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My new Jetta TDI  Sportwagen was too noisy, so I had it Dynamatted throughout. That helped, but left road noise.

I replaced my nearly new OEM Hancook Optimo H725A tires with Michelin Primacy MXV4s because all the reviews I read marked them as a quieter tire. What a surprise. It roars, rumbles, shrieks. On even tiny cracks or tar lines in the road the low frequency noise is like a canon shot. I haven't found a single road surface on which it is as quiet as the Optimos, which I previously found noisy.  I'm wondering if it's because I chose the H version with low rolling resistance. There's no way to tell from the reviews on TR which tire drivers are actually reviewing. Perhaps the V version has more rubber, sturdier sidewall construction, or whatever.  There's no way to tell from the reviews on TR which tire drivers are actually reviewing.  Tomorrow the Optimos are going back on. Bummer.

Are these tires noisy because of their H rating? Would the V-rated version be quieter?  

what sort of tire pressures are you running????

have the square edges on the tread blocks warn any at all.. or are you still running on the little spikes that stick out of the new tires???

i am not a tire guy..  there are a few that drop by a few times a week...  a little more detail and you might get an answer..

i wonder when the various tire web sites are going to start doing testing..   for road noise..   and have a lump on the side of the roller tread.. so at speed .. they can steer the tire over to the bumped area.. so it will go thump thump thump.. as it spins over the drum.. this will be able to tell the side wall noise transfer .......... if the rolling road bed is wide enough..

maybe i should  build one..   and do independent tire noise testing..  

35 lb all around.

No spikes sticking out, but I don't see any wear on the tread blocks.

Tell me, if this isn't a good forum for tires, what is? Tire Rack doesn't seem to have forums.

Thanks.  

There are 3 important items with regard to tire noise:

1)  The inherent noise properties of the tires

2)  The inherent noise properties of the road surface.

3)  The way the tire and the road surface interact.

It is important to remember that if the roads in your area generate noise, you really can't fix that by changing tires.  The only way to deal with it is to isolate the vehicle by applying noise damping material throughout the car.  Even then, some cars are just not going to ever be quiet because of their basic design.

But noise generation by tires is almost 100% a function of the tread pattern.  It is not connected with the speed rating or the rolling resistance, or the treadwear rating, or whether the tire is directional (or not).

It's hard to tell someone what to look for in the tread pattern.  Clearly large blocks in a tread pattern generate low frequency noise and small blocks in a tread pattern generate high frequency noise - and having too many of one kind concentrates the frequency so it is easier to hear.  So if you are looking at all season tires, you'll want to avoid tires with only large blocks, or only small blocks.  You want one with a wide variety.

But all season tires tend to be noisier than summer tires, simply because the tread pattern is more complex.  Straight ribs are really good for avoiding noise - but terrible for snow traction!

But because the road surface and the tread pattern interact, it is hard to be sure that tread patterns that are rated as quiet everywhere else, are also quiet in your area.  It has been known that some tread patterns generate a peculiar noise on certain types of pavement.  

that is the best post i have ever read...

brilliant...

10+

thanks...

wayne..