Tyre noise

[cs2009]

I first posted this on the Mk6 forum, but only got a limited response, I guess owing to the fact that the Mk6 is still quite new, and few people will have changed their tyres yet. But as the underlying chassis on the Mk5 is much the same, I thought it would be asking here.......

I have a Golf Mk6 GT TSI 160 with 18" Vancouvers, and I find that tyre noise can be quite high on some road surfaces. (The tyre noise is always the dominant noise, as the engine is so incredibly quiet). It is fitted with Dunlop SP Sport Maxx's.

Does anyone else notice this, and if you have different tyres, are they any better with regard to noise levels ?

I once had an Audi A3 which came with Dunlop tyres, and they were also very noisy (although the whole car was much noisier than the Golf).

Chris.

[towcestervag]

tyre noise does seem to be an issue at the moment
i dont think its just common with Dunlop
Passat and Golf have had issues with Pirelli and Continental i do believe its due to the compounds they use now rather than the quality

[peteo]

I get a fair bit of tyre noise on my 05 plate 1.9TDI. So much so that I thought it was a wheel bearing but the dealership investigated and told that it was tyre noise after all.

I was also told that some tyres get noisier as they wear. Does this make sense to anyone? I would have thought they would get quieter if anything.

I didn't notice anything like the same noise on my old Bora.

[towcestervag]

i believe its due to the suspension set ups and the way the tyres are made now
i worked on a Skoda Octavia est this week and the tyres were very noisy it was fitted with continentals they were just starting to run out on the inner edges and this was causing the noise

[Boz88]

I've had two golfs, both MkV. The first one was from new, a 1.9Tdi sport (56 plate). It had Hankooks and was quite quiet.

I then had a 2.0 tdi with dunlops and it was much noisier. so changed the tyres back to the hankooks and it was a bit better, although not as good as i remember the first car i had.

I've now got bridgestone Potenza after a bit of research and they seem to be a bit quieter still. but road noise can still be quite loud on some surfaces.

[peteo]

I think some of my tyre noise might be partially self inflicted. I put 2 new Barum Bravuris on the front to replace 2 worn Michelins. I only do 6,000 miles per year tops so reckoned that a mid range tyre would be OK - it did alright in Which tests as well.

On the back are two Goodyear NCT5s. Quite a lot of tread left although the nearside one has some uneven tyre wear on the outer edge - unusual for the back unless they had been changed from the front at some stage.

I'm no expert but I guess this doesn't help.

Anyone come across uneven rear tyre wear before? It's a new one on me.

[ptolemy]

The Continental tyres on my Polo got noisier as they got closer to needing replacement.

[RUSSGT]

I think some of my tyre noise might be partially self inflicted. I put 2 new Barum Bravuris on the front to replace 2 worn Michelins. I only do 6,000 miles per year tops so reckoned that a mid range tyre would be OK - it did alright in Which tests as well.

On the back are two Goodyear NCT5s. Quite a lot of tread left although the nearside one has some uneven tyre wear on the outer edge - unusual for the back unless they had been changed from the front at some stage.

I'm no expert but I guess this doesn't help.

Anyone come across uneven rear tyre wear before? It's a new one on me.

Uneven tyre wear on the rear can be due to tyre pressures and on some fwd cars there is also alignment adjustment at the rear wheels as well. If your running different tyres and tread patterns you can expect to get more tyre noise and this will effect the cars handling and fuel economy too. It's much better to run matching tyres all round where possible.

[peteo]

I am sure you are right RUSSGT. One thing I noticed recently when looking through Tyre Shopper's website is that premium tyres tend to have 5 bands of tread whereas mid range or budget often have just 4. One brand indicated that the continuous mid band was a factor in reducing noise.

To be honest, beginning to regret not biting the bullet and going for a complete set of something decent. Saying that, my boy racer days are well behind me and I don't do a big mileage but I would feel better with quality tyres all round.

[wyatt]

I had experienced really bad noise just after I had 2 new fronts. I though it was them as I went for Kumos and I'd had Dunlops previously however my car failed the MOT as both rear tyres were out of shape. They were Continentals and not that old/worn. They'd just changed shape (square ish the tester said)! It hadn't been standing for a while or anything but after they were changed it quitened down alot.

Maybe you just need some new ones put on, not good if they're almost new!