Just before lockdown I swapped my 2015 Mercedes C Class 220D for a 2019 Superb facelift (190 TSi L&K hatchback, 4 month old ex-demonstrator with 50 miles on the clock). In almost all respects, in my opinion the Skoda is better than the Mercedes, with one big exception - road noise. The Superb runs on Trinity alloys, which look great, shod with 235/40 R19 96W Bridgestone Potenza s001 tyres. The noise generated by the tyres is excessive, some road surfaces worse than others. At 60+ mph it can be difficult to hear a passenger speaking and on motorway runs the constant roar of the tyres is very wearing. I wondered if anyone else has a similar problem and also if some tyre brands are worse than others.

Never been a fan of Bridgestone tyres.  Had them on a Fiesta some years back and they were very noisy.  Would never have them again although they do wear well generally because of the harder compound used (which also causes excessive road noise).

I had the same tyre on my 2019 Superb Sportline Plus hatch until recently and thought they were fairly quiet for a wide, low profile tyre. Replaced with Michelin Pilot Sport which I would say are even noisier but being softer offer more traction off the line and in corners (thank the 4WD). Suppose it's what you are coming from as the Merc C220D probably had 17" or 18" alloys with higher profile tyres. Wife thought my car was very quiet compared to my previous Skoda a Vrs245 on longer trips.

23 minutes ago, TelfordSuperb said:

The Superb runs on Trinity alloys, which look great, shod with 235/40 R19 96W Bridgestone Potenza s001 tyres. The noise generated by the tyres is excessive, some road surfaces worse than others.

Same as mine.

S001 are very noisy tires. I noticed a big improvement when last winter I fitted a new set of Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 235/40 R19 96W XL. Like night and day!

 

I came from a V8 ML to the Superb. Mine also has 19’s fitted and I’ve noticed it being a bit noisier than the Mercedes. My ML had 22’s on it, so I’m assuming the Superb just needs an added bit of sound insulation here and there to help it out. I’ll be fitting 18’s soon with winter tyres, but I cant honestly see that bringing it close to the silence the Mercedes has. 
On a side note, the Superb doesn’t break down twice a week and cost the same as a small foreign island to repair, so I’m just going to put up with the extra noise. 

Edited 17 August, 20205 yr by UndertheRadar
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+1 on the S001 not being the quietest tire out there. Never liked them on any of the two cars (Golf GTI and Superb 272) that had them fitted from factory... Looking forward to have to replace mine (4mm tread left...)

Of-course the Merc should have superior road noise insulation (to some extent at least) but those tires will only make the situation worse. 

Hard to justify a tire change on a brand new car but then again people do all sorts of mods on their car for much more money than a tire set so... 

Hi all, thanks for your comments on my post. It seems that Bridgestone Potenza tyres are not the quietest brand. I guess that when the time comes to change my tyres (they've only done 5k miles so far!) I will have to look for a brand with a lower dBA rating.   

@TelfordSuperb - does ur car have DCC?

Yes it does have DCC

I have a Superb iV with the same rims. My tires are Pirelli Cinturato P7’s. Had the same tires, but 18”, on my previous Passat 190TDI 4Motion. I think that the Passat was quieter regarding road noise, but not much difference. In my opinion the P7’s are a pretty quiet tyre, but then my experience isn’t that big - here in Sweden the main focus and the money is spent on winter tires, and it is pretty common to go budget when it comes to summer tires. 

6 hours ago, Thorell said:

here in Sweden the main focus and the money is spent on winter tires, and it is pretty common to go budget when it comes to summer tires. 

I understand that a good winter tire is essential in sweden.
IMO it should be like this everywhere. But here in Italy it's the exact opposite...

 

15 hours ago, shyVRS245 said:

Replaced with Michelin Pilot Sport which I would say are even noisier

Are yours PS4 or PS4S? I didn't know that these are even noisier than S001, I think when the time comes PS4 should be the right choice to replace my S001. But I was hoping these were quieter.

2 hours ago, Roscio said:

I understand that a good winter tire is essential in sweden.
IMO it should be like this everywhere. But here in Italy it's the exact opposite...

 

Are yours PS4 or PS4S? I didn't know that these are even noisier than S001, I think when the time comes PS4 should be the right choice to replace my S001. But I was hoping these were quieter.

On my previous GTI Clubsport I switched from 18" S001 to 19" PS4S. Noise was comparable and definitely not more on the PS4S but what shocked me was the extra ride comfort on the one inch bigger alloy + tire. The PS4S has a softer sidewall which makes it extremely pleasant on 19" and i imagine 20" and above.

Traction was incredible of-course, on a 370bhp FWD car you could tell the improvement even in 4th gear... 

Given that the AWD 272 does not need to worry about traction I might consider something which is rated a couple db lower than both the S001 and PS4S ( 71db) when I change the Potenzas, still with some performance capability though, if something like that exists.

FWIW tyres will get you only so far.

 

The Superb has issues with road noise in general.

 

 

Hi Digifish, thanks for the useful link. I hadn't appreciated that the Superb has a more general noise issue, most road tests I have read comment on the car being refined and quiet. Perhaps the cars that the manufacturers give to the road testers have added noise insulation! My own experience is that its the tyre noise I find most annoying, the amount depends on the actual type of road surface. For me, engine noise and wind noise aren't a problem, they seem quite well suppressed. Following your link, I  was amazed at the lengths some people will go to deaden noise in their cars.  

14 hours ago, TelfordSuperb said:

...its the tyre noise I find most annoying,  

 

Indeed this is exactly what most of us have been chasing. Tyre roar and its a problem.

 

Its heavily dependent on road surface. If reviewers have not driven on coarse chip bitumen, then they would never know. 

 

It is my opinion the problem with the Superb comes back to transmitted vibrations through the cassis. And so its down to a lack of isolation with bushings. 

 

It's not really air-transmitted noise. Its through the body and re-radiated. 

Edited 19 August, 20205 yr by digifish

have a look at a youtube channel called tyre reviews

 

he does some more through tyre reviews, and often talks about the subjective noise of each tyre, might be useful for you to find something a little quieter

The three Skoda’s I’ve had have not been the best in terms of sound insulation (Mk2 and 3 Octavia and Mk3 Superb).

 

Ive found Goodyear Eagle F1s so be good in terms of noise, certainly an improvement on the Bridgestones fitted as standard in the UK. 
 

Fundamentally, to make a big difference, sound absorbing material would need to be used. 

Thanks all for the helpful replies. Pessimal - the YouTube links are very useful. I have decided to endure the tyre noise until it is time to change my tyres then look for a quieter tyre. In the meantime, I will have to turn the radio up louder.

 

2 minutes ago, TelfordSuperb said:

Thanks all for the helpful replies. Pessimal - the YouTube links are very useful. I have decided to endure the tyre noise until it is time to change my tyres then look for a quieter tyre. In the meantime, I will have to turn the radio up louder.

 

Planet Rock on volume 11 works for me.

👍 😁

Not directly comparable but I found the 16" OE Bridgestone tyres on my last Octavia hatchback incredibly noisy. The tyre roar was the dominant noise at all speeds. So much that when the fronts  were down to 2.5mm I changed all 4.  Went for Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons and it transformed the car. The tyre noise was no longer audible above engine and wind noise at most speeds.

 

 

My current Superb Estate has had 17 inch Continental all seasons fitted from new. Now with Godyear Vectors at the back. No noise issues. 

 

Definitely worth checking noise ratings when changing.

 

 

Tyres can definitely make a significant difference. 

 

Although they don't make them in a size for the Superb where I live, I have put Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus on an Opel Astra and the difference was impressive.  If I could I would use these tyres everywhere. Bridgestone really did a great job here.

 

 

However, nothing can beat OEM engineering aimed at sound-control. Unless you want to retrofit it yourself

Edited 22 August, 20205 yr by digifish

That’s an impressive noise reduction with the Bridgestone Serenity Plus.