Road noise from old tires?

Chistopher

Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2020
Posts
64
Reaction score
7
How much road noise can I expect to get reduced from replacing my old tires with new ones? The ones on there now were there when I bought it used back in January. I'm hearing considerably higher rear wheel road noise than my friends S197 of the same year, only difference being he has the pony package.

I took it to a mechanic and he said nothing was wrong with it, so I dynamated the trunk and the rear seats, and that made no difference (did send me into a hell of a rabbit hole researching the stuff though).

Is old tire noise more noticeable in the back than the front? The front sounds fine.

BTW, the tread on the tires is fine, but are there any other ways to check for signs of age?
 
Last edited by a moderator:

LarryJM

Resident Fuktard
Joined
Jul 15, 2018
Posts
1,008
Reaction score
151
That is why I went with Bridgestone Runflats. Although they also have a bit of hum on certain road surfaces.

IM8.jpg
 

Dino Dino Bambino

I have a red car
Joined
Aug 11, 2014
Posts
3,880
Reaction score
1,751
Location
Cyprus
Tires harden with age and do produce more noise. Fine cracks on the sidewalls are a dead giveaway. Therefore getting a set of new replacements will help but results will vary depending on the tread pattern and the type of compound used. For normal use you'll want high performance all season tires. Mine are W speed rated (up to 168mph or 270kph).
 

DieHarder

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2019
Posts
1,445
Reaction score
745
How much road noise can I expect to get reduced from replacing my old tires with new ones? The ones on there now were there when I bought it used back in January. I'm hearing considerably higher rear wheel road noise than my friends S197 of the same year, only difference being he has the pony package.

I took it to a mechanic and he said nothing was wrong with it, so I dynamated the trunk and the rear seats, and that made no difference (did send me into a hell of a rabbit hole researching the stuff though).

Is old tire noise more noticeable in the back than the front? The front sounds fine.

When you use dynamat or any sound deadener in addition to the trunk and rear seats you also want to run up both sides of the rear seats and cover the wheel arches in the trunk. Also recommend doing the front seats all the way up front as far as you can get to easily and exterior front tubs behind the front wheel arches. When I do a car I buy the stuff below in bulk. 50 sq feet will easily do an entire car. It's gotten more expensive but still a bargain when compared to what other mainstream products charge. I've done two cars now and both are significantly quieter compared to when I started. It does take a while however. I probably have a good 50-80 hours in each car. Still worth it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/302204879574?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
 

pass1over

I like it LOW
Joined
Oct 9, 2011
Posts
1,513
Reaction score
236
Location
Trenton, FL
There is a rectangle on each tire with the month/year it was manufactured. It will be a 4 digit number, the first two is the week it was made, the second two are the year, so a 2321 was made the 23rd week of 2021, or 4720 would be the 47th week of 2020, etc.
 

Chistopher

Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2020
Posts
64
Reaction score
7
Okay, looking at my tires now I definitely need to replace them. I haven't had a chance to look at the date as per pass1over's post, but they are definitely too old.

When I dynamated the back, I did cover the wheel arches but I was limited in my access to the sides of the rear seats, how do I remove the armrest panel?

Also, it's not really in my budget or interest to do the extreme CCF/MLV combo, but I have heard that using a mat of 3M Thinsulate covers against more of the higher frequencies of road noise than dynamat will and is in general an easier install.

As far as specific tires, without changing rims (I have the crappy 16 radius rims, probably not going to change this) what are my best options?
 

Chistopher

Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2020
Posts
64
Reaction score
7
So all of the tires except the back right tire are early 2014. The back right looks a lot older and appears to be a different brand all together. The DOT code only has 8 digits, and the last 4 are H111. I assume that's 2011?
 

DieHarder

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2019
Posts
1,445
Reaction score
745
I've found that Rockmat does a much better job of knocking down noise compared to Thinsulate. Removing armrest panels is straight forward. Remove plastic door scuff panels; then rearseat; then backrests. There are three pin type moulding retainers (one in the front down low; two in the rear) that you'll have to remove (should be able to get them out with a screwdriver or panel remover if you have one). Then the armrests just pull out starting with the rearward sides; pull inwards/ forward. Installation is the reverse of removal. I'm sure there's probably a youtube video on it.
 

Chistopher

Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2020
Posts
64
Reaction score
7
Rockmat is another form of butyl rubber (I said I used dynamat, but I was using it as a generic term for butyl rubber, the brand I used was Noico) used to dampen sheet metal vibrations, wheras thinsulater is an accoustic deadener to dampen air waves.

I'll look into adding more to the arm rest area though, that seemed to be where a lot of the remaining noise was leaking in
 

Chistopher

Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2020
Posts
64
Reaction score
7
I'm looking at the Vredestein Quatrac, are those any good? The look to be designed to perform better on slick roads, which I have been having a problem with. Plus they are pretty cheap
 

Chistopher

Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2020
Posts
64
Reaction score
7
After further research on sound deadening, I'm just going to pick up some new tires and call it a day with the sound proofing project. Never in my life have I seen more misinformation than researching soundproofing a car. The sad part is most of it is being spread by the people selling the products.
 

DieHarder

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2019
Posts
1,445
Reaction score
745
After further research on sound deadening, I'm just going to pick up some new tires and call it a day with the sound proofing project. Never in my life have I seen more misinformation than researching soundproofing a car. The sad part is most of it is being spread by the people selling the products.

Cannot disagree... took me a while to find a product that I liked and still a decent price.
 

Juice

forum member
Joined
Aug 24, 2017
Posts
4,622
Reaction score
1,904
My junk nitto 555s are noisy, but they have uneven wear on the inside edges.
 

Kobie

forum member
Joined
Dec 23, 2007
Posts
198
Reaction score
7
I used the Noico LMV and their acoustic foam on top of it. The foam was a big improvement over just the LVM.
Both are available on Amazon and cost much less than the name brand stuff.
 

DieHarder

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2019
Posts
1,445
Reaction score
745
The roof liner I haven't done yet. Concerned I'll mess up the stock liner. Difficult/easy to get out?
 

Kobie

forum member
Joined
Dec 23, 2007
Posts
198
Reaction score
7
I was worried too, but it ended up being super easy. Comes out in one piece. Goes back in easy too. Big improvement in sound and heat transmission.
 

86GT351

forum member
Joined
Nov 14, 2010
Posts
5,997
Reaction score
895
Location
Sunny South Florida
So all of the tires except the back right tire are early 2014. The back right looks a lot older and appears to be a different brand all together. The DOT code only has 8 digits, and the last 4 are H111. I assume that's 2011?
If you look at the opposite side of the tire there will be more numbers. H111 is not a date code.

Anyhow the tires are from 2014 based on your statement. Time to replace them. 5 years is the manufacturers recommendation.
 

Latest posts

Support us!

Support Us - Become A Supporting Member Today!

Click Here For Details

Sponsor Links

Banner image
Back
Top