New tyres for XC90 - 20" + Air

[Lexman8]

I put the summer Pirelliis back on last week and was immediately struck by how much road noise there was compared to my winter tyres (and they are Contis!).

Tyres from the Goodyear/Dunlop group tend to have some of the lowest official noise ratings. On my Merc I went from Contis to Dunlop (both summer) and there was a noticeable improvement in noise levels.

[Sceptre123]

It didn’t have them from new.

They are slightly noisier normally, but never as noisy as the Conti’s could be. Basically I think they are more consistent.

They look like they should last 20k instead of 15k and our dealer price matched to tyreleader, tyreleader are one of a few places who sell the VOL marked tyres.

[familymangreg]

Thanks to Spectra123 for the TyreLeader hint, they appear to have a lot of choice at good prices (at least for non fitted).

The Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season options are a bit confusing, having several options which are named identically, but have different ratings for fuel efficiency, wet grip and noise. Interesting the ones tagged Volvo are the cheapest, but have a B rather than an A rating for noise. See this link.

My current shortlist is:

CONTINENTAL CONTI SPORT CONTACT 5 SUV ContiSilent/Volvo (B noise rating) - £213.07
PIRELLI SCORPION VERDE ALL SEASON (A noise) - £199,63
PIRELLI SCORPION VERDE ALL SEASON (B noise, Volvo) - £165.70
MICHELIN LATITUDE SPORT 3 (A noise, Volvo) - £230.20
MICHELIN LATITUDE SPORT 3 (A noise, Michelin Acoustic Technology, crazy money) - £278,19

What I don't have a feel for at the moment is how necessary it is to go for tyres specifically tagged for Volvo. Any thoughts?

The Michelin Latitude Sport 3 Acoustic Tech are out of the question unless I found them substantially cheaper elsewhere.

Tempted by the standard Michelin Latitude Sport 3 as they have an A rating for noise.

Interestingly, the Conti Silents which I have on at present have a B rating for noise. But again I don't know how much you can read into this and how consistent the rating is.

:wq

[NewVolvo]

My attitude towards tires, whatever tires you buy....never skimp on the quality.

Its the only contact you have with the road!

[Phil117]

Originally Posted by familymangreg

Thanks to Spectra123 for the TyreLeader hint, they appear to have a lot of choice at good prices (at least for non fitted).

The Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season options are a bit confusing, having several options which are named identically, but have different ratings for fuel efficiency, wet grip and noise. Interesting the ones tagged Volvo are the cheapest, but have a B rather than an A rating for noise. See this link.

My current shortlist is:

CONTINENTAL CONTI SPORT CONTACT 5 SUV ContiSilent/Volvo (B noise rating) - £213.07
PIRELLI SCORPION VERDE ALL SEASON (A noise) - £199,63
PIRELLI SCORPION VERDE ALL SEASON (B noise, Volvo) - £165.70
MICHELIN LATITUDE SPORT 3 (A noise, Volvo) - £230.20
MICHELIN LATITUDE SPORT 3 (A noise, Michelin Acoustic Technology, crazy money) - £278,19

What I don't have a feel for at the moment is how necessary it is to go for tyres specifically tagged for Volvo. Any thoughts?

The Michelin Latitude Sport 3 Acoustic Tech are out of the question unless I found them substantially cheaper elsewhere.

Tempted by the standard Michelin Latitude Sport 3 as they have an A rating for noise.

Interestingly, the Conti Silents which I have on at present have a B rating for noise. But again I don't know how much you can read into this and how consistent the rating is.

:wq

Michellin would be my choice. The latitude 2's are a better tyre if you can still get them but 3 is still good.


Wish could get them with 21's but limited to Pirelli only

[S60Chris]

Originally Posted by familymangreg

Why wouldn’t you go with Conti Silents out of interest?

:wq

Not everywhere will repair them if you get a puncture because of the foam lining and I’m not sure how much quieter they are in reality - I went from Conti’s to Michelin’s on my Passat and noticed a marked reduction in noise so I would be tempted to do the same, but whatever I get will be A rated for wet traction as a priority

[SpaceBoy42]

Originally Posted by familymangreg

Thanks to Spectra123 for the TyreLeader hint, they appear to have a lot of choice at good prices (at least for non fitted).

The Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season options are a bit confusing, having several options which are named identically, but have different ratings for fuel efficiency, wet grip and noise. Interesting the ones tagged Volvo are the cheapest, but have a B rather than an A rating for noise. See this link.

My current shortlist is:

CONTINENTAL CONTI SPORT CONTACT 5 SUV ContiSilent/Volvo (B noise rating) - £213.07
PIRELLI SCORPION VERDE ALL SEASON (A noise) - £199,63
PIRELLI SCORPION VERDE ALL SEASON (B noise, Volvo) - £165.70
MICHELIN LATITUDE SPORT 3 (A noise, Volvo) - £230.20
MICHELIN LATITUDE SPORT 3 (A noise, Michelin Acoustic Technology, crazy money) - £278,19

What I don't have a feel for at the moment is how necessary it is to go for tyres specifically tagged for Volvo. Any thoughts?

The Michelin Latitude Sport 3 Acoustic Tech are out of the question unless I found them substantially cheaper elsewhere.

Tempted by the standard Michelin Latitude Sport 3 as they have an A rating for noise.

Interestingly, the Conti Silents which I have on at present have a B rating for noise. But again I don't know how much you can read into this and how consistent the rating is.

:wq

Would love to know how you get on with the Latitude Sport 3s if you do fit them. My factory fit Conti Silents on my T8 appear to be wearing faster than I would hope (and I'm not heavy on the right foot - probably only going to get 16k out of them) and I wouldn't exactly call them 'silent'!! Would prefer something longer lasting and quieter.

I notice they sell the Latitude Sport 3s at Costco for very similar looking prices (if you are a member)....

Item #819508
Michelin 275/45 R20 (110)V LATITUDE SPORT 3 XL VOL
£230.89 + £8.40 fitting (all inc UK VAT)

[familymangreg]

Originally Posted by SpaceBoy42

Would love to know how you get on with the Latitude Sport 3s if you do fit them. My factory fit Conti Silents on my T8 appear to be wearing faster than I would hope (and I'm not heavy on the right foot - probably only going to get 16k out of them) and I wouldn't exactly call them 'silent'!! Would prefer something longer lasting and quieter.

I notice they sell the Latitude Sport 3s at Costco for very similar looking prices (if you are a member)....

Item #819508
Michelin 275/45 R20 (110)V LATITUDE SPORT 3 XL VOL
£230.89 + £8.40 fitting (all inc UK VAT)

Leaning towards the Michelins, just awaiting my local tyre fitter coming back with a price.

:wq

[Lexman8]

The standard ContiSport Contact 5 is rated at 73dB for noise but the Silent version of it is also rated at 73dB. As such, I wouldn't expect a big improvement although the nature of the noise might be preferable on the Silent version and also better under certain conditions.

Similarly, the standard and Acoustic versions of the Michelin Latitude Sport 3 are also rated the same at 70dB.

However, the 3dB overall reduction that the Michelins provide compared to the Contis might be more significant. These noise figures are 'drive-by noise' so don't relate specifically to interior cabin noise but they're probably a good indicator. Roughly speaking a 3dB reduction is a halving of the noise level (because it's a logarithmic scale).

[familymangreg]

Originally Posted by Lexman8

The standard ContiSport Contact 5 is rated at 73dB for noise but the Silent version of it is also rated at 73dB. As such, I wouldn't expect a big improvement although the nature of the noise might be preferable on the Silent version and also better under certain conditions.

Similarly, the standard and Acoustic versions of the Michelin Latitude Sport 3 are also rated the same at 70dB.

However, the 3dB overall reduction that the Michelins provide compared to the Contis might be more significant. These noise figures are 'drive-by noise' so don't relate specifically to interior cabin noise but they're probably a good indicator. Roughly speaking a 3dB reduction is a halving of the noise level (because it's a logarithmic scale).

Thanks Lexman, this is pretty much what I had concluded. I know that the noise rating it measured outside of the car, and therefore wondered if the silent and acoustic technologies are designed more to reduce resonance that comes into the cabin, but hopeful that the noise rating would also make a difference.

:wq