MK5 Golf GTI

All Things Mk5 => Mk5 General Area => Topic started by: nc35 on February 20, 2010, 10:04:20 am

Title: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: nc35 on February 20, 2010, 10:04:20 am
Hi All

Looking for a set of tyres with minimal road noise...

I know I will get laughed at cos I don't want the grippiest ones out there, I just want a quieter car.

What does anyone recommend?

Cheers

Lee
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: Truckie on February 20, 2010, 10:23:31 am
Hi Lee, I get laughed at too cos i dont want max performance lol.
Had a set of Avon/Cooper ZZ3 (think theres a new model out now too) These were very good, pretty quiet and did a fair mileage. Had cadburys conti sport, sorry Continental lol, these were poo for mileage.
I currently have Michelin factory fits on my car, these have done around 20000 miles and are nowhere near replacement! very quiet but be warned, merd in the wet!

P.S We run Cooper/Avon on the ferrari 360 and are very quiet in this.  :happy2:
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: nc35 on February 20, 2010, 10:42:37 am
Wow - thought I was a bit of a freek on this site... 

All I want is a nice quiet GTI first car in years that I have worked on myself in ages and loving it. Resisting the lowering and REVO etc etc

Used Michelin in the Porsche - lasted for years/miles too but no way near the power of the 360 - quite envious.

Hear good things about the Conti Sports, but not about mileage and noise.
Dunlops as poo - but good in snow.  I sound like an old land rover lol.
Was interested in the VREDESTEIN ULTRAC SESSANTA but don't know about noise & mileage.

Thanks for the reply

Lee
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: Truckie on February 20, 2010, 11:05:02 am
I would think the Cooper/Avon will get slaughtered on here, but they are good!
Think there may be another couple of guys on here who are not all performance lol....maybe!
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: Garth on February 20, 2010, 12:23:33 pm
I would think the Cooper/Avon will get slaughtered on here, but they are good!
Think there may be another couple of guys on here who are not all performance lol....maybe!
Yes, ME!! I want quiet tyres too, but they still have to perform MUCH better than the crappo Sunew tyres I have on at the moment  :grin:
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: nc35 on February 20, 2010, 12:46:54 pm
Who the @@@@ is sunew?

Still really tempted by the VREDESTEIN ULTRAC SESSANTA just don't know how noisy they are.  For £90 per corner could be worth a punt.

Stay away from Dunlops they are shocking... Kicking myself when I got the car replaced a couple of tyres for Dunlops to match.  Wish I had left the Michelin ones on now.

In the meanwhile turn up the radio or ear plugs  :signLOL:
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: winrya on February 20, 2010, 07:23:27 pm
I'm running VREDESTEIN ULTRAC SESSANTA and can confirm they are very quiet. They are also brilliant in the wet and really good in the snow!! Down side is they are quite soft and Im only going to get f1 mileage out of them!
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: Phil Mcavity on February 20, 2010, 07:31:25 pm
^^^ 2nd that. Great tyres. Does the job admirably :happy2:
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: Gene Hunt on February 21, 2010, 08:16:04 am
I'm running VREDESTEIN ULTRAC SESSANTA and can confirm they are very quiet. They are also brilliant in the wet and really good in the snow!! Down side is they are quite soft and Im only going to get f1 mileage out of them!
.........same here can't fault them.  :happy2:
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: too hot on February 21, 2010, 09:25:44 pm
I got Bridgestone Potenzas and they are noisy !!!!! :surprised:
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: Russ_leeds on February 21, 2010, 10:23:38 pm
im running conti sport 2's and they r pretty noisy 2!
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: alex_chung on February 21, 2010, 10:33:23 pm
Agreed on the VREDESTEIN ULTRAC SESSANTA. I have them on the back of my car and will be getting two for the front as well when the time comes. A good all round tyre.
Another thing about noise. Is this coming from the back? Get your alignment checked as well. The MK5 platforms (Octavia, Golf, A3, Leon) all suffer from the same issue on the back tyres where the camber is too negative (toe in) I got mine done and had the camber changed so that the tyre was sitting flatter on the ground and its a lot less noiser than before. Also you don't have the issue of the tyres wearing on the inside edges.
Alex
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: Phil Mcavity on February 21, 2010, 10:42:16 pm
Agreed on the VREDESTEIN ULTRAC SESSANTA. I have them on the back of my car and will be getting two for the front as well when the time comes. A good all round tyre.
Another thing about noise. Is this coming from the back? Get your alignment checked as well. The MK5 platforms (Octavia, Golf, A3, Leon) all suffer from the same issue on the back tyres where the camber is too negative (toe in) I got mine done and had the camber changed so that the tyre was sitting flatter on the ground and its a lot less noiser than before. Also you don't have the issue of the tyres wearing on the inside edges.
Alex
Aernt the GTi 's ment to have more Negative camber to help with the handling??
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: alex_chung on February 21, 2010, 10:48:06 pm
Agreed on the VREDESTEIN ULTRAC SESSANTA. I have them on the back of my car and will be getting two for the front as well when the time comes. A good all round tyre.
Another thing about noise. Is this coming from the back? Get your alignment checked as well. The MK5 platforms (Octavia, Golf, A3, Leon) all suffer from the same issue on the back tyres where the camber is too negative (toe in) I got mine done and had the camber changed so that the tyre was sitting flatter on the ground and its a lot less noiser than before. Also you don't have the issue of the tyres wearing on the inside edges.
Alex
Aernt the GTi 's ment to have more Negative camber to help with the handling??

Could be but surely not to the extent that the inside of your tyres wearing out quicker than the rest of the tyre.
Alex
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: Phil Mcavity on February 21, 2010, 10:50:38 pm
Indeed but the GTi is not ment to handle like a box standard mk5 is it.

If it keeps the back end more in check then so be it in my book. Just wish the dam tyres wouldnt wear down soo dam fast lol
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: RedRobin on February 22, 2010, 10:31:29 am
I've never been particularly aware of tyre noise and I've had Conti, Bridgestone Potenza, Goodyear Eagle F1 directional and now asymmetric. Noticed tyre noise on Hurdy's R888's though - Army lorry!

Irrespective of any performance modding, are you guys expecting or wanting caccooned silence from a Golf?
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: bowie on February 22, 2010, 10:50:44 am
I had a conversation with a guy from Avon once about tyre noise . At the time I had their ZZ1 on my 02 S3.  After a few thousand miles they became very noisy (the dreaded wheel bearing sound) so I called Avon to compain and he said that they had had quite a few complaints about excessive noise and suggested that he send me replacements in the form of their new ZZ3s .
These were fine until about half way through their life. Then they suffered the same symptoms as the ZZ1.  The guy from Avon put this down the the directional pattern and the 'big block' design.  Not long after I had Dunlop 19" on the S3 , again big block directional pattern, and these were noisy from the off.
Since then I have vowed to stay assymetric. It does mean that your price bracket moves up a little but , tbh, I'd rather pay £20 a tyre more than suffer the excessive noise of the Avons.

Chris.
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: nc35 on February 22, 2010, 02:18:13 pm
Irrespective of any performance modding, are you guys expecting or wanting caccooned silence from a Golf?

Hi

Think you may be missing the point of my question. 

Some tyres appear to be much noiser than others.  Culprits so far seem to be Dunlops, Contis, Brigestones & R888's.

As mentioned before I am not a driver who hoones around all the time or gets near the limits of the car and its handling.  I am also in the minority on this forum that doesn't want more power from Stage xxx tuning or better handling from coil-overs etc etc... Though I do enjoy reading this forum an looking at the mods you guys bestow on your cars.  (I bet the bug will bite before too long.)

I love my Golf, never expected this, it ticked all the right boxes when I found myself car-less.  Must be getting old as the car makes me feel young again, and makes me want to get my hands oily working on it polishing it etc.  Honestly I never thought I would like a small car after nearly 20years in large cars.

Improvements I would like are to the day to day driving pleasure.  For me road noise is high on the list.

Sorry for the rant.  :ashamed:

It looks like Assymetric tread patterns are the way to go.
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: RedRobin on February 22, 2010, 02:38:49 pm
^^^^
I did see the point of your question, nc35 - You made it very clear that you would choose a quiet tyre over a 'performance' tyre. I guess that the difference between us might be that I would always choose a tyre which performs more safely in the great variety of road conditions without pushing to any limits and accept how noisy or quiet that happens to be.

Our only points of contact with any road consist of 4 small areas each about the size of a CD.

Asymmetrics are gaining an excellent reputation as an allrounder tyre. Personally I don't find them noisier or quieter than most other everyday road tyres.
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: nc35 on February 22, 2010, 04:55:38 pm
^^^^
I did see the point of your question, nc35 - You made it very clear that you would choose a quiet tyre over a 'performance' tyre. I guess that the difference between us might be that I would always choose a tyre which performs more safely in the great variety of road conditions without pushing to any limits and accept how noisy or quiet that happens to be.

Our only points of contact with any road consist of 4 small areas each about the size of a CD.

Asymmetrics are gaining an excellent reputation as an allrounder tyre. Personally I don't find them noisier or quieter than most other everyday road tyres.

Hi RR

Think we have had a similar discussion a few months back.  I do respect your opinion I just don't share it.  Sorry.

I am a biker love track-days, but all the weight saving extra grippy tyres can all be outweighed by what we eat/drink before we go out, tyre pressures and so forth.  Yep I am the saddo who the night before, has his bike on charge checks all the tyre pressures, suspension settings, lights, oil, etc etc.  No alcohol for the Saturday night...  As a group we also stick to the 30, 40, 50 limits.
Though it makes me laugh when we all end up having a full breakfast when we get to Scarborough then talk about new titanium weight saving whatits...  :stupid:  What we have just eaten will way more than any weight saving bolt, screw, nut.

In my opinion a good driver knows and drives within the limits of his car or bike be it a 1960's mini clubman (the worst car I have ever driven) or a 997 Porsche T4S (Probably the best).

To the point a good Police Motorcyclist on a Big Heavy BMW with touring tyres can catch the Sunday loons on the highly tuned super sticky shod "road legal" super bikes. 

Ducking for cover, but if anyone honestly believes they need better handling, better tyres for "safer"road driving,  their money/time is better spent with IAM training. 

Road awareness hazard perception keeps everyone safer, than a tuned car.  Its the "nut" behind the wheel at the end of the day.

Don't wish to argue or offend this is my honest opinion.

Perhaps my question could have been put better - what is the quietest "performance tyre" - was it Pirelli said "power is nothing without control"
Looks like the VREDESTEIN ULTRAC SESSANTA are winning the vote.

Rant over again.  Sorry

Real sh*tty day, on set all morning in the freezing snow & wind.  Looks like I need two new tyres (and probably wheels) went down a huge pothole full of water, so I didn't see it until too late...  Green Flag to the rescue with the tyre foam!!!
Awaiting insurance claim form from the Council.  Yes they knew of the hole since last Thursday, but still getting round to it.
So life goes on  :signLOL:

Hope we are still friends RR
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: RedRobin on February 22, 2010, 05:42:41 pm
^^^^
Of course we are still friends - I agree with nearly everything you've been saying (I have done driver training and agree about that too).

I wonder whether the asymmetric Vredesteins are noisier or quieter than the Goodyear version.
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: winrya on February 22, 2010, 05:45:26 pm

I wonder whether the asymmetric Vredesteins are noisier or quieter than the Goodyear version.

They are quieter red, I had the Goodyears before them. I think the ride is slightly firmer on the vreds but I'm told thats due to them having stiffer side walls but the trade off for that is sharper steering feel :happy2:
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: Phil Mcavity on February 22, 2010, 07:39:29 pm
Ive been a big praiser of the Vred's since installing them, but an interesting note from the rolling road day is that they took some time to warm up on the rollers, which was hampering phylis RR result.Apart from that, i will be re-wrapping Vred's next time again.
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: nc35 on February 22, 2010, 08:42:34 pm
Don't know if I dare ask. 

Been offered some Pirelli P-Zeros anyone running these?
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: Kings on February 23, 2010, 01:48:22 pm
Don't know if I dare ask. 

Been offered some Pirelli P-Zeros anyone running these?

Hi mate, as long as they are just Pirelli P Zero and not P Zero Rosso, P Zero Nero or P Zero Assimetrico then they are an excellent tyre. I had them on the rear of my old car a Nissan 350Z they grip excellently, good feedback & predictable on the limit. road noise I couldn't comment on as the 350Z was a nightmare for road noise in the cabin, they were a little quieter than the Bridgestones RE050A I took off.
The only pay off was they wear pretty quickly.

Generally they are one of the more expensive tyres, but I reckon worth it.
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: tony_danza on February 23, 2010, 02:10:46 pm
I see your point NC35 totally - there's nothing more miserable on a long journey than the drone of tyres. Diff whine comes a close second. Exhausts I can handle, as they're not monotonous and change all the time/go silent on overrun.

Reminds me of the bit in Dumb and Dumber where he does the most annoying noise in the world.

From what I've had in the MK5.

Parada Spec 2 = noisy
GY F1 V groove = noisy
GY F1 Assym = much better
Michelin PS2 = best

Thus I would conclude anything with big diagonal treads causes more noise.
Title: Re: Tyres and road noise.
Post by: bowie on February 23, 2010, 03:53:38 pm
x2


Anything assymetric. G'yr , PZ nero, pilots, vredesteins.  I recently put more pilot exaltos on the front of mine , going for longevity and low noise rather than ultimate wet grip.

Chris.