Noisy tyres

Tony Burke · September 17, 2017

I always do lots of research before I buy, so naturally I bought a 2007 IS250 two months ago. Absolutely mint with only 37k on the clock.

All was well apart from road noise, ranging from whisper quite on smooth roads (as on the test drive) to a loud roar on coarse tarmac with tramlining thrown in. Not what I expected from my dream car!

I concluded that the Bridgestone Potenzas were the the culprits, borne out by what I have read up on the subject.

So even though they had 8mm left on them, I replaced the fronts. Tyre reviews recommended Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance so I had two fitted.

Took it for a drive down the local noisy road, NOT A SCRAP OF DIFFERENCE - AAARGH!! Tramlining may be slightly better but the noise is the same.

My question is, are these cars known for in-car road noise? Mine is noisier than my friends Mondeo. Is there anything I can do?

Still love the car though.

jumbojake · September 17, 2017

I went from a mixture (I had 3 different tyres from when I got the car from the dealer :-( 2 dunlops, michelin and one I'd never heard of) ... to a set of goodyear efficient grip on the back for stability and goodyear eagle f1 aymetric on the front to limit tramlines ...I've found the goodyear to be spot on, much quieter than previous and tramlining is much reduced.

To be honest they are pretty quiet, but it's a quiet car and anything can be annoying... for me the tramlining was the main gripe, and the right tyres help a little.

Muddywheels · September 17, 2017

Just returned from 400 miles round trip this weekend visiting family in Scotland and like Tony I found tyre noise on course tarmac awful with fitted Dunlop tyres

Love everything else about the RC though

Rebecca · September 17, 2017

When I first purchased my is250 that had the original dunlop tyres fitted I was disappointed with the load tyre noise.

However I've recently had uniroyal rainsport's fitted all round and barely notice any road noise at all.

These are by far my favourite tyres and I've had them fitted to several of my previous vehicles. In the wet nothing can touch them. They stick to the road like glue.

Muddywheels · September 17, 2017

Good to know - definitely considering replacement with alternatives in future

Pablo43 · September 17, 2017

I ditched the bridgestones because of the tramlining and noise.

Replaced with the goodyear asymetric 2

And now on the asymetric3 all round .

Great improvement all round !

The only decibels i hear are through the ML stereo ....bliss 😆

rayaans · September 17, 2017

Probably worth changing all 4 tyres and not just 2. How did you come to the conclusion that it was the fronts and not the backs?

Low profile tyres are more likely to cause tramlining.

One way to solve it is to check the load ratings, make sure its not overly high and certainly not XL rated as they can cause tramlining.

Could potentially be a more serious issue ie suspension/bushes in upper suspension etc

In terms of road noise from coarse tarmac - I have yet to find a vehicle in which it is exactly the same as smooth tarmac. The Lexus 4RX is pretty close however and I dont doubt that the new LS will be a game changer in the Lexus range for this.

madasahatter · September 18, 2017

8 hours ago, Pablo43 said:

I ditched the bridgestones because of the tramlining and noise.

Replaced with the goodyear asymetric 2

And now on the asymetric3 all round .

Great improvement all round !

The only decibels i hear are through the ML stereo ....bliss 😆

Goodyear Asymetric 3 for me all round on 18 wheel lovely ride and quite as you like. I agree with Rayaans also, you are bound to get noise on uneven roads.

madasahatter · September 18, 2017

8 hours ago, Pablo43 said:

I ditched the bridgestones because of the tramlining and noise.

Replaced with the goodyear asymetric 2

And now on the asymetric3 all round .

Great improvement all round !

The only decibels i hear are through the ML stereo ....bliss 😆

Yes changing 2 tyres is a bad idea, also different wear rates is a problem. But no car is absolutely quite unless a rolls or similar expensive car.

NemesisUK · September 18, 2017

The Bridgestones supplied with my new RC are quiet on smooth tarmac and they sing when on the rough cement surfaces (A30/A419) but they no worse than any other tyre I've experienced and a lot better than most. Tramlining is virtually non-existent, only on the heavily rutted motorways do they tug on the steering.

I'm unsure no whether to replace with the same or go for my favourite Michelins. Still a way off that though so we'll see over the coming miles...

Muddywheels · September 18, 2017

The RC is the first vehicle I've owned since I can remember where tyre roar on course tarmac has been irritating and swmbo pointed it out too - and she's never wrong - on anything

I appreciate an increase in noise is to be expected on course tarmac but this vehicle it's like being in a LR Defender

It's not the end of the world though as it's a fantastic vehicle - I just thought there would be better sound proofing or perhaps different tyres might solve it

Tony Burke · September 18, 2017

Well thanks to all for your comments and advice, I guess I'll just have to live with it, can't afford to try a load of different tyres.

Perhaps Pablo's advice should be heeded, turn the ML up!

September 22, 2017

Michelin always for me

lordksmith · September 24, 2017

Only had my car four days and like Tony the same whisper quiet on the test drive but the last few days varying road surfaces tyre noise, but that's all i have to keep checking the tac to see its still running. I'm running Hankook evo v2, had them on my jag X and Mercedes Clk AMG , but looking to change by the looks of it Uniroyal rainsport 3 seem to be the recommendation. so will give them a go here's hoping.

Linas.P · September 24, 2017

On 9/17/2017 at 7:42 PM, Tony Burke said:

So even though they had 8mm left on them, I replaced the fronts. Tyre reviews recommended Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance so I had two fitted.

Are you sure? 8mm is literally new tire - they come out of factory this way...

Other point - have you done wheel alignment? I always do it after replacing tires...

I was looking for quiet and fuel efficient tires as well and went for Dunlop SportMaxx RT (now there is even RT2). So far so good (done over 30k miles on the set) - tires are now on 3mm thread and due for replacement soon, will definitely be looking for RT2's.

Finally - what pressure are you using, I personally running them on higher pressure than standard because from my experience on IS250 + Dunlop combo outer edgers wears first indicating "under inflation" when using standard pressure.

Finally, Finally... I have 17" rims and 18" are harder for ride and louder for tire noise.

Tony Burke · September 25, 2017

Yes I ordered the Goodyears through Black Circle. Dropped the car off. Went to collect and they hadn't fitted them because they thought there was a mistake, never changed new tyres before! Expensive experiment but at least I have some decent spares.

I'll try different pressures, see if that helps. I understand that 17" will be quieter but new tyres AND wheels? Swaps anyone?

Thanks Linas

jumbojake · September 25, 2017

when I was looking for winter tyes a few years ago, I found a set of wheels and tyres on eBay for £200 delivered ..... they are 16" rim and come the winter months I enjoy really quiet and comfortable ride ... but as they are narrow tyres, it gets a bit 'squiffy' round corners.

The rims were from a mk1 IS, but the same hub, so fit fine.

madasahatter · September 25, 2017

8 minutes ago, jumbojake said:

when I was looking for winter tyes a few years ago, I found a set of wheels and tyres on ebay for £200 delivered ..... they are 16" rim and come the winter months I enjoy really quiet and comfortable ride ... but as they are narrow tyres, it gets a bit 'squiffy' round corners.

The rims were from a mk1 IS, but the same hub, so fit fine.

Winter tyres are a softer compound hence why they are quieter. I run standard 17" wheels with 235 rear and 225 front tyres. { winters } and are super quiet.

Have herd to go to the smaller wheel,which would give some thing like a 50 to 55 profile so would soak most road noise.

Linas.P · September 25, 2017

5 hours ago, madasahatter said:

Winter tyres are a softer compound hence why they are quieter. I run standard 17" wheels with 235 rear and 225 front tyres. { winters } and are super quiet.

Have herd to go to the smaller wheel,which would give some thing like a 50 to 55 profile so would soak most road noise.

I would not agree with that, soft compound is just one bit of say "noise generation" much bigger impact is the design of thread e.g. symmetrical V form is noisy. Aggressive thread pattern of winter tires will be presumably noisy as well, again it heavily depends on design but as a rule of thumb looking at stated dB level winter tires always comes as 3-4dB louder than summer tires.

@Tony Burke - what rims you have ? I am actually looking to get 18 inch and either got my 17 inch as winter set or sold. I have no hopes you would have mk3 18 inch F-sport rims?

In terms of sizes generally, 16 inch will be quietest and softest (+ will have widest variety of quiet and fuel efficient tires), 17 inch is kind of golden middle for IS250 and 18 inch looks better, but I have heard people complaining about hard ride on them.

madasahatter · September 26, 2017

I can only go by my own car. I have 18s with good year 3s all round runs beautiful and quiet got standard 17s on at the moment bridgestone fronts falkens rear no issues

Winters on standard wheels michelin rears and dunlop fronts super quiet.

I will say falkens are a hard tyre that give brilliant wear, used them on a few cars. Good year are a soft tyre, and one of the quietest i have personally used.

Down side hate been pushed hard around roundabouts.

I run Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 in Anthrasite 18 x 8 et 45 super light weight wheel made in the Uk. They do around 10 different colours.

Tony Burke · September 26, 2017

Linas, I have 17" rims 225 Goodyear fronts and 245 Potenza rears all as new

Linas.P · September 28, 2017

Somehow, I understood you have 18s from you comment. 17' should be fine - Potenzas were always poor'ish tire. You choice of fronts are good, but do not expect to feel difference before upgrading rear and doing full alignment and adjusting tire pressure to accommodate you needs. I would not suggest to go more than +/-3 PSI from standard. I am running +3, because I prefer harder ride comparable to 18s and it suits tire wear patterns as well.

Tony Burke · September 28, 2017

I'm not confident that replacing the rear tyres will cure the noise because it starts the instant the fronts hit the rough tarmac, but I will experiment with different pressures and have the alignment looked at.