Tyre noise question.

[T i m]

Whilst driving up a bit of dual carriageway today I was taking notice
of the tyre noise as I moved on and off different surfaces and it was
apparent there was quite a difference.

On most of that particular road it seemed quite noisy but that would
often reduce considerably as you went over a 'quieter' bit.

So that set me wondering if you might typically get similar results
(the change in noise and in the same direction) with different (make /
model) tyres?

Now I'm guessing that chunky tread 4x4 tyres might be noisy on most
surfaces and so you might not be able to notice any difference when
going from what I currently note is a noisy to quiet(er) surface.

So has anyone here noticed anything as extreme as say one make / model
of tyre being noisier on one surface than a different make / model was
quieter on, or is it likely the case that the surface will dictate the
noise level and in the same direction across all makes / models?

OOI, there have been Continental Premium Contact tyres on the Meriva
from new until they seemed to lower the good wet weather ratings and
so we currently have some Firestone (Roadhawks) on the front and will
put the same on the rear when the Contis (5's) wear out.

I *think* the Firestones are quieter but it's difficult to be sure
when only changing 50% of the tyres (and so difficult to tell if
either tyre is quieter or louder on any given surface).

I guess if I had microphones recording tyre noise front and back you
could tell from the order the road noise from each went up or down but
I don't. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[MrCheerful]

Post by T i m
Whilst driving up a bit of dual carriageway today I was taking notice
of the tyre noise as I moved on and off different surfaces and it was
apparent there was quite a difference.
On most of that particular road it seemed quite noisy but that would
often reduce considerably as you went over a 'quieter' bit.
So that set me wondering if you might typically get similar results
(the change in noise and in the same direction) with different (make /
model) tyres?
Now I'm guessing that chunky tread 4x4 tyres might be noisy on most
surfaces and so you might not be able to notice any difference when
going from what I currently note is a noisy to quiet(er) surface.
So has anyone here noticed anything as extreme as say one make / model
of tyre being noisier on one surface than a different make / model was
quieter on, or is it likely the case that the surface will dictate the
noise level and in the same direction across all makes / models?
OOI, there have been Continental Premium Contact tyres on the Meriva
from new until they seemed to lower the good wet weather ratings and
so we currently have some Firestone (Roadhawks) on the front and will
put the same on the rear when the Contis (5's) wear out.
I *think* the Firestones are quieter but it's difficult to be sure
when only changing 50% of the tyres (and so difficult to tell if
either tyre is quieter or louder on any given surface).
I guess if I had microphones recording tyre noise front and back you
could tell from the order the road noise from each went up or down but
I don't. ;-)
Cheers, T i m

New tyres on the front is not recommended, get them swapped to the rear
for optimum safety.

Tyre noise varies between every model of car and every tyre and every
road surface. All you can pre-guess is that the lower the db rating of
the new tyre, the quieter it is likely to be overall.

When I first got Alpin3 tyres on the Focus I actually thought that I had
an induction air leak, since the noise changed so much during
acceleration as opposed to cruise, the Alpin4 is silent in comparison.

I would expect that the harder the tyre compound (longer life) the
quieter the tyre will be under all conditions.

[T i m]

On Mon, 13 Jan 2020 07:48:23 +0000, MrCheerful
<***@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

<snip>

Post by MrCheerful

Post by T i m
So has anyone here noticed anything as extreme as say one make / model
of tyre being noisier on one surface than a different make / model was
quieter on, or is it likely the case that the surface will dictate the
noise level and in the same direction across all makes / models?

<snip>

Post by MrCheerful
New tyres on the front is not recommended, get them swapped to the rear
for optimum safety.

I 'get' the hydroplaning rear / control thing MrC but given the rears
were fairly new when the fronts were worn out, I didn't want to
accelerate the wear by re-positioning them etc.

Post by MrCheerful
Tyre noise varies between every model of car and every tyre and every
road surface.

Sure.

Post by MrCheerful
All you can pre-guess is that the lower the db rating of
the new tyre, the quieter it is likely to be overall.

I think the Firestones were supposed to be a bit quieter than the
Contis (on paper) but because I have a pair of each, I can't really
tell. And new tyres might sound different to old in any case.

Post by MrCheerful
When I first got Alpin3 tyres on the Focus I actually thought that I had
an induction air leak, since the noise changed so much during
acceleration as opposed to cruise, the Alpin4 is silent in comparison.

Crazy across a basic version upgrade eh.

Post by MrCheerful
I would expect that the harder the tyre compound (longer life) the
quieter the tyre will be under all conditions.

That was the thing, knowing if anyone had ever experienced a tyre that
was particularly noisy on sections of road that were particularly
quite previously.

The only instance I could imagine that if a tyre was to 'sing' on a
particularly / otherwise quiet surface?

I have had blocky tyres on the kitcar and they 'sang' making it sound
like an electric train. ;-)

I know most road tyres vary the size / spacing of the tread blocks
around the tyre circumference to spread the range of frequencies a
tyre might otherwise sing at (spread spectrum). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[MrCheerful]

Post by T i m
On Mon, 13 Jan 2020 07:48:23 +0000, MrCheerful
<snip>

Post by MrCheerful

Post by T i m
So has anyone here noticed anything as extreme as say one make / model
of tyre being noisier on one surface than a different make / model was
quieter on, or is it likely the case that the surface will dictate the
noise level and in the same direction across all makes / models?

<snip>

Post by MrCheerful
New tyres on the front is not recommended, get them swapped to the rear
for optimum safety.

I 'get' the hydroplaning rear / control thing MrC but given the rears
were fairly new when the fronts were worn out, I didn't want to
accelerate the wear by re-positioning them etc.

One of the many reasons for putting the new tyres on the rear is so that
the lesser-wearing rear tyres DO get worn out, otherwise you end up with
overly old but not low-tread tyres on the rear.

Front tyres wear about three-four times quicker than the rears on the
average FWD car.

[T i m]

On Mon, 13 Jan 2020 11:07:53 +0000, MrCheerful
<***@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

<snip>

Post by MrCheerful

Post by T i m

Post by MrCheerful
New tyres on the front is not recommended, get them swapped to the rear
for optimum safety.

I 'get' the hydroplaning rear / control thing MrC but given the rears
were fairly new when the fronts were worn out, I didn't want to
accelerate the wear by re-positioning them etc.

One of the many reasons for putting the new tyres on the rear is so that
the lesser-wearing rear tyres DO get worn out, otherwise you end up with
overly old but not low-tread tyres on the rear.

Hmm, good point, especially if you aren't doing millions of miles a
year.

Post by MrCheerful
Front tyres wear about three-four times quicker than the rears on the
average FWD car.

Sounds about right.

I was checking the rear tyres on the Meriva a while back and noted
there were some fine splits between the tread grooves running round
the tyre. Checked the date code and they were what was supplied with
the car and so maybe 9+ years old. ;-(

I replaced them straight away (even though they still had plenty of
tread left) but their replacements are probably due soon [1][2]. So, I
will have the part worn Firestones on the front and new Firestones on
the rear. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[1] FWIW the new Conti replacements soon showed similar signs of
splits between the main grooves and the tyre fitters suggested it
wasn't that uncommon? I typically run the rear tyre pressure a bit
higher than the book suggests for 'One up unloaded, non-high speed'
<whatever> because I'm typically two up and with the dog and
'something' in the rear load space.

[2] I probably ''push-on' a bit harder than Dad did when he had it.
;-)

[MrCheerful]

Post by T i m
On Mon, 13 Jan 2020 11:07:53 +0000, MrCheerful
<snip>

Post by MrCheerful

Post by T i m

Post by MrCheerful
New tyres on the front is not recommended, get them swapped to the rear
for optimum safety.

I 'get' the hydroplaning rear / control thing MrC but given the rears
were fairly new when the fronts were worn out, I didn't want to
accelerate the wear by re-positioning them etc.

One of the many reasons for putting the new tyres on the rear is so that
the lesser-wearing rear tyres DO get worn out, otherwise you end up with
overly old but not low-tread tyres on the rear.

Hmm, good point, especially if you aren't doing millions of miles a
year.

Post by MrCheerful
Front tyres wear about three-four times quicker than the rears on the
average FWD car.

Sounds about right.
I was checking the rear tyres on the Meriva a while back and noted
there were some fine splits between the tread grooves running round
the tyre. Checked the date code and they were what was supplied with
the car and so maybe 9+ years old. ;-(
I replaced them straight away (even though they still had plenty of
tread left) but their replacements are probably due soon [1][2]. So, I
will have the part worn Firestones on the front and new Firestones on
the rear. ;-)
Cheers, T i m
[1] FWIW the new Conti replacements soon showed similar signs of
splits between the main grooves and the tyre fitters suggested it
wasn't that uncommon? I typically run the rear tyre pressure a bit
higher than the book suggests for 'One up unloaded, non-high speed'
<whatever> because I'm typically two up and with the dog and
'something' in the rear load space.
[2] I probably ''push-on' a bit harder than Dad did when he had it.
;-)

I very clearly remember going to a Quikfit place about some retreaded
runflat metric tyres, a Metro had come in for an mot, it failed on
splits between the retread and the carcase of the tyre, since the
receipt was in the car and was less than one year old I visited a local
QF to ask for a couple of new tyres under their guarantee, they said
that the splitting was quite normal and nothing to worry about and that
they would not replace them! I pointed out the MOT failure, and asked
them to put in writing about the tyres being alright, this very quickly
brought the offer of two new tyres, which as far as I know were OK, but
I never encountered that car again to find out. Ah, happy days!

[T i m]

On Mon, 13 Jan 2020 19:13:30 +0000, MrCheerful
<***@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

<snip>

Post by MrCheerful
I very clearly remember going to a Quikfit place about some retreaded
runflat metric tyres, a Metro had come in for an mot, it failed on
splits between the retread and the carcase of the tyre, since the
receipt was in the car and was less than one year old I visited a local
QF to ask for a couple of new tyres under their guarantee, they said
that the splitting was quite normal and nothing to worry about and that
they would not replace them! I pointed out the MOT failure, and asked
them to put in writing about the tyres being alright, this very quickly
brought the offer of two new tyres,

It's funny how that sort of thing often works. <weg>

That said, I didn't need to with a pair of fairly old remoulds on the
kitcar that started to crack on the sidewall that were supposed to
have a 'lifetime guarantee'. I sent them a photo of said cracking and
they arranged to have a new pair sent to my local fitter and have them
fitted and balanced for free. ;-)

<snip>

Cheers, T i m