tyre size - comfort and noise

[fredT]

about to change tyres on my car, tyres are 225/45/17 and 245/40/17. car is quite noisy on bad roads, would getting a 5mm higher profile tyres help at all with regards to noise and comfort?

Also, would cruise control abs etc work properly? i assume it would as tyresize varies anyway between new/old tyres and probably slightly between manufacturers.

probably getting vredstein sessantas by the way.

thanks / fred

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I suspect you'd be hard pushed to notice a difference just a 5% increase in sidewall.

I would be tempted to keep it standard as you'll increase the rolling radius which will have an effect on the accuracy of your speedo, and for likely little benefit.

If you're really serious a set of smaller diameter wheels (if your brakes allow) and softer suspension would help, but it would be cheaper to swap the car for one with a softer set up.

 

[Mactech]

The two best things you can do to increase the comfort and reduce noise are:
1. Fit a new set of tyres. This may sound silly, but the depth of tread does increase the ride comfort and the mass of tread helps damp the road noise and prevent the tyres 'ringing'
2. Select the make of tyre carefully. There are big differences between types of tyre. Some can be very firm and others very loud. Some suit certain types of car better than others.
I will not try to recomend any specific type here, but have a look at the comments left by customers of various tyres here:

Test reports for summer car tyres

 

[kwakdonut]

I will assume you have an Avantgarde? Suspension set up is quite hard on these but softer on the Elegance & Classic. I too would go for either down-sizing to 16" rims or fit new tyres that are quieter!

 

[gatty]

FredT

Have the same car and size wheels i would be interested in what you opt for as will need to change mine soon. A lot of positive post for Michelin and Falkens.

Regards

Gatty

 

[Stratman]

I did some searching on t'interweb for quiet tyres when I needed to change my fronts. I ended up choosing Conti Premium Contact 2 and a good choice it was. Noticeably quieter than the Michelin Eco-somethingorothers on the back.

Car is a C200 CDI estate on 195/65x15

 

[fredT]

thanks for that.

well its more then 5% increase. i am assumong the profile is the "height of the tyre" in mm so going from 40 to 45 would be a 12.5% increase in rubber between the rim and the road.. my thinking is this would help.. now ofcourse there might be several other factors i dont know/understand

no i will not be changing wheels, its not that bad.

im trying to select tyremake carefully, but its not easy. finding any good info on tyre noise/comfort seems very hard as most of the info comes from forums, and on forums you find totally contradicting info and most people talking up their latest purchase no matter how good/bad it really is

most 'independent' tests ive read put more weight on outright grip and how well they wear, and based on this i've pretty much decided on the vredsteins.. though some people say they are noisy and other say they are quiet...

well screw it ill just buy the standard size tire and be done with it. i shall report back what i find

 

[Gridlock]

"40" or "45" refers to the height of the sidewall as a percentage of the tyre width - hence 45% of 225 and 40% of 245 for roughly the same rolling diameter front and rear.

My ContiSportContactTyreMadeOfRubber3s are fairly quiet and very, very grippy. £460 for all 4 in your size.

 

[Stratman]

I knew I'd seen it somewhere.

A list of the Dutch Government's tests on tyre noise.

In Dutch.

Not to worry, it's easy to work out what's going on.

Tyre noise test