road noise. (External noise on drive-by)

The Dunlop tyre has Euro labelling of B, A and 68dB respectively.


If these figures are to be believed the Dunlop tyre would have almost half the noise compared with the Michelin (a 3dB change in noise level equals half/double the perceived noise) with better energy saving and better wet grip.

I dooon'ttt beliiieeeve iiittt.

[The Gonz]

70dB is 158% as much as 68dB.

[Doggie 1]

So what's db08? 

[rustynutz]

A pain in the arse! 

[The Gonz]

dBs are a wonderful system.
Assuming we're talking power (I hear db08 likes to be considered powerful), if db08 were 8 dB, then he would be 10 dB - 2 dB, which is 10 times what he was before being db08 and 63% of that, so db08 might be considered:
6.3 times as powerful as before he became db08.

[Phil №❶]

 

[Dazzler]

I cannot find a source for that Michelin Tyre in the UK. It seems to have been superceded by the name "Energy Saver" which appears to have the same tread pattern as your tyre.

The Euro labelling for the Energy Saver tyre is :-
C for energy saving (on a scale A (best) to G).
B for wet grip (on a scale A (best) to G).
70dB for road noise. (External noise on drive-by)

The Dunlop tyre has Euro labelling of B, A and 68dB respectively.


If these figures are to be believed the Dunlop tyre would have almost half the noise compared with the Michelin (a 3dB change in noise level equals half/double the perceived noise) with better energy saving and better wet grip.

I dooon'ttt beliiieeeve iiittt.

I am half way to wearing the Michelins out.. I hope I can find this thread when it is time to replace them late next year...

[Shambles]

Yay for the "bookmark" function

[Dazzler]

Yay for the "bookmark" function

Good point  done!

[Doggie 1]

A pain in the arse! 

Again, you said you wouldn't tell. 

[rustynutz]

I didn't say how big..... 

[beerman]

I cannot find a source for that Michelin Tyre in the UK. It seems to have been superceded by the name "Energy Saver" which appears to have the same tread pattern as your tyre.

The Euro labelling for the Energy Saver tyre is :-
C for energy saving (on a scale A (best) to G).
B for wet grip (on a scale A (best) to G).
70dB for road noise. (External noise on drive-by)

The Dunlop tyre has Euro labelling of B, A and 68dB respectively.


If these figures are to be believed the Dunlop tyre would have almost half the noise compared with the Michelin (a 3dB change in noise level equals half/double the perceived noise) with better energy saving and better wet grip.

I dooon'ttt beliiieeeve iiittt.

I am half way to wearing the Michelins out.. I hope I can find this thread when it is time to replace them late next year...

Don't you generally change your car before you need to change the tyres? 

[Dazzler]

I will try and keep this one for around 4 years ... have made noises about upgrading Trish's CW maybe next year, but will have to be something special to get her out of it....

[gidster]

i know its a bit late but as anyone got a link for these tyres? in england.

[musicrab]

Sorry if I'm adding to the wrong thread...(but there are at least 2 threads on quiet tyres)
I have a slow puncture in a HanKook (6 month old UK I30 petrol active) and so, rather than pump up before every trip (loses upto 8psi a day) I will replace this now and the rest later.

My tyre size 195/65 R15 H (91)

Options appear to be:-
"Continental Premium Contact 2"
"Continental Premium Contact 5"
"Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance"

All available through this very useful site (UK!)  Blackcircles.com - Online Tyres, Click & Fit today!

Any other suggestions? Cheers.

[FatBoy]

Could you get it repaired? I had a slow leak in one of my tyres on my 4wd, I had it repaired for about $20 AUD. That way you keep the same tread pattern on all four corners.

[musicrab]

Took it to a tyre place and they said couldn't find the leak.  Yep, may be worth trying another. thanks.

[Shambles]

Took it to a tyre place and they said couldn't find the leak. ..

I'll bet they didn't dump-check the valve

[Dazzler]

Took it to a tyre place and they said couldn't find the leak.  Yep, may be worth trying another. thanks.

Wonder they didn't just whack a tube in it then.. Yeah, like Fatboy said, not a good idea to mix tread patterns...