Road noise - winter vs summer tires

[luttersj]

I just got my Blizzaks (245/45/17) mounted and put on the car. The first thing I noticed was how quiet the highway ride is. Is this a common thing with all snow or all-season tires? Are they known to be noticably quieter than performance tires? Or are my summer tires just that loud and if I went with a different brand it would get better?

I have 245/45/17 Ventus tires mounted to the wheels in the summer. They have pretty good tread depth so I think they're pretty new.

 

[97stscaddy]

Your summer tires are just that loud. Snow/winter tires are just about always louder than summer tires or all seasons because of the larger spacing between the tread blocks.

Never heard of Ventus, but my personal preference is Continental. The ContiProContact series is awesome. They have excellent grip and are very quiet. If you want something a little longer lasting try the ContiTouringContact CH95. Its an all season tire with loads of grip and will last longer than the Pro series. I had them on my Cadillac and it was like a whole different car compared to the Goodyears that were on it (which somehow had better ratings on Tirerack).

One thing that can make a big difference in tire noise is allignment. Even if its off by just a hair, and not enough to make any noticeable difference in wear across the tire, a bad allignment can cause the edges of the tread to flare up and that will make tons of road noise.

 

[NateRW21]

I agree with caddy... I've drove several cars with blizzaks, and they are almost alway's more noisy than summer or all season tires; as he said: larger voids in the tread block and the siping tends to make a whine or hum

 

[luttersj]

very interesting feedback. thanks! I know when I first bought the car I posted something along the lines of a possible suspension problem or something. when I hit concrete pavement joints there's a loud *thump* that reverbs through the car. Guess what? That's gone now too with the Blizzaks mounted!

Maybe in the spring, along with new wheels, I'll be looking for new tires. I'm new to the performance tire segment and thought maybe that's just part of the game. I'm glad to hear that it's not! For the record, Ventus is made by Hankook tires.

 

[NateRW21]

I would bet it's your tires... Hanook isn't WONDERFUL tires as it is... then, looking at the fact that Ventus is apparently a second brand of hanook.... ehhhh.

Look at BFG, Goodyear, Michelin, Yokohomo, Pirelli, Continental, Toyo and even Firestone. Stay away from the low-ball tires. I've found consumers report is pretty unbiased on their tire ratings and it gives you a good idea of what to expect at a given price range

 

[luttersj]

I would guess that these tires were put on the car shortly before I bought it. I bought it with about 45,000 miles on the clock. They sure don't look like they have that many miles on them and I doubt that it came from Lincoln with those tires mounted. It'll be a hard sell to convince the wife that I need new "summer" tires in addition to the Blizzaks. Especially since the tread is still good.

Anyone want to buy some tires? hehe

 

[NateRW21]

Well, if the tires are excessively noisy and make thumping sounds; it might not just be an issue of preference; you could have a broken belt or two. Now you're looking at safety. And because you love your wife so much, and wouldn't want a blow-out while driving down the highway, putting her safety in jeopardy... You MUST buy new summer tires. After all, you'd never be able to live with yourself if something were to happen...

That should at-least get you out of the dog house for buying another set of tires!

 

[luttersj]

hehe. well said, Nate!! I might use that angle.

I suppose I could "accidentally" let something happen to them while they're stored in the garage, too.

"It all happened so fast! One minute I was cutting this ____ with my sawsall and the next minute I had hacked through that stack of tires. I'm just glad I didn't cut up anything else!!"

 

[NateRW21]

HAHAHA... there you go!