So tyre noise ratings are pointless?

[Sweatyfox]

Ok, from what I can tell, the noise rating on a tyre seems to have no bearing whatsoever on the noise heard inside the cabin.

The dB rating is calculated by of a test car driving past a microphone 7.5meters away at 50mph.
You would think a tyre with a rating of 67dB would sound much quieter inside the car than a tyre with a rating of 75db making a nice quiet ride.

But from what I have read/experienced, Im not convinced the ratings on the tyres make any difference to the noise inside the car.

I have read hundreds of tyre reviews over the past few months and still not come to any conclusion.

Some people have specifically fitted the quietest rated tyres on the market with 67db ratings in order to have a nice quiet ride and complain saying that there incredibly noisy, whilst others say there whisper quiet.
At the other end of the scale there are people running with noisy budget tyres with 75db or so ratings saying there very quiet, and that’s after replacing highly rated premium brands.

Trying to choose a tyre to give me the quietest cabin is doing my head in.

I know this is all subjective and peoples experiences/ratings could be down to numerous factors such as:
How bad the cars geometry is.
The loading on the tyre due to car weight.
How worn the tyre are.
Tyre pressures.
Road Surfaces etc etc.

But you would expect there to be some correlation.

I was reading about the Nokian Z G2 after some people mentioned its incredibly quiet in the cabin with them on, but its rated at 73dB and classed as noisy!
But in an Autoexpress review it was the second quietest tyre on test for cabin noise, so how does that figure?

[Brendan W]

Reading tyre reviews must be one of the most fruitless uses of time known to man.

[mcpie]

I've just ordered four Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres with a 67db rating, I have a reading now from a sound meter with the old tyres and will compare it to the new tyres (on the same stretch of road) over the weekend.

In theory if they are quieter at a distance they ought to be quieter in the cabin too.

R

[Bill_56]

You also need to remember that 67dB may sound more similar to 75dB than you'd expect. It's a logarithmic scale, and generally accepted that 3dB is about the smallest increment that's noticeable. It follows that 8dB would certainly be noticeable, but not dramatically so.

Here's an interesting site I just stumbled across that lets you listen to tones at various dB ranges, and hear the difference. There's also a test, where you listen to series of tones and identify whether each gets louder or quieter, thus identifying the smallest increment your own ears can pick up.

I found 3dB fairly easy and scored 10/10. At 1dB I was guessing a lot, and scored just 8/10.

This link is to the 3dB tones, change the 'target' at the top for other steps.

http://www.audiocheck.net/blindtests_level.php?lvl=3

- Bill

[volvorocks]

Tbh I have never noticed any real difference between any normal road tyre regards noise. A quick fix to reduce noise a bit is to put some noise absorbing rubber/foam in the boot and/or under the floor mats. Like that stuff you do exercises on. Just think back to how much quieter your car is when the boot is full of luggage, and you will see what I mean!

Regards

[Aveton Gifford]

I don't thin k it makes any difference what db rating your tyres have, it all depends on the road surface your local council have put down, the new (now old) road past Exeter airport springs to mind, made from concrete and one of the noisiest roads around!

How many times have you driven down a road that has been patched by various companies and heard your tyres playing a merry tune as they go from patch to patch, some surfaces are quieter than others, and I bet the quieter it is the more it costs.

It's like these cheap Chinese tyres, they are awful in this country, but I have read that Chinese roads are fantastic to drive on, really quiet with great grip, so maybe the tyres are fine over there:confused-smiley-013

That said, one of my rental vans has just come back from a service fitted all round with Dunlop Eco something or other, and they make a hell of a difference over the Continentals it had on it before, grip, sound and fuel efficiency wise:thumbs_up:

[Sweatyfox]

I've just ordered four Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres with a 67db rating, I have a reading now from a sound meter with the old tyres and will compare it to the new tyres (on the same stretch of road) over the weekend.

R

I’ll look forward to seeing/hearing your results.

I was torn between choosing the Dunlop Sportmaxx RT (67dB) and the Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance 69dB) Tyre size: 225/45/17

I ended up going with the Goodyears, but unfortunately I was a bit disappointed.
I really expected there to be a noticeable difference between the dirt cheap budget tyres (rated at 72dB/73dB) compared to the Goodyears rated at 69dB. But there was barely any difference and I still just hear road noise :(

What tyre size do you have?

[Thanatos]

directional tyres are louder then non directional tyres and tread pattern makes a big difference

[mcpie]

Hi, they're 225x45 R17s too. Initial impressions are good, they're nicely made and I can immediately tell the side walls are softer than what is on them at the moment (Michelin Pirmacy up front) and I'm hopeful they will be quieter as a result.

I am also toying with the idea of sound deadening the boot too. A lot of road noise makes it through the split rear seats.

R

[steadvex]

I think most tyre reviews are done from worn premium tyres that have no tread at all driving down concrete roads swapping to brand new super duper budgets driving on a freshly laid motorway

I could tell a difference with noise, comfort and traction when switching from Pirelli P6000 to Michelin Primacy on an S60, all positive on the switch, saying that the P6000 last a flip'n long time, was actually waiting (seemingly) endlessly for them to get to 2mm so I could justify changing them!

Can't tell the difference on noise on the punto we have mind, but that has so much cabin noise its just irritating! But the Michelin Energy tyres last double the life of the bridgestones and conti's we had on the front, and grippy, probably quieter if your outside of the car!

[Aveton Gifford]

I think I might try a bit of sound deadening in the boot of my S60, that does seem to be the area where the most noise comes from, or maybe that's my children!

(not that I keep them in the boot of course!)

[steadvex]

I think I might try a bit of sound deadening in the boot of my S60, that does seem to be the area where the most noise comes from, or maybe that's my children!

(not that I keep them in the boot of course!)

bah, there's a handle inside in the boot so they can get out!

On a less serious note I noticed theres a heck of a lot of noise in the s60 with the seats down, I always feel like I can hear noise from the rear left of the car when driving without the radio on and no one else in the car, on my last one I had the driver door seals replaced, made a hell of a difference with cabin noise on the motorway ! garage thought I was nuts changing the seals on a car with 130k on at the time!

[Sweatyfox]

I thought some of the sound may have been getting in through the boot and did a test but it made no difference.

Although t wasn't sound deadening material I used (heavy towels and lots of them) did pack every void under the boot, then every gap between the boot floor and the bottom of the seats, then stuffed a big double duvet in the boot, by it made no noticeable difference.

When I'm driving the car down A roads at 70mph, its impossible to determine where the road/tyre noise is coming from. There's no single area I can identify that the noise is coming from, just seems to be from everywhere.

I want to try fitting 16" 205/55/16's on the car to see if that will help. But trying to know what's the quietest tyres to choose is a nightmare as the dB rating seems to have no relevance to cabin noise.

I did read somewhere that manufactures are biasing tyre design to be quiet in the drive by test and do so by designing a tread that actually deflects tyre noise into the wheel arch and therefore the car body instead making cabin noise increase.

So this could mean a tyre with a 67dB noise rating is actually deflecting all the noise inside the wheel arch and a noisy tyre with a rating of 74dB or so is defecting all the tyre noise outwards which would result in a quieter cabin.

Ok, who wants to fit some of the nosiest tyres on the market and report back? lol.

[MercuryMike]

I have just put 2 Bridgestone Turanzas on the front of my S80. They make a horrendous racket. Totally ruined the ride of the car. It's like driving on soilds, can feel every single ripple in the road now. Horrendous. They will have to go, I can't stand the noise and unforgiving ride any longer.

[chiptivo]

I found a great cheap solution.

Turn the radio up!

[Sweatyfox]

I found a great cheap solution.

Turn the radio up!

Not an option on long motorway journeys when trying to hold a conversation with your passenger. I had that in my last car which was why I changed it for a "quiet" Volvo.
Had enough of trying to shout conversations for 5 hours.

And even without a passenger I don't fancy ringing ears.

Noise cancelling headphones is a possible option but I don't fancy looking like a Cyberman either, and there's probably some rubbish in the law that says its illegal to wear them too.

[mcpie]

I should be getting my car back today with freshly refurbished balanced alloys with the 67db Dunlops fitted. I have the sound meter at the ready!!

Will report soon.

R

[Sweatyfox]

I should be getting my car back today with freshly refurbished balanced alloys with the 67db Dunlops fitted. I have the sound meter at the ready!!

Will report soon.

R

Excellent, looking forward to it. Fingers crossed its good news :)

[mcpie]

Although I haven't measured the noise yet I can report it is substantially reduced... I am very happy with them indeed. The walls are more supple and it rides better too. Well done Dunlop.

I'll let you all know what the figures are when I get it onto the same stretch of Motorway where they were recorded in the first place.

R

[MercuryMike]

Thanks for the reported results. I'm looking for some quieter tyres for my car, I was considering the Dunlops myself.

[Sweatyfox]

So its looking like Dunlops could be the way to go.

I think I'll either go for:

Dunlop Sportmaxx RT (67dB)
or
Dunlop BluResponse. (67dB) This tyre looks like its specifically aimed at being quiet.

[mcpie]

Well I was on the same stretch of road today and replicated the same conditions and can confidently confirm there is an audible difference (a reduction!) since fitting the Dunlop SportMaxx tyres. The sound meter would suggest and average reduction of 6db over the 1 mile stretch. I'm very happy with them. I'd also like to praise Glentyan alloys in Linwood (near Glasgow) for the fantastic job they did refurbishing the wheels and for also doing such a good job balancing them, after a recent experience at another tyre "specialist" it's clear proper balancing is not always achieved.

[Sweatyfox]

That's really good to hear :)

What was your cabin noise before and after?
And what were your previous tyres?

When your driving at 70mph can you still hear the tyres or is it just wind/engine noise?

[mcpie]

There is no noise you could attribute to the tyres now, it's wind noise and road noise coming from the boot area you hear. I will try to address this in due course.

Noise has fallen from 74-76db to 68-70db.

I'm aiming to get it down to 67db with some sound suppression in the boot area and rubber foam strips around the backs of the fold down seats to create a better seal.

R

[p.swan]

Further to this earlier thread, I've just had four new Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance fitted on my S80 (225/17/50) this week. The difference compared to the admittedly very worn Pirellis they replaced is unbelievable; it's like driving a totally different car. Overall noise is down, but particularly noticeable is the almost complete lack of any 'bump thump' over manholes etc. the car just rides over them unnoticed. Interestingly ride quality is also much improved, almost floaty Citroenesque in comparison to before. Steering is also sharper, the whole car feeling much more composed and not at all fidgety, like it did before. It's early days yet but so far I'm mightily impressed.

A word of warning though, these tyres are getting rave reviews everywhere, so seem to be in short supply, especially in these odd Volvo sizes. I had to wait for mine to be imported from Germany, but well worth it in my opinion.

[stuartggray]

I've always found that worn tyres are noisier. I assume its the rubber slapping the road surface without a decent amount of give because of the thinner rubber. Conversely, I find that new winter style tyres are much quieter.

[coxy35]

I took the Dunlop sport maxxs off mine and replaced them with some hankooks.

the hankooks are definetley quieter and they ride a lot nicer aswell, even the wife has noticed this. The dunlops seem to have a tougher sidewall which seemed to make the car a bit harsh over bumps. Im very tempted to take the back dunlops off now and replace them, the back seems to skip when it hits a bump and im thinking it could be the tyres now

[marcb]

Further to this earlier thread, I've just had four new Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance fitted on my S80 (225/17/50) this week.

I thought the spec is 225/17/45 at least for the V70/S60 - or did you deliberately fit taller tyres?

M.

[p.swan]

The S80 does come with 50 profile tyres, probably for more of a squishy ride as its an old farts barge, which sort of suits me, other than they're difficult and expensive to buy!

[RM955I]

I took the Dunlop sport maxxs off mine and replaced them with some hankooks.

the hankooks are definetley quieter and they ride a lot nicer aswell, even the wife has noticed this. The dunlops seem to have a tougher sidewall which seemed to make the car a bit harsh over bumps. Im very tempted to take the back dunlops off now and replace them, the back seems to skip when it hits a bump and im thinking it could be the tyres nowI'm on Hankook Ventus Prime 2....a good alround tyre although I also switched to 16 inch rims and think it was worthwhile given the cr*ppy roads in my area.

[Sweatyfox]

Ok, back to noise ratings being pointless. I can now confirm this based on various sets of tyres.

The car came with budget 225/45/17 Tyres, loads of tread depth rated at 73dB, these seemed noisy.
Gave me a cabin reading of about 75dB.

I then fitted new 225/45/17 Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance rated at 69dB, still seemed noisy.
Gave me a cabin reading of 73-74dB. (I forget exactly)

This was disappointing as I was hoping for much less road noise considering they were rated 4dB less than the budget ones.

I have now fitted 205/55/16 Nokian WR D3 tyres, an aggressive tread and rated at 72dB.
These give me a cabin noise of 71dB. Thats 2 – 3dB quieter than the ones that should be quiet.

So why does a noisy tyre Rated at 72dB give a quieter ride than one rated at 69dB?

I wish the tyre ratings were based on an internal cabin noise measurement.

[Brendan W]

So why does a noisy tyre Rated at 72dB give a quieter ride than one rated at 69dB?
I wish the tyre ratings were based on an internal cabin noise measurement.
At a guess a large part of the acoustic energy is transmitted through the structure with the wheels and suspension and body acting as a filter of variable bandwidth depending on the car and the spectrum of the particular tyre ( I almost sound like an expert :) ) The energy may be strongly directional as has already been suggested. Factory techs are canny when it comes to test day. I recall an exasperated commissioning engineer standing behind a panel with a phase tester in the back of an instrument asking the client what he wanted it to read.
While we're wishing as is seasonal I wish emission regs were based on the whole picture rather than what comes out the pipe on test day.