Noisy Continental Tyres?

[Ian1965]

Hi All. Earlier in the year I bought a one year old XC60 (My19) and on the whole I'm very pleased with it. I previously owned a 2011 Mk1 XC60 (DRive) but the newer one is a D4, 4wd, auto and very relaxing to drive.

However, I'm quite disappointed with the road noise especially on some noisy motorway roads. It seems quite a lot noisier than the old car. This car has Conti EcoContact 5 on 235/60R18 and I guess they are hard which helps with fuel economy (previous car was 235/65/R17 and I tended to have Cont CrossContact tyres I think).

Does anyone else feel the same about the road noise? Has anyone changed tyres and noticed a reduction in the road noise?

[Lexman8]

There's a multitude of posts on here about road/tyre noise on the SPA platform. It's been a long-running source of annoyance to many people. Continental tyres tend to be some of the noisiest around and many of the complaints on here have been about them.

A few have changed to other tyre brands and found an improvement in noise levels.

[Whyman]

From memory Continental do a Conti Silent which contains a sound deadening material to overcome this problem.

If you check the out they are also more expensive than the same size standard Tyre.

[60041]

This is a subject that interests me greatly; my V90CC will be ready for tyres sometime in the next 3 or 4 months. The OE Michelin Latitude sport have been very good, but I fancy going for something a little more suitable for muddy campsites and poor weather, however, one of the great features of the car as it is, is the ability to cruise along good A roads and motorways at 70 mph in near total silence and I would not like to compromise that.
My previous XC90 performed very well with Nokian WR2’s on it, but I always thought that there was a little road noise from them.
The SPA cars do seem to be sensitive to tyre choice, so I would welcome any feedback from people who have taken the plunge and changed the brand or type of tyre fitted.

[nu11eaf]

Oh I wish this had not cropped up again but I will try to remain calm, take a deep breath ahhh.

It is in my mind the worse thing about the new cars at least it is on my XC90, changing to Conti-silent tyres was no better than the original tyres, they are inherentley noisier than the old cars.
I have had my say now and will stay calm and take one of my pills and lay down in a dark room listening to the sound of whales.

[XC90Mk1]

Originally Posted by 60041

This is a subject that interests me greatly; my V90CC will be ready for tyres sometime in the next 3 or 4 months. The OE Michelin Latitude sport have been very good, but I fancy going for something a little more suitable for muddy campsites and poor weather, however, one of the great features of the car as it is, is the ability to cruise along good A roads and motorways at 70 mph in near total silence and I would not like to compromise that.
My previous XC90 performed very well with Nokian WR2’s on it, but I always thought that there was a little road noise from them.
The SPA cars do seem to be sensitive to tyre choice, so I would welcome any feedback from people who have taken the plunge and changed the brand or type of tyre fitted.

I had latatude sports on the rear of my 2012 (non SPA) xc90 and budget brand on the front when I bought. I replaced with Michelin cross climates all round and they have been nice and quiet since. In fact very quiet.

I should imagine they are along the lines of what you are looking for? I have found them great in every instance and amazingly hard wearing (I must be near 20,000 on them now and rear like new with fronts good.

The only time I find them outclassed by the latitudes is under very heavy rain with lots of standing water where I find they aqua plane or become unsettled easier. They are certainly still good and I highly recommend.

In winter they were every inch as good as my dedicated winter tyres I used to use and I now run these all year having previously always run 2 sets, one summer and 1 winter set.

[simonjedrake]

The result of much interesting debate on this forum last year was that the best tyre for the current SPA platform was the Michelin Lattitude Sport who manufacturer a special acoustic version SPECIFICALLY designed for Volvo’s that have the “V” code as per the below link @ £144/corner (19” size)
https://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk...-acoustic.html

[neon]

Just switched from my 20" Contisilents on great looking wheels, that are anything but silent on my XC90, apart from the new quiet motorway surfaces. Now on my winter 19" wheels with Nokian tyres that are quite a bit better but TBH still not as good as they should be for a car costing so much and sold as a luxury SUV.
There are many great things with the XC90, but road noise/refinement has certainly been a negative for me. Would I change the car because of it, no, would it stop me buying another, maybe.

[Bashy]

Originally Posted by XC90Mk1

I had latatude sports on the rear of my 2012 (non SPA) xc90 and budget brand on the front when I bought. I replaced with Michelin cross climates all round and they have been nice and quiet since. In fact very quiet.

I should imagine they are along the lines of what you are looking for? I have found them great in every instance and amazingly hard wearing (I must be near 20,000 on them now and rear like new with fronts good.

The only time I find them outclassed by the latitudes is under very heavy rain with lots of standing water where I find they aqua plane or become unsettled easier. They are certainly still good and I highly recommend.

In winter they were every inch as good as my dedicated winter tyres I used to use and I now run these all year having previously always run 2 sets, one summer and 1 winter set.

Those CrossClimates look like a great all round tyre, watching this video sure surprised me, I have pirelli all season on, not by choice, it was all they had, i hate all season as a rule, winter are far better on snow, normally.

I dont mind the noise so much but then i dont have a 4x4 and i can only assume that its more notiecable on those?

[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNuqGUgbcIk[/YOUTUBE]

EDIT: i see the YT BBCODE is up the swanny lol

[Ian1965]

Thanks all for the great comments! Sorry I was unaware of the debate last year - didn't have the car then! I sympathise with many comments in this thread and I'm pleased that it isn't just me noticing this! (My wife doesn't notice this sort of thing and thinks I'm bonkers &#128522

Like others I don't think I will change the car as there are many features I like but I will pay more attention next time I buy! And I'll definitely try different tyres. Cheers.