[jfdelacruz]

Hi,
Few days ago I changed wheels to HRE P43 china replicas 18x8 ET38 with 225/40/18 Dunlop LM703 tires. It looks and feels great! Problem is, it's noisier than ever that I can barely take driving at 80MPH! The road noise changes depending on the road surface but it's most quiet on new smooth asphalt and very noisy on concrete roads.
The Dunlop LM703 tires are "supposed" to be quiet tires (said Dunlop's website) but mine are so damned noisy. This is the first time I've heard noisy wheels/tires and I've gone from Bridgestone S03, S02, RE001, RE002's on my other car and those were very quiet.
 
Since the tires are supposed to be quiet tires, is it possible that the wheels are somehow "amplifying" the noise? Or is it really just the tires? The MFG date on the tire is 2113 which is the 21st week of 2013 (fairly new).
 
I really need some help here before I spend more money and change out to grippy Bridgestone RE002's. If it's the wheels, then I'll try and get the wheel replaced. But I can't do that without proof or some kind of supporting information.

[Keith]

Did you fit lower profile tyres to the 18 inch rims to maintain the correct rolling radius & speedometer accuracy? If so that's what's creating your road noise.

[AlanHo]

That's what 18" rims with such low profile tyres are for. To show the world that you like flashy and excessively noisy things. The only solution is to fill the boot with huge speakers and a several hundred watt amplifier playing heavy metal music to drown the road noise

There is no way that you will ever get a quiet ride on such thin rubber bands.

[Phil №❶]

Sadly, there are mentions of increased road noise with larger rim size & low profile tyres in forum threads here. Pity you weren't aware of the likely outcome, before you spent your money. If you have any $ to spare, you may want to look at sound proofing materials. The wheel arches could certainly use some as on our car, I feel the door seals at the bottom are admitting too much sound too.

[Keith]

Didn't AlanHo spend a lot of money on professionally fitted sound pricing for hardly any benefit?

[Phil №❶]

No,

but he did spend a lot of money on professionally fitted sound proofing for hardly any benefit?

It was just a thought PK. I'm still in 2 minds about doing something about it myself. My 1993 car is quieter than the i30, but guzzles 2x the juice though.

[Keith]

Damn.....  Errrr yea I'd toyed with the idea myself TBH but I won't now.

[Phil №❶]

Here's some information that may be useful to us. It is a building scenario, but the theory is the same for cars.

http://www.soundproofing101.com/soundproofing_2.htm

[AlanHo]

No,

but he did spend a lot of money on professionally fitted sound proofing for hardly any benefit?

It was just a thought PK. I'm still in 2 minds about doing something about it myself. My 1993 car is quieter than the i30, but guzzles 2x the juice though.

Yes - ever the optimist - I had my previous i30 soundproofed. It made hardly any difference - other than to fuel consumption which was worse because of lugging about 25 kg of soundproofing materials around.

I will not do it again.

What cost me hundreds would only cost Hyundai a small amount on the production line. No wonder they don't bother - it just does not work.

[jfdelacruz]

Oh bugger. Guess I'm going to have to go back to stock. It just looks so nice! Would better tires resolve or at least minimize this?

[Keith]

You already have "quiet tyres" fitted don't you? How you wold know in practice is beyond me but there will be manufacturers that claim to have the quietest tyres available.

[beerman]

I put a set of Dunlops on the wife's old Lancer, and they were loud too, and they were only 14" rims, though the tread was agressive

I think the the tyre people think that if you are going to the effort to fit 18" wheels, you are interested in performance and design accordingly....

rumour has it that both sets of my 15" tyres don't seem to cause any increase in road noise at 130, though this would be illegal and I wouldn't have any first hand experence to pass on.

[AlanHo]

It is a general truth that the lower the height of the tyre side wall - the greater the noise. All low profile tyres are noisier than standard profile. My original i30 had 17" rims and was much noisier than my second i30 which had 16" rims.

My latest car also has 16" rims and I changed the tyres from the noisy Hankook to Dunlop BluResponse which have reduced cabin noise by about 2dB on average. Being a sufferer of hearing loss I have waged war against cabin noise for several years and spent a lot of money doing it. I have even now purchased a decibel meter to evaluate it. However - my wife who has perfect hearing - says she has never really noticed any improvements when I have changed tyres.

I have posted lots of info on this forum on the subject - this was the latest

https://i30ownersclub.com/forum/index.php?topic=24435.msg264090#msg264090

Do an advanced search for "Road Noise" by alanho for the others.

[jfdelacruz]

Hi Alan,

I appreciate your response on this and I too am trying to protect my hearing. I'm only 24 but I want to retain as much of the frequency range as possible (I'm a self proclaimed audiophile).

I've decided to go back to stock and sell the nice 18" setup and just cut my losses. I'd rather have a comfortable and quiet ride than a flashy ride that will slowly destroy my hearing.

[jfdelacruz]

Here's a few pictures othe 18" setup which I will regretfully have to part with. They looks so nice and suitf  the car very well, especially in the color they're in (IMHO).

[Dazzler]

I think i would spend the money on some DIY soundproofing rather than ditching the wheels. You should be able to bring it down enough to be acceptable .

[jfdelacruz]

The question is, in you guys opinion.... Do the "looks" justify adding soundproofing?

[Doggie 1]

I like the looks.
But it all depends on whether you can tolerate the noise.
I decided against larger rims because of the potential to "kerb" them in the city and also for the noise/comfort factor.
But they do look nice.

[Dazzler]

I like the looks. They are my sort of wheel. I'm guessing you wont be able to get your money back....

[AlanHo]

I think i would spend the money on some DIY soundproofing rather than ditching the wheels. You should be able to bring it down enough to be acceptable .

Most of the noise you are hearing is not being "radiated" by the tyre tread - but is being directly transmitted through the stiff tyre wall into the alloy wheel and thence through the suspension and drive shafts into the body shell and thus the cabin.

As a crude analogy - its a bit like when a Mechanic uses a listening stick (a rod with a ball on the end) between their ear and the engine to listen for noises. (The GD i30 is fitted with hollow drive shafts to cut down on the amount of tyre noise transmitted to the body shell).

To deaden this transmitted sound in the cabin will take an exorbitant amount (and weight) of sound absorption material.

[jfdelacruz]

I kind of figured out the harmonics of the tire/suspension/body is what's causing all of this. The tire itself isn't all that noisy when you're listening from the outside of the car (car passing by). It seems that the materials of the tire, metal of the wheels, and then the whole suspension is transmitting the sound/vibration to the cabin causing unwanted noise.

You're totally right about the analogy Alan.

I would suspect that with use, the tires will wear down and the frequency will change (hopefully for the better). Or changing to a different tire will definitely change the frequency but there is no way to tell whether it will be for the good or bad.

I have to choices here basically, go back to stock and use the wheels for track use only (yes, I do use my i30 for the track) or change tires (and cross my fingers) then sell the current tires.

My dad loves the wheels (though he can't admit it) and is pushing me to change tires, my friends love the wheels as well. I love the looks as well, but at this point I don't think I have the finances to take another risk. I'd have to be "guaranteed" that the new tires will be quieter before I pull the gun on it....

[AlanHo]

You use the words "Change the tyres".  Just changing the tyres will not help - you need to change the wheels as well. 18" wheels and low profile tyres are a noisy combination - and you can't fit the existing 18" wheels with higher profile tyres because there is not enough space in the wheel arches and it would screw up the speedo and odo accuracy plus change the overall gearing ratio of the car and make it lethargic on acceleration.

I trust that is what you meant.

[Just Rick]

I run 215/45/17's on one of mine,I don't think they are any noisier the the stock 205/55/16's on our other I30,I personally like the wheels you have,I would simply be putting up with the noise and try a different tyre the next time,we don't have many concrete roads over here either.

personally as I said I'd be keeping the wheels.

[jfdelacruz]

Quick update, when im on smooth asphalt (fresh) road noise is marginally higher than the oem's but if im on anything other than smooth roads, it just roars away. With that in mind, I think it's the car and not the tires that are noisy.

Horrible sound proofing on hyundai's part

[Doggie 1]

Unfortunately, my experience is the more a tyre wears, the noisier it becomes.
I had 19 inch strips of licorice on my GT and even when new they were noisy.
A lovely car but I remember driving down to visit the rellies at Waroona and thinking, "I'm getting too old for this." 

[rickai]

My experience is actually opposite to the OP's, I was expecting bigger wheels which will compromise comfort and noise but I in fact, I feel that my new 18inch 225/40 Pirelli P1 wheels has less noise than the stock 16inch hankook. Not sure if it's because of new tyres with 2,000km vs old tyres with 20,000km on it but I no longer feel like driving in an airplane on the highway. I drive the 2012 i30 GD which could have different soundproofing to the FD, could also be a factor as well. 

Why would you get an 18" in the first place when you should know that they do no benefits other than for cosmetic purposes? I'd put up with the noise and keep those 18inch until they die, they look really sexy    (speaking from a 25 yo)

[Phil №❶]

My thinking seems to be at odds with popular opinion here. A small diameter wheel (Morris mini) would have to be more affected by potholes etc, because more of it's radius sinks into any hole, which then means the suspension has lateral forces pushing against it to overcome the depression and rise back to the road surface. The lateral forces opposing forward motion cause a variation in velocity, felt as an uncomfortable ride. So too, the suspension in a small wheeled car has a lot more work to do to absorb the wheel depression and the instantly react to the wheel climbing out again.

The opposite should apply to large diameter wheels, so why is the ride not comfortable 

[rustynutz]

I think it's more to do with the tyre profile.....Smaller wheels tend to have higher profile tyres fitted.

My daughter's Hyundai Accent has 14" wheels with 70 profile tyres and I reckon it rides potholes better than the 16" 55 combo of my i30... 

[Phil №❶]

I     C 

[Dazzler]

Plus... the external diameter of the overall wheel/tyre combo on the i30's we are talking about is roughly the same