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ny of us have purchased tires that were great when we first had them installed, only to find they get much louder as they wear down.
With a little understanding of tire technology, you can keep your tires rolling quieter for more miles.
Tires get noisy for a couple of reasons including tread design, uneven wear and tire construction.
Tread Design: Tire manufacturers work hard to design tires that will provide good traction without sacrificing ride quality. Consideration of tire noise is commonly referred to as tire tuning. If a tire is tuned well, you should experience relatively low tire noise. Generally speaking, directional tires will get louder as they wear than those that are non-directional.
Uneven Wear: If a tire wears in an uneven manner, its contact to the road is no longer uniform and you may begin to notice more noise and even slight steering wheel vibration. Proper tire rotation and wheel alignment will help your tires wear more evenly and reduce this effect.
Tire Construction: Performance and Touring Tires are built with different reinforcement materials that generally lead to a quieter ride, especially with Touring Tires. Also, as a tire wears down, it gets closer to the steel belt and this can increase tire noise. Think of the tires tread as sound insulation and as tread is reduced, your tires get louder than when they were new.
The best way to reduce the chance of having noisy tires is to work with an expert to better understand each tires performance characteristics. Although there are no guarantees that they will never get noisy, choosing the best tire for your needs and understanding how to care for them will help ensure you will be happy with your driving experience.
With a little understanding of tire technology, you can keep your tires rolling quieter for more miles.
Tires get noisy for a couple of reasons including tread design, uneven wear and tire construction.
Tread Design: Tire manufacturers work hard to design tires that will provide good traction without sacrificing ride quality. Consideration of tire noise is commonly referred to as tire tuning. If a tire is tuned well, you should experience relatively low tire noise. Generally speaking, directional tires will get louder as they wear than those that are non-directional.
Uneven Wear: If a tire wears in an uneven manner, its contact to the road is no longer uniform and you may begin to notice more noise and even slight steering wheel vibration. Proper tire rotation and wheel alignment will help your tires wear more evenly and reduce this effect.
Tire Construction: Performance and Touring Tires are built with different reinforcement materials that generally lead to a quieter ride, especially with Touring Tires. Also, as a tire wears down, it gets closer to the steel belt and this can increase tire noise. Think of the tires tread as sound insulation and as tread is reduced, your tires get louder than when they were new.
The best way to reduce the chance of having noisy tires is to work with an expert to better understand each tires performance characteristics. Although there are no guarantees that they will never get noisy, choosing the best tire for your needs and understanding how to care for them will help ensure you will be happy with your driving experience.
I would be happy to assist with this question. Are you running the 18" or 20" option for your MKX?
Wednesday, June 13, 2012 by Pam:
Road noise is our problem on our 2009 p t cruiser. Had goodyear, put yokohama's on there today, i swear the road noise increased. I am taking them back, did research but now do not know which other one to try. Yokohamas were recommended for incredible less amount of road noise so is Michelin Mxm4. Scared to trust the advertisement. Hopefully you can help. Tired to research other cruiser owners, but not much said about road noise. Thanks Please reply ASAP.
For that size, one of our best rated tires would be the Continental DWS.
-Marshall@tirerack.com
Would it help reduce road noise if I also switched to a skinnier tire? Any recommendations?
Thank you in advance
Some of the highest rated tires are currently a Michelin Defender or Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus. -Marshall@tirerack.com
Thank you!!!