My car came fitted with Dunlop tyres but I seem to get a lot of road noise coming into the cabin. I know its road surface noise as on a nearby section of new motorway there is very little road surface noise. I came from a 1.9 TDI fabia estate may be the engine noise cancelled out the road noise Joe

Not so much brand as tyre design, the pattern definitely makes for most of the noise in my experience.

 

 

Which dunlops are they?

There are several things that affect road noise; tyre tread design, carcass design, rubber compound and tread depth are amongst them.

 

The stiffness of flexible materials in the suspension pivots and any subframe mounts also have an effect.

 

FWIW I've always felt Dunlops to be noisy and quick-wearing without actually being grippy or having decent aquaplaning resistance.

Maybe I'm being stupid, but regardless of the brand, don't they just use this to gauge the tyre noise for purchasers?

 

Hi jonboyuk I must have lead a very sheltered life I have never seen one of these tyre charts mind whenever I have needed a new tyre I just dropped my car into my usual garage and asked them to fit a new tyre. Joe

My SE L 1.2TSI is on Dunlops too, and has more road noise than I expected...but not excessively so, given the broken tank tracks that pass for metalled roads in this county. I do know that different tyres react differently on different cars but I think I'll be going for Continentals when these Dunlops give up. Used to run my Mk1 vRS on Contis and they were very good all-rounders. Had a couple of sets of Avons on the S60 and was happy with them, despite the "cognoscenti" repeatedly telling me they were lethal. I sometimes think there is nearly as much tyre snobbery as car badge snobbery.

Agree with the tyre snobbery thing to some degree, although there is one thing that all of the tests I have ever seen agree on - if you buy cheap tyres from the Far East they will be absolutely lethal when braking in wet conditions, not to mention other aspects of their road-holding.

 

Having seen how incredibly many metres more they take to stop a car I am sticking with the premium brands.

Hi jonboyuk I must have lead a very sheltered life I have never seen one of these tyre charts mind whenever I have needed a new tyre I just dropped my car into my usual garage and asked them to fit a new tyre. Joe

 

Yep EVERY tyre in the UK has to adopt that gauge, so if you're buying some you can ask to see it.

As to cheap tyres from the Far East.

Maybe do not go by the name of Tyres and assume where they are made, by who or just by cost.

(because names not common in the UK, or which have a good reputation because people do not buy them 

because they think they are Cheap Far Eastern Tyres, does not make them rubbish in the Wet.

Many countries in the East are wetter than the Western World, and they like to be able to stay on the road 

and brake in the wet / cold.)

 

Some of the biggest Brand names produce tyres in Countries considered to be 'The East. Far East, Asia etc. 

and some Cheap Tyres manufactured around Europe and neighbouring countries are cheap and good, 

even as good or better than Big Brand Name,'Premium Brand ECO Tyres' and the rubbish in the wet some / many Car Manufacturers in the EU fit as OEM.

http://tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/who-owns-what-tyre-brands.htm

http://tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/who-owns-what-tyre-brand.htm

However....

 

That gauge/chart is not verified or independently checked AFAIK.

 

My info is a bit outdated, couple of years, but essentially a tyre manf declares the tyre for the chart, then makes whatever they want. Sure it has to be close, but define close. Manufacturing variance. The industry expert said, if it differs when checked; it won't be, then they issue a revision, but they don't so plenty of 'cheap' tyres rolling around a A when really B or C...

 

Whats the A or B efficiency number? someone in the group asked

We got a licked finger, held aloft in the air

 

I'm sure there is a test, I'm sure it's got a number and I'm certain you can't trust it so far as you could throw the tyre.

 

Also any tests are on new. It's a reasonably well known fact german tyres tail off below 3mm, as 3mm is the german req... again not tested, just many more finger in the air/keyboard observations.

 

But then plenty of exceptions, take khumo 39's great, or were, cheap, not a premium brand, but did well on tests. There isn't a right answer, but not the cheapest is a good option NOT to follow unless you have to, leave a bigger gap if you do...

Not so much brand as tyre design, the pattern definitely makes for most of the noise in my experience.

 

 

Which dunlops are they?

Hi ColinD have just checked the tyres they are Dunlop SP Sports Maxx 215/45. R16. 86H. Joe

My SE L 1.2TSI is on Dunlops too, and has more road noise than I expected...but not excessively so, given the broken tank tracks that pass for metalled roads in this county. I do know that different tyres react differently on different cars but I think I'll be going for Continentals when these Dunlops give up. Used to run my Mk1 vRS on Contis and they were very good all-rounders. Had a couple of sets of Avons on the S60 and was happy with them, despite the "cognoscenti" repeatedly telling me they were lethal. I sometimes think there is nearly as much tyre snobbery as car badge snobbery.

 

Avon sponsor a race series, like Pirelli or Michelin, in so far as tyres on car, round a race track they go As do Khumo I think and many more. Definitely some snobbery on tyres, I think it comes from faith in brands and the fairly long cycle of testing required, not to mention cost fothe avg joe. So it's easier to faithfully trust the 'brands' we know and are told are good. But things change, I used to love toyo T1R's, last week on another site I saw them described far worse :( So have they fallen or has everything else risen, that is the question

 

Oh I had a set of dunlop pro race 9000's ( I think, road legal *just* ) Lovely damp track tyre, very noisy, very costly to run, gripped very well on tarmac, not so well on surface water.

Dunlop SP Sport Maxx are a Directional tyre, and in 205/40 R17 & 215/40 R 17 i find them quite a nice noise compared to 

Pirelli Zero Nero 205/40 R17 or 215/40 R17.

Its down to different cars and different strokes for different folks with noise, and how people hear things.

(I can post pictures of the collection of Dunlop Sport Maxx i have wrecked in the past 4 years down to the pretty rubbish sidewalls, even though these are an XL Tyre when 40 Profile.  Love them in the Summer though.)

 

Currently my Hifly HF 508 Cheepo made China imported to Europe Ditch Finders are performing better than the 2 Premium Brands mentioned above.

(& 'Tigar' tyres from Serbia are a company owned by Michelin, and these are available at ATS Euromaster,

very cheap tyres that perform pretty well, they come in Summer, Winter etc.)

http://easywheels.co.uk/manufacturers

 

http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=110&cart_id=51199521.110.22006&Breite=215&Quer=45&Felge=16&Speed=&Load=86&kategorie=6&Marke=Dunlop&ranzahl=4&tyre_for=&x_tyre_for=&Herst=Dunlop&rsmFahrzeugart=PKW&filter_preis_bis=&filter_preis_von=&homologation=&search_tool=standard&Label=C-E-67-1&details=Ordern&typ=D-119923

 

long link, has info and eu label, delti test shows ok 3.5 stars. If right, then it's marketed as a high perf tyre, more grip = more rubber = more noise = more fuel = better corners && stopping 

 

They are on now turn up the radio one more enjoy them Don't worry about them either, most lcoal tyre shops now could not really sell 'duff' tyres, not unless you grab some remoulds

I confess to actually being a mark11 owner (Not Mk111)

 

But this subject interests me, because I have a beef about Bridgestone Turanza tyres - 196-55-15. These are incredibly noisy - to such a degree that I will replace them even though they are just 12500 miles old. In their defence, they have been good in terms of wear and grip.

 

During my last service, I had a loan Fabia 11, with 16" lower profile Turanza's fitted. I was amazed how much quieter this was, this was totally unexpected. Convention says this should perhaps be the other way round, so was very puzzled.

 

After much thought, I can only think that the 195-55-15's have a certain air volume capacity that relates to/coinsides with the fundamental resonance of the car itself.

 

If I listen when my wife drives (from stopped) down the road - when she just reaches walking pace plus, you can hear clearly the start of tyre roar.

At the moment I am considering a change to Michelin CrossClimate. One fabia 11 forum member has changed to these and is well pleased.

 

I would mention that I have had 3 Fabia 11's (all with the same size tyres). The continentals and Dunlops were 'noisey' - but nowhere near as bad as the Bridgestone Turanza's.

Edited 26 October, 201510 yr by 2ndskoda